[Thank you gotta trot. Yes, you read my post accurately. 16 breaks in my back and, against dr orders, three days after, I wrapped myself up like a mummy and had no fear on my trotter/ Walker. I rode him three days a week and on weekends and lost not a grain of confidence. Rode him all over 1700 acres of trails alone after the crash. I retired him because he turned 26 yrs old and I just didn't feel that putting him through 6,7,10 houre rides was good for him. Thinking bad decision now, as he is healthy. This is my first quarter horse and that's a training process for me, but i have ridden quarter horses in the past. I just became terrified of my new q horse, No Name, after his injury. I am sending him to a very trusting cowboy to ride him out for a month and this gentleman says that he will not turn me out on the horse until he also traines me to ride the horse in the manner that he is being trained. I'm sure this all sounds foolish looking at my riding experience and years in the saddle. Just wondered if anyone here might have a good boot to kick this old gal and help get her back into her passion. Appreciate your response. Probably should just head down and throw that saddle on him and get my confidence back!
Thank you gotta trot. Yes, you read my post accurately. 16 breaks in my back and, against dr orders, three days after, I wrapped myself up like a mummy and had no fear on my trotter/ Walker. I rode him three days a week and on weekends and lost not a grain of confidence. Rode him all over 1700 acres of trails alone after the crash. I retired him because he turned 26 yrs old and I just didn't feel that putting him through 6,7,10 houre rides was good for him. Thinking bad decision now, as he is healthy. This is my first quarter horse and that's a training process for me, but i have ridden quarter horses in the past. I just became terrified of my new q horse, No Name, after his injury. I am sending him to a very trusting cowboy to ride him out for a month and this gentleman says that he will not turn me out on the horse until he also traines me to ride the horse in the manner that he is being trained. I'm sure this all sounds foolish looking at my riding experience and years in the saddle. Just wondered if anyone here might have a good boot to kick this old gal and help get her back into her passion. Appreciate your response. Probably should just head down and throw that saddle on him and get my confidence back
ust to clarify...you were injured in a riding accident with your gaited horse, but it didn't make you fearful and you were back in the saddle that same week (with a broken back?) Now that horse is retired for some other reason, but you have a new horse. That horse was in an accident that is unrelated to riding, but suddenly you are nervous about riding him?
Or are you saying that you did lose confidence after your accident with the gaited horse, which is why you retired him, but now you are having nerve issues even with a different and more mellow horse?
My guess is that your fears are related to having a couple of accidents with horses in a relatively short amount of time. My advice might not help you, but I've always believed that fear is an emotion, and as an emotion it should not control us. Logic is something to base what we do on. I've always told myself that since fear is just a feeling, if my logic says I can do something, I should do it. So what if you shake or feel weird in your stomach? People jump out of airplanes to get that same feeling. Feelings are not dangerous.
If you get on your horse and ride, all those years of feeling safe on horses will soon have your brain remembering that this is a safe thing to do. Your comfort can only come back if you have your body go through the motions a few times until the brain stops reacting with endorphins inappropriately.
Something to consider if you are only used to gaited horses is that your body might be interpreting the different gait your horse has as something new and scary, so the adrenaline might go away as you get more in tune with the way he moves versus a gaited horse.[/QUOTE]