Jumping confidence crisis-any ideas??

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Helli.c

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My last loan pony was an amazing welsh sec.D he could jump just about anything but he was reall nervy and spooky. We started off fine but as we started doing bigger jumps he spooked more and I started to fall off more and more. Now he has just been sold and I have been left unable to jump because I am too scared, it really upsets me, jumping used to be my life but now my legs shake just looking at a tiny cross pole, and it's not just on my old pony-I'm too scared to jump on any horse at any height :( any ideas how to regain my confidence and enjoy jumping again?????????? Thanks :D
 
Echo the instructor. But personally I get confidence from watching someone else jump the horse. I can then see that he is being good. Then I have a go.
I've only just this week started jumping my new horse myself. Started with a cross pile on Wednesday and despite him being an angel I bottled it and didn't jump anymore. I went away and it sank in that we had done it, he had been good. So Friday I jumped a few more, including an upright. I will continue to build on it slowly :)
Good luck and remember sometimes if we really want to do something despite the fear we just have to force ourselves :)
 
Hi, I just wanted to suggest an exercise to you which I think may help, it's works just as good for the nervous horse but as we all know our own fears transfer to our horse.

Set up canter poles with the first and 3rd pole with a wing either side, canter through recognising your striding once you are comfortable with this take your first and middle pole placing a small cross say 2/3 holes up 1if you prefer use your third pole for a tiny up right of course just adjusting the wings a couple extra paces for a correct double.

Ride this through feeling the canter, remembering at all times to keep you leg on and head up in order to give your horse that extra confidence and not to fall heavy on thier fore, in turn because you have your leg on you should feel no fear of a refusal/sudden stop.

Ride this through if you feel confident raise each fence a hole or 2 higher but see how you go.

This is coming from me who lost my confidence jumping completly I mean I would cry at a 1ft fence and now my mare who was going clear last year lacking In Confidence this winter so I did this exercise with her last night but like I said works just as well with a confidence lacking rider.

Good luck, alternatively set up a course using the same process with ground poles in between your wings and raise as and when. Also my mare is very sharp but she loves this exercise to get her thinking ill do th exercise up to 2'6ish but then I can pop it up to 3ft plus and she will not change her approach, its a great learning great process
 
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But do you really have to jump? I don't see why you would want to do something that is making you so uncomfortable. Isn't it better to just accept that you don't want to do it and focus on something you feel more positive about? Riding is meant to be fun, not something that scares you!
 
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