Rider confidence course

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Hjpia

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I am due next week to attend the rider confidence course at "Centre of Horseback Combat"!! (anywhere with a name like that has got to be worth a visit surely?...)
Does anyone have any experience of it? Apparently they use stunt horses to let you practice falls at a canter and how to stay on rearing horses and falling horses. The rearing is of particular interest to me as I have never (thankfully) experienced rearing as a rider but live in fear of it which stops me being sufficiently 'bossy' on my mare out hacking when we come across something she thinks is scary. She has been known to rear so I am right to be prepared. Knowing what one feels like and what to do will be a boost to my confidence in itself - albeit that I'm sure rearing 'in anger' is a far more sudden event than the staged rear on-command that the stunt horses do.
Any reviews will be welcome - failing that I'll report back after next week
 
My daughter and two friends did the Intro to trick riding there last week. The venue and facilities are really nice - and I would highly recommend the red lion pub just on the outskirts of the estate. Their breakfast was wonderful - although possibly regretted by the lass who then had to vault on and hang off the saddle etc! The staff were really nice. I felt the horses were a bit passive - but given that the riders were vaulting on and off, hanging off the saddle etc probably better than than anything else!

The confidence course is different obviously but I was very impressed with the set up and the professionalism. Look forward to reading your review!
 
I've been on the confidence course there, lovely people and well worth it for me. It was nice to be around others that had had confidence issues too as everyone on the course supported each other. You do the practice falling off a wooden horse onto a mat which sounds silly but it's still really hard to do! Hope you enjoy!
 
On the Up said:
I've been on the confidence course there, lovely people and well worth it for me. It was nice to be around others that had had confidence issues too as everyone on the course supported each other. You do the practice falling off a wooden horse onto a mat which sounds silly but it's still really hard to do! Hope you enjoy!
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Thanks both, I will report back!
Is it true that you get to practice rearing on a real horse? Also there's hypnotherapy ... I'm already a bit embarrassed... What was that like?
 
Yes, you do get to practise rearing on a real horse! The horses rear on command (the instructors sort that out for you) and it really is a useful lesson - basically, on how pulling on the reins is just about the worse thing you can do. I was really scared about the rearing but it actually ended up being one of the best bits of the day!
The other thing I've found very useful is the exercise where you deliberately put yourself out of balance, the idea being that you can move to restore the balance and don't have to commit to the fall. I think that this was one of the techniques that saved me from a potential fall a few weeks ago.
There are some things they can't do using real horses for insurance reasons - falling off is one of them (but the gym horse exercise is very good for technique) and the other is how to cope if your horse goes down on its side. They do demonstrate this with their horses (who will go down on their sides on command!) and discuss the techniques with you, so still very useful.
For the hypnotherapy sessions you are all together sitting in the room while the instructor talks you through the thing. It's not embarrassing at all really.
We really enjoyed the day...the interesting thing is that some of the techniques have come in useful quite a while after the course (it was about 18 months ago).
 
Thanks Nancykitt! I can't wait! It is exactly what I need! I definitely reach a point when falling off at speed to give up and just face the inevitable crunch...
 
A friend of might used to work there and cannot speak more highly of them. She suggested I went there following a fall where I started having panic attacks when riding - I decided on hypnosis locally as it was more convenient and I knew my problems were sub-conscious. Enjoy your time there
 
It was absolutely fantastic! I wish I could do it again it was so much fun! Rearing those beautiful Andalusians and hurling ourselves into crash mats! If anyone is even vaguely considering it - definitely book it! They change your perspective and teach a lot about riding a napping horse, rearing horse, falling horse - how to fall safely. I now feel a lot more prepared for my mares tantrums and she knows I'm not scared of her anymore and is already behaving better!
 
One day I am going to go back and do the whole day. Just after the hypnotherapy bit I got a call to say my horse was showing signs of atypical myopathy (my other horse had died of it a few days earlier ) so I had to leave. Was very impressed by the hypnotherapy bit & just that bit really helped me.
 
Hjpia said:
It was absolutely fantastic! I wish I could do it again it was so much fun! Rearing those beautiful Andalusians and hurling ourselves into crash mats! If anyone is even vaguely considering it - definitely book it! They change your perspective and teach a lot about riding a napping horse, rearing horse, falling horse - how to fall safely. I now feel a lot more prepared for my mares tantrums and she knows I'm not scared of her anymore and is already behaving better!
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hairycob said:
One day I am going to go back and do the whole day. Just after the hypnotherapy bit I got a call to say my horse was showing signs of atypical myopathy (my other horse had died of it a few days earlier ) so I had to leave. Was very impressed by the hypnotherapy bit & just that bit really helped me.
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Ooh sounds interesting. I have a pathological fear of falling off, despite the fact that I rarely do and have been lucky enough not to have a serious injury. And of course now I'm paranoid that I'm going to plop off next ride. I like the idea of hypno - had one session a while back and def seemed to help but I felt like I needed more, although horse was off work for a while so never went back. I've seen this advertised on FB, so might think about it for next year maybe.
 
Do it Bernster - sounds like you'd love it. They are such lovely people. I went for the rearing and hadn't really thought about the falling side of things but really found falling practice useful - the good news is that the faster you're going the less the fall is likely to hurt you (falls from stand or walk are the most likely to do damage!) - for me it was fear of the unknown that had turned 'rearing' into a sort of terrifying 'certain death' scenario in my head. My horse does rear (although never so far with me) so I knew I had to be ready. They are a team of professional stunt riders (coool!!!!) and at the outset they make an interesting point; they do falls from galloping horses for filming multiple times in a session and they don't get hurt. They fall on real ground with no body protectors and get back on do it for take 2...3...4. So now I know how to fall and roll I'm ever so slightly almost (ish) looking forward to the next time I fall to put my new skills into practice...
Google 'Centre of horseback combat' - their websites a bit crap though - don't let it put you off
 
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