12 Ways to Overcome - I am Scared to Ride My Horse

I am scared to ride my horse and how to overcome this fear? This is the question in the mind of many of us. Horse riding is challenging, there are some fears too in the mind of people for several personalized reasons. In this article, I am going to talk about 12 ways to get rid of a situation like I am scared to ride my horse.

12 Ways to Overcome – I am Scared to Ride My Horse

Let’s find below 12 practical tips on I am scared to ride my horse- what to do:

1. Visualize positive possibilities rather than negative ones.

Do you have a tendency to imagine catastrophic situations in your head? If that’s the case, you’re going to be nervous. Instead of envisioning yourself or your horse getting into an accident, imagine yourself going for a nice, safe, and fun ride.

It’s relaxing to imagine pleasant possibilities, and those possibilities are more likely to come true if you ride relatively safely. Consider the fact that horses are so popular that they are being used as therapy horses in some cases.

2. Don’t hurry through your preparations.

Do you find yourself juggling all of your equipment and rushing through the process of grooming and prepping your horse for a ride? Your horse is aware of everything.

Your horse will very certainly be anxious as a result of your haste to get to your ride. Not only that but there’s a strong possibility you’ll get uptight as well. Being late for anything is never a good way to approach it in a calm manner.

3. Don’t obsess about what other motorcyclists are doing.

When you’re always worried about how you compare to your other riders, it’s difficult to feel secure in yourself.

Do you find yourself constantly comparing yourself to other riders in your school?
Are you attempting to match your trainer’s talents as a beginner?
Are you having trouble imitating an equestrian’s skilled riding that you’ve seen on YouTube?

These kinds of comparisons are unjust. To begin with, we have a propensity to overlook the reality that many of the riders we are attempting to compare ourselves to do not have the same skill and experience levels as ourselves. Second, comparing yourself to another rider with a similar degree of expertise is unfair to you.

The reason for this is that the cyclist in question is an entirely different individual. When it comes to fitness, psychology, and other elements of their lives, they have distinct priorities.

They’re also on a different horse than you are. Their timetable, as well as their resources, may differ from yours. There are several elements that differentiate the experiences of any two riders. There’s a strong chance you’re dealing with challenges that another rider isn’t.

That in no way implies that you are inferior. It simply implies you will encounter more obstacles than others, and you will take longer or work more to attain the same objectives.

4. Use hypnosis to help you relax.

Equestrian materials are produced by a variety of hypnotherapists. Hypnosis may assist in inducing a calm state of mind and dissipating some of your tension. It may also assist you in ingraining more positive self-talk and beneficial messages that alleviate anxiety and boost confidence.

5. As much as possible, learn how your horse thinks and communicates.

When you first begin riding, you may have little understanding of how horses think, feel, behave, and communicate with one another and with humans.

Naturally, you will be apprehensive about an animal that is unfamiliar to you. You’re always speculating about what’s going on inside its mind.

Is my horse truly fine, or does it simply appear to be fine?
What will it do if happens?
Will I be able to tell if something is wrong?
What if I miss what my horse is attempting to communicate with me?

Questions like these, which go through your head all the time, will undoubtedly agitate your nerves. As a result, try to learn as much as you can about horse behavior. You may accomplish this through reading, watching videos, enrolling in lessons, and just spending more time with your horse.

The more you learn about horse behavior and communication, the more confident you will be in anticipating your horse’s behaviors and responding to circumstances that happen while riding.

6. Take a ride with a buddy.

Are you always worried about what would happen if you encounter a problem when riding alone in the countryside with no one to help you? If that’s the case, eliminating the “out alone” aspect of the equation could be the greatest approach to alleviate some of your riding anxiety.

If you have a buddy who also rides, see if you can invite them to join you on occasion. If you don’t, seek for a nearby activity partner. There are other equestrians who would want to ride with a companion as well. On that point, having access to an equestrian community may be quite beneficial in terms of minimizing riding anxiety.

When you have a community behind you, you know you can receive answers to your questions and that someone will be there to support you when you need it. You may also inquire about other riders’ experiences with nervousness while riding.

7. Concentrate on your accomplishments rather than your shortcomings.

It’s all too tempting to focus on the things you think you’ve done wrong (in reality and in imagination). When you’re focused on your flaws, it’s difficult to remember the things you’ve done well.

As a result, try to remind yourself on a frequent basis to think about your strengths. When you’re thinking about your failures, don’t forget to think about your wins, and remind yourself that they’re just as significant.

8. Work with a horse that is a good match for you.

If you’re a beginner or intermediate rider dealing with a “spirited” horse, you’re likely to be anxious about riding—and with good cause. These horses are best suited to more experienced riders who are also familiar with training them.

You are not doing yourself or the horse any favors if you try to cope with a stubborn animal beyond your level of skill. You’re only going to cause a lot of stress for both of you. If you have a mount that is right for your ability level, personality, and riding goals, you will feel considerably less apprehensive about going riding.

So, if the horse you’re leasing isn’t working out, it could be time to switch horses. Hopefully, you haven’t bought a horse that isn’t right for you. However, if you are considering purchasing a horse in the near future, now is an excellent time to consider your options.

Are you undecided about whether to lease or buy? Consider the following list of advantages and disadvantages of leasing a horse.

9. Reward yourself for reaching your objectives.

Do you merely say “well done” after you accomplish one of your equestrian objectives and go on to the next?

