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Regular
Posts: 65
| Okay, sorry peeps, got another question. I guess maybe it's coming with age & where I had a bad accident a few years ago, but I have a fear of falling & don't have the confidence I use to have. How can I get any of this back? I love the sport & I'm starting to get really depressed with myself regarding this. I've been riding since I was 3 & been around horses my whole life so it's not like I've been riding or doing this sport for just a few years or whatever. I've ridden just about every discipline except dressage. I really appreciate all the help from this forum. Always a lot of good advice & awesome people. Thanks in advance! :) :)
P.S. I do ride in a helmet & that has helped a little. :) |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
 
| I started barrel racing after my girls went to college and thier high school rodeo horses were just sitting in the pasture. They slowed down for me but their power was intimidating. My trainer suggested a magic seat to get my confidence and to get the feel of what sitting right feels like. My no means does the magic for seat do all the work for you, you still have to learn to use your body. It was a great tool for me, I used it for about 6 months. |
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | I have the same issue. Riding with a helmet does help. I have found that the more I ride, the less I worry. If I have been off for a few days or more than a week, I just have to work back up to it. Start small, go where I am comfortable, and be patient with myself. If I am having a really bad time, I may not leave the round pen that day. When I get to a barrel race, it helps me just to walk around and shake off my nerves. Sometimes is takes a long time. It is frustrating, but I bet there are lots of us out there feeling the same way. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Get thyself to a gym three or four times a week with a personal trainer.
build your physical strength back up and rock and roll. |
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Veteran
Posts: 155
| almost exactly 1 year ago I lost the function of my inner ear and total hearing loss on the left side. What that means for me is lack of balance, my eyes are my balance now. I've gone through physical therapy, etc. I've kept riding, i can't mount from the ground, and there were really scary jerky moments, but for me it is total muscle memory. I mostly ride English, however I have been scared to jump. About a month ago I set up little 18" crossrail. Thankfully my horse it a point and shoot kind of guy so I just had to ride it. I did it, I felt so accomplished!!!!
I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Of course wear your helmet and anything else that makes you feel safe, but also ride a really trustworthy horse, take a deep breath, and let your body feel the ride. Sometimes our brains can surprise us! |
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| I was hot **** and a bag of chips as a junior. Life happened, and I went 10-12 years without horses.
Lots of slow work, and a trusty, honest quarter horse, lots of taking things at my speed, working without stirrups, a helmet every ride, and not being afraid to just walk some days has gone a long way to getting my groove back.
The horse matters. You've got to be able to trust them.
Don't discount entirely wearing a cross country vest. The new ones aren't hot or awfully heavy, and can smooth out a mid-section nicely. From the "older" people I've talked to who've had a crash in one, they have shortened recovery time dramatically. |
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 The Worst Seller Ever
Posts: 4138
Location: Oklahoma | For me it took a combination of going to the gym to get my strength back, lots of just riding, and an older babysitter horse to help me. I had flashbacks where I sould freeze for about a year after I started back running, but they finally went away.
After I got my groove back on the old horse I got on sonething that was safe, but challenged my riding. I felt liek I was falling off every time I ran her, but after watching the videos I saw I was fine. It was all in my head.
You can do this!!!
