Total loss of confidence riding my horse

[HattieQueenofHearts]

This is my first post so here goes...

I had been riding my pony for a year before I bought her but the last few months she has become extremely unpredictable when riding her. She is only 5 and is a rescue with a troubled past but she was such an angel for such a long time then just after Christmas she started bolting in the school randomly. Would literally be so calm, head stretched down and holding the buckle, then the next minute would switch completely...

I love her so much and will do anything for her. We do a LOT of groundwork and she is perfect on the ground but completely switches as soon as I get on her. She has had everything checked and nothing is wrong.

I have started by bringing a friend down & lunging her then getting on her whilst my friend holds the lunge line whilst leading us round but I don't want to be scared of riding my own horse, she was perfect before and I don't know why she has started behaving like this with me on. It's like she forgets it's me the second I get on.

Help please!

 

[milliepops]

Horses don't randomly just start to be naughty or difficult, when they've previously been easy to do stuff with. When you say she has had everything checked, exactly what do you mean?

 

[HattieQueenofHearts]

Well she has never been totally easy to ride but wasn’t as silly as she’s become. I’ve had her back, teeth and saddle checked.
On the ground she is an absolute saint.

 

[SpringArising]

The only way to really see what's going on is through X-rays. A saddle fitter or 'back person' can't see what's going on below the surface.

It's either 1) She's in pain 2) The grass is making her excitable 3) You're making her nervous.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would get a 2nd opinion on the saddle fit. Horses change shape so much at the age of your horse that the saddle can soon become uncomfortable.

 

[millikins]

I would get a 2nd opinion on the saddle fit. Horses change shape so much at the age of your horse that the saddle can soon become uncomfortable.

As PAS says. If you trawl some threads on here there also plenty of examples of horses who are being ridden in a "perfectly" fitting saddle and still have issues, it's the horse who is wearing it, if she says it doesn't fit then it doesn't.

 

[HeyMich]

My horse started spooking and spinning when ridden, and it was completely out of character. Turns out she had ulcers, probably brought on by the chronic pain of a poorly fitted saddle. Saddle now replaced, ulcers treated, and horse is back to her usual self. Phew!

Good luck, and let us know how you get on x

 

[yhanni]

Could it be to do with her seasons? Could you keep a diary and see if there's any correlation? Bearing in mind that they don't always have external signs of being in season.

 

[Ruby's Mum]

I would advise getting her saddle checked, especially as the grass has been coming through plentiful, her saddle may not be fitting her well.

It could also be excitement from the grass and if she has tanked off (as bolting is a complete loss of all control and communication and is unstoppable (usually unless you run into a solid object!). You are likely to be anticipating her tanking off and she will be sensing this. Use your friend with a lunge line if it helps you feel more secure (it doesn't matter how ridiculous you feel, sometimes you need to take some steps backwards to move forward again, my previous mare used to terrify me as came to me with an undiscolosed bolting issues and my husband used to go everywhere with me with me clipped onto a lungeline, so I had that extra security and we worked through it). If you are frightened about feeling out of control you need to look at circling, if you feel she is getting faster then Circle, make your circles smaller and smaller and once you are happy you are back in control then carry on and if it happens again, Circle. A very good tool to teach every horse (I am a western rider so it is t commonly taught to "English ridden" horses) is a one rein stop. This is your emergency brake if something goes wrong and it will give you confidence to know that you can stop even if you feel out of control.

There are lots of videos online that will explain how to teach the one rein stop or I would recommend getting help if you are not confident yourself.

It is obviously very difficult for anyone online to determine exactly what the issue is as we haven't seen the horse, nor are we vets. You need to get her checked out to make sure she is not trying to tell you she is in pain and then take it from there. Whenever a horse acts out of character, the first thing you should do is to assess whether they are in pain and get them checked.

Remember to breathe too when you are riding, singing something like nelly the elephant can help as you can't hold your breathe while singing, something as simple as not realising you are holding your breathe can make a horse nervous as they are anticipating something to happen as they can sense you are worried.

 

[oldie48]

She is a five year old with a "troubled" past tbh i would expect her to be less than angelic. I don't know how much experience you have with youngsters but they often have times when they challenge their rider. however, i'd definitely want to be sure the tack fitted well, her teeth were 100% and that she wasn't getting too much high energy feed as in fresh green grass. I don't take on youngsters but those who do, normally don't do a lot of work in the school when they are this young.

