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Veteran
Posts: 120
| So...heres my story...I am an experienced rider......have been riding most of my life.....my daughter runs barrels and all my friends run barrels. I have tried it but find that going fast scares me half to death. I really, really want to be able to get past this and enjoy this wonderful time spent with the horses and good friends. Am I just doomed for life with this fear? The older I get, the harder the fear is to get past............
I think if I could find a horse that would go at my speed and let me build up to where I need to be I would be doing great. Finished horses seem to know thier job to well and training one doesn't work because once speed is required we fall apart because I don't know what to do.............sigh......
Please tell me there is someone out there who has been through this and conquered it.....  |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
  
Location: Oklahoma | I'm in the same boat you are... |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| Really? That is great....I mean..I'm sorry you are but its good to know we are not alone.....now...we just need to figure out how to fix it........ |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 507
Location: Lost in the corn of Iowa. | Going thru this right now. My mare is ready to be pushed harder. Actually she has been all summer. But the truth is that when she comes flying in all I wanna do is close my eyes. LOL!! I just have to get out of my own head and quit being scared of the fear of going fast. I finally got the attitude of "screw it, just ride it and see what happens", so far it is working for us. Also it helps to find a great person to work with whether trainer, or good friend to help you get through it too. That's also another thing that I did as well. It helps. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | I broke my femur in a car accident and was told if I ever fell just right I have a chance of becoming paralyzed. My buckskin is loping a gorgeous correct pattern, I'm too chicken to open him up. He's broke beyond belief too. I think I am going to find someone to jockey him and campaign him for me. I can train one through all the slow work, I just want someone else to run them! Any takers????? |
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | Welcome to the club. I'm even very old - just turned 29 a few days ago - but I have just turned in to an anxiety ridden nervous rider. I used to be a speed demon and now I'm actually having a hard time riding in general without being nervous let along going fast. I rode this weekend for the first time in a while and had a really good time, so I'm hoping I'm getting back on track. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I was right there with you, it is scary! I didn't start running barrels til I as 49 and self preservation kicked in big time, lol. My husband came to watch me, I wanted to make a nice run so instead of holding them up I gritted my teeth and let them go. I didn't push hard but I didn't hold them back either. I was in the 2D on 2 and got a 3D check on the other one but the biggest thing I got was the feeling that I could do this. I doubt I will ever be 1D but I am consistently now 2D or 3D. That one run finally got me over the hump of being too scared. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 319
| That was my story too! Three years its taken me to get over being afraid of the speed. But so glad I stuck with it. The turning point for me was getting a saddle I felt secure in. Tammy Fisher holds me in and keeps me with my horse. Now we're trying to keep the barrels up.
Hang in there.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | What helps get used to speed is to get off the pattern, find a flat open space, and start there... let them run a bit faster each time in the open (whether it be like a race track where there is fencing, or just a pasture.) Soon you will get comfortable letting then run straight, then you can start adding turns. I found this to really help when I first started running barrels. Just get used to the speed off barrels, so once you run the pattern, you can concentrate of the pattern and not being scared!!! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 345
| The lord blessed me. I purchased back my old mare had won tons of stuff with her in my younger years. The other horse I had I could never get past 4D or 5D. This year with her I made into the 2D. Sold the one that I did not have any confidence in and bought me a younger mare she is train but listens so well and has patience with me so far. |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | Omg I am so glad I'm not alone in this. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | TwistedK - 2014-09-29 2:41 PM I broke my femur in a car accident and was told if I ever fell just right I have a chance of becoming paralyzed. My buckskin is loping a gorgeous correct pattern, I'm too chicken to open him up. He's broke beyond belief too. I think I am going to find someone to jockey him and campaign him for me. I can train one through all the slow work, I just want someone else to run them! Any takers?????
I'll do it! I'll do it! I'd love an opportunity like that, especially since I'm considering breeding my mare next year.
Going fast is fun...just say a little pray then go like heck to that 1st barrel. I know, not a lot of help. I actually find it a bit easier to cruise to 1st then pick up speed after. But do as others have suggested and just breeze, then add some turns later on. And have fun! That is why we barrel race, to have fun. No one cares how fast you go except for maybe yourself. Hugs to you. 
One thing I would recommend is make sure you have really good core strength...it will give you more balance and make you feel more secure, and therefore gain more confidence. I'm quite a bit younger, but have ridden for a while and this is the first year I have actually done exercises to help my core strength, and it has really improved my confidence, especially after having a kind of scary horse fall last year. Planking has really helped, but I do some situps as well. I've been doing the 30 Day Abs Challenge, and I'm hoping it will help.
I wish you the best of luck!  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Getting used to the speed takes time. Some people love the run like mad and others need more time to adjust. I'd suggest finding an arena (a field is great but if they running and you're uncomfortable there are a lot of things that can go wrong) and ask your horse on the long sides of the arena to extend out for you and on the short sides to collect and slow down. This can help you gain confidence in both your own abilities and gain trust in your horse. Once you've gotten where you're comfortable with that ask for more speed down the long sides until you've got a good run going and are comfortable both rating and slowing for the corner (like a barrel) without having to make the fast, tight turn.