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 545
Location: Texas | barrel racing addict - 2017-09-13 12:59 PM Okay, sorry peeps, got another question. I guess maybe it's coming with age & where I had a bad accident a few years ago, but I have a fear of falling & don't have the confidence I use to have. How can I get any of this back? I love the sport & I'm starting to get really depressed with myself regarding this. I've been riding since I was 3 & been around horses my whole life so it's not like I've been riding or doing this sport for just a few years or whatever. I've ridden just about every discipline except dressage. I really appreciate all the help from this forum. Always a lot of good advice & awesome people. Thanks in advance! :) :) P.S. I do ride in a helmet & that has helped a little. :)
I was trying my now horse I'm running at a barrel race. I felt super confident in the exhibitions and so when I went to run on her, I got too confident and sent her pretty hard to the first. Well me not knowing her I chickened out and picked her up before the barrel. She turned in front of it, and I came off and hit the fence and broke my arm. Needless to say it rocked my confidence more than I ever would have thought. I have been riding since I was two and had never ridden like I did after my accident. Especially when I went to make a run. I totally understand how you feel. It was a mental STRUGGLE and very frustrating. Finally after just slowly building speed it's gotten better. I've continued to run and do it as often as I can and it's gotten better. I also suggest reading the book Mind Gym. It's a great read and so helpful in battling your mind. It does get better, don't give up!!!! |
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I Eat Like a Normal Person
Posts: 3400
Location: Kansas | Years ago I had a horse fall with me while loping through the pasture. His front end folded and he went down onto his shoulder and side, so my shoulder and hip took the brunt of the fall (stayed on him all the way down) but it also rattled my brain. I was out of it for about an hour, came to back at the barn with him unsaddled and washed down, then I was out again and came to sitting in the kitchen as my husband walked through the door. Turned out I had a concussion and cracked a rib in my upper back which kept me from being able to lift my arm for months. I still rode....the horse began having issues with stumbling and I found that an old injury was flaring up again. For some reason during this time I started losing confidence in my riding for the first time in my life...I'd been riding since I was a kid, and had never felt so shaky and leery about speeding up. I finally sold him, and ended up with a 4 yr old gelding that a local horse trader had been trying to make a rope horse out of....the horse was gangly, uncoordinated, and not pretty....so he had put him on the back burner. He'd been used on cattle in the pasture for about a year, but was getting a bad attitude due to the guy trying to push the arena roping and using bad head gear. I got him cheap, and spent the next year basically starting over with him. Because I had to take him slowly, it also gave me the chance to regain my confidence. As we did slow work, arena exercises, and walking the pasture and trails, I gradually relaxed and got with this horse and eventually helped him become a really good barrel horse with a wonderful attitude. By the time he was ready to start running the pattern, I was feeling like my old self again. So perhaps if you started out slow with a horse you could trust, and just took your time it would help. When I got this young horse I also put myself on an exercise program: weights 2-3 days a week, stretches and floor exercises daily, and yoga a couple of days a week. Gaining strength and stretching your back and hamstrings makes a huge difference in how you feel on a horse. I had no idea how tight I was (because I didn't feel like I was) until I took my first yoga class. I just did the basic poses, and felt completely different on the horse. When I'm tight in my hamstrings and hips I can't sit down properly, which causes tension to work it's way up my back and into my shoulders, and I feel like I'm riding on top of the horse, vs with him....not a very secure feeling. |
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Veteran
Posts: 220
Location: Conroe, TX 77304 | I am so glad to read this and to find out that I am not the only one. I had a couple of really nice horses and then I let my daughter riding them and after coming off of one at a big barrel race, I lost my confidence.
My good horses are no longer and have to ride one that has an attitude. He can do the pattern fast, but I don't want fast yet, trying to build up my confidence, but he sluves off when I ride easy, so makes it really hard. Trying to get up enough confidence to trust him and go for it, but haven't gotten there yet. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| classicpotatochip - 2017-09-13 1:59 PM Get thyself to a gym three or four times a week with a personal trainer. build your physical strength back up and rock and roll.
Great advice, it helped me both mentally and physically. |
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Regular
Posts: 65
| A lot of great advice out there. This mare won't go no faster than you make her but if you don't push her some you're gonna get the barrel every time. I used to ride a horse just like her years ago & was katie bar the door with every run but now I think it's just a lot of confidence in myself that needs to be gained back. I'm trying. Not giving up on my self or being able to run this mare. My other 2 I run always take care of ya but ya still have to sit down & hang on.....lol |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| I suggest a clinic with a lot of saddle time. I have a horse that I raised and I can trust him to take care of me
The trainer at the gym where I go has me do balance excercises. They help |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Junebug1 - 2017-09-13 2:06 PM
almost exactly 1 year ago I lost the function of my inner ear and total hearing loss on the left side. What that means for me is lack of balance, my eyes are my balance now. I've gone through physical therapy, etc. I've kept riding, i can't mount from the ground, and there were really scary jerky moments, but for me it is total muscle memory. I mostly ride English, however I have been scared to jump. About a month ago I set up little 18" crossrail. Thankfully my horse it a point and shoot kind of guy so I just had to ride it. I did it, I felt so accomplished!!!!
I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Of course wear your helmet and anything else that makes you feel safe, but also ride a really trustworthy horse, take a deep breath, and let your body feel the ride. Sometimes our brains can surprise us!
 Good for you |
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 Three in a Bikini
Posts: 2035
| This recommendation has been made a few times already but...
Going to the gym helped me tremendously!
Building muscle and feeling stronger gave me the confidence I needed to step up my game.
I try to run 7 miles a week. If I am really on my A game I will add some leg weights to that.
Good luck. You will get there! |
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