Finally riding again but need tips...

[Dustyboy]

After 18 months of owning my horse and not riding him after him scaring me I have finally got back on.
We have hacked, schooled and cantered off the lunge for the first time!
I now need some tips for how to get him to be more forward and carry his head lower. I also need some more inspiration to make the schooling more fun to keep me thinking and not get nervous!
Any help you could give me would be appreciated greatly!!

 

[jenniedream]

Give yourself small manageable challenges that you know in your logical frame of mind you can do. Just one a day maybe. Write a list starting with easiest I.e. Getting on in school. Tick it off and on a wobbly day think of the little steps you have taken, not the ones in from. Look where you've come from, metaphorically speaking of course!, not where you are going. Do not think about the One Bad Experience think of the good ones, keep a picture in your head of the things you can do or the time you especially enjoyed together. Chatter or sing aloud, stop your unconscious thoughts reverting back to negativity by giving that side of your brain a task like remembering the words to a song. Have someone you trust with you in the school giving you instructions, not a lesson but more like directives. Again this will help your thought processing focus on a positive outcome. And then when you get off replay how good you have been, how far you've come and remember small steps makes big strides. You don't need luck you just need to believe in yourself - I think I can, I know I can stuff. And above all enjoy.

 

[Mylife]

Your reply made me cry, I hugely lost my confidence after my first horse, my second had to be Pts, a week after she went I was strait into riding lessons and just a month later I'm working with a filly and she isn't scaring me at all, may buy her but have plenty of time to decide, your post suits me down to the ground especially with a 2 year old to keep me busy!

As for OP well done for getting back on! My advice would be lessons, with a good instructor! To this day I will say my instructor saved me, they boost your confidence in yourself so well (if you get a good one!) my biggest fear was hacking, she had me riding on roads and across open moorland on my third lesson! And now I'm handling a 2yo like iv been doing it my whole life, we still have a long way to go but I'm full of I CAN do it, I haven't seen horses this way for such a long time, I'm enjoying them again!