Nervous Riders

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Quadro

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After a discussion with my OH about a friend who has a horse but is to frightened to ride it (its a total saint!!!) we both wondered why people that are frightened to ride/jump/hack out/xc etc do it??? just out of noseyness really, because im PETRIFIED of turkeys so i stay as far a way from them as humanly possible!!! so why do you do it to yourselves
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lol, I wouldnt have a horse if I was scared of them, and I, like you, don't see why anyone had.
But as for the jumping, hacking etc, I did hacking when it scared me, because Roo enjoys it, and because my mates were going alot. Jumping, I never planned on doing, but a friend told me Roo enjoys it, and theres no point having her if I wont let her jump, that upset me more then I would admit, so I set out to prove a point. I now enjoy it, because I trust Roo.
Obviously different people that fear different disciplines will have different reasons for doing it, but thats mine lol
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Nickie
 
Well, if you've lost your nerve, the hardest thing in the world is to get it back. It takes one bad thing, and that can wipe out any good things that have happened previously. I was terrified when I got Cheeky (on the verge of giving up all together) and when I irst jumped him, no matter what he did I was so scared I just sat there and let him do it. Luckily, he always jumped, otherwise I would have got off and given it up. It is really scary, and really really eats at you. My horse was a total saint when I got him (and, really, still is) and yet it takes some courage to get back up when it's all gone wrong.
 
I am a nervous rider and I read somewhere we all have fears, just different ones.

My nerves started from when I was a kid, I think riding instructors back then made you do things and the result was I often fell off and lost confidence. Things are different now and with a understanding instructor I have made progress.

But I love riding and now just control what horses I ride, only ride ones that plod!
 
I fell off last August and didnt ride for three months out of pure fear.

I eventually got the courage up to get back on and am back hacking out again, but havent yet cantered. I dont have my own horse though so its not so much of an issue for me.
 
I couldnt live without my horses! but am a sh*t when it comes to riding! Having trained Point to Points, excercised and schooled eventers, and used to get on anything, when i was 18 i came off xc and snapped me femur in half! 12" pin now down the length of my thigh! that was in 1992! i have ridden since have hunted since and been very careful of what i get on! then 5 yrs ago i had my little girl and boy did it knowck me for 6! i see danger like no one else! i worry what would happen to me little girl if i got injured or worse, see i over reacting! Although i have a 4 yr old mare who is away being backed and here we are, i am riding her and at the mo not got the fear!
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Just doing it all at my pace! at what i feel comfy at! Pic below! Oh an i cantered on thursday, 1st time in 4 years and boy did i feel good, i may as well have won the olympics, the feeling it gave me! lol!
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Oh that sounds brill K! I look forward to the day I get that feeling again!
I am a rather nervous rider, never used to be but since I have slipped 2 discs in my back I have been very careful and cautious to say the least. I am progressing greatly with Brian but still don't feel comfy hacking out. It isn't really due to Bri but more due to the idea that if anything does happen, I am not sure I can pull him back up... I may feel different on a smaller horse tho.
I will get there finally I think
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I think it is becasue you have this love that nce was everything good and grea and then, in y case like others above, something happens and you are scared but cannt get it out your system.

I usd to be sick at the thought of just putting rug on my boy
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, but I just took little steps and then one dy I could not make my excuses to get someone else to do it have snce found out they were pretending to have other things, so I had to do it
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I am now still a little wary, but I think of that as a good thing as it keeps me on my toes, but have recenty got back on after giving myself a god slap, and even had a canter within minute of getting on.

The one thing I found when I first got on, was I so bent over, probably trying to be as close to the ground as possible,
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I have to get on with handling the youngsters lately as other half has a seriously bad back at mo, due to broken back years ago. I dont want to put on him the responsibilty of hurting his back any further (just because i nervous) should one of them play up, not that they do, there see i have just cursed myself! lol! in the last two years i have come on leaps and bounds and will do alot more now and the more i handle the easier it gets confidence ways! I do get mad with myself if i do chicken out and have cried over it when i do get nervous as i know i am capable of sitting out that spook or pull up that horse or anything stupid!
 
Over the years I have had ups and downs.The ups have been when I had the right instructor/horse/place for me,thewrong when I didn't.Think everything right now and things are on the up again.Do it because when things are right there is absolutely nothing in this world like it.
 
I have been riding pretty much since I could walk, jumped into my teens fearlessly until two things happened, I had an accident at Broomes when I was around 13/14 which hurt my knee that led a year later to being diagonsed with Arthritis and I was told by a consultant Surgeon that I should stick to hacking and flatwork if I wanted to walk at 40!

