Nervous riders. ...

When I was teaching I had an entire family come for a private lesson every week. Dad was over-confident, rude and extremely demanding, little boy was rapidly growing up in exactly the same mould and mum was blatently terrified. Just getting her trotting independently was a major achievement. I suspect her husband simply expected her to join in and his word was law. I did ask her once why she did it if she was so terrified and said I wouldn't go parachuting as I was terrified of falling, but she couldn't really give me an answer. I did feel sorry for her though.
 
I am only nervous on new horses, I can cope with a bit of greenness or spooks but if they really played up them type of horses are not for me. I have recently bought a new horse and too be fair I am very nervous of her still, its the not knowing her or what her reactions in certain situations will be.
My older mare who I have had for years is not a novice ride in the respect she can be strong and is very leg responsive so if an unbalnced rider gripped she would be going faster and faster, however I adore her, but I was nervous of her too at the beginning. When trying new horses I go very novicy and nervous, and if I am honest if an horse continually made me nerous I would sell on and find another who did not.
 
What is it they say .............. we are all only one ride away from being nervous?

I am not sure how old you are OP, but when I was in my teens and twenties, I would have, and did get on pretty much anything. The more they mucked about and the flashier they were, the better!!!

I did go through a stage of being absolutely terrified. I bought a very sensitive 4 year old appaloosa who bronced me off good and proper (and previously I had owned two ex race horses who were quirky, but fine), and he did scare me with his unpredictability.

I still own him. I know that some days he will be very silly and fly buck on the road and leap about on tracks, and sometimes he will be very sensible. Possibly he wasn't the most sensible horse to own at 45 years old, but we are getting there.

I did have a conversation many years ago with a young friend who was working at a racing yard. She was extremely bright and I suggested that whilst at 19 she was happy riding breakers and nutters, in another 20 years she might not be so happy doing that, and maybe she should actually study for the law degree that she was bright enough to achieve and buy her own horse to event on when she was earning enough money to buy a decent horse.

She is now 26, is in her last year of law, and when I last spoke to her a couple of weeks ago, agreed I had been right and even at 26 she really didn't want to ride nutters anymore.

So I would say age figures greatly in it all!!
 
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