How do you get over a fear of horses?

[buck-wild-chick]

If your terrified of falling or something happens then you need to start fom the ground up.. start grooming the horse your going to ride and bond with him first... Then lunge him and work on respect and ground work. Then maby ride him ..

Dont get on a horse if you are scared he will buck, If you do and something happens then you will probably never get on a horse again.

 

[Bec]

I agree with every one who has said to go find a nice place that gives lessons. They will have a nice calm gentle horse for you to ride where you wont have to worry about it flipping out on you. They will most likely have horses of a few different levels of riding, but don't be ashamed to get on that slow beginner horse, it is a great way for you to get you confidence back. My daughter, 4, has been on a horse since she was a few months old, but would never want me to let go so she could walk around by herself. I took her to a friend of mine who gives lessons and her confidence level has sky rocketed! Now I am comparing to a 4 year old, but the fear is still the same. She had fallen off of my boys about 4 times. She really has gained self esteme (sp?) and a whole lot of confidence on those nice quiet horses. Sometimes when you have somone else encouraging you and telling you that you are doing great, it just plain feels good.
Here is my daughter on Cricket, this was her 2nd lesson.

 

[DTchickens]

i am freaking terrified of horses too, whenever i go to feed because my cousin/grandpa is gone and they ask me and their walking behind me i think "their gonna run me over" so i try to hurry, whenever i see a horse looking over the fence... I worry their going to jump it and chase me, I wont pet them because of the worry they'll bite me, I wont get ANYWHERE. behind them or close to their back legs. and i know very well why my phobia started.. I was probably 4.. maybe 5 and my grandpa had a Black horse, We called him Midnight. AND he would ALWAYS chase you, couldn't come in his fence or he would bite/kick/run you over etc, well... they got rid of him and i was on a So so basis with horses.. well few years later ( i believe i was.. 7-8 here) they get a baby.. i think its called a colt?. and she was the same exact way.. except she jumped/ran through fences.. Why i wonder shes so mean?... Her father was midnight. so i said "well... maybe its just these 2 horses that are mean" so my cousin introduced me to her "nicest horse" which i've seen it.. she never attacked or anything.. BUT that day she wanted to act up, she chases us by then i was terrified.. Then my mom said she hated horses. and started naming off all the reasons,, Here i am today

 

[Cara]

I started taking lessons when I was 7 or 8 and did that every week for about fifteen years. I could walk, trot, canter, did some jumping and classical dresage. I think the combination of ranch horses and a different style of riding is what's getting to me. It's hard to learn if the horses give me a hard time when I am doing right; I don't know enough to know the difference between them being lazy and me confusing them. My husband thinks that a lot of the horses here are like it because they have had so many riders each doing things their own way that the horses don't actually progress much. Something in that combination has to give though, so I am trying to do things their way instead of mine. It gets so frustrating though knowing what I could do then and what I can do now. I don't even have enough faith in myself to saddle a horse without having someone else check it because the tack is so different.

Western lessons would probably be a better idea because the horses here aren't going to change, and an affordable 'English' horse is hard to come by in this area. I just want to cut loose and feel like I can accomplish something with a horse.


We bought a yearling filly from the ranch and she and I get along well, although she is reaching the 'testing' point too. She's a good horse, just a little too smart, and i've been thinking about sending her away for training when she's old enough. If I can do it myself though that might really help in the long run. I'm just afraid of ruining her.

 

[Sammysmom]

Cara,

Don't know if you would be interested but here goes...I have a 12 year old Morgan mare, 14.1, and quiet as the day is long. She rides and drives. If you want, you could lease her, no charge, you would just need to pick her up. We have waaay to many horses and DH says I need to find homes for some, even if they are just temporary. If you did lease her and decided you liked her, I would be willing to sell at a reasonable price. PM me if you are interested or want to see pics.


P.S. We used her to give lessons to my niece who was 10 at the time and the worst she would do is just stop if she didn't understand the ques.

