Hi there! It has been awhile since I posted. Last time I did, I had a young mare who scared the heck out of me. I have since sold her to a great home with a younger rider who is more agile than myself! LOL! I bought a 12 year old arabian gelding who is 15.3 hands by the name of "Solly" who is just a sweetheart. My arabians thru the years have always been around 14.1/14.2. This is the first time I have owned a horse that is 15.3 hands. He is a big boned boy. Solly has always been a show horse and has been shown by youngsters most of his life. He is afraid of just about everything on the ground, so I have been working with him with Clinton Anderson methods. Alot of desensitizing. Tarps, the horse eating white noisy shopping bags, etc. He is coming along. In the show ring, he is a peach. Not afraid of a thing.
Now keep in mind that I have ridden all of my life. I'm 50 and started riding at 5 years of age. For some reason this big guy scares the heck out of me. I have ridden him several times. Had him since February of this year. He has been a good boy. Now for some reason, I just can't bring myself to ride Solly. I fell off of my young mare several times. I havent gone off of Solly yet. I just keep psyching myself out and am afraid to even think about saddleing him up and riding him in the indoor arena, where I board him. I feel sooo stupid. Its ridiculous. I keep thinking what if I fall off and get hurt. Then I can't work to pay for my two horses.
I am taking him back to my former trainer, whom I bought Solly from for a couple of weeks. Told her I am afraid to ride and she is going to work with Solly and I and see if I can get back on track.
I've known Solly since he was 3 years old. Now at 12 as far as riding he has settled down especially when kids have shown him. This whole thing is just so frustrating. I've even thought about selling him, buying a mini horse and driving him/her. That way I wont have to get in the saddle again. I love working horses on the ground. As I get older and am becoming overly cautious.
Have any of you out there gone thru something like this? If so, what have you done to help yourself?
Well, Im no expert, but I once wanted to drive horses because I was SOOO frustrated with my trainer and horse. But I realized something, I wasn't frustrated, I was scared, but I didn't know that. Maybe that's happening to you?
One suggestion might be to take lessons on a large but very quiet school horse - something that would get you used to being that far off the ground but in a controlled situation with an understanding instructor and a calm, quiet mount.
Also, watching your trainer work with and ride Solly may help. Sometimes I think just seeing other people working with our horse helps our confidence a bit. And, of course, taking lessons on him yourself may also help.
Even though you've ridden all of your life, you've now had a scare and your confidence is shaken. Taking lessons may be a way to start the steps toward regaining some confidence because it is in a controlled environment.
And, of course, keep going with the all-important ground work and desensitizing!
Hi! Thanks much for your input! Well, I know I'm scared. I figure that if I get a mini and drive it, then I wont have to deal with getting in the saddle (in my brain) !!! No stress... But I know I have to get back in the saddle. If I couldn't ride for whatever reason, I would be very unhappy. I've had a few heart problems over the last couple of years. Something called atrial fibrillation. I take medication for it. I was all in a panic because I asked my cardiologist if I could ride and he wasnt crazy about it if I was on a blood thinner. Told him I didn't want to take a blood thinner then. Just aspirin. So I know my desire is there. Just need to get over the fear! I don't even know why I'm fearful for sure.
Jeanne57, Don't give up. If you are at the point that you are thinking about giving up riding and going to Minis why not hold off and just do ground work with your horse. At least if you do decide that you want to ride you will have a horse you can ride. The important thing here is that you take your time and don't set extreme expectations for yourself. You can saddle up and not ride if you don't feel like it...I think that you will come to the point that you will start to ride. Keep the first rides short and easy. Just work with your horse for twenty minutes or so. It you only go around the ring once that's ok . I think one of the problems we have with being scared is we start thinking about our ride as soon as we wake up in the morning and by the time we get saddled up we are a mess. I would like some suggestions on this one myself. Good Luck and remember God is with you.
Hi! Well, thats what I plan on doing. Watching my trainer ride Solly and takings lesson myself. I know it will boost my confidence level some.
I told my husband that I wanted to sell Solly and buy a mini and drive it. He said "Why don't you do groundwork with him and get him desensitized"! Hubby knows I love Solly. So excellant suggestion! You are on the same page as him! =)
One problem that I do have and maybe you all out there can help me with this. My little mare, that I sold used to trip and thats when I'd always end up falling off. Solly does the same thing. I've had several friends come out and they believe it is the footing in the indoor arena. It is not level in some places and very hard. The owners of the facility where I am are not willing to put a bunch of money into their arena. They can't afford it and I can see their point with hay and grain, electricity and heat in the winter. I live in Minnesota, so it gets quite cold and they heat the barn in the winter to about 40 degrees which seems warm when it is -20 below zero! This is just a small place. 6 stalls, wash stall and an indoor arena. The people are wonderful and take great care of the horses. If I take Solly to a arabian training barn, I am looking at $ 700.00 a month which I just can't afford =/ Right now I am paying 310.00 a month. Well, rambling on here.... does anyone have any suggestions in getting him to pickup his feet more so he doesn't trip in the circumstances we are in??? We've tried getting him to move forward more. That doesn't do it. He is a hunter pleasure horse on the flat.
But when you lunge him, trot over tarps, small jumps, he never trips. What do you think?
This is a great site and wonderful people and I Thank You for all the suggestions and help you have given me thus far!
1) I think the anticipation is killing you! Definitely see if you can take some lessons to help with confidence, but once you get up there, you will probably wonder why it took so long! You have to think in the moment :"Everything is just fine right now." You can't let your mind run away with the "what-ifs" of the future. I find having a task to work on makes me more confident and more of a leader for Dixie. I have a plan and am trying to execute it, and she then gives me her attention. The plan gives direction for both of you, and you are the designated leader to carry out the plan. It might be just riding around some cones in a pattern you choose, but the plan automatically puts you in the leadership role which makes the horse feel safer.
2) I would like to drive, too! It looks so fun. But.. .driving can also be dangerous. There are terrible wrecks that happen, but it is a great sport that still requires a great deal of horsemanship. There is a drill team of minis in Phoenix that is absolutely amazing. About 12 -16 little carts and minis come trotting into the arena and excecute the most amazing patterns! I have a cob sized mule that I'd like to drive someday when I can't get up on 16.2 Dixie any more!
3) About tripping - that is very scary. I also have a "daisy clipper" - won't pick up her feet. She trips on the flat ground, but never misses a step in rough terrrain. What I have found helpful is having a trim that squares up the toe to "ease the breakover" as the farrier guys say. I don't necessarily believe in Natural Balance shoes, but the squared toe with the shoe set back 1/4 inch helps. There is definitely more tripping when the feet start getting long. the other thing is conditioning. The better the condition, the less tripping because the horse can carry itself better. Unfortunately the conditioning part comes with riding. Riding technique can also help. I bit of collection seems to lift the shoulders and helps with tripping. My instructor taught me to lift the inside rein and shoulder going around turns/corners. This seems to help also, with tripping on turns. But mostly, tripping is due to Dixie not paying attention. If I let her start sight seeing on a ride, she trips more. I try to keep her focus where my eyes are, and so she is watching her feet better. One day a couple of years ago, we were trotting nicely down a dirt road- smooth and level. She tripped and fell to her nose - a three point landing. She actually bloodied both knees and her nose, poor thing. The only thing that saved me was the saddle horn that dug into my thigh and gave me a horrendous bruise. She has gone to her knees a couple times since, so, I, too am afaid of getting thrown over her head. The suggestions I gave have helped me. So maybe you can glean something that will help you also. Hang in there, and get riding!!!!----------
Dixie Mom
"The art of riding: Keeping a horse between you and the ground!"
