do you lose your confidence after a fall?

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hamish1

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Ive had a few falls-nothing to serious at all-the worst ending in bruises,jarred shoulder and concussion so nothing really compared to some! Do you think you lose confidence after a fall?-for me i would say once I'm back on I usually feel ok-but say if i fell off at a jump-i get butterflies about doing it again but Im always pleased when I do....just curious really (and a bit bored lol) :)
 
hamish1 said:
Ive had a few falls-nothing to serious at all-the worst ending in bruises,jarred shoulder and concussion so nothing really compared to some! Do you think you lose confidence after a fall?-for me i would say once I'm back on I usually feel ok-but say if i fell off at a jump-i get butterflies about doing it again but Im always pleased when I do....just curious really (and a bit bored lol) :)
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Yeah, same really.
 
generally no i don't...but then i fall off a lot (i have a stupidly sharp and cold backed youngster)...so i'm kind of used to it. i honestly think it bothers people more if they don't fall off regularly... generally i don't hurt myself ( madly touches wood :eek:) although i cracked a couple of ribs 8 weeks agao and then fell off a few days later...was a bit worried as i was flaying through the air :rolleyes:
 
Nope! Straight off the floor and straight back on for take 2! I hadn't fallen off for years and then did the other week, didn't bother me at all even though I thought it would. Sometimes I think it's the fear os falling off rather than the actual falling off itself? Not that you have much time to get worried about it as you're hurtling towards the floor!
 
Due to being not the most confident anyway, if I don't get on very quickly I get the jitters and won't do that thing/go in that place for ages. However if I'm on quick enough I'll just get nervous but will try get a grip on myself and do it :)

However I try not to fall off!! I just grip on for the life of me and then tell myself I "dismounted" to make myself not be so nervous :). This happened a few times at college when jumping, my tutor had no idea how I managed not to be through the fences. Obviously goes to show my gripping on technique works (but its not pretty!) :D
 
I lost my confidence completely after a very bad fall last year, I didn't have the choice to get back on anytime soon as I broke my leg in 9 places.
I started riding again this year and it was really hard to say the least, but after time and persistence I got to the stage where I was quite happy on a horse again and the nerves settled.

But I was always left with the worry of falling off, and that played on my mind all the time.
Then I did fall off lol, and it was the best thing that ever happened really as I then knew I could handle it. I just got right back on and got on with it - I now dont worry about falling off all the time :)
 
Its a very good technique! It allowed me to finish my jumping for college :D

I suppose sometimes you have to try push old memories away or just make better new ones :) (will get there sometime with hacking!)
 
missyme10-9 places ouch! i do think itd be different if you seriously hurt yourself and couldnt get back on like in your case-think id be dying to ride again but very nervous! i can understand why that second fall made you pleased-cuz you knew that not everyfall woud end with a broken leg then :) x
 
Depends how and why I have fallen off. When my mare reared it was out of the blue and very scary. I was wary for a good few weeks after everytime she had a strop.

With my gelding it has always been down to my position when jumping as he has an odd jumping style over larger fences and I don't always react quick enough. I haven't been put off yet though - I fell off at a water fence on Saturday and hopped right back on despite being drenched and having boots full of water!
 
No not all, I always get back on afterwards BUT, weirdly, it's NOT riding that makes me lose my confidence. If I've been ill or the horse has been lame, or something, and I haven't ridden for a couple of weeks my confidence levels drop dramatically.
 
If I fall off I generally hop back on but then I don't generally hurt myself falling off ponies! The last time I fell off I was riding my mare bareback, I asked her to trot and slid out the side door! I was more embarrassed at the time as I was at LMEQ where the standard of riding is very high!
 
Yes and no. Since I have had my mare for two years now I have fallen off 19 times (yes, I remember the amount!)

