Falling off in canter

[LilyxoGren]

I am a beginner/novice rider and have been riding for about 2 years on and off. 2 weeks ago whilst cantering for the third time ever (with one hand on the saddle and the other holding the reins) I lost my balance and fell off. I was on a really big horse and it really hurt, I was aching for a week. After falling off I have really lost my confidence when riding and even when I am just walking on a horse now I get scared I'm going to fall off. Before I fell I could do rising trot perfectly with confidence, and the first two times I cantered I did well. But ever since my first fall I'm always scared now. There's only two horses I can ride due to being so tall, I now ride a bigger one, but due to him being so lively and hard to slow down I always get scared he's going to canter when trotting and he is literally impossible to make to halt. I would prefer to ride an horse more suited to a beginner, but the only other one possible is the horse I fell off. I go riding weekly on a 30 minute lesson now. How can I regain my confidence when riding? Because ever since I fell off I feel like I just went back to square 1.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Cant you find another riding school that has suitable horses for you to learn on?

 

[Leitrim]

Before you fell off the horse that you normally ride were you happy about controlling his progressions from walk to trot and then to canter and did you have confidence that he would slow down when you gave the correct aids?
If your answer is yes I would say get back on him and just walk and trot, do some half halts and make sure that your aids are clear and that the horse's response is prompt and predictable. When you've done plenty of that you will rebuild your confidence that you are in control of the speed so that when you are ready to canter again you can apply the 'slow down' signals if you feel yourself getting nervous or less balanced than you would like.
Also what were you doing when you fell off cantering? Were you in a school going round in circles or even on a lunge or were you out on a straight path? Were you on level ground or going up or downhill? Lots of people like to canter for the first few times when there's a long, wide uphill stretch of grass in front of them because that slows the horse down a little and you know you've got time to apply your aids to get the horse to come back to trot and walk.
I'm guessing that you trusted the horse to take care of you before you fell off and he / she is no different now BUT because you hurt yourself when you fell you're going to feel tense when you ride that horse again. You don't want the horse to feel nervous and frightened so it might be worth thinking how you can reassure the horse when (if) you get back on. It might help to distract you from the fear of falling and going back to walking and trotting in a calm and relaxed way will be nice for both of you. Also you haven't gone back to square 1 as the only thing bothering you is controlling the horse's speed.
Another riding school with smaller horses who are capable of carrying taller riders might be your answer but depending on where you are in the country might not be an option and wouldn't you like to be back in the position of trusting this horse and overcoming this particular, probably temporary, barrier?

 

[Ponycarrots]

Maybe you need to get a better seat; maybe you're not ready to canter just yet.
Have you done trot without stirrups? Lots of it! Including rising trot without stirrups. Focus on your core muscles and lower leg. A great exercise for your lower leg at home is to stand on a step, balance on the step with the edge of the step on the ball of your foot (where the stirrup would be) and try to stand there well balanced for as long as you can. At first use the banister to balance then gradually build up to letting go and balancing on your own.
As for confidence, the way I look at it when I fall off is, well, I didn't get seriously hurt, I'm still alive, nothing is broken, so what is there to be afraid of? Let falling off give you confidence, ok you ached for a week but that's normal. At least you didn't break any bones!
When you're riding just try to forget about it and think positive thoughts. Relax, breathe deeply, even try Bach flower remedy.
Above all; tell your instructor you are nervous. Don't feel embarrassed! They'll understand and help to rebuild it.
If this horse is too much for you maybe you should find another riding school. If you feel bad just tell them the honest truth and come back to them when you're a bit more advanced. You're paying for your lessons and shouldn't have to waste money on a lesson on a horse that isn't right for you and is scaring you.

 

[ameliajane]

Hi!

I'm a fellow riding school rider who can also get very nervous at times and I've had my confidence shattered twice by falls - so you have my sympathy

If you have any doubts about the quality of the tuition or the suitability of the horses it would be worth looking for another riding school if possible. And an instructor who understands you and in whom you have complete confidence is vital.

However, if you're basically happy with the school and previously felt confident and happy with the horse you fell off and the fall was just straight forward loss of balance, I would agree with Leitrim - return to riding that same horse.

The shock and pain of the fall is obviously still very fresh and so you can expect to feel frightened at first but if you forget about cantering for now and work on walk and trot and improving your balance and control, your confidence in the horse will return and the memory of the fall will fade.

If I'm feeling nervous I find it helps enormously to sing a silly ditty - preferably out loud - to the rhythm of the horse's pace. At the moment I use the Archer's theme tune . It makes you feel very silly and so you smile, relax and breath and it distracts you from imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios. It's also a great way of improving awareness of the horse's pace - you notice straight away if you're having to speed up or slow down the ditty to keep pace with the horse and I use it to prove to myself that the horse is not speeding up/running away with me!

Another trick I've found very useful is to sit quietly at home with your eyes closed and run through exactly what happened when you fell off. Try to recreate it as vividly as possible in your mind. When we fall off we tend to run through what happened repeatedly but we always stop at the scary bit - the panic of the fall. You need to continue well beyond the fall - for example: maybe you got back on the horse and finished the lesson by walking round quietly and then dismounted and patted the horse and put him away and went home and had lunch or maybe you stopped the lesson and went home and had a shower and watched TV and then went shopping with friends. This will leave you with a calmer feeling and put the fall into perspective.

