Experience vs Confidence?

Blizzard

Blizzard

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Just something Ive been thinking about really.

When we got Beau my nervous novice OH learned to ride on him, Beau never put a hoof wrong despite only being 6 and having had a year off doing nothing. My OH got soo much confidence from him and there is no stopping them now.

However shortly after getting him, a month or so, my friend, who is quite an experienced rider, asked if she could ride him, I was on him in the school so hopped off to let her have a go.

Anyway she mounted him, however I think his size intimidated her because she was very tense, and he did something he has enver done, spooked sideways and went to take off, he only did about half a stride though, but my friend papped herself, she thought he was going to bronc/rear etc or he was going to bolt with her.
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Needless to say she hasnt wanted to get back on him, and I got back on straight after she hastily dismounted, and he was good as gold again.

So incidents like this got me thinking, what has the most influence over how your horse goes, your experience or your confidence?
 
At 16 I don't think I can class myself as all that experienced, but I have unfaltering and sometimes, blind confidence in which i'll get on anything i'm offered and give it my best shot.
I'm just waiting for the day it gets the better of me.
 
I think its more a case of confidence to be honest, if your very experienced but are crapping yourself underneath, the horse WILL feel the tension.

Tbh though I think a good balance between experience & confidence is needed to be a "good" rider. I for sure know that I wouldnt have done any of the things ive achieved if I had no confidence, thats what drove me to compete in things id never dreamt of doing, and im so pleased I was able to have that oppotunity, as many dont.

Confidence will often give the horse more confidence and unable you to get more out from the horse. I think that being experienced is only going to get your somewhere if you have confidence.

...If ANY of that made sense!!
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At 16 I don't think I can class myself as all that experienced, but I have unfaltering and sometimes, blind confidence in which i'll get on anything i'm offered and give it my best shot.
I'm just waiting for the day it gets the better of me.

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Very much like me, I dont class myself as I good rider, but I take things as they come and handle the situations to the best of my ability. If someone says try this, I will give it the best I can give.

Thinking about it now, thats what probably makes a good longterm experienced rider in the making!
 
You need a balance really but more weighted towards confidence if you are dealing with 'problems'. When dealing with problems or sharp horses I think that you need confidence so they take from that but also, if you have no experience in how to treat or prevent the problem happening you will just end up confusing the horse.
I would not class myself as being experienced when it comes to technical knowledge but my confidence, patience and sheer determination has got me through the many issues my horse had and the various behaviour tactics he took.
 
Boodle, you will probably find waiting for the day it gets the better of you doesn't come - you will realize life is too short riding others difficult horses! Especially if you are not being paid!
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I was like that and one day just though ' i don't need the hassle', nothing to do with confidence, however probably made me a better rider and definately made me appreciate my own.

I think horses take confidence from the rider, if the rider is confident the horse will sense that.
 
I agree that you need a balance. I definitely do not lack confidence, but I don't think that ALONE could carry me through a particularly hairy situation... you need some knowledge and experience as well or you could end up doing the horse and yourself damage.

I don't have the balance quite yet, my confidence outweighing the ability..... always room for improvement.
 
Horses are able to pick up on the riders ability, and mood. If she was tense it would have made him tense.

Mind does RDA and is a total plod, never spooks nothing, daudles along etc and is a dream.

But when I get on he turns into a 'proper horse', he will move nice and freely and even buck out of ecitement when hacking. But he does know when I have my off days and he either tests me or goes easy on me !!! depends what moode he is in !
 
I have some experience. Was riding big horses from the age of 12 or 13, some quite diffcult. I also had a ponio on loan who was notoriously difficult, not many people would get on him, but as a fearless teen i gave it my best shot.I spent years riding for others, I've ridden all types of horses and ponies , but wouldnt class myself as being 'an experienced rider'.

I have NO confidence, stemming back to losing my nerve from riding difficult horses, and when I ride this shows. Horse picks up on it, piddles about and I get 10 times worse.

