At 01:45:16 on 11.10.10, Horsesarelife1001 wrote:
Ok so I'm gonna sum 2 years into a few sentences: I fell a wile back, no injuries,but I was VERY scared, But the next day I got back on and felt BETTER but not like I used to, I used to be SO confident, but then I was a VERY "cautious" rider. Then, I was riding and The horse I was on fell ( I didn't fall, the horse did while I was on her) but then I popped back on and was a little scared but it wasn't as bad as the first fall, Actually, I went home and laughed about it :). Then I was jumping a pony names BK (I LOVE him!) and He reared before the jump and I managed to hang on from his neck and stop him. then my instructor helped me get my other leg back in the stirrup. I wasent Scared at ALL after that one. I though "The fear is OVER! Im not scared of falls anymore!" but then I was reading horse things on Google, and I came across this story about a girl who was riding her horse alone, and long story short she die. Another story was I was reading on this website and I saw people saying they were scared after breaking arms, legs, ect. Now Im scared again. Sure the first 3 times It was a bruise or two, but No broken bones, but ANY day now I could jump too high and land the wrong way and be broken! So what Im asking is how do I stop getting nervous? Thanks SOOO much!

At 18:23:39 on 11.10.10, Angelalain wrote:
Be reasonable! No one is going to put their 'non scary' 'non dramatic' episodes on U tube! Many of these things are rehashed over and over by people who WANT to frighten you. Ok accidents do happen, bikes, cars, crossing the road, attacked by dogs, crashing trains, planes etc etc. If you thought about all that every day you'd never leave the house! You ride because you love horses, you have to accept if you ride you will fall off (you have to accept if you do Judo you will get smashed into the mat- try taking that up its great fun and teaches you how to fall, I know, I've tried it!!) Always wear your hat, don't take stupid risks and go out and enjoy it. You've just got to think positive and not let the spoilers get to you.

At 00:25:37 on 12.10.10, Horsesarelife1001 wrote:
Thanks Angelalain! This helped!

At 05:55:43 on 01.11.10, skittles wrote:
I've fallen a total of 4 times off three different horses. each of those times i had to go to the chiropractor to get myself "healed", because i hurt my back each time. each of those times i fell off, i cried. but when i fell off at 17, i was riding the horse, who i call "my boy", Snip. he belongs to some friends, and they let me retrain him, giving me pointers here and there. when he came to them, wouldn't gallop without bucking, he wouldn't back very well, he didn't neck rein, and he kept his head too low for safety. i retrained him, and over the months that i did so, we grew a bond together. i'm nearly 23 now, and now riding him bareback. my bareback riding is improving all the time that i ride him. anyway, at 17, i fell off. the story goes like this. I had just looked down and seen his hooves pounding into the ground, eating it up. Without warning, I suddenly felt him falter, and glanced down to see his right front hoof “catch” in a rut. And then everything was in slow motion. I felt him start to go down in a sort of bow with his left front leg straight out in front and his right front leg tucked underneath him hind legs scrabbling for balance. His head went down and with that I felt myself flying over his head. In the distance I heard voices of alarm as everyone saw what was happening. Trying to protect myself, I tucked and rolled, and as I did so, my head and then my body hit the dirt and there was blackness. When I came to, I was lying on the hard ground, Snip looking down at me. I suddenly thought, "Wow, he didn’t gallop off in fright, I thought he would have." He lowered his head nuzzling me as he stood there, and neighed softly. The reins were still in my hand, and a dull aching pain filled my body; the taste of grit was in my mouth, and the pain of dirt was in my eye. the next day, i got back on. i was still afraid. who wouldn't have been. i had scratched up the right side of my face pretty badly, gotten dirt in my eye, and couldn't fully straighten out my left arm for about a month or so. over the years, since that fall, snip has to taught me, how to control my fear, and not let it overwhelm me. with him still standing there, i knew that as long as he was there, everything would be all right. knowing that he trusted me, helped me so much. if it was any other horse, other than snip, i probably wouldn't have gotten back on. but with the bond that we share, and the fact, that he taught me how to control my fear, whenever i'm in a tense situation with him when something causes him to become skittish or a situation without him, i remember what he taught me.....how to control my fear. it was because of snip and the bond that we share, that i was able to get my fear under control.