Or do you treat yourself to something special? You are squandering an opportunity if you do not reward yourself for completing goals, particularly ones that require you to do things that are frightening to you.

How might rewarding yourself help you get over your fear of riding? If you know you’ll get a reward for completing something difficult, it might serve as a motivation. Staying focused on the prize rather than the fear you associate with the work at hand might make it easier to go forward.

Also, if you make your incentives actual objects rather than experiences, you’ll have them around as concrete evidence that you can overcome your anxieties and achieve your goals later.

You might, for example, give yourself a quality item of tack as a prize for doing something that makes you uneasy. Every time you use that tack in the future, it will remind you of how you successfully defeated your fear before and how you can do it again today. That implies that simply using that tack may help to reduce your general fear of riding in the future.

10. Discover the origins of the underlying ideas and assumptions that cause your worry.

As we’ve already said, there’s a strong possibility that your worry is a mirror of your self-perception.

However, if you don’t think it through, you might not realize how your negative thoughts are impacting you.

Keeping track of your negative self-talk is an excellent place to start. Consider the following thought: “I never do anything correctly, do I?”

If you think about stuff like this a lot, it’s natural to be nervous of riding since you believe you’re fundamentally inept. You may believe that another rider would be secure in the same situation where you believe you would be at risk of making several blunders.

But why do you think that way?
Why do you believe you constantly make mistakes?

You might make a list of prior experiences. However, if you look further, you could discover that you went into those encounters with similar negative ideas. You could, for example, establish unrealistic expectations for yourself, fail to fulfill them, and then lament, “I never do anything correctly.”

By doing so, you continually demonstrate to yourself that this idea is correct—despite the fact that you were preparing yourself for that outcome. Someone must have persuaded you that you were inferior in some manner before all of that, most likely when you were a youngster.

We acquire these things from our parents who abuse us, but we also learn them from our parents who are well-intentioned yet undermine us in some manner. An excellent example is a parent who always completed your school assignments for you when you were behind.

That parent was only attempting to assist you in passing. However, by continuously attempting to save you from failure, they taught you to rely on them. They instilled in you the notion that you couldn’t complete your duties without their assistance.

It would be even worse if they got proactive about it, getting engaged before you were even behind.

You may believe that the same thing applies to other aspects of your life now that you are an adult. You may feel as if there is something “wrong” with you that stops you from doing things on your own, whether it is holding down a job, driving to the store, or riding a horse.

You, on the other hand, are in perfect health. You’re just fine the way you are. Your negative ideas and assumptions lose a lot of their potency once you realize where they originate from.

You’ll know you’re capable of completing your objectives, including riding safely, at that moment. That information can help you address the root of your anxiety rather than merely treating the symptom.

11. Make sure you know why you’re riding and that your habits support that objective.

Some individuals ride primarily for competitive purposes, while others ride primarily to form a relationship with an incredible animal and have fun. It’s easy to feel driven into being more competitive with your riding, even if that’s not your primary motivation for becoming an equestrian.

You may find yourself putting pressure on yourself to achieve standards that aren’t actually in line with your objectives. If you continue this for a long time, you’ll burn out and find yourself liking riding less and less.

Examine whether part of your worry and tension is the consequence of chasing goals that aren’t truly yours. If this appears to be the case, think about why you wanted to become an equestrian in the first place.

It is not necessary for everyone to be a competitive equestrian rider. The only thing that matters is that you have a good time. It’s quite OK to do so if it means lowering your aim. You’ll be happier and less nervous, and your horse will be as well.

12. The practice session is over.

How many times have you lost your balance? How many times have you done it in a methodical, deliberate manner?

Many equestrians have never been taught how to fall properly. However, you can learn to do this for horseback riding just like you do for other activities.

Obviously, practicing on a horse would be impossible. However, there are alternative ways to learn how to fall safely through fall training programs:

Using mats to practice fall methods (rather like gymnasts do).
Using a simulator that simulates the sensation of being thrown off a horse.

Simulators may also be configured to simulate various sorts of falls. The pace of the fall event can also be changed.

The rider who is utilizing the equipment will land on a cushioned surface when they fall. With these devices, equestrians may rehearse the same sorts of falls over and over again. They may also watch videos to see what they’re doing correctly and incorrectly.

Falling from a horse isn’t enjoyable to think about, and some riders would rather pretend it never occurs (or will never happen to them). However, falling from a horse is not something you want to add to your mental list of impossible tasks to learn how to perform properly. Even if you convince yourself you’ll never fall, the fact that you don’t know how to do it properly will increase your worry.

To enroll in a class to learn. If you do, you will feel a lot better about things since you would know that even if you fall from your horse, you will have the best opportunity of minimizing your injuries.

12 Ways to Overcome – I am Scared to Ride My Horse

12 Ways to Overcome – I am Scared to Ride My Horse

1. Visualize positive possibilities rather than negative ones.

2. Don’t hurry through your preparations.

3. Don’t obsess about what other motorcyclists are doing.

4. Use hypnosis to help you relax.

6. Take a ride with a buddy.

7. Concentrate on your accomplishments rather than your shortcomings.

8. Work with a horse that is a good match for you.

9. Reward yourself for reaching your objectives.

10. Discover the origins of the underlying ideas and assumptions that cause your worry.

11. Make sure you know why you’re riding and that your habits support that objective.

12. The practice session is over.

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