I think confidence can be a bad thing if you rely on it to much, ie if you don't trust your gut feelings and carry on regardless, ypur confidence is a fragile thing. without confidence to some degree your riding career can come to an abrupt end. I'd do anything to get back some of mine.
 
Is a funny thing really, i remember selling a horse as a safe allrounder a few years ago, she was 14 and was the quietest easiest ride you could wish for. Within 5 weeks of selling her, i had a phone call to say she was trying to buck the new owner off! I went over not believing my ears, rode her, quiet as a lamb, gave the lady some advice, she got back on and head down she wanted her off! I bought her back as she was very dear to me, she has never done it scince and is in a new home now and is perfect!! Its all to do with how confident the rider is i think.
 
With my previous horse, definitely confidence - and he certainly picked up on my complete lack of it. He wasn't difficult and he didn't need an experienced rider, but with a very nervous rider he would spook and it was a vicious cycle.

My current pony I'm still working out - you can put a complete novice on him, and if they are a little cautious and nervous he will behave impeccably. If you have more confidence and/or experience he'll see what he can get away with - challenge him and he'll challenge you. I totally believe that he would never have tanked off with someone nervous like he did with me the other day. If he doesn't think you can take it, he won't do it. He's a strange one really, hard to work out. If my completely novice OH gets on he (OH) is usually a bit cocky, and pony usually tanks off!
 
A bit chicken & egg in some cases. Experience can bring about confidence, because you have learnt how to deal with a situation. Confidence though is felt by the horse, but some horses have a temperment that would not take advantage of a less confident rider. My daughter is very confident with a horse that most would not get on, but she knows this horse inside out. It is experience though that has helped her deal with the issues, she knows how to ride her through them.
 
I believe that you can have all the experience in the World, but if you have no confidence you will fail to implement your knowledge. Horses pick up very easily on nerves, don't you think?

Having said that, you could have confidence but no/little experience. You might cope but you might not. Your confidence might lead you into doing something without thinking it through in an 'experienced' head. This could lead to disaster, and ultimately to a LOSS of confidence. Bear in mind you might get away with a lack of knowledge on one horse, but on another you may not!!!

I have lost quite a lot of confidence since a very bad accident in 2005. However, I use my experience to help me overcome this. I think through the best way to work my horse on a particular day. I plan myself realistic goals over a timescale utilising my experience in order to help boost my confidence.

I think both are important TBH.
 
experience can help to bolster a lack of confidence in that instintively you'll 'do the right thing' even if you aren't feeling that confident (even if the 'do the right thing' is to get off !!)

but there are some horses that are more sensitive and get genuinely worried if they are ridden by anyone else - mine is one - I get on him and he's a lamb - I stand next to him and try to let anyone else get on him - same place, same mounting block - and he'll bronk before they even get on - as soon as they go to put their foot in the stirrup

I got and stand on the mounting block and he's completely back to norml

he's just a one rider horse - I have managed to hold him for someone else to ride him and he does settle but even so he was so tense it wasn't worth it (my instructor at the time).

I put it down to the fact that he was 'broken' in Ireland and not that nicely by the way he was when I got him so he has built up a partnership with me, but mistrusts anyone strange.

Interestingly some of the H&H articles where top riders have had rides on other horses - many of them have said that 'no one rides x but me' - iirc Over to You was one
 
Confidence every single time! I think that s the absolute root as well of all very talented horse people and people like Pat Parelli and Monty Roberts. The Simpson (ROSS THAT IS NOT BART) say that as a horse is a prey animal safet is its absolute priority over food water, shelter, friendship anything.Watch any REALLY good rider or some good novices actually and you will see that they are very confident.
 
i think a healthy combination of the 2.
i know people thay have ridden for years, are very experienced at what they are doing in theory but in practise are rubbish!!
experience is important but if you havnt got the confidence you may as well not bother in my opinion
 
Confidence - without question!

