Beginner ~ Fear and Confidence issues :-(

Thanks Hanna for sharing your expierence and advice with me :)

Thank you! Now that I didn't know... I thought it had to do with temperament, but now your post sure puts things together

Hi my name is Amy and you might think this is a little silly but i'm 15 years old and I have work round Horse for about 2-3 years yeah but I have rode horse for 7 years Yeah, and I have been through alot round them. But the best thing I have learnt is to always get back on get back in the game, because a horse does not mean to through you off something might spoke them and all they want to do is get you and himself/herself away from it.

You can ask every equine related person in the world for advise on what breed is the best gender everything for some one who is not to confident ... But the best thing is to get a horse that you can work round yeah and it is happy with you working round it and excepts you then slowly take your time start riding it even if you spend your lesson going in and out of halt that's fine. Atleast you are riding just go to that place and bound with the horse because once the horse knows your happy and confident he/she will look after you, be nervous and most of the time they will be....

I will tell you something about me yeah .. I use to ride with my friend on her Horse fabulous grey gelding yeah fine for me because I was nervous and not to confident, and I bounded with him he was the first I fell off he reared up at another horse charging at the riding school outside.. But as I was on the floor he did not run No he stood right next to me and waited until I got up then I got back on ...... okay .x

All I am saying is before you go getting a horse get as much hands on experience look at different horse , breeds and make sure that you know the horse you are going to buy.. ok Email me if you need to talk... ok I maybe 15 but hay I love horses so much and when I get enough money I want to get my own horse and hopefully ride representing britain in the olypics sooo....

Amy .x.x ( Sorry for such a long responce).x.x

Hi Amy! I appreciate your response, you may be 15 but you still have much more knowledge than I do about horses at the moment

Although many people recomend getting a QH, most importantly is one that is good temperament and great for beginner like me. Before I purchase one I am going to go and do ground work and slowly build my confidence being around horses and then build my confidence riding them, and only once I feel really confident will I purchase my first horse. I can't wait... but slow and steady wins the race right?

When you make it to the olympics please tell me Amy, we may be countrys apart but I would tune in to see you ride! You can do anything you set your mind to! Good Luck and best wishes!

Thank you for the good luck. And god luck to you in finding your horse when you are ready, hope you have as much fun with riding as what I do with just being round horses. GOOD LUCK again thankyou and keep in contact with me over you situation. X.x ;)

I'm a nervous rider myself. I had a bad experience where a horse bolted on me and ran for 1/2 mile down the middle of a street. There was no stopping him. For some people this wouldn't have been a really big issue, but for me it was terrifying. It took me forever to get back on. I looked and bought myself a 16hh QH. I've had him a year now and I'm still working on my fear issues. He's a real loving horse and lazy. It takes a lot of coaxing to get him to even walk fast. I'm slowly building up to a canter, but not quite there yet.
The first time I "rode" after the accident, I had someone lead me around. I was so nervous. I thought I was going to pass out. But my horse didn't even pay the slightest attention that I was scared, he was acting his self as if I wasn't even there. Anyway, while I was being led around, we talked about different things. It helped calm me down. After my heart slowed and I was at ease, I felt accomplished even though I didn't actually ride by myself.

You have a good point here and if you don't mind me just using this as a way that maybe Tacha could use why don't you try riding with someone if that's on a lead or even if your in a school with a friend talking about anything and everything this might just help you to relax again.

That's exactly what I was trying to say, just using my own experience. I was hoping she could use it for good. :)

When I was 8 (I'm 15 now) I convinced my parents to get back into horses (all of my family has worked around horses for most of their life) so, of course I started taking lessons, we found an older horse for me to own (she was 18 at the time) and everything was going great....until at the end of the first week into my lessons they started having me bareback ride on a 4 year old gelding. He was good horse, don't get me wrong but he was just a bit to young for me so early in the lessons. So I started getting more and more nervous and less confident over the next week (i had lessons everyday for 3 hours it was more like a camp) and by the end of the second week, during the last "camp style lesson" he bucked four times. I stayed on but it completely shattered all my confidents. Of course though, since I had just gotten my own new horse my parents expected me to ride her so for the first month my mom led me around on a lead rope until I got more and more confident in my self and more horse. So basically, just take it slow. Don't try to live up to anybodies expectations but your own. Start out grooming, make sure your comfortable with that before anything else and build a relationship with your horse. For your first ride have someone lead you around while you just get used to everything, if that's what you need, then build up to you riding the horse alone in a small corral, their no hurry but try to push yourself little by little .

What really helped me though is my horse, she was an 18 year old quarter horse mare (still have her, She's 25 and still going strong) who was more of a 1 person horse, and after we built that relationship it made a world of difference. Having a horse follow you around, having a horse that trusts you is just amazing and boosts your confidence so much. Don't worry so much about age or breed or gender (just don't get a stallion), just look for a horse that kid broke, and been through everything. Make sure their also broke for more advanced riders so when you do get more confident they'll push you till your able to ride around in a pasture, full gallop completely bareback with just a piece of twine around their neck as reins (its so much fun :P)