I also had an on the ground accident that led me breaking my jaw, nearly losing my two front teeth and breaking my arm, however I carried on just hacking and flatwork throughout the years.

I am a nervous nelly especially after the birth of my two kids, I have both Arthritis and Lupus SLE (immune system attacks mucsle, tissue and poss organs) so that slows me down and makes me think and gives me pain when riding.

Trouble is I like unsuitable horses which is crazy but true, I am never scared on the ground but when riding I can be awful and my grey plays on it but we continue on. If I gave up horses I might as well give up totally and veg on the sofa all day, the horses make me carry on with life and for that I am ever thankful to them. The nervousness when riding can be a total nightmare but hey life too short!
 
I think to have some nerves isn't a bad thing - complacency is a dangerous thing, as I learned at my cost. After suffering a nasty fall earlier this year, breaking bones and shattering confidence, I hold my hands up and say I am really, really nervous about getting back on but I will and my nerves will slowly subside but probably will never go completely. Why do I do it? Because the thought of never riding my boy again is something I cannot contemplate - I shall ride him again and my nerves will not get the better of me, I love the whole scene too much. I think to true horse lovers its like the blood running through your veins, however nervous you are you just can't be without them. Sometimes wish I could, would be richer, smell nicer and OH would be so much happier.
 
I am a nervous rider, but I want to get better and do lots of different things with George as he is the horse i dreamt about for 30 yrs! If I'd let the nerves get the better of me I would never have gone to a comp or jumped him, and although it's taken a lot of baby steps we are enjoying both now.
 
B*gger the being richer, although would be nice, always dream of winning lotto but never dream of horse free life! lol! to be immaculate would be nice! Ohter half would be happier, but b*gger it give me horse sh*t anyday! lol!
 
sorry do not know your real name
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, but Kennifordstud, your horses are just lovely. The foal and the big bay are just up my street.

Keep going kid, and dont let the old nerves stand in your way
 
I have to agree with lots of the above. I was never a nervous rider until I came off and broke a vertabrae in my back. I was backing a serious 'problem' horse who ran blind with me... After this I became very nervous for a long time.

At the time I was surrounded by very unsympathetic people who were extremely negative about my fears and made me feel very bad about them. This included my boss who continued putting me on 'problem' horses which only reinforced my fears.

I ended up getting into all sorts of difficulties because I was so nervous and not able to come to terms with it - was pretending to myself and others to be fine as I was so ashamed of my nerves.

Then I moved to a yard where lots of the girls there had riding fears - despite all being very good riders - and this is completely accepted. Noone is ashamed if they 'don't like cantering on hacks' or 'don't enjoy jumping'. I was finally able to say "actually I get very nervous getting on new/unknown horses.". I still get to do it if I want to challenge myself, but no-one would expect me to canter or even trot on a new horse unless *I* want to. I have also been taught lots of techniques for relaxing both myself and the horse which has really helped.

I will finally admit now that my nerves are not (and never will be) what they used to be. But actually admitting it to myself and becoming aware of my own boundaries/limitations in a supportive environment means that I now really enjoy the riding I do and rarely feel nervous. If I do push myself, I feel nothing but excitment and satisfaction at achieving something - rather than shame and despair that I was afraid in the first place which I felt before.

On top of this my silly, sharp spooky pony has been the perfect compromise between exciting/challenging/tallented enought to keep me interested and small and sweet enough to allay my nerves.
 
Well after having the mother of all accidents last year, breaking my shoulder, fractured hip and broken ankle and a head injury that had me seeing treble for a month I am quite happy to admit that I no longer bounce and I find that thought pretty scary.

Strangely I was having this conversation today with my trainer....I am due to go on holiday to Cyprus in 2 weeks and a friend over there has asked if I want to join her for the day trail riding in the mountains......I was telling her my frustration at knowing I could not do it.....I am an instructor, used to bring on youngsters and when I lived in Cyprus had the reputation as the person not to go out with if you were of a nervous disposition as I was totally fearless.

Astrid wise old owl that she is said "ahh yes I always say the person who considers themselves fearless may have had accidents but have never been in the situation where they suddenly become aware that the horse underneath them has flipped and there is not a thing they can do about it"

This is exactly what happened to me last year.....horse had issues I had always ridden through them and one day he just flipped out and this time I could do nothing but bail.
 
