jumping - what the frickles is wrong with me?

russianhorse

russianhorse

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As title really


What the frickles is wrong that I have a mental block so can't jump

Went for a lovely hack today with my YO. We passed the great little XC course she had built and asked if I was tempted to have a go over a couple of the log ones, as she was going to pop over a couple

I decided, yep I'm going to go for it and then could feel myself pulling him up and clamping - so he shifted off to the side instead

What the heck is wrong with me - why do I suddenly get so scared. I feel hes going too fast or will suddenly stop and yet I know I'm causing those things to happen.

I look at the jump rather than ahead, feel myself get unbalanced and just fear it so much but it's just upsetting me so much :(

Even my instructor gets frustrated by me but not as much as I do myself aaaaaargh
 
I completely feel your pain! I have huge confidence issues which does not help my horses sensitive disposition! I know I can do it (and have done it for years and years) but after a string of nasty falls my confidence is shattered. I have even been for hypnotherapy to try and fix it!

Sorry I dont have anything useful to add, but please dont think you are alone in feeling this! It takes a long time to build up confidence but it can dissappear in a flash.

I will be following this with great interest for any advice people have.

PS I have seen an event advertised on facebook with a day full of demos and clinics for building confidence. I dont know too much about it but it sounds interesting, I will have a look for it. :)
 
Fool proof plan. Get a week off work, and organise a week of jumping lessons. My wonderful RI did this for me and she started with poles on the ground, and took me up so gently that I hardly realised it, and by the end of the week I was jumping 2 foot (biggest I had jumped for 40 years). It is absolutely a matter of tiny steps and lots of repetition. Unfortunately I need to repeat the week as I then got injured (not horse related) and have lost confidence again. But it was fun and I'm looking forward to it!! Go for it OP and all you other jumpaphobes. :)
 
Found it... No idea what its like but I think i may pop along as it isnt far from me

http://www.totalconfidencelive.co.uk/whats-on

One thing you could try, which works for me is watch someone more experienced jump your horse. Even if its only small. It is great for me as it means my horse is given confidence from a more advanced rider and I know that she is perfectly capable, so feel better about jumping her myself. Also gives you a goal to aim for when you see a more advanced rider making your horse look like Hello Sanctos!
 
My fool proof plan would be to go out and get drunk, wake up with a hangover then try it. I've felt to horrendous in the past to be worried about it, annoyingly he always jumps well when I'm like this too! :)
 
Not necessarily an easy or quick fix but time, effort, good instruction and building up slow and steady I would say. Don't overface yourself but start off with just poles, for as long as you need, and work up slowly. I'd start in the school if you have access, as I suspect you'll feel more in control than out in the open xc. Maybe try some confidence courses, books (e.g. the chimp paradox which is apparently v helpful for this type of thing), NLP. I've worked through some of these and have def improved over time. Lessons has really been the key for me (and having a good horse).
 
Another here that could have written your OP, OP!

I find that a few private lessons, a good instructor, and starting from something small and simple, which doesn't get my nerves twitching as much really helps. Then I build on it. Take the pressure off and make it fun for a bit. Stop feeling you HAVE to do what others expect of you, take a deep breath, and then make it your mission to just start enjoying it again and to get some confidence back.

Having had a horse that use to dump me in front of poles and the smallest of fences (yes really), I started SMALL. I did lots of polework, just simple trotting poles, then canter poles. The in another lesson, some of the poles were raised off the ground (mere inches, but felt like Burghley to me!), then we moved onto a small cross pole, then a grid of cross poles, before progressing to something a bit bigger and moving to completing a small but simple course with confidence. I felt more balanced and safer in trot, so exercises were done out of trot, and then progressed to canter, but it was all done with the aim of building on my confidence from the last lesson, and with also challenging my horses ability (the pole and gridwork really helped to get her thinking about her feet and legs, and also made her 'wait' than to rush... perhaps if you feel out of control in your approaches some gridwork and polework could also help with this?

I am not saying you need to start this small, but a lesson that builds on baby steps, and installs confidence in you and your horse really is worth the investment!
 
I'm another who definitely recommends lessons! I hadn't jumped since selling my pony two years ago and my share is only suitable for happy hacking. Now as much as I love this, I realised I needed to get jumping again before I totally lost my bottle! I now go for weekly lessons at a riding school and my instructor has worked wonders, in just two months I'm jumping bigger and better than I have for a really long time. I started off cantering over poles and tiny cross bars whilst my instructor would chat away gradually increasing the height without me really noticing. Every week I finish my lesson with the biggest grin on my face and count down the days until my next lesson.

