I hate jumping, I cant work out why! I seem to have a hidden fear, can anyone help?

Question

I dont know why, but I become all nervose when I begin to jump. I can jump to a exstent, but then the fear just takes over and I lose it! I cant even canter into a small jump. I'm such a wimp!? HELP, HELP, HELP!!

Answer 1

Well, do you have to jump? If you hate it then why are you doing it? It's like trying to make me play soccer when I hate soccer! Try another discapline! You are most certaintly not a whimp!! I hate jumping too! I get scared whenever I end up getting close to a 2'6" fence! So I gave up jumping and found my true love, dressage! I would most certaintly try dressage. It is a powerful sport that really requires skill and concentration. Many women and men who loved jumping when they were younger switch to dressage later because they lost the charm in jumping.

I wouldn't try polo, unless that's what you want to do. I you wish to persue dressage then there is a wonderful book "Dressage from A to X" that really gives a great introduction to dressage rules, how to ride dressage, and some of the latest dressage fashions.

Answer 2

Me too!  I love my horse to bits and trust her without question.  We do mostly dressage, flatwork and loads of hacking out.  We love showing, in hand and under saddle, have done equitation and riding clubs classes (as long as we don't have to jump)

Don't get me wrong, at home we pop over cross poles quite happily, but, as soon as I'm faced with a course of jumps, with an audience, I just loose it!  My nerves are totally shot, I wind up my girl, then it all goes horribly wrong, in the most embarrassing way - usually I fall off in the most spectacular way!  Ha ha!

I have long come to the conclusion that, regardless of pressure from others to jump my horse, if it's not fun then DON'T do it!

No one will think the worst of you for saying you are not happy jumping, because at the end of the day we all have horses for the same reasons - because we love them, we love riding and it is our way of life to go out and ENJOY what we are doing.

If you are able to overcome your your fear and start jumping properly, then good for you!  There are many techniques that will help you with breathing, relaxation etc  And if that is the case, then great, go for it.  But it really dosn't matter, you should do what's right for you and if the jumping is meant to be it will come in time as you build your confidence!  Good luck!

Answer 3

i'm just the same! i've been terrified ever since i've fell off my pony after she refused it, even though she doesnt refuse now, i just get all nervous!

Answer 4

Um, well, I get a little nervous before I try jumping higher than I ever have before, but then I do it and i'm just fine. Now I can jump higher. I think it's worth it. If like get a panic attack, maybe you should switch to dressage or western. Have you ever fallen off before? It's not that bad. You fall and it hurts but then you get back up and ride some more. Idk if that's how you feel, but I think that.

Hope I helped (:

(and im not calling you a wimp or anything. horse riding's dangerous. it should get ur adrenaline rushing. but it's so worth it if you try)

Answer 5

Hi there,

I used be this way because i felt like my trainer was aksing me to do too much for how long I have been riding. Also she didn't have those horses that were behaved well but also gave the rider a challenge so they could learn. I came to her when I had been riding for 1 1/2 years and her horses had no clue how to jump so i had to train them and i would fall off so many times and I lost ALL my confidence in jumping what so ever! Also when I go to get lessons with her I still am not 100% sure of what she is asking me to do and im a lil weary of doing it and she always says "i wouldn't ask you to do something that i know you couldn't do"and i was always thinking ahaha thats a lil late!

But what i would do is go back to basics gett on one of those been there done that kind of school horses and start out with little X's 1/2 a foot high and ALOWLY work your way up from there. When im on my pony i will jump ANYTHING but its only when i go up to my coach's place for lessons im like umm.. its a bit high or whatever i dont like about. But go back to bascic's and build your way up from there. Also sometimes jumping isnt for everone and if it isn't for you mabey try dressage, western or something you will enjoy doing.

Good Luck,

            Horse Lover!

Answer 6

If you're afraid, only repetition (with a talented horse) will help. I was the same way with barrel racing. I would almost get a panic attack before running! I realized that the reason I was so pressured was because I was putting unreasonable expectations (for my level) on myself and it was making it no fun! Make sure you are aware that it's OKAY to make mistakes! It's OKAY to ask for help and you won't be perfect in the beginning. Once you take this pressure off of yourself, it becomes a lot easier to do things. I'm not sure if this is your case, but it was mine and I thought it may give you insight. Hope that helps!

Answer 7

it is from a fear of falling.

do u have the same thing going off a diving board?

i did.

i forced myself to practice diving one summer when i was a kid...it was so bad that i was scared to even climb up the ladder to the high dive.  i started slow from the small board and once i was comforatble bouncing around and walking the regular board and diving from it i worked my self up to the high dive...i never could dive from it but i could get relaxed enough to climb the ladder and comfortable walk out to the end and jump off. it helped me get over my fear of jumping with a horse.

  and no i am not kidding.

Answer 8

make sure you feel solid in your riding skills (your probably an expert ;) do the same as you would a unconfident horse. start slowly. trot a lot of little ones. ride a reliable horse when you jump.

