Fear... >.<

So on Tuesday I rode Lacey and I realized that I'm actually afraid of her little acting up-nesses and that's why I lunge the heck out of her before every ride... >.<
I realized this because after I brought her in after she ran around all spastasically, I noticed myself getting major butterflies about getting on. Also, I haven't ridden for more than twenty minutes in quite awhile, which might be another sign that I'm scared.

The funny thing was that after I said to myself (I was on her back, freaking out at this point) "Ok, I know I'm scared, but I'm a good rider and I can handle this old nag" and relaxed my whole body, guess who else relaxed and got significantly less scarily tense? If you guessed Lacey, you guessed right. It was pretty funny actually, I felt her physically detense beneath me, through a western saddle! Haha

What do you guys do when you're scared? I've never fallen off Lacey, she's just kinda a firecracker about things sometimes and once she did run away with and buck a girl off (the girl was being stupid and it was back when Lacey was Miss Perpetual Sugar High, but it was still REALLY scary for me) so I think I over think what she could do and psych myself out. And I think about "What if I DID fall off of her?" but when I really think about it, she's super short so it would be way less than a big deal to fall off.

I really wish I had a horsey friend who could come watch me ride and make me feel better but I don't and my trainer (who I haven't ridden with in at least 6 months) got in a really bad car accident a few weeks ago and is currently bedridden (she broke 3 vertebrae).

But yeah, what helps you feel better when you're scared?

What helps me-
-To realize that if I do not get over it, I may never get back on.
- Being raised to never give up.
-The fact that if the horse is scaring me, it is my fault that I am in the situation.
- Telling myself to "Cowgirl Up!".
-To realize that most fears are irrational.

I understand Honey, I share your list. I think that I must be a freak or something. I get those butterflies every time I get on a young horse but I enjoy the rush. It is my version of a high since I don't do drugs. I think it has something to do with my last name, I am not about to let a horse beat me by scaring me. I generally get on with the idea in my head "Ok, lets see what you got youngster. But however bad you think you are, you're still going to lose. }:P hehehe"

Knowing that if I don't try to forget my fear it may ruin my relationship with my horse.

Well we are peas in a pod then, big ole ditto^^.

I'm a very logical person, so with horses, I know if I'm scared, I'm in MORE danger then I was if I was calm and thinking through it. I've ridden a lot of silly horses, so I guess that helps too, but I know that being calm is the absolute best reaction to get me out as safely as possible.

Fall off No, in all seriousness, first of all good for you for noticing that when YOU calm down, so will Lacey It's SO hard to do, though, when you're nervous. I used to be SO nervous riding Sandie after she bolted one day and bucked me off, that I couldn't even WALK on her anymore! It took a long time of having many many good rides just walking her around to make me gain that confidence back. Then after it was back, I found that when something happened and I fell off a few times, falling became no big deal all of a sudden haha! And since that was pretty much what I was afraid of, I just got over it.

After you have several good rides your confidence will come back slowly. And when she acts up and you can handle it calmly you'll feel like you can handle anything and then you won't get nervous much anymore! Sounds like you can handle yourself though if you haven't fallen yet, so you must have some confidence there!!

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. I started working on my fear by working with an easier horse adn then slowly moving up. I still get nervous, but I know that when I relax I am less likely to get hurt. I also remind myself that falling off is better than other things that could happen....and I would rather fall off than never get on.

For some reason I've never been afraid of horses and/or riding, but there are still times that I do have that 'uneasy' feeling before riding. I thought about it for some time and realized that the occasional feeling goes back to something our horse breeder friends once told me, "Every ride is different", and that my uneasiness wasn't fear, but an anxiety/anticipation (and thrill) of the unknown "what will today's ride bring...". Whenever I get this feeling, a couple deep breaths and a soothing 'chat' with my horse help me.

Honestly, like PaintHorseMares, I haven't been afraid either. I've worked with tons of mustangs and I jumped for six years. The point is, just think positive. If you fall off, so what? I know I sound a lot meaner than I actually mean. Just once you fall off numerous times, you realize that its just part of riding.

Hope we help you out, so you can go enjoy your horse to the fullest :)