I have lost all of my confidence while riding. How do I get it back?

Question

I have lost all of my confidence after a bad fall about a year ago. I'm an eventer and taking lessons, I don't own a horse. Now I'm at a new barn and riding a new horse, I'm terrified. At my old barn, we did next to no jumping after the owner switched trainers. Now both my jumping and flat sucks. I can't sit up and am very stiff. My trainer and I are trying to work through it, but I'm still scared. To make it worse I feel like an idiot because everyone eles my age is riding very well and I'm really bad right now. I love riding and jumping esspecially, but I'm just so nervous. Any tips????

Answer 1

falling off a horse is well like falling off a horse,you brush your self off and get back on(or after the bones heal).you are more prone to injure yourself and come unseated if you are rigid and nervous than if you are loose and calm.you need to use some relaxation techniques to calm yourself down.i used to ride saddle bronks in rodeo and getting thrown from a horse was an everyday experiance and i got hurt a lot untill i taught myself to relax by stretching and doing mental calming exercises and not only did my riding improve but my scores improved also and when i did come off i didnt get as many injuries as i used to.i have been around horses all my life but an old ranch hand once told me someting special that i have never forgotten "having fear of horses will only get you hurt bad,but having respect for horses will open your mind to a new world"

Answer 2

Take a deep breath.  Or two.  It's amazing what a nice, deep breath can do to calm you down.  See if you can ride the oldest, most gentle horse the stable has, and just walk around.  Once you feel confident, go at a slow trot, then a canter, then jumps.  Try stretching before you ride to get rid of the stiffness.  After you get back some confidence in the saddle, see if you can do some bareback for a few lessons.  It will do wonders for both your seat, getting you less stiff, and your confidence.  Also, spend time around the horses on the ground.  See if you can groom them, pick their feet, flyspray them, feed them, etc.  Take it slow.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I overcame a similar problem lately. I was nearly decapitate while riding a horse several years ago. He got the bit in his teeth and while trying to get him under control he ran under a wire zip line. It ripped me out of the saddle, cut through six layers of the skin on my neck, and cracked a permanent tooth when the back of my head hit a root. While I got back on a horse as soon as I could, I always had a knawing in the pit of my stomach, because the whole time I was thinking about what the horse might do. I was tense and uncomfortable although I felt better once it was done and more confident. Last thursday I went to my uncles place in the mountains and the feelings started to well up all over again. I decided to sit down and think about them and see where they were coming from and what I could do about them. When I thought about it I realized that what had me in knots was that I was thinking about all of the things that could happen on a horse. He could buck me off or hurt me again or any number of things that had me starting to get nervous the day before I went to ride. So I tried to think of it another way. My uncle had been riding those two horses in the mountains everyday for the entire summer. Matter of fact, the week before, he had run up on a black bear on the horse I was going to ride and the horse didn't do anything, but snort and look at it. He had probably seen them going past the barn to the creek on many occasions. The point is, that I realized that I could put my trust in the horse, just like he trusts me not to ride him into anything dangerous. Once I did that, I didn't have anymore problems. A really steep mountain we used to come down didn't look nearly as steep when I wasn't panicking about what my horse might do. What you have to do is find a good horse that is familiar with the place you plan to ride or surrounding that are similar, whether its the mountains, trails or arenas, and put your trust in that horse. Its not so strange since he put his trust in you every time you get on that your not going to hurt him or lead him into a dangerous situation. If you think like this and find the right horse, you'll be amazed at how quickly your confidence returns. After that, you'll be able to project that feeling of calm and trust to horses that might be nervous in the arean or wear ever. Good luck with your problem and always think positive and don't give up. If you can talk your self into being nervous then you can talk yourself out of it too.

Answer 4

I have had the same problem as you- I totally lost my confidence after a bad fall when jumping.

First you need to re-establish your relationship with the horse by doing groundwork. First long grooming sessions, followed by lungeing and if possible, long-reining.



When you feel more confident on the ground, you will start to feel better when in the saddle. If I were you, you may be a really good rider, but it would be good if you had a few lunge lessons or normal lessons on a calm schoolmaster. This will definitely give you a confidence boost!

When you start jumping, again ride a calm, un-spooky horse.

As for your nerves, go to your local health shop and ask about bach flower remedies. They work wonders!

Good luck x

Answer 5

i had the exact same problem with one of my students during a summer camp. She used to take lessons and a couple of the horses before had either thrown her or took off with her, so she was terrified. the horse they(trainer & owner of horse barn) put her on didn't help either. so what i did was i put her on my horse one day while everyone else was eating lunch. i have a very calm 11 year old qh mare. i still had my saddle on so i put her in it. i took off the bridle and put on a halter. we were in a smaller round arena so it was easier. i just talked to her and led my horse around the arena. when she was confident at the walk i took it up to the jog. (i show my horse in western pleasure so she has the very slow, steady little jog.)  the next day i stayed with her while she groomed and saddled the lesson horse. then when she was riding in a bigger arena with the other kids i just walked beside her on the ground and we talked the whole time. this made her feeel a whole lot better and took her mind off of her fear. if you do the same thing it should help you get over your fear, then you can consintrate on your posture.  

         i really hope you feel better and good luck<3

Answer 6

I rember falling off, and getting thrown into a jump - the one jump in our ring that doesn't fall down on impact. I still loved jumping, but it scared me alot.

I also came into riding alot latter than the other people at our barn. It made me feel really stupid to sit on my pony, while they jumped 3'6" on their show jumping horses.

Although it is morbid, I always told myself before a scary jump that if i was too die, I would rather go doing something that I loved, than getting hit by a car or something.

Don't judge yourself on what you used to be able to do, start over at a smaller scale. Build up your skills again. You can do it. You've done it before.

As for the other people at your barn, don't judge yourself against them. If they have been riding longer than you, it isn't really fair to judge yourself against them. Ignore them, and just continue with YOUR lessons, rather than worrying about them.