Once you're good there. Set a barrel in the middle of the arena and lope at it from both ends and make a turn and lope home. By having it in the middle with walls or rails on both ends you can only pick up so much speed before you reach the end. Do that until your comfortable and then move the barrel so it's closer to one end of the arena and go at it from the other end.
Once you're good running at it at the end of the arena put two barrels up. One at each end of the arena and lope back and forth making turns on them. Once you're comfortable with that... ask for more speed in between. To challenge yourself once you're comfortable running at it from both ends of the arena make it smaller and continue to maintain the speed. As the barrels come at you faster you have to adjust faster.
Hopefully these exercises help you out a bit. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | mtcanchazer - 2014-09-29 9:19 PM TwistedK - 2014-09-29 2:41 PM I broke my femur in a car accident and was told if I ever fell just right I have a chance of becoming paralyzed. My buckskin is loping a gorgeous correct pattern, I'm too chicken to open him up. He's broke beyond belief too. I think I am going to find someone to jockey him and campaign him for me. I can train one through all the slow work, I just want someone else to run them! Any takers????? I'll do it! I'll do it! I'd love an opportunity like that, especially since I'm considering breeding my mare next year.
Going fast is fun...just say a little pray then go like heck to that 1st barrel. I know, not a lot of help. I actually find it a bit easier to cruise to 1st then pick up speed after. But do as others have suggested and just breeze, then add some turns later on. And have fun! That is why we barrel race, to have fun. No one cares how fast you go except for maybe yourself. Hugs to you.
One thing I would recommend is make sure you have really good core strength...it will give you more balance and make you feel more secure, and therefore gain more confidence. I'm quite a bit younger, but have ridden for a while and this is the first year I have actually done exercises to help my core strength, and it has really improved my confidence, especially after having a kind of scary horse fall last year. Planking has really helped, but I do some situps as well. I've been doing the 30 Day Abs Challenge, and I'm hoping it will help.
I wish you the best of luck!
If you were closer I'd have you come ride him! He's the buckskin in my picture and a stallion! |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| This is so me.....I am 47 though. I have found that even riding I am a nervous wreck. I'm not really sure where it comes from. I have a good seat..rode English for a few years......I workout regulary.....so I am in decent shape.....have a strong core.....sigh...I need to find a horse that I trust and will take good care of me..then I think I can begin to tackle this hurdle....... |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | I'm not scared to open him up in a field, just on a pattern. I've also never kept a horse longer than loping a slow pattern. So it's new territory. I grew up as an equitation/hunter jumper/dressage rider. I'm not afraid to go over fences. I ride down busy roads, I break and train my own. I'm just scared of opening up on the pattern. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| I believe you just need to find the right horse. Either one you train yourself, or a been there done that 4D horse. You need to find a horse you trust and have confidence in. A smooth horse that is not too powerful through it's turns would probably be best for speed confidence. If you trust and enjoy your horse, the rest will come... slowly, probably, but I do believe it all just lies in finding the right horse for yourself. |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| This sounds like an excellent idea and will give me something to focus on and a starting point. The hardest part for me is finding something that will work with me and not get frustrated with me. I have some really nice horses at home but they are far to finished and far to fast for this girl....lol...I need a horse I can build trust on before I move to something like that. Thanks so much for your advice.  |
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Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | TwistedK - 2014-09-30 6:40 AM
mtcanchazer - 2014-09-29 9:19 PM TwistedK - 2014-09-29 2:41 PM I broke my femur in a car accident and was told if I ever fell just right I have a chance of becoming paralyzed. My buckskin is loping a gorgeous correct pattern, I'm too chicken to open him up. He's broke beyond belief too. I think I am going to find someone to jockey him and campaign him for me. I can train one through all the slow work, I just want someone else to run them! Any takers????? I'll do it! I'll do it! I'd love an opportunity like that, especially since I'm considering breeding my mare next year.
Going fast is fun...just say a little pray then go like heck to that 1st barrel. I know, not a lot of help. I actually find it a bit easier to cruise to 1st then pick up speed after. But do as others have suggested and just breeze, then add some turns later on. And have fun! That is why we barrel race, to have fun. No one cares how fast you go except for maybe yourself. Hugs to you.
One thing I would recommend is make sure you have really good core strength...it will give you more balance and make you feel more secure, and therefore gain more confidence. I'm quite a bit younger, but have ridden for a while and this is the first year I have actually done exercises to help my core strength, and it has really improved my confidence, especially after having a kind of scary horse fall last year. Planking has really helped, but I do some situps as well. I've been doing the 30 Day Abs Challenge, and I'm hoping it will help.
I wish you the best of luck!
He's beautiful! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| banjomia - 2014-09-30 10:28 AM
This sounds like an excellent idea and will give me something to focus on and a starting point. The hardest part for me is finding something that will work with me and not get frustrated with me. I have some really nice horses at home but they are far to finished and far to fast for this girl....lol...I need a horse I can build trust on before I move to something like that. Thanks so much for your advice.
You need a horse that is "YOURS" and only yours. Build a bond and just go on with him/her, it is suppose to be fun! There are 5D's for a reason. Get yourself a nice honest horse and enjoy yourself. |
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