what horse phobia have you overcome and how?

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Pidge

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Just being nosey really
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My fear has always been jumping fixed solid XC fences as if the horse hits it then the jump stays put and you and the horse don't
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did a few jumps as a teenager and that was it!
However since having Pidge who loves his jumping, he has given me the confidence to go out there and jump again, and also the confidence to tackle XC fences
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This year we have done Somerford Park Farm ride 4 times, play over Rodbastons XC schooling paddock twice and Eland Lodge HT once
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I know if I'm not 100% certain Pidge may run out but I am getting there slowly. The only reason we haven't done more is because we had a break when he was diagnosed with hock spavin.
So I owe Pidge a lot as I never ever thought I would be happy jumping XC fences, or cantering up and down steps or jumping in and out of water
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I have a phobia of jumping anything - well if it's less than 2 ft high I'm OK - i used to be able to jump 4 ft without batting an eye, but I was thrown by a psycho horse and I've been nervous ever since, and my big bug is combination fences (he threw me onto the second part of a one stride double)
 
*cough* mine is hacking on the roads......nothing particularly bad has happened to me, (touch wood!) but since riding Frankie i have had a serious lack of confidence on the road, due to the fact that he can be quite spooky, the area round where his yard is surrounded by main roads with loony chav towny drivers and lorries on and no rolling countryside for miles! all i can think is 'what if.....?' and i tense up which in turn makes him even worse and so the circle begins.

where i used to live we used to have to ride on the main road everyday, either to get to the school or to the field, and i wasn't even half a nervous as i am now!! dont quite know how im going to get over it!!
 
I'm scared of show jumping fences
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Confidence is great now cause Tia enjoys it so much and will never stop
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but that incurs problems as she is a little too fast and when Gabby loses her stirrup, Tia continues jumping and I ended up hurling myself out of the side door - rather sore
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I never thought I'd XC bigger then 2'6 but we've got our first 3' event next month
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xx
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I'm a wee bit scared of the big ones (horses). Fine if someone else is handling them, but i don't like going in the field with them or handling or riding them myself.

I havent overcome it
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A previous horse had issues (buck, bolt, twist etc) when cantering, especially with more than one other horse and in open spaces. It meant shows were interesting at best, and dangerous the rest of the time and I had many painful falls and near misses.

Thankfully my mum got Chloe and she has fully restored my confidence in hacking, then shows and I even took her canteing (sort of!) round somerford farm ride (we did 3 fences which was very good for her!). In fact I've never been nervous or frightened with Chloe, but then she is just like riding a great big sofa
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Even on Meg I was a shaking nervous sick wreck the first time I took her to a local show. She didn't care though, and just ate the grass and looked around, and now I also feel fully confident with her in any situation. It was down to Chloe that I felt confident enough to take on a youngster though
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Having been double barrelled by a youngster ( no longer have her), i had a big fear of lungeing. Realised this when someone asked me why I didnt lunge my horse!!! Went home and lunged her! I always wear a hat and sometimes a body protector even now and still dont like cantering a horse an the lunge! I still feel more vulnerable on the ground than when Im on board!!

When my horse was seriously broncoing I had a fear of going in the arena! Thats where she bucked. Even now I will avoid one end until she is completely settled even though she doesnt bronco anymore. Just know it could happen!
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And I hate it when the cat comes to watch as he hides behind the boards and pokes his head up just as she goes past!!
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Very scary!!
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I am beginnning to have the confidence to canter her on hacks too. We still have a few spooking issues but not the broncoing so getting there!
 
I'm gutless jumping unless it's something really safe and steady with a smooth jump so W is too inconsistent for me to enjoy jumping him.

Most of all I really hate going on the roads, not because of a bad experience and W is pretty good but meeting moron drivers is part of my job. Even if you don't count the people who consciously drive like t***ts there are still drink drivers and plenty of old biddies who aren't fit to drive tootling around the countryside looking for the likes of me to crash into!
 
Roads definately, my friend was seriously injured and her horse killed instantly when she was hit a few years ago when we were out hacking, I feel safe on Bailey, but can't relax on Ryu, so always go out with someone else or James comes with me on the bike as a security blanket.