I don't know your horse so this might not be necessary but maybe you could start with a few lessons on a schoolmaster at a riding school and then move onto having lessons on your own? Just a suggestion :) Either way, I was a total bag of nerves not that long ago and now I'm flying so I feel confident in saying you'll be able to overcome this!
 
Thank you everyone - it makes me feel loads better I'm not the only one.

I did think maybe a riding school would be the answer, as my coblet is only 6. That's another reason I get frustrated, because I don't want to ruin him either.

Alternatively I was thinking just trotting poles and twice a week (or even Daily) I'll just pop over them so they become second nature ie after a schooling session with him or after a hack etc
.
or find another instructor that just deals with jumping?

Hypnotherapy definitely cropped up in my list initially lol


What annoyed me the most today was that as we rode past them, I commented how they weren't as big as I thought I felt the confidence grow in me and thought "yeah I'm going to have a go at them soon because I can do them" and yet as I was riding towards them, I swear I watched them grow, so in my head they were no longer logs, but massive hedges. How messed up is that??
 
russianhorse said:
What annoyed me the most today was that as we rode past them, I commented how they weren't as big as I thought I felt the confidence grow in me and thought "yeah I'm going to have a go at them soon because I can do them" and yet as I was riding towards them, I swear I watched them grow, so in my head they were no longer logs, but massive hedges. How messed up is that??
Click to expand...

Yep, they are ALWAYS smaller and less scary when you don't have to jump em. PMA and all that :-) Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
russianhorse said:
What annoyed me the most today was that as we rode past them, I commented how they weren't as big as I thought I felt the confidence grow in me and thought "yeah I'm going to have a go at them soon because I can do them" and yet as I was riding towards them, I swear I watched them grow, so in my head they were no longer logs, but massive hedges. How messed up is that??
Click to expand...

Haha - I have a variation on this: when i have done a (tiny, most of the other competitors were under 6 years old!) xc course, I tell myself that if I can jump it on foot I can jump it on my horse. So when I walk the course I stagger over the jumps. Also helps that my little dog enjoys jumping too and she also inspires me!!
 
I used to do this. :)

Find a good 'adult' (the more mature ones.. usually have other things on the side like livery yard) riding school that has schoolmasters and tell them you are very nervous jumping or better still on your own horse.. something hardly off the ground, hold a neck strap, sing and look straight ahead of you. :)
 
Op I feel your pain. I'm currently going through single fence/course issues. I can jump a grid with the final jump being over a meter but I'm struggling to jump a single fence or non grid course even at 30cm - 70cm. I tense up and forget to ride, to hold the reins and steer the horse. A neck strap set a little further up the neck has been a god send. Just jump what you feel comfortable with, don't listen to others who say you should jump bigger. I constantly get told my horse is clearly capable of jumping bigger so why am I jumping so tiny! Just because he's 17.2hh (I think he's really 14.2hh!) doesn't make the jumps seem any smaller.
My next step is to take rescue remedy or gin before I jump, hopefully it'll chill me out!
Good luck with your jumping :)
 
I haven't jumped for years as the hacking around here's flat and boring and I didn't have access to a school. But when I did jump with my first horse (he loved jumping and was brilliant at it), I found myself getting fixated on THE JUMP. My mind didn't go anywhere past THE JUMP and I got myself in a pickle, partly because my instructor used to put the jumps higher and higher and I didn't feel capable.

So I used to make myself think of something in front of the jump... say a tree in the distance and fix that as my objective. I found that by thinking 'oh we need to go towards the tree and oh by the way, just pop over the little jump en route', this would help me mentally think beyond the jump so it wasn't the be all and end all. It wasn't a complete cure, but it helped a lot. Hope this helps you too:-)
 
Yep me too. If I can jump it, it's easy peasy for the horse ! I think I'm guilty of thinking how much effort I'd need to get over the jump, forgetting how much easier it is for the horse, they really do just pop over them nearly having to put any effort it - the size I jump anyway!

Tobiano said:
Haha - I have a variation on this: when i have done a (tiny, most of the other competitors were under 6 years old!) xc course, I tell myself that if I can jump it on foot I can jump it on my horse. So when I walk the course I stagger over the jumps. Also helps that my little dog enjoys jumping too and she also inspires me!!
Click to expand...
 