At 20:02:49 on 01.11.10, Angelalain wrote:
4 times in 5 years! Thats pretty amazing. I started when I was 9 and lost count of my falls before I was a teenager. I know my record was twice in 5 minutes (off the same pony) My daughter beat that, she came off my pony three times in 10 mins when she was trying to get her back into work after box rest. She wouldn't let me get on, seemed to think I might not be able to cope lol!!I don't fall off as often now, but thats cos I'm getting old and I don't do much. If you are going to gallop and jump you will fall off, you just have to accept it.

At 21:41:24 on 03.11.10, j_hollingmode wrote:
I've always had confidence from horses. but, im not sure what could help you. all i can suggest, is try mounted games. Fast but fun sports on fast ponies. Youtube it, or google it. or look on my website. Having the confidence to vault onto a movingg horse, and jump off, touch the floor. etc. I know alot of people suggest join up, blah blah lol, i do believe strongly in these methods, but it doesn't help riders much. especially if they dont have much confidence anyway its tough to chase a horse away. So, all i can say is try a challenging sport maybe even try vaulting. Its not much, but it helps. Keep me updated how you get on! and ask if you need any help there. I'd love to help :) Inbox me how you get on please!! xx
http://www.jhollingmodesequestrian.webs.com

At 22:55:12 on 06.11.10, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
part of riding is falling off. I have fell off 15+ times since i started riding at 3 and i am 16 now. Most of these were on the horse i used to ride because everyone else was scared of him, he was amazing but crazy lol. But you know what? I have only broken one bone from a riding accident off a riding school horse (a livery) when i cracked a rib on a jump, but i didn't even notice and got on a jumped the course again with a broken rib. I am one of those crazy people who don't rest from riding and get straight back on no matter what the injury but in the 15+ falls i have had only 2 have shown physical injury the rest was just bruised pride. To ride you must accept it is a risk sport - the second highest injury rate in the world (after bowls!?). But if you were scared of everything then you would never leave the house or even enter a kitchen. Everything has a risk even crossing the road or getting into a car in the morning, now what sort of a life is one lived in fear? You have to way up the good things against the bad and decide which way you are going to go. Only you can decide what you want to do. Good luck :)

At 20:19:32 on 10.11.10, xxDezziexx wrote:
I am 14, I have fallen off loads of times off about 12 different horses, but the only time i got a long-term injury was when my 14.2hh mare Cookie chucked me (she broke into a gallop and then bucked) at a cross country training day in July, it was the second time I had fallen off that day! I hit the ground pretty hard and ended up with some damage to my cocyx (tailbone), which hurt like hell but hey, horse riding is a risky sport!!! Just keep telling yourself that whatever happens, it could be worse. In most cases, it will be true. :)

At 19:47:31 on 01.01.11, Avia wrote:
So I too have fallen off a few times since I was a teenager. When I was about 16 I was ridding this mare in the winter and several times in one day she put me on my butt. The final time I fell that day I landed right in a huge mud puddle. I brought this event up to the trainer I work with now, and she simply looked at me and said "Why do you FALL, when you can DISMOUNT?" I look back on that conversation and realize that I very well could have simply dismounted each and every time I had fallen. That's the big trick, to keep yourself from falling you have to teach yourself how to make a 'graceful dismount'. Now I was ridding the other day and the horse I was riding spooked running off. instead of falling backwards off her rump like I would have in the past, I slid off her hindquarters as she ran, landing safely on my feet. Instead of riding, take a day or two to work without tack and simply work on mounting, and dismounting while your horse is standing still. Slide off his hind, off BOTH sides, and without moving get him to turn his head and watch as you dismount. (Slide your hand down the rope and get his head so you can see his eye while mounted) Once you feel comfortable with dismounting and a stand still, try dismounting from a walk. same ideas, slide off the back and both sides. use a long rope so you can make him turn and face you after dismounting. As you get better, try doing the same thing at a trot. this is a good training exercise to help build confidence ,but it also serves as a bonding time with your horse, it gets him comfortable with having his body touched. unlike some horses who flip out when touched anywhere. Anyway, try playing with him like this for a day or two, and always do a round of this before a lesson. It needs to be a daily thing or he will forget like anything else we do with horses. ^^ Let me know how this works for you.

At 01:12:50 on 05.01.11, Horsesarelife1001 wrote:
Thanks everybody. Im feeling a little better. Every time before I ride I get really nervous, but when im riding i feel a lot better. I think its just anticipation. Thanks for all the help. Keep it coming!!