I'm going to a show tomorrow (Sunday) and I'm a bit nervous. Gizmo just got back from the trainer and he's doing really well, but they didn't get a chance to take him to a show. He's a 4 year old AQH.
So. Gizmo has started getting nervous when horses are coming towards him faster than a walk. He used to freak when horses came up behind him when he was younger (scooted his butt up underneath himself and bolted, but didn't go very far 'cause I could stop him) but I fixed that after doing it over and over. So, I am not the most confident or aggressive rider. I'm actually working on being a bit more assertive because I'm.. under aggressive lol. There's been a few times in the warm up rings at shows where a horse is trotting or cantering towards us and I'm walking or jogging along not suspecting a thing and then we get close and Gizmo slams on the brakes and swerves away.
Lately, this has been happening more and more often. I anticipate that he's going to get scared so I tense up and then he feels me and then stop and swerve. We were getting a little bit better during fair two weeks ago but then he did the stop and swerve when a horse started acting up behind us and I fell and landed on my tailbone. Couldn't ride the next two days. I was really nervous after that and I rode him three days later (trainer rode him the day I fell, his daughter did the next day, and then my trainer rode him again before I rode on the third day). I got on him, and I was nervous but we did all right. There were other horses around but I was really careful to just stay away from them.
So now tomorrow will be my first show since falling off and I'm nervous about it. I know a lot of it is my fault because when I get scared, he does too. I just know I'm going to be freaking out tomorrow trying to warm up and I won't really be focusing on working him and more on watching what other people are doing and trying to stay out of the way. >.< Any tips on what I can do to try to stay calm and get him to realize that the other horses aren't actually coming at him to hurt him, they're just passing close?
So. Gizmo has started getting nervous when horses are coming towards him faster than a walk. He used to freak when horses came up behind him when he was younger (scooted his butt up underneath himself and bolted, but didn't go very far 'cause I could stop him) but I fixed that after doing it over and over. So, I am not the most confident or aggressive rider. I'm actually working on being a bit more assertive because I'm.. under aggressive lol. There's been a few times in the warm up rings at shows where a horse is trotting or cantering towards us and I'm walking or jogging along not suspecting a thing and then we get close and Gizmo slams on the brakes and swerves away.
Lately, this has been happening more and more often. I anticipate that he's going to get scared so I tense up and then he feels me and then stop and swerve. We were getting a little bit better during fair two weeks ago but then he did the stop and swerve when a horse started acting up behind us and I fell and landed on my tailbone. Couldn't ride the next two days. I was really nervous after that and I rode him three days later (trainer rode him the day I fell, his daughter did the next day, and then my trainer rode him again before I rode on the third day). I got on him, and I was nervous but we did all right. There were other horses around but I was really careful to just stay away from them.
So now tomorrow will be my first show since falling off and I'm nervous about it. I know a lot of it is my fault because when I get scared, he does too. I just know I'm going to be freaking out tomorrow trying to warm up and I won't really be focusing on working him and more on watching what other people are doing and trying to stay out of the way. >.< Any tips on what I can do to try to stay calm and get him to realize that the other horses aren't actually coming at him to hurt him, they're just passing close?