Cobbytype said:
I haven't jumped for years as the hacking around here's flat and boring and I didn't have access to a school. But when I did jump with my first horse (he loved jumping and was brilliant at it), I found myself getting fixated on THE JUMP. My mind didn't go anywhere past THE JUMP and I got myself in a pickle, partly because my instructor used to put the jumps higher and higher and I didn't feel capable.

So I used to make myself think of something in front of the jump... say a tree in the distance and fix that as my objective. I found that by thinking 'oh we need to go towards the tree and oh by the way, just pop over the little jump en route', this would help me mentally think beyond the jump so it wasn't the be all and end all. It wasn't a complete cure, but it helped a lot. Hope this helps you too:-)
Click to expand...

That's me - all I focus on is the THE JUMP and so it all goes wrong - i give the signals to my poor coblet "okay let's do it like we mean it........Here it comes......oh well if you want to jump that's okay.......actually if you don't want to jump that's okay.........oh man I'm not even sure we should do this" and bamb, I grip so much I forget to steer and keep him straight, and before i know it we've lost it as he rushes to the left. My RI tells me I should just line up and then look at the tree in the distance but it's impossible

I wouldn't even mind my legs being tied to the saddle but everyone thinks I'm bonkers. It's not like I'm not a bit of a daredevil either - I think nothing of hopping onto any horse and giving it a good gallop across the country side, but give me a jump that even my hamster can jump, and I'm a shaking breathless mixed signalled mess :(

I'm thinking that maybe a good drink up before hand may be the answer - at least I'd very so blotto that o could forget I even wanted to jump in the first place lol


Thank you all for your replies, I truly am grateful x
 
Have you had other people jump him? Do you think it might be easier if you get someone else to jump,him for a while, get his confidence up, you know he's done it, then you can get on? Def worked when I was having some issues xc with my last horse.
 
No, I haven't had anyone jump him for me - I keep my boys on a farm, the lady I rent from only has the confidence to jump on her horse and my RI thinks we should just do it together
 
Oops posted too soon
Including flying over ditches.
I booked a weeks holiday at castle Leslie in ireland . 3 hrs a day of jumping lessons for 5 days, by the end a 2'6 course was a breeze.
Its doing it daily for several days & building up that helped me. Was then happy to bring on my mares jumping
 
w1bbler said:
Oops posted too soon
Including flying over ditches.
I booked a weeks holiday at castle Leslie in ireland . 3 hrs a day of jumping lessons for 5 days, by the end a 2'6 course was a breeze.
Its doing it daily for several days & building up that helped me. Was then happy to bring on my mares jumping
Click to expand...

Ooh lovely - I keep looking at the Castle Leslie website; I'd love to go but can't afford it at the moment, but it's definitely top of my wish list:-)
 
Bernster said:
Have you had other people jump him? Do you think it might be easier if you get someone else to jump,him for a while, get his confidence up, you know he's done it, then you can get on? Def worked when I was having some issues xc with my last horse.
Click to expand...


I found when I was having a mega-confidence crisis jumping that watching other people jump my horse helped hugely as it reassured me that it was me and not the horse struggling to do something he wasn't capable of. Like you I'd ride to a fence and then stop riding at the crucial moment so the horse basically did what he felt like. With my old roan boy that was stop!. I'm a lot more confident now and Samuel is far more honest than Ronan ever was but I still have a horrible habit of fixating on one particular fence in a course whether it be XC or SJ (my boy loves both!) A patient instructor helps a lot. Mine has the patience of a saint and he is also very good at NOT letting me wimp out when he knows it well within my capability. But I do know how it feels to ride to a fence with zero confidence. I'm sure you'll get there though part of it's simply wanting to enough :)
 
What about looking at your local riding clubs? Mine is the other side of the country to you so sadly no help, but we run regular "Jump With Confidence" clinics for those that are inexperienced / lack confidence / young horse etc.
There are a number of ladies that have gone from poles on the ground to confidently jumping courses and show great progression. Working in a group of people that have a similar mindset with a firm but fair instructor seems to have done wonders for them :)
 
Amanda Kirtland-Page has a brilliant CD to help. Lucinda Green's xc riding book is my favourite for any sort of jumping. Her techniques make you feel safe and confident that you can dictate what happens over the jump. And her best advice which I just love is if you are riding at a fence that scares you just look over the top and don't stop kicking until you've landed! Seriously though, practise looking over the fence - it really helps the jumps look smaller and ride the canter rythm not the jump - leave that to pony. I have found all these techniques help because I'm a complete wooss!
 
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