Answer 9

Do you have to jump? Some people like it, others don't! Same with horses! So if you don't want to jump, then don't, no body is forcing you, and if they are, then just politely and calmly explain that you aren't too keen on it, and you'd rather not! You dont need to jump to have fun with your horse! I'll only jump to about 2ft 9 and I watched this girl jump HUGE (i'm talking 4ft - 5ft) i was scared and i wasn't even jumping!! lol! i would HATE to jump that high! so some people like it, others don't, it's just the way it is

why not become a dressage superstar!? lol, or why don't you try polo?? or sidesaddle (sidesaddle is easier said than done, not in riding way, apparently it's easy, but it's just finding a sidesaddle!!!!!!! and teaching your horse the aids!!) or how about starting to show your horse? you don't need to jump for that!!!! or horseball (so much fun!!!) there are loads of things you can do if you don't want to jump!

however, if you really really WANT to jump, why don't you find a really good schoolmaster (or mistress!) who is quite happy to go at your pace! get a really good instructor (who won't push you until you want it!) and start with trotting poles until you're so confident with them you can do them with your eye's closed... lol, don't try that at home.. lol! and then go onto jumping a tiny jump literally 6 inches off the ground, from a trot, or if your not confident with that, walk over it!!! Take it really slowly, don't try and push yourself or you'll scare yourself (take it from me i did it once... not fun!) and I really hope you get into jumping!

But honestly, don't worry if you find that taking it from the begining doesn't help at all, because you can do so many other things without jumping!

here are some links to stuff about getting started in polo and horseball and dresssage

Answer 10

I feared failure until I realized

that I only fail when I don't try.

I feared success until I realized that I had

to try in order to be happy with myself.

I feared people's opinions until I learned

that people would have opinions about me anyway.

I feared rejection

until I learned to have faith in myself.

I feared pain until I learned

that it's necessary for growth.

I feared the truth until

I saw the ugliness of lies.

I feared life until

I experienced its beauty.

I feared death until I realized

that it's not an end, but a beginning.

I feared my destiny until I realized

that I had the power to change my life.

I feared hate until I saw

that it was nothing but ignorance.

I feared ridicule until

I learned how to laugh at myself.

I feared growing old until

I realized that I gained wisdom every day.

I feared the future until

I realized that life just kept getting better.

I feared the past until

I realized that it could no longer hurt me.

I feared the dark until

I saw the beauty of the starlight.

I feared the light until

I learned that the truth would give me strength.

I feared change until I saw

that even the most beautiful butterfly

had to undergo a metamorphosis

before it could fly...

If you want to take your mission in life to the next level,

if you're stuck and you don't know how to rise,

don't look outside yourself. Look inside.

Don't let your fears keep you mired in the crowd.

Abolish your fears and raise your commitment level

to the point of no return, and I guarantee you

that the "Champion Within" will burst forth

to propel you toward victory.

Answer 11

I used to feel exactly the same not even 6 months ago but then i just found the right horse to give me confidence and now i'm jumping three times the size of what i was.

we did alot of jumping position on the flatwork so even if a horse stood off-we'd be prepared

we then practiced the position trotting over poles then small cross poles and it just went from there.

hope that helps =]

Answer 12

If you are that afraid maybe you should consider changing disciplines?

If not I would firm up your foundation on a good quiet horse that will build you confidence.  Start back to your flat work gradually work up to pole work, small xs then do a course with small xs work your way up to verticals then oxers.  If you get suddenly fearful go back to what your comfortable with.  

But there is no shame in changing disciplines.

Answer 13

have some jumping lessons...instructors are great for building confidense if they know u can do it they will make you. or try riding a talented horse that you know will help you out. watch an experienced rider andsee what theyre doing.

Answer 14

hey, It will help if you go back to basics, try trotting poles untill you are confident cantering over them. When you're ready to start jumping, try and ride a schoolmaster or a calm steady horse, slowly increasing the height and going back to poles if you feel nervous. Just keep it steady to build your confidence and set a goal, maybe aim to complete a small course under 2 foot. Hope everything goes ok.

Answer 15

You don't have to jump, you know.  There are a million other disciplines you could try.

If you want to stick with English, try dressage.  It takes a lot of skill and it's pretty amazing what you can get a horse to do.  You could also try polo, although if you are scared of jumping you might be scared of polo too becuase it's pretty fast paced.  You could try endurance or racing, or just stick with english equitation.  (There is always something to improve upon and learn.)  You could try saddleseat, or even side-saddle, or get more involved with learning how to ride gaited breeds.

And of course you could always try western becuase there are a ton of things available there too.

Answer 16

try doing polework.

trotting poles: poles over the diagnol etc

then just have them raised onto the lowest height and trot them

the horse wont jump them but ul be doing the exp of going up to a jump and thru jumping wings but not actually jumping, or be able to see a jump because from were u ware the pole will look like its on the floor.

Answer 17

I had the exact same fear, so much that I wouldn't even ride my horse just to get out of jumping. I eventually worked out that the best way to jump was to be on a reliable horse and go down to trotting into jumps about 10cm. This sounds really small , but once you have done it a few times canter into it. Once you are confident move unto the next height eg. 30cm and do the same routine all over again.

If you find that you can't do a certain jump, go down top a lower height and do it again until you are ready to try the higher jump again.