So obviously this has not knocked my confidence as I am still at it - She keeps my on my toes as I quite often come close to falling off. She can be quite a bit for me plus she is not very comfortable to ride, i,e she is jerky with her movements and drop her shoulder at any speed if she is spooked (which being a half welsh could be anything) She can also rear and buck and all the rest of it, whenever she feels like it or if she is spooked so I always know I could be on the floor if you know what I mean. I try not to expect it, so I have lost confidence but it's a reality thing to. I am not stupid, I am not saying I will fall off and I am nervous for no reason if you know what I mean (I really could be on the floor, its more than likely half the time!)

However, luckily (and touch wood) I have not hurt myself. I think this is where the difference is. If I had to have time off, (as in hospital) where I couldn't get back on then maybe I could lose confidence then in the time I have to think about it.

Hope that makes sense -
 
I never used to, used to fly off quite dramatically when I hunted and used to get back on (or be got back on) and carry on…on one memorable occasion with severe concussion!

I never had any fear at all, was brave to the point of insanity and didn’t really understand people who were scared.

All that changed when I pressed the eject button on a Bolter because for the first time ever in my riding life I had the sudden and horrible realisation that I was not in control of the situation and horse was in the state of not only not giving a stuff about my welfare but had totally flipped and was not giving a stuff about his either. I bailed out as he gathered to jump a seriously wide canal which he had no hope of making and I didn’t want to be under him when he fell in.

I had no chance of getting back on (to be honest I would not have got back on this horse anyhow) as the next thing I remember after feet out of stirrups and push is the nice man in the Air Ambulance looking confused as I had forgotten I lived in Holland and was jabbering away in Greek.

I got away lightly, (broken shoulder, fractured hip, broken knee, broken ankle, head injury that left me blind in one eye for 3 months) but the crippling thing for me the thing that really suddenly scared the hell out of me was the “what if’s” What if he had come down on top of me in the water, what if I had been totally alone (I ended up unconscious in the canal) what if, what if what if…….and also the horrible realisation that for the very first time ever I had felt I had no control, I had used my entire armoury of “what to do on a bolting horse” techniques even leaning right forward grabbing the bit ring and trying to pull round but nothing had worked and now there was nothing I could do.

I forced myself to start riding as soon as my sight was back to normal, I say riding I started off on the lunge on a Friends totally dead ancient Fresian and I cried with fear before getting on, during and once I got off the first time, luckily my good friend is an experienced RDA instructor and she just went with it. Eventually I could walk on the lunge in walk with no fear, then we had to master trot and canter.

It has taken me two years to get back to “normal” again and for the first time this month I was able to take my new horse, tack him up, get on and ride him totally on my own for 45 minutes Yay!!!!

Will I ever get backto my old gung ho self....I doubt it ...I think far more now and will not ride if it is blowing a gale, will no longer take chances.

In the past I never ever gave losing my confidence a thought….all in all it has been a bit of a salutary lesson
 
I've had many falls and it never bothered me and was always happy to jump on any horse.

I had a bad fall last summer, where friends horse reared and flipped over and landed on me. I broke my femur. Having to take 3months off I was gagging to get back on my horse (he was recovering from an injury, so was only in walk) I was on him before I could walk by myself. My mum and a friend had to lift me on my horse and off for a month but I kept riding. I haven't lost any confidence on him and still do everything I did before. I was told by the doctor that if I was to fall I shatter the bone., this hasnt put me off.

My problem is that I can ride my sisters pony but I havent got on any other horse but my two since. I will not get on a horse if its known to rear. I'm not scared of other horses but just lost trust and don't have the need to ride any other as I do so much with my own.
 
Yikes Chavhorse !!!! As a matter of curiousity what happened to the horse - did it jump into the canal, or once you had 'dismounted' did it gain some rationality? Would love to know.

I lost my confidence, curiously enough when I encouraged someone else to ride - due to unforseen circumstances the horse bronced and they fell of and seriously injured themselves. I have never really recovered my confidence in my judgement even now, 10 years later, so I have had to learn to enjoy riding in a quieter less ambitious way - which I do.
 
I fell off my first horse show jumping and cross country quite a lot. I really hurt myself a couple of times. I used to ride her into the jump, but the little b*gger was very sharp and would put in dirty stops or run outs.

