Nervous rider - what actually works?

Dwyran_gold said:
this lady makes YouTube videos every Friday for confidence issues. She specialises in creating confidence in horse riders and she has also advertised a free web chat thing she does for confidence. Might be worth a look xx

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Sorry totally off subject I have watched this lady before riding her own horses, I must say that horse doesn't look right behind it doesn't track up once in trot.
 
Alibear said:
Personally I like Karl Greenwoods approach and I've got his book, been to a talk, and done the rider confidence day which for me really was a quick 1 day cure and its been nearly a year now and I'm still good.
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I was going to do this course as my confidence has never totally come back since my horse fell on me and broke my ankle 2 years ago.

Would you really recommend ?
 
Pinkvboots said:
I was going to do this course as my confidence has never totally come back since my horse fell on me and broke my ankle 2 years ago.

Would you really recommend ?
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Yes I absolutely would, I've found very few things that just work, but this did for me. He's got a lot of videos on Facebook / YouTube so it might be worth watching a few so you can see his style.
 
NLP session with hypnotherapy followed by a session on a mechanical horse, a few schoolmaster lessons and a new horse - sold the one making me nervous as I realised we just weren't right for each other. I still get nervous but no way near as bad as before.
 
Pinkvboots said:
Sorry totally off subject I have watched this lady before riding her own horses, I must say that horse doesn't look right behind it doesn't track up once in trot.
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I haven’t watched her but see her confidence boosting advertisements all the time in between my guilty pleasure that is Matt Harnacke videos ??
 
forumuser123 said:
Only discovered Natasha's YouTube channel a week ago but have found the videos really helpful and feel I am making some improvement already. Also did the free web class via her Your Riding Success Facebook page which I found very useful.
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the reviews I’ve read of her have been amazing. Sometimes it just takes someone to put your own thoughts in to prospective. Xx
 
Pinkvboots said:
I was going to do this course as my confidence has never totally come back since my horse fell on me and broke my ankle 2 years ago.

Would you really recommend ?
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Yes- and I am a bit of am expert on confidence courses!! The approach is basically believe you can deal with more than you think, train yourself and your horse to limit the risk and if it happens realise it was a one off and how to learn from it to manage the risk in future. Or that’s how I saw it. For me learning you could sit on a rearing horse and still control your thoughts and reactions was a game changer!!
 
I had an incident in October where the horse I was riding slipped in the mud and fell on me. I can't remember the accident. At first I was fine riding her again but as time has gone by I have become more and more anxious to the point I have swapped to a different horse. Luckily I ride at a riding school and do have a choice of horses. My instructor has made me realise that this is fine and not a problem but in my head I feel I am failing. I have to work my way through this but sometimes I can't see how. I have lovely friends I hack with who are taking things at my pace but I so want to be me again. Sorry this turned in to a self pitying post but I understand where you are. Good luck
 
Pinkvboots said:
Sorry totally off subject I have watched this lady before riding her own horses, I must say that horse doesn't look right behind it doesn't track up once in trot.
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I watched this video. The horse looks unhappy especially in week 7. I was not sure if it was the instructor riding a spooky horse to demonstrate in a lesson or a client on their own spooky horse having confidence lessons. Whichever, I would have been looking at why the horse was spooky if it was still struggling by week 7 and whether it had a problem other than a nervous rider.
 
canteron said:
Yes- and I am a bit of am expert on confidence courses!! The approach is basically believe you can deal with more than you think, train yourself and your horse to limit the risk and if it happens realise it was a one off and how to learn from it to manage the risk in future. Or that’s how I saw it. For me learning you could sit on a rearing horse and still control your thoughts and reactions was a game changer!!
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That really does make sense I think my biggest fear is the horse falling again on top of me, I am looking into doing a confidence course at the horse combat centre, they teach you how to fall and deal with rearing and spooking, I think this will really help me get to grips with how I feel.
 
paddy555 said:
I watched this video. The horse looks unhappy especially in week 7. I was not sure if it was the instructor riding a spooky horse to demonstrate in a lesson or a client on their own spooky horse having confidence lessons. Whichever, I would have been looking at why the horse was spooky if it was still struggling by week 7 and whether it had a problem other than a nervous rider.
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I actually don't think it's really spooking it looks more like napping and not looking happy to go forward, and I don't think it is much of an improvement as the weeks go on at all.
 