 

[Wildsky]

Cara,
I'm in the same boat!

My horse spooked and bucked me off last year - I haven't ridden since.

 

[Cara]

Quote:
PM'd you

 

[lorieMN]

one thing you need to understand is if you are dealing with horses,you WILL get hurt at some point..that is just the nature of dealing with large animals,now I dont mean killed or dismembered,but they will step on you or try to bite you or take a swip at you at times IF they know you are scared of them,horses can sense these things and I think they find it intertaining to terrorize such people..even well trained horses can act this way at times,you need to get your confidence back before that will go away..a good trainer can help wonders with that,but you need a good people trainer.they can train you how to think on the horses level,you need to think like a horse if your going to outsmart a horse..and you (I say you,I mean anyone that deals with horses) need to become herd leader to earn their respect .and it would be a good idea to just have one horse and call it your own,dont let everyone else ride it,what one person doesnt mind another person may be annoyed as hell by..like some people will let them eat on the trail,I hate that,I am not working them so hard they need to eat everyother step.. once you earn their respect you will be amazed at how agreeable they become.

 

[Alaskan]

I read a horse book once that went over the exercises that you are supposed to do before starting to work with horses. Can't remember the author or title, but it was VERY helpful for me. I tend to tense up and start to panic as soon as I get to the horses, and it really helped me to center myself which in turn helped the horses respond better.

Anyway, you take a deep breath and envision your entire body expanding and elongating. You picture a balloon attached to the top of your head, which helps you feel straight and tall. You take a few deep breaths each time exhaling all of the stress. the first few times you do it it is a long process where you tense and release all of your muscle groups starting at your feet and working all the way up to your neck (don't forget the hands and arms). The first couple of times you do it lying down, then you do it standing up. After practicing it for awhile you can enter the horse pasture, feel the tension starting, close your eyes, take two deep breathes while focusing on the balloon pulling you up and elongating and breathing out the tension, and presto, 2 seconds later and you feel more confident and centered.

Anyway, it works for me, and I find it interesting how the horses can TELL when I am stressed, and then after I recenter, how the HORSE calms back down.

I have also found it very helpful to do LOTS of ground work. I work on 'the perfect lead' so the horse follows so lightly and well you can't even tell there is a horse on the end of the rope. Whenever he messes up I make him do circles or do mini lunge work.

Of course, I should add that we have 2 horses. Fleet is sweet, I love working with him. But our second horse Buzz pushes you around if he thinks he might get away with it. It is a constant struggle to get him to do anything I ask, and the constant struggle to keep *ME* in check (centered and not stressed) as well as him, is very difficult. I think I could force myself to work with him more, and that things would eventually improve. BUT, he is supposed to be DH horse anyway, and I prefer working with Fleet.

I like the old Morgan......sounds like a great idea!

 

[patandchickens]

All good suggestions. I understand that with the realities of your situation, though, good lessons or a trusty horse may not be options right now.

So, another thought would be to pick the horse with whom you get along best (relatively speaking) and, ignoring all the comments that you'll get

, do a bunch of ground work with the horse. The more comfortable you get with reading the horse's body and intentions on the ground, and successfully conveying your intentions to *him*, the better you will do in the saddle.

I very very highly recommend the exercises in the book True Horsemanship Through Feel by Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond. It's a large paperback book, you may have to hunt to find it and it is not the cheapest book in the world but it is ENTIRELY WORTH IT let me tell ya. And I say this as a classical dressage and eventing rider and *not* in general a roundpen-loving natural-horsemanship devotee

BTW, what Dorrance suggests you do, which is extremely simple but extremely important and useful (do not skip through any steps), does not require a roundpen or anything like that, and can be done anywhere you want with just a halter and lead. So, like, if you want to do it behind the barn where nobody will sit and make rude noises, you can

Then he also walks you through good basic ridden exercises as well.

I have found the book extremely helpful myself, both in general and also with some middle-age fear-related issues

Good luck,

Pat