Need help rebuilding confidence after a few riding accidents!?

Question

To start with, i ride two different horse regularly. One is tootsie roll. I do not own her although i refer to her as "my pony" since i am the only one who seriously rides her. I usually ride her a few times a week. I also lease and horse named peng who does stricktly dressage. I am also in an equestrian club at school and ride some different horses with them. So heres my story:

so the past few weeks have not been my best...
~First at a big show, my pony refused in our first two rounds. Not a big deal but it kinda razzled me.
~Then, with my school equestrian club, i went riding on a new pony. He hadn't been ridden in a while and he rushed towards a jump then stopped. I went over his shoulder and landed on the jump.
*This one i got over a little bit easier then the one coming up since the day after i went riding on my pony tootsie. *
~Next, while giving my pony the bit, she bit my finger and cut half my nail off. (no big deal again, but i just thought i'd mention it.)
~Then in gym class, i sprained my ankle and was on crutches for two weeks...you know what that means! NO RIDING!!!!
~ I just returned last weekend and it went great. obviously we didn't do any big jumps since it was my first time back and my pony was in heat. Saturday though was pretty bad. My pony was really really frisky and was cantering a course. After one jump, she started bucking like crazy and i flew off and literally landed on my head and did a tumble. i blacked out for a second but i got back on. We did the course again at a trot. I wasnt feeling good for some days after and it was a very bad fall.


I am not afraid of my pony but today while riding peng, i noticed my confidence is bad. Even just getting on for walk trot made me nervous whenever peng trotted a bit faster. We cantered but i only relaxed after a lap.

It really upsets me that im getting afraid since ridding is my life. I do everything with horses and i know i will get my confidence back soon enough but do you guys have any tips??

Answer 1

I'm sorry, but all you rally can do is start from the beginning. do all you started out with to build you confidence in the first place.

Answer 2

Darlin', I know exactly how you feel!

I used to be terrified of cantering because I fell off when my lesson horse of the day took off on me down a hill, and me still being a novice, I leaned forward and got dumped over her head when she put her head down. (Looking back, 5 years later, she had just had a week off and it was her first ride out in the outdoor that year, and the outdoor is right next to her paddock, the novice with little confidence to begin with shouldn't have been riding her)

Anyways, you just have to push through it, you'll probably be better off working more with Peng, she sounds a little more well schooled. Push yourself until you feel a little uncomfortable, then keep doing that until it doesn't bother you, and then do a little more, etc. Also try to focus completely on your CURRENT ride, and nothing else. not past rides, not your fight with your friends, etc. Sometimes horses listen better when they can tell you are totally focused on leading them.

As for the rascally pony, if you are the only one who rides her, then SHE'S had 2 weeks off too, so she was probably feeling a little fresh. Good for you for getting back on, but I think you should have gone to doctor, and if you still feel poorly today or tomorrow, I would still consider going. Also, I hope you had a helmet on, and if you did, you need to replace it, especially if you landed on your head. You might not be able to see any damage, but it is there. It's saved you once, retire it. The $70 new helmet is worth it, and it should make you feel safer, too.

If you still feel nervous after a week or two, then see if you can swap a ride on your pony for a ride on a really well schooled lesson horse, or maybe do a lunge lesson on one of the two you already ride. You'd be amazed how much that can help.

Good luck with this, I'm sure you can get your confidence back ASAP!

Answer 3

There isn't much to tell you other then keep on riding! I went through this last year with my mare and it took me three months to get back on her. Ride a horse you are comfortable with and do only what you are comfortable doing for a while. Just flat work etc. I tell myself all the time that people have bad days and so do horses. So often times when something goes wrong (unless its a serious issue) I pass it off as a bad day and try again the next. All you can do is cowboy up and get back on! Oh and maybe have a trusted horsie friend around while you ride the first couple times :)

Answer 4

You are just in a funk. My confidence level is always all over the place. Some days I feel unstoppable, and some days I feel like a beginner, even though I've been riding for years. Just keep riding, but take it slow. This will slowly rebuild your confidence. It is good to talk about it too. I used to keep my anxiety about riding bottled up inside. It just kept building til it got to the point where I didn't want to ride at all. After I started working a t a breeding/training facility, I regained my confidence by riding easy horses at first and working my way up to actually breaking a 2 y.o. You will get out of this low point.

Answer 5

well, we all go through times where our confidence is shaken!

What i do when i have a bad ride is just ride a pony I know i can trust. It may be the easiest pony at the barn, but it lets me have a fun time and enjoy the ride. Try that, and if that doesnt work, try to do some games with your horse, it will relax you around them. like follow the leader or lunging.

Hope i helped!