please reassure me that fast doesnt=disaster

J

JLD

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I am SUCH a wimp. I am so very scared of my horse I dont know why I have one, having not cantered out for nearly 3 years I am just starting to try again. first time - huge buck nearly out the front door but clung on. fine at the time - ever since the what if's have kicked in. next time lovely little bouncy buck nice slow canter. 3rd time big leap with no legs on ground - not quite sure what but quite comfy then warp speed 16.3 irish cob just on the edge of out of control followed by a very excited and jumpy ride home with several attempts to tank off. I think I am too scared to try again. other people ride him and think he is fin till he has a moment then they dont want to ride him anymore - this doesnt help my confidence either. usualy he is the laziest boy ever and wont even canter in the school, can be spooky and act about 4 even though he is 14 but he is never nasty and I usually have no problems sitting his antics.

Help - I am dreading the weekend as have to ride again. he is turned out loads and cant ride in week due to work and baby at present
 
Firstly your not a wimp!!!! A couple of years ago I almost sold my horse because I was petrified of him. You basically need help from a confidence giving instructor who is a decent rider and will get on him for you. It is horrible when you lose confidence its a vicious circle that is very hard to get out of. Basically what I did is I had two weeks off from work and my instructor rode my horse every morning with me watching then I had a lesson in the afternoon. It was expensive and hard work but worth it!!!! as I am comletely cured. However sometimes you cannot get over the fear in this case Im afraid it is best to dissolve the partnership as it won't do either of you any good.:)
 
I agree with above, get a good confident instructor. Also any chnace you can ride something else out that wont buck just so you realise you can be in control?
On the other hand being 16.3 is a slight issue as having no confidence with something so big can be much more difficult to deal with. I hope you gte your confidence back however if you find it too difficult and dread the thought of riding dont be afraid to sell and get something more suited to you. It is not a weakness to sell it shows you are sensible.
Good luck
 
It sounds awful but I really dont think anyone would buy him - I have seriously thought about this. any purchaser would want to try him in the school and he is awful - he can do it we have done some quite successfull prelim dressage, but he just doesnt want to and with anyone other than me in the school he is much much worse, we have had some very patient and good instuctors who have really worked with us but at the end of the day it was making us both miserable. so we are left with hacking. slowly.
 
Assuming he hasn't got anything up with saddle etc then the more you do this the better it will be.

See if you can get someone out with you, even on foot to keep you calm and give you reassurance.

I cantered a new horse out in a field next to a road (unfenced but all we have) for the first time at the weekend. Legs are /way/ more stiff than they should be because I was nervous to start with which obviously wasn't great for the horse. But we did it. And we enjoyed it :-)

Having a baby will give you a new perspective on life. If you don't want to ride until child is more self-sufficient you don't have to. You can always get a sharer.

But really, you should be fine.
 
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Mucho sympathy and NO you are not a wimp. He's a big un and who wants to have an issue at speed. I had mine buck during a gallop (seemed like a strange waste of energy to me!!) but it certainly made me think a bit. Thankfully hasn't happened again since.

Can you school in a field on grass - if he's a little more forward going out and about you might be able to use this to school with and if you are concentrating on schooling then you might not feel so nervous.
 
I know exactly how you feel....i have a 16.1 that i have been riding since last September and as yet i haven't cantered him while out on a hack. This seems really silly as i love his canter when schooling in the field. It has to do with a past horse bolting with me, now i'm too afraid to do it again, poor horse would be good to have some fun with him. I can only think of one area that is up hill to take him on and *cross fingers* will build myself up to do it one day soon.

Take it onew step at a time, after a few hacking probs recently i've found that it is best to go back to basics, build confidence and trust between you and take your time, there's no rush as you will have plenty time in the future to be happy and enjoy your hacks out and what you do on them.
 
I think we've all been where you are at some point! Mine was 2 years ago. Daughter and her nutter took off at a (requested) gallop and My big girl started bucking, got herseld into a tizz and after several, increasingly big bucks, I exited via the side door onto VERY hard stones. It took a year before I would canter her again and that was behind a safe slow cob on the homeward track! I had the biggest grin on my face when I got home and I didn't need to tell my daughter what I'd done. I still have to be brave to canter but we're getting there!

Anyway, I fully agree with a confidence giving instructor, taking things slowly (ie:at YOUR pace) but I would also suggest 'bridging' your reins while you're out. I found this calmed me and made me feel more confident.

Have you looked at his food regime? I ask because we discovered that my daughters Ginger Ninja cannot tolerate mollasses. It sends him loopy. Thankfully we found out and he's much, much calmer!

Let us know how you get on! He's worth it!
 
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