OMG, chav horse, that is exactly it, I was invincable, would ride anything and come off and bounce nicly, until the dreaded day, when I only broke my hand, but was the one time I could not get back on, I even did it with a broken collar bone and arm.

Astrid is right the one time when you think s..t I was not in control is the one that gets you.

Thanks again for putting into words what I haveing been trying to sa in many emails.

Maybe we should start a ' I love my horses, but am a little bit scared' clan
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i would of thought it was obvious why you would still ride even if your scared... for the love of horses!

using the Turkey scenario... if you were scared of turkeys but still loved turkeys beyond anything else and all you wanted to do was be around Turkeys, you'd try to overcome your fear.

Basically- just because you are scared of doing somthing, doesn't mean you don't want to do it.
 
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OMG, chav horse, that is exactly it, I was invincable, would ride anything and come off and bounce nicly, until the dreaded day, when I only broke my hand, but was the one time I could not get back on, I even did it with a broken collar bone and arm.

Astrid is right the one time when you think s..t I was not in control is the one that gets you.

Thanks again for putting into words what I haveing been trying to sa in many emails.

Maybe we should start a ' I love my horses, but am a little bit scared' clan
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Yes she rather took my breath away with that one I must admit had me saying damn it woman you are a trainer not a bloody therapist
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And I am more than happy to admit that 40 years of being a cocksure rider completly dissapated in that 10 second flash of "S**t not only does he not give a toss about my safety he does not give a toss about his own and I have not a snowballs chance in hell of controlling this situation"

So this is why I trust the woman to back and bring on my youngster for me and work with me on getting my confidence back (and more importantly ability to remain calm) before she lets me anywhere near him!.....

I think the idea of a " I love my horse but have a healthy respect for my mortality" would be a great clique
 
I hold my hand up as being a nervous rider - I was never nervous in all the years i rode since a teenager, I did have one bad accident back then when I lost my nerve, but my dad made me get on his TB and gallop it up a hill and I was fine again.

it was only 3 years or so ago when I got run off with on a bloody great cobby thing and it stumbled and nearly went down on its knees, I remember thinking, this is it, I am going to break my neck and die! The cobby thing managed to regain its feet and carried on running! eventually it stopped and I got off and despite being a bit shaky, didn't think it had affected me until I went to get on another horse and I was a nervous wreck!

It has been a constant battle since that experience, I think I realised I was mortal that day.

I really want my nerve back, whats weird is that I feel fine in some situations and not others - it was only a couple of months ago that I was in egypt galloping an arab across the desert full pelt with a huge grin on my face!

but the thought of getting on a horse and hacking around the farm makes me nervous!

*sigh*
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I lost my confidence about 2 years ago. I don't think there was a major incident, just one last ride on the pony where he did one too many 'spook and run's and I just couldn't get on him again.
Luckily my mum kept him ticking over for me and curiosity got the better of me and I started simply by just sitting on him then getting off before I got scared. And built up from there really.
I think I've become a better rider for it, he can stop, spook, bolt, buck and 95% of the time it won't phase me. (It's not as bad as it sounds, it's not every ride, nor is it huge bucks, jsut protesting ones normally!)
The 5% of the time that it does bother me probably stops me becoming complacent! I still have days where my heart is in my mouth when I ride, but pony seems to haev grown up alot and ignores this most of the time.
 
I was overfaced too soon and too often - with the result I fell off a lot! As a kid, this really affected me, and I didn't really develop the confidence that other kids had (and got teased for it, making it worse!!).

I gradually gained my confidence, through riding fit polo ponies, then went to college where I was again overfaced. I didn't realise until the following summer when I went back to riding polo ponies and realised I was terrified.

I lost confidence completely and basically gave up riding for 2 years. Got back into it, and got all my confidence back - could ride most horses but wasn't keen on anything too strong.

Then I had a big fall - didn't hurt myself, but I know it was a close call (landed on my face at high speed, having been bucked off from a gallop). I didn't ride for 4.5 years.

I've been back riding for 3 months - my confidence is slowly increasing. I can ride most horses in the school, and hack out in walk/trot/canter on a quiet horse. The one thing that will make me fall apart is losing control. I'm a control freak, and I do like horses which come back to you as soon as you half halt! As long as the horse does that, I'm fine.

Why do I do it? Because I enjoy it! Each time I've taken a break, I've felt relieved for a time, but then start to miss riding. When it gets to a point I miss it so badly, I get back on (usually onto a riding school schoolmaster type, but anything that I'm assured is "quiet").
 
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