Cavalier said:
I had an incident in October where the horse I was riding slipped in the mud and fell on me. I can't remember the accident. At first I was fine riding her again but as time has gone by I have become more and more anxious to the point I have swapped to a different horse. Luckily I ride at a riding school and do have a choice of horses. My instructor has made me realise that this is fine and not a problem but in my head I feel I am failing. I have to work my way through this but sometimes I can't see how. I have lovely friends I hack with who are taking things at my pace but I so want to be me again. Sorry this turned in to a self pitying post but I understand where you are. Good luck
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God this sounds so like me I get quite upset with myself because of my lack of confidence it's very frustrating, I really long to be the rider I was it's so hard isn't it.
 
Primmula said:
Hi everyone

Basically I am a nervous, shaking, sweating wreck when it comes to riding my horse. I KNOW that it's me with the problem, my lad has had others ride him in the school and hacking and he's been fab. In the past we've hacked, schooled, been to the beach and everything together, but now I am so scared that the worst is going to happen to me/him/everyone around us that it has crippled me.

Have you ever been in this situation? What has helped you overcome such extreme fear?
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yup but only recently last few years are two bad accidents, i take CBD oil, as without it i stress in my head about riding my mare going to try rescue remedy and been told rescue remedy pastels are good
 
Time is really what will give you both confidence, even if it is just standing in the field with the horse they will form a bond. I purchased a horse from someone who gave confidence courses that was too strong for them, there is no off the peg solution.
 
In 2015 I had a bad fall and fractured four thoracic vertebra
It took me six months to get back on and luckily my pony of a lifetime came back into work to help me. I had full confidence on her and eventually was able to ride my other mare again. Roll on to 2019 and I had bought a safe 13.2 which I was feeling safer on. On June 28th for no reason she took off bronking and swerved right and I came off and was dragged. I was seriously injured and in plaster for twelve weeks arm and leg. I don't remember the impact as I was knocked out and I was able to get on in Nov but I have now gone backwards in that I have made no further progress. I can get on with help and have been led round a twenty metre circle but I am getting more scared each time! Any helpful suggestions?
 
blodwyn1 said:
In 2015 I had a bad fall and fractured four thoracic vertebra
It took me six months to get back on and luckily my pony of a lifetime came back into work to help me. I had full confidence on her and eventually was able to ride my other mare again. Roll on to 2019 and I had bought a safe 13.2 which I was feeling safer on. On June 28th for no reason she took off bronking and swerved right and I came off and was dragged. I was seriously injured and in plaster for twelve weeks arm and leg. I don't remember the impact as I was knocked out and I was able to get on in Nov but I have now gone backwards in that I have made no further progress. I can get on with help and have been led round a twenty metre circle but I am getting more scared each time! Any helpful suggestions?
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Horrible story, poor you - but my suggestion would to change your focus - back off the riding and become the best on the ground person you can - then slowly take you in hand work onto the horse. I am currently working through the TRT method as I want a confident non spooky horse but in the past have studied clicker, agility, NH, classical in hand etc etc. If I have any nerves at all I may spend half an hour on the ground and then ride for as long as I want to. I am slowly getting the most bendy confident, voice controlled horse ever who when I ride is just fab ( and this is a horse I had a horrible fall from).
 
I can completely sympathize, I have a major confidence crisis with my gelding who I've had 10 years, backed and broke myself and only ever come off twice, neither time serious nor his fault, hes faultless to hack and bombproof in the heaviest traffic yet since having my second child at some point I developed major confidence issues with him! And it is mostly just him but for absolutely no reason whatsoever because hes never done anything wrong but I suddenly can not bare to ride him!? For my own sanity I gave up trying to push myself because everytime I do I have a melt down and it massively effects him because he takes his confidence from the rider, how has a loaner who does everything with him.

I think what I'm trying to say is, why are you pushing yourself so hard if it only makes you feel worse? It's ok not to click with a horse for whatever reason and maybe it's time you think about loaning/selling rather than continue to struggle and get yourself something that fills you with confidence?
 
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