Rubbish riders can get on a horse and so long as they have plenty of confidence then the horse will tap into this and be secure. Experience often comes hand in hand with confidence so that is the best of both worlds, however for someone experienced but not confident there could be a number of pitfalls coming their way.

As you know, I have a couple of beginner liveries on my yard, both of them have very young horses which they are training and backing themselves (under my guidance) and I always say to them, even if you make a mistake or aren't sure whether you are doing the "correct" thing, don't let on to the horse! Just keep plugging away with a confident air and the horse will be happy and trusting of you. Any small mistakes made along the way can easily be rectified so long as the horse continually believes in you.
 
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I always say to them, even if you make a mistake or aren't sure whether you are doing the "correct" thing, don't let on to the horse! Just keep plugging away with a confident air and the horse will be happy and trusting of you. Any small mistakes made along the way can easily be rectified so long as the horse continually believes in you.

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I think that is one the wisest things Ive heard for a long time, and I REALLY need to start doing that!

You are so right of course, my OH is a prime example, he didnt have a clue but because he is confident and thinks he knows what he is doing, Beau and him have the time of their lives.
 
I've been stuck in this dilemma for a while, I'm not the best rider in the world but I'm ok and had loads of confidence and schooled a few problem ponies and horses, on was sharp - really sharp but because he was scared and I gave him loads of confidance and when he went back everyone commented on his reformed character and it even got me a job with one of britains top young showjumpers schooling their ponies. I also re-started an ex-racing 'chestnut' mare, who became the calmest hack and was 3rd in a novice jumping class second time out. Now I'm a wreck and can barely work a schooled but novice horse and constantly have to remind myself to 'get a grip'. Hope this gets better.
 
im confiedent at most things, out hunting or jumping over 2ft9 i can get a little apprehensive-hunting as ive only recently started doing things like this(this is my first opportunity to since 14 yrs of riding!) and jumping because of a bad fall and took 3yrs out of riding and only been riding again for just over a year! id say im pretty experienced though and my confidence is improving slowly each day-its got worse since i had my son-motherly instict i think!
 
I wonder if you need the experience to know how to apply confidence. An overly confident rider could push a horse too far but someone with experience will know when to back off or when to say, no come on, we're doing it this way.

Your story amused me slightly because it reminded me of a recent situation. My OH has recently bought a lovely 18hh horse. He thinks he's a pony and is as gentle as anything. He's been testing my OH recently, seeing how much he can get away with and I've been watching this, calling out orders - sit up straight, shoulders back etc etc. But then I exercised him when my OH was away and got carried off in a very fast canter, got him to stop and got off straight away! I realise now that I just didn't have the experience to be confident in getting him to canter again in a more controlled manner. I gave up too easily. Mind you my boy's 14.2hh so 18hh is a pretty big leap!
 
Experienced means nothing - I bought my horse off someone who is very experienced but has lost all her confidence and cannot ride for toffee now.

Look at all these 14 year old kids have not got a clue but yet are so confident will happily sit on anything jump round a big course and the horse will do it. Confidence is submitted to a horse, experience is not!
 
interesting question, and i haven't read all the replies.
i find when riding a horse now i lack confidence (had a break of 5 years) but for example i was riding a nappy, sharp pony who quickly tried to go the opposite way from which we were cantering in, dropping her shoulder and yanking her head down which she has a habit of doing, and i kept my seat, and got her going in the right direction. all of which was down to my experience not my confidence. if i hadn't had years of riding sharp race horses in a tiny racing saddle, i probably would have fallen off. as so many others who have ridden her did.
however when it came to jumping a 17.2hh horse a few months ago, i couldn't get him to go over a jump with fillers. wasn't even a big fence, but cause i wasn't confidently riding him to the jump he just kept running out and basically i was letting him due to me partly not really wanting to jump either. not consciously (sp?) yet a less experienced but confident lass got on him and had him jumping no probs.
 
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