Managing Fear
January 25, 2010
Manage your horseback riding fear by staying in the moment.
Avoiding "future thinking" can help you stay in the moment and conquer your horseback riding fear.
By Jane Savoie
Fear is a very real issue for many horseback riders. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, it would be surprising if you never felt afraid when riding.
After all, you’re dealing with an animal that greatly outweighs you. In addition to their size, horses are not always predictable. After all, they’ve survived all this time because of their flight instinct. The fact that they’re reactive creatures rather than logical ones can be scary.
So what do you do about the fear that stops you from totally enjoying your riding and your horse?
First, understand that when you’re afraid, your mind isn’t in the present. It’s on what might happen in the future.
Then consider the fact that 99 percent of what you fear never happens. Why use up so much energy and emotion worrying about things that might happen but usually never do?
Here’s a quick tip to help you cope with horseback riding fear. Use it not only when you ride, but also for any other area in your life when you’re immobilized by fear.
Learn how to manage your fear by staying in the moment.
Avoid danger by learning how to safely tie your horse with AQHA’s FREE report, “How to Tie a Lead Rope.” Download yours today!
To bring yourself back to the present moment, involve as many of your five senses as you can. Hear the rhythm of your horse’s footfalls. Look at the trees outside your ring. Feel the texture of the reins. Smell the fly spray.
Stay in the moment by adding emotion, too. Remember a time when you felt calm, relaxed and connected to your horse. Recreate that feeling when you start to get nervous.
If you have a hard time conjuring up that feeling, borrow the emotion from another time in your life. Maybe you’ll remember being totally relaxed at the beach. Or maybe you’ll feel the sense of peace you have when you’re petting your dog or cat. Or maybe you’ll experience the calmness you feel as you rhythmically curry your horse during grooming.
Manage your fear using your five senses and including positive emotion. Doing so will get you out of “future thinking,” which is where fear lives, and bring you back to the present. Visit Jane’s Web site to find more articles on managing fear, dressage training, sports psychology and more.
Read step-by-step instructions on how to create a bowline knot and how to keep your horse tied safe with AQHA’s FREE report, “How to Tie a Lead Rope.” Download the report now!
Comments
7 Comments on “Managing Fear”
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February 3rd, 2010 at 8:47 am
Seriously, if you are afraid, get off the horse! Simple sollution!
February 5th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Seriously I have got off the horse,and have been for going on for 15 yrs for the most part except for an occasional ride here and there. Do to a mishap I have lost my nerve to ride so now I enjoy my horses from the ground wishing like hell I wasn’t afraid to ride.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:41 pm
I have been bucked off 3 times in the past month! I have been avoiding riding since then
I am working on getting up my nerve and being able to focus on the now not the “what might happen”
March 18th, 2010 at 12:10 am
I thought I was a good rider and confident up until I got my own horse and she wasnt a very good first horse at that. she put me through a lot of bs but We and I have overcome so much.. amazes me ! I have gotten hurt twice..once bucked off due to a horse fly biting her i believe and also she freaked out of something we were doing then I decided to bail off.. not the smartest idea lol I got hurt worse doing that.. Yes i was afraid afterwards but now I am okay! I just know how bad I want to overcome this fear and ride and i did it ,.,, you can too! lol says the beginner… better now
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I started riding in 1996 and was “fired” from lessons later that year because my instructor was sick of dealing with my fear. I haven’t ridden since.
My phobia of being seriously injured and/or killed in a riding accident is so severe that I don’t think I’ll ever get on a horse again. Even though the odds might be in my favor, I can’t help but thinking that those things do happen and worry that they could happen to me.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:06 am
Being 55yo and new to horses, I had a healthy fear. However through Clinton Anderson clinics, I felt the fear disolve. I now know the key is the horse’s respect for you. If the horse respects your private space while your on the ground and moves his feet as you request then he is more likely to respect and listen to you while in the saddle.
August 12th, 2010 at 7:47 am
Greetings to yu. I’m a college student at Westwood Midtown Campus in Atlanta. I currently am taking a critical thinking class and managing fera is one of the subjescts that were talking about. Thank you for allowing me to read your recent experiences on managing fear in different experiences.