I'm going to stop being a chicken....

J

JenHunt

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14 November 2007
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...and become an ostrich!

I hate towing my trailer. I get all panicky and stressed about it. I'm not like this when I drive normally, so why do I turn into a gibbering mess as soon as the trailer gets hitched up?

Logically I have no reason - Ron loads himself, stands like a rock, waits patiently to be unloaded and peacefully strolls off the ramp. I've never had an accident whilst towing, and I've never got stuck somewhere, or got lost.

But there's always a little voice in my head that says what if... I get lost and can't turn round, or if something happens and Ron falls over/gets stuck/panics, or if someone goes into the back of the trailer, or the side of it, what if I have to brake sharply and go into the back of someone else.... the list goes on...

Yesterday the fog nearly got the better of me and I spent the 20 minutes up to the stables trying to think of reasons why I couldn't take Ron and OH hunting. But I couldn't think of anything that would sound 'reasonable'. OH knows I'm like this and was being good about it, and kept me distracted.

In the end I decided to just put my worry to one side and take them hunting. I'm not saying I was any calmer, but I managed it, despite the fog.

So that is my theory for the future... stop being a chicken, and ignore it by sticking my head in the sand.
 
Exactly how I got over my fear of jumping! Despite my horse being a fantastic jumper and me having done a fair bit of jumping in the past, I had this mental block due to him throwing in the odd buck between fences, and I have managed to think up any number of excuses not to jump.
SO last year I went to an rc jumping rally and decided NOT to even look at the fences. Just look up, not at them at all. The instructor asked me, 'is that too big?' and I said I don't know I haven't looked at it. Worked a treat! Flew over everything.

Ostrich is definitely the best plan. Ignore the scary things!
 
well done you for going ahead. long term you have a few options! you could go on a trailer course to boost your confidence. you could get a lorry. you could get the OH to do the towing! i can tow well but i cant reverse so i solved the problem by getting a nice lorry! and have a nice little car to get from A to B. so no need to run a gas guzzler.
 
I did my trailer test about 5 years ago, purely because I wanted to hunt twice a week but couldn't hack to all of them. I'm quite capable of reversing/turning around the trailer, it's purely a mental block!

OH is planning on taking his towing test, but everytime he has some time to do it, something crops up financially! (boiler broke this time, and one of the cars died the time before!).

We've looked at buying a lorry and running two small cars, but as I only commute 6 miles, it hardly makes any difference!

so, I'm stuck with it for the time being, hence the ostrich appraoch! :)
 
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