I lost my jumping confidence big time.

My last horse I used to do lots of showing and loved it because the fear and nerves before a show were all gone! I did take him XC and SJ and we did win! But I was petrified and glad to get back in the lorry and go home.

My current girl is young, but likes jumping, so I do jump her, but at my leisure and over what jumps I like. I do like jumping, but dont like the pressure of a show. I am slowly getting mildy better and when I do jump I have to remove my fear and exude confidence for my mares sake.

Give me sideways and poncing about anyday! At least with dressage and showing, I can reduce the chances of coming a cropper! :)
 
ThisThmusis post is strangely relevant as I came off on Tuesday night and have just spent twenty hours in hospital being referred to different specialists to stitch me back up again. Was galloping around farm gallops horse spooked took off in other direction I didn't. I don't really know what happened. Imusually quite good at falling. I roll and get back up again. But somewhere must have smacked my head pretty hard and my top teeth went through my lip and out my chin :S
I would of got straight back on and done it again if I wasn't spewing blood everywhere. But all I could think about for the next day is 1, am I going to be ugly 2, will my pArents let me ride again 3, why the he'll didn't I stay on. More angry than loss of confidence and would be straight hack on today if doctors would let me.
I used to get really nervous when I was at a riding school. Once the horse tripped before the jump and fell over it I went over head got caught under legs. As horse galloped off. That was three years ago and I still have problems breathing. Same days I wake up my chest is soo tight I can barely take a shallow breath. When that happened I was petrified for years but since getting my own I've got my confidence back. I guess it's made me realise just how much I need horses in my life. Even if I had to have my leg amputated I would still have horses.
And yeh lots of my friends are made of metal from horse riding accidents. One got dragged smashing up her hip, leg and jaw she competes bsja now, ones horse reared and fell over backwards breaking both her legs in numerous places she'll get back as soon as she is off crutches and my friends mum is in hospital with a punctured lung and three broken ribs from being trampled she'll be back too. What I'm saying is that none of us could imagine a life without horses. I think everyone would get a little jittery but I could just give up on them.
Sorry bit of a long post - having nothing to do :(
 
canteron said:
Yikes Chavhorse !!!! As a matter of curiousity what happened to the horse - did it jump into the canal, or once you had 'dismounted' did it gain some rationality? Would love to know.

I lost my confidence, curiously enough when I encouraged someone else to ride - due to unforseen circumstances the horse bronced and they fell of and seriously injured themselves. I have never really recovered my confidence in my judgement even now, 10 years later, so I have had to learn to enjoy riding in a quieter less ambitious way - which I do.
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Well we both ended up in the water together (was how i got the head injury) My friend who was with me at the time is unsure whether he just went for it and jumped, was committed and could not stop or tired to stop and just slid in she was too busy watching me doing my Barnes Wallace Bouncing Bomb impression at the time.

Poor girl had to make the decision of who to sort out first unconscious rider or horse having a S**t fit in water next to unconscious rider, she got in and sorted him out before hauling me into the reeds. I think she was more traumatised than I was and of couse she then had the joy of getting one wet shocked horse and one who was freaked out back to the yard in one peice after I had been taken away.....

Sorry this was not supposed to be a OMG look what happened to me post just a "actually it can happen to anyone so no shame involved"
 
yup i loose confidence - only jumpign though - never lost general riding confidence...i used to loose so much jumping confidence if i had a fall that i would have to go back to 1ft x poles for a good time to build it back up - but now i'm getting better at going back to jumping say 2'6 :o lol!! but i don't really jump higher than 3' so its all relative ;)
 
As a teenager, absolutely (unless it was a clumsy trip, as I knew that meant that both me and horse were safe to work). I'd cry at the thought of having to get back on, especially if bucking was involved, and despite working a 12hr day to earn a free lesson, I'd sometimes turn the lesson down for weeks.

Now? I itch to get back on and put it right straight away. I can have a few butterflies if the horse is a bit fiery, but I don't want a session to end that way for either me or the horse (except in case of injury). It could become a bad habit for both of us!
 
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