A lady from our yard was hit 2 weeks ago and her horse is still in Newmarket recovering, that shook me up again, I feel I have to make myself hack out to control my fear of it does that make sense?
 
no absolutely, i hate hacking out on Frankie and i wish he could be moved but the less i do it the worse we both are (!) so i try to do it as much as i can, without us getting too bored.......plus i dont have anyone to hack out with so that makes it harder for us too! xx
 
I'm scared of hacking out too. I always think of all the bad things that have happened to me in the past and worry that one or all of them will happen again. I have been bolted with, had my horse fall on his knees, been thrown off on the road etc and all these things get re-played in my head. I am still trying to overcome my fears though because I desperately want to enjoy hacking again. Good luck to everyone else who is struggling with horse related fears.
 
JUMPING
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had a bad fall during a lesson, we were doing a bounce combination, and Ellie took two fences on at once, landed on the second one and turned over (and landed on me!) Got back on with a very broken hand and jumped a cross pole, but things were never the same after, and, after pulling her out in the middle of a double at Stoneleigh, we jump no more!
 
hacking, jumping, and riding in general! I've always had a fear of falling off out hacking and the horse running off, at least when I fall off in the school they can't really go anywhere! I had a nasty accident about 4 years ago and completely lost my confidence, I didn't get on a horse for 3 years because I was completely terrified, and when I decided to start riding and jumping again anything over 1ft 6 looked huge and scared the life out of me! I still don't ride on the roads, but I'll happily jump 3ft 6 without batting an eyelid now, which I'm proud of considering it is less than a year since I sat on a horse again!
 
Jumping, particulary sold XC types or if i am alone in a field, have been getting much better recently (due to superstar horsey) but it can come over me at anytime and i just cant do the jump, I had a really bad fall about three years ago off a 17.2 warmblood that i was told could jump! but it didnt and i just took a massive flying lesson and got bad concusion and a broken hand, before that i had hardly ridden for 8 years and had absolutly no fear of anything as it just didnt hurt when i feel off as a kid, i wish i could get that back - anyone know how???
 
I lost my confidence completely with my previous horse. I used to hack him out alone and just a few little things happened - he bucked on the roads and I bailed out, he majorly spooked at a motocross bike, he rolled in the school when i was riding....I just basically lost all trust and at my worst tried to hack to the school a mile up the road with my friend driving alongside to help me feel safe - I got about 100m before slithering to the ground crying and shaking like a leaf - I couldn't go any further. I then sold the horse as the situation was doing neither of us any good.

A few weeks after that I got Murphy and that was 5 months ago. He has restored my trust and confidence - I still don't like hacking alone but I'm sure we'll get there eventually. I've started jumping - jumped 1ft the other day which was the biggest I've ever jumped. I never fell off my previous horse but I've fallen off Murphy quite a few times, but deep down I trust him.

Really I think my relationship with him is what has helped me overcome all my fears.
 
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I'm a wee bit scared of the big ones (horses). Fine if someone else is handling them, but i don't like going in the field with them or handling or riding them myself.

I havent overcome it
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See I feel safer around and on big horses. Riding a big horse makes me feel like Im more secure, higher up, and Ive always found them to be more sensible, and well, BFG-like.

I would never have anything under 16.2hh and Im only 5ft 5, I also cant stand riding really fine horses, I like a good middleweight!

I would actually prefer it if Beau was a bit chunkier. but he is still filling out.
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I lost all my confident because of my old horse. He used to rear and we had an accident and he died. It made me scared to do anything and I couldnt push through tantrums like i used to, all I could do was school mediocrly (is that a word?!) as I was just petrified all the time. I bought my current horse and he made things a bit better but I still had niggly doubts at the back if my mind so booked in for TFT. I am totally cured! Jumping 1.25 with no worries, XC, hacking, galloping, you name it I do it - all without a fear in the world and its great
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... absolutly no fear of anything as it just didnt hurt when i feel off as a kid, i wish i could get that back - anyone know how???

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Build a time machine, go back and swap your adult self for your child self...?
 
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