Feeling dejected...

ChiffChaff

ChiffChaff

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I've been riding a lovely little gelding whose owner can't ride due to injury. He's really sweet, can be cheeky and likes to throw a buck or two when excited but nothing nasty and although I was a bit wary at first I'm really enjoying him now.

Last week I jumped him for the first time. Just little baby jumps (about 55cm). And I fell apart. Pony didn't do anything wrong except get a bit over excited, even then we trotted into the jump with one or two strides of canter, and a bit of excited leapy-ness afterwards. He jumped it pretty big and I was a little surprised, but hardly earth shattering behaviour! But I COULD NOT make myself do it. I forced myself to do a small x pole 3 times. In about 40 minutes. With lots of walking around in circles in between.

I was partly mortified because my friend was there and partly angry and upset at myself for being such a wimp :( . Now I'm angry with myself and want to go and do it again and do it better. The owner wasn't there, but was lovely about it when I told her. With my own mare I'm happily jumping 1.05 and the main thing holding me back from higher is that she's not as young as she was and I don't want to push her. I'm not the most confident but I'm not usually a bag of nerves either.

No point to this really. Just after some sympathy/a kick up the bum!
 
I'm going through something similar. I'm so embarrassed by recent failure at being able to jump my mare I don't even want a lesson for my coach to see how bad it is!

For me it's two things:
Recent loss of confidence in myself as a human being. Second my mare is still new to jumping and I'm so worried about messing up that my brain and body blanks out and I mess up worse!

What I started to do is going back to basics.... Grabbing mane a few strides out and holding my two point. Remembering to wait, weight in heels, etc. This was going over x's. I think it helped, I felt calmer after anyways! Going to do this a few more times and then bring it up with my coach :)

Oh, and also have no prob doing 1 m plus on a lesson horse......

Good luck! There's no shame in grabbing mane!
 
I think I'll try again and grab some mane! He knows the job, but is a little out of practice, so that is probably a good idea. I'd love a lesson on the pony, but the people that give jumping 'lessons' at my yard are not the people I'd like a lesson from if you catch my drift! I have regular lessons at a very good riding school so I'm used to riding different horses too. In a perfect world I'd be able to take him over there and have a lesson with one of their instructors!

Thanks!
 
Hugs ChiffChaff. I am sure it will come, don't push yourself just have some fun. Maybe you might find a tiny log out hacking and fancy a go over that some time. Would you be allowed to have another instructor at your yard rather than the ones you don't fancy? I always find I have loads more confidence if I have an instructor. Oh and I don't have mane to grab but I use an rs-tor and will also shamelessly grab the breast plate strap at any opportunity! Enjoy your riding :)
 
Maybe you could ask around and find out if anyone knows a good instructor who would come to you? It might be a little bit more expensive but then you could at least be in the comfort of your own yard. Just book a time nobody else is around. There should be some near you who do yard visits, even if they do have their own base. Maybe even one of the riding instructors would come out to you?
And just remember, shoulders back and heels down, you can't come off then! :)
 
Don't worry! It's completely normal, I know many people who'll do whatever with their own horse but get very nervous with other people's. Like me! I have jumped some big courses with my horsey- and he jumps BIG!! Yet when I went to ride a friend's horse I really didn't want to do more than like 30cms- and I don't think that really even counts as a jump lol. I recommend staying within your comfort zone- don't do anything because you feel that you 'should'! If you decide you really do want to jump with this horse I recommend, as others have said, getting a lesson with a good instructor. It helps so much to have someone knowledgable on the ground who can give you a bit of a confidence boost. I would never jump my boy as big as I have done in the past without someone on the ground. Best of luck.
 
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