Taking this a step further, you can also run through the fall in the same way but add a silly tune, speed up the images, run them backwards, picture yourself riding in a silly costume - try to make it all as funny as you can. Do this as vividly as possible and repeatedly.

It's easy to feel you are back to square one when things go wrong but everyone feels this way sometimes and if you persevere your confidence will return

 

[HipoH]

Canter is a big step if you're just starting out its quite difficult to maintain your balance in a different/faster pace. How about going and having some sessions on a mechanical horse first that will take you up and down the paces so you can practise your balance and position without having to worry about the horse doing something unpredictable. If it all goes a bit "ugly" you can just hit the STOP button. At least you'll then have a feel for the pace and better balance when you get on a real horse.

 

[ahorseandadog]

A lot of people start to canter too early so maybe that's what happened to you? I recommend that you do some work without stirrups in trot and walk and, if possible, ride a calmer horse. After this, try cantering on a lunge so you are not having to hold the reins and instead can hold the saddle. Once you are relaxed with that then you could go back to riding the lively horse.

Remember to tell your instructor that you are nervous and be 100% sure with yourself that you are nervous. It is likely that you are trying to hide your fear rather than removing it. You are nervous because you expect something to happen- what?

If you know what you are worried about then you can set about removing the fear. If you don't know, then the fear will vanish because it will have nothing to be supported by.

Fear is like a tree- the thing that you expect to happen is the roots. If you have nothing that you expect will happen the tree/fear will go by itself.

 

[Barnacle]

I would say ask for a smaller horse. Even if you're a bit too tall, your problem right now is all in your head so a smaller horse will help you regain your confidence. I'd also recommend asking your instructor to let you just walk/trot for now and do lots of walk/trot on a loose rein so that you aren't tempted to use your hands to secure yourself. Also, switch to an hour lesson if you can. Half an hour once a week is not a lot - You will have more time to get into it and start feeling safe if you're riding for an hour rather than hopping off almost right away, just as you're getting comfortable.

Once you feel a bit more daring, you should try cantering again but ask to be lunged, if possible. That allows you to just worry about your own position and can make a big difference when you're learning.

I agree that you should tell your instructor you are nervous. It really helps to let that out. Say what you're scared of. Really, in an enclosed space when you're just doing walk/trot/canter, there isn't that much that can go wrong on a school horse. The horse didn't do anything wrong when you fell off by the sounds of it - you just lost your balance.

 

[Raiy]

Yesterday I fell off my horse while cantering really fast after a jump.I have been Horse riding for three or four years, and I have been cantering for more than a year, and Yesterday was my first time falling off. My feet came out of my stirrups, and I lost control. I fell on my back, and hurt it. It is really sore, but I think I am fine. I got back on my horse after I fell off, and finished my lesson. I am a little scared to canter again, and I was a little worried of falling off again. When I fell off my horse was going really fast, and I hadn't ever gone that fast, and I was scared he was going to go that fast. I'm sure I will keep going, and overcome my fall.

 

[Maesto's Girl]

Unfortunately the best way to overcome fear is to get back in the saddle and do some basic walk/trot lessons to regain your confidence. Once you realise you CAN do it, the anxiety will begin to fade. When you are no longer anxious about those walk/trot sessions, start some no stirrup work, the once you are confident there, progress to the canter. Falls can knock you for six early on in a riding career but they do get easier to deal with. Not that they hurt less necessarily (although you do tend to learn how to fall) but you realise that it is just a blip. I have been riding on and off for almost 30 years. Came off at the weekend as my horse spooked (coach said I had NO chance of sticking to it) but got back on in seconds and rode straight around the bit she spooked at.

 

[Raiy]

Thank you for your advice, I am sure I will regain my balance soon. For the past couple of weeks I have been doing a lesson with my younger sister, who is only learning to trot at the moment, so she can learn off me on how to trot, and I can regain my confidence by doing a lesson where I don't need to canter

 

[Red-1]

Thank you for your advice, I am sure I will regain my balance soon. For the past couple of weeks I have been doing a lesson with my younger sister, who is only learning to trot at the moment, so she can learn off me on how to trot, and I can regain my confidence by doing a lesson where I don't need to canter

If this is for real Raiy, I would say to stop riding until the NHS is ready to receive you. I am not being frivolous, most experienced riders are scaling back to cover only stuff that is routine for them and their horses. Now is not a time to learn new stuff.

Keep our NHS and vulnerable people safe.

 

[Raiy]

Thank you for your advice, I will definitely take it into consideration, and use it to help me.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Yesterday I fell off my horse while cantering really fast after a jump.I have been Horse riding for three or four years, and I have been cantering for more than a year, and Yesterday was my first time falling off. My feet came out of my stirrups, and I lost control. I fell on my back, and hurt it. It is really sore, but I think I am fine. I got back on my horse after I fell off, and finished my lesson. I am a little scared to canter again, and I was a little worried of falling off again. When I fell off my horse was going really fast, and I hadn't ever gone that fast, and I was scared he was going to go that fast. I'm sure I will keep going, and overcome my fall.

Thread Necromancy...

We regularly do an exercise where we just have "gates" marked in the arena by pairs of cones.

We approach the first gate at a trot, and transition to canter as we pass it; at the second gate we stop.

The instructor then replaces the first gate with a low jump. We approach the jump at a trot, the horse should be at a canter, we maintain the canter until the second gate where we stop.

The point of it is to stay in control, and to learn to be confident that we stay in control and are able to stop the horse after a jump, without it running away as it pleases.