At 03:39:56 on 13.12.10, xXxViolet_EclipsexXx wrote:
Hi everyone :) I'm new. *sigh* So. I've been riding over at a local equestrian center for about five years now. My confidence had been up and down along the way, and lately my confidence has been pretty good up until this week. I've been riding this pony (Blue's his name) pretty consistently, we have a pretty good connection with each other and he usually behaves with me. So basically I've been trusting him for a good long while now. So Friday I came to take a ride. Walking up to the indoor arena, someone else had a larger horse on a lunge, and my pony spooked on me numerous times. It was a while before the entire class got mounted up and ready to go. I had a miserable ride. Blue felt really tense and wound up, and he was just waiting to go too fast for my liking. It was terrifying for me because it felt like the pony I was on wasn't Blue. It was just a scared and flighty animal and my nerves were no better because of all this. So. I took another ride Sunday morning, deciding to give Blue another chance. Unfortunately, I had no better luck than my last ride. There was some sort of construction going on up in the indoor arena - there were power tools in a corner, a door was left open, there was wood and stuff outside, etc. So of course, every pony there was tense, lots of spooking going on. Blue was much better than Friday, but it was my own nerves that got the better of me. I was scared to death he would bolt on me. Yeah, I was over reacting, I'll admit it - lots of hyperventilating, I felt really dizzy, blinking back tears and swallowing sobs. I looked like a total wimp and kept asking my instructor to dismount. If there's one thing I can't do, it's to ride a horse/pony when there's a high risk it may spook on me. Eventually in the middle of the lesson I switched ponies with someone else, but I didn't feel much better. What's even worse is that the girl who took Blue fell off him and broke her arm. And a few lessons before that, another girl from that regular class fell and broke her collarbone. So two terrifying falls witnessed relatively close to each other, each resulting in broken bone(s). So very long story short...I'm scared to ride again next week. I don't know if construction will still be going on, or if bad luck will strike again or what. I really don't want to quit because when all goes smoothly, I love riding so much! But if I can't trust Blue (or any other pony, for that matter), in these kinds of situations, I'm thinking that's what it may come down too :( Thanks for reading, sorry for the obscene amount of words...What should I do?

At 20:10:33 on 13.12.10, Angelalain wrote:
I don't know which country you are in (So is it summer or winter?If its cold they are always sharper and more spooky) Or how old you are, or what your circumstances are. But if you are really that worried there is no point in forcing yourself to get on and ride. You've tried that, and just made yourself cry and feel awful. That communicates directly to the pony and makes him tenser and more spooky. He relies on you for his confidence, all you are doing is making him think there is something to be afraid of.Can you not go to the stables and help out? groom the ponies, get them ready, help muck out, lead the beginners etc. If you have been riding for five years you should be more confident by this time, or have the lessons you've been given never moved you forward in that way? Horses are flight animals, if you are nervous, so will they be (bad english!!)Try and find a way to work with them and not ride for a while, you may find you are really keen to get back on again if you give it a rest for a few weeks.If you still don't want to try, maybe its really not for you!

At 23:06:06 on 13.12.10, xXxViolet_EclipsexXx wrote:
It's winter over here in the US, by the way, and I'm 15. :) I do occasionally help out around the stables, and recently I started helping out my instructor with a younger class. I think I will do that a bit more before I go back to riding, take a little break and such. Thank you so much for the advice, this is really gonna help!

At 21:00:39 on 20.01.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I would say you need to let go of your own fear. Think of all the good rides you have had on this pony against the few bad ones. Every horse is naughty sometimes and accidents happen - and are common - with horse riding, it is a risk sport and when you are commited to riding you have to accept the risks, just like any sport. All i would say is if you feel too on edge around blue ride a quieter pony for a while until you let your fears go and accept blue, just like other horses or people, has certain limitations to what he can deal with too. good luck

At 05:10:03 on 07.02.11, xXxViolet_EclipsexXx wrote:
Thanks, Jess. I liked your advice :) Been a while since I've last been on here, so I'd thought I'd fill all of you in: I've been riding lots of different ponies lately, and I've been helping out with a younger class of kids as well. My confidence is pretty much almost back up there, and I plan on getting back on Blue when the weather gets nicer again.

At 06:42:03 on 25.02.11, EventingArab4Ever wrote:
lol, I have this problem too! I have a little arab, and he always finds SOMTHING that is more interesting than me, haha! I don't think I go through a ride without a little buck or spook...anyway, I am glad your confidence is back (I read your latest post)! I don't have a ton of confidence either, but it isn't that hard to PRETEND that you do! At my last jumping lesson (I hadn't jumped in over 2 months, and it was SUPER cold and windy!) he was fine at the beggining, but halfway through he flipped a switch and went crazy! lol! There was much rushing, spooking, bucking, getting bucked off, and general mayhem... It was pretty overwhelming! I find that in situations like that, the best thing for both you and your horse is to chill! I just laughed it off, relaxed my body, and kept up a conversation with my horse (such as "I think we ARE going to go over this jump, yes yes!"). By the end of the lesson, we were both in a great mood, even though it had not been our most sucessful lesson. I hope this helps when you ride Blue again! :) And remember, everyone has bad days, and one those days, it is easier to say "Whatever, it was a good learning experience!" than to freak out and assume that you and your horse are forever doomed. ;) Byes. :)

At 02:55:41 on 07.03.11, yogirl10198 wrote:
If you really love horses to the point where you practically live at the barn and would rather spend time with horses than with your friends, then you are a true horse person. But since you have been riding for 5 years and are thinking about quitting, then horse back riding is not for you. You wouldn't been lacking that much confidence in yourself if you really truly loved horse back riding. And I agree with Angelalain, your horse's confidence is in you.