 

[JulesRules]

I've lost confidence with my horse too since she reared with me (First and only time) so I totally sympathise with you.

Like you I had saddle, back and teeth checked after the rearing incident. My horse is also quite spooky and challenging anyway (although she is a bit older than yours) so I'm always anticipating what she "might" do which led us into a downward spiral where I ended up taking 4 months off riding over the winter as I had totally lost my mojo and wasn't enjoying riding at all.

Yesterday I actually enjoyed riding her for the first time in about a year and feel like I'm actually starting to make some progress. Here are a few things that have helped me and might help you too....

Get an old flash or leather strap and fix it to your D rings. If you have any wobbly moments you can grab your "grab handle". I found having this really helped me to relax in the moments where i just wanted to get off. If I'm more relaxed she's more relaxed.

Get everything checked (I know you have already done this) but think about seasons etc as well as saddle, back, teeth etc. Also think about feed - is the spring grass too much, are you restricting turnout too much which could contribute to ulcers. Have you changed any feeds? Does she have alfalfa which can make some horses loopy.

This is the single thing that has helped me most - Go and get some private lessons at a good local riding school on another horse. This will allow you to concentrate on your riding and position etc rather than thinking about what your horse might do. Relax and enjoy your riding again. I had started riding really defensively without realising. I was riding with shorter stirrups, my legs were coming forwards, I was starting to grip with my knees. Having some private lessons and going back to basics was exactly what I needed. I then came back and concentrated on putting what I learned into practise with mine.

Find a good riding instructor to come out and help you. Don't try to do it on your own and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Good luck x

 

[Michelle1109]

I've lost confidence with my horse too since she reared with me (First and only time) so I totally sympathise with you.

Like you I had saddle, back and teeth checked after the rearing incident. My horse is also quite spooky and challenging anyway (although she is a bit older than yours) so I'm always anticipating what she "might" do which led us into a downward spiral where I ended up taking 4 months off riding over the winter as I had totally lost my mojo and wasn't enjoying riding at all.

Yesterday I actually enjoyed riding her for the first time in about a year and feel like I'm actually starting to make some progress. Here are a few things that have helped me and might help you too....

Get an old flash or leather strap and fix it to your D rings. If you have any wobbly moments you can grab your "grab handle". I found having this really helped me to relax in the moments where i just wanted to get off. If I'm more relaxed she's more relaxed.

Get everything checked (I know you have already done this) but think about seasons etc as well as saddle, back, teeth etc. Also think about feed - is the spring grass too much, are you restricting turnout too much which could contribute to ulcers. Have you changed any feeds? Does she have alfalfa which can make some horses loopy.

This is the single thing that has helped me most - Go and get some private lessons at a good local riding school on another horse. This will allow you to concentrate on your riding and position etc rather than thinking about what your horse might do. Relax and enjoy your riding again. I had started riding really defensively without realising. I was riding with shorter stirrups, my legs were coming forwards, I was starting to grip with my knees. Having some private lessons and going back to basics was exactly what I needed. I then came back and concentrated on putting what I learned into practise with mine.

Find a good riding instructor to come out and help you. Don't try to do it on your own and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Good luck x

Hi

Been there as well and i totally agree with the above and of course i agree with check health and tack related things BUT....................have you checked YOU??

when i had similar issues to the above eventually i admitted it was mostly ME!!! i bought a horse i had ridden for 2 years, he was a superstar - then it all went wrong, i got nervous he got nervous and it was a vicious circle after that, i was always told that same stuff check him there is something wrong with him !!! NOOOOO check your self as well!!! it was all me he was feeding off me and my nerves (as much as we dont want to admit it, sometimes its as simple as that! )

i did get him check and all was fine.
so then i decided to get my big girl pants on get some private lessons and help to bring my confidence back and yup things are going well. He has changed in his way of going since he came to me and he has had a higher level of care and i suppose he is feeling good about himself - but rather than trying to extinguish this i have to learn how to channel it and ride it as its great!!
so yes get some help NEVER be afraid to ask for help

hope it helps keep your chin up and good luck xx