Fear Factor

[Kathi]

I got dumped the other day. :(
During a clinic my horse spooked at the infamous invisible boogie man. He did this a year ago almost to the day! Yes I was slightly injured but got back on and we finished our session.
Now, my confidence is shaken again. He seems to do these little antics when he is asked to work hard and like the other day I had no inclination that he was up to something.

Any suggestions?

[Ruth Hogan Poulsen]

I know that Jane Savoie is putting out a whole entire series called something just like your title... Fear Factor or Demolish your Fear... anyway... she will be sending out info soon about the program, you can sign up for information on her web site... www.janesavoie.com

[Karen Murphy]

The series is out! It's awesome. I highly recommend it no matter what your special "gremlins" are.

[Jackie Cochran]

Long ago I realized that if I did not ride because I was afraid, that I would never ride. So I developed the ability to get up on the horse even if I was afraid. When I get up on a horse afraid but with the DETERMINATION that I am going to ride in spite of my fear and in spite of equine high-jinks, I have found that if I am determined enough that often the horse will settle down. This ability turned out to be REAL useful when I returned to riding with active MS.
You may want to consider that these high-jinks may come from YOU trying too hard. Or it may hurt the horse to move in some particular way, from physical problems, saddle fit, etc. etc.. Or it may just be that your horse is trying to "play" with you, horses tend to have really crude and juvenile senses of humor. Be sure to keep on breathing when you feel a high jink coming on so your body will be supple enough to move with the horse.
Good luck.

[Michelle Synnot]

My horse did the same thing at a schooling show a few weeks ago. He dragged me half a mile...IN MY TAILORED SPORTSMANS! LOL!! ooooh the grass stains...

He's green, so I'm not too choked about it, we kept going and finished our classes...

My confidence was all wrecked too... so to boost it a bit more, I took him out to the race track in the back of our place (spook central!) put a bit on my bridle with a bit more brake power -pelham-(I was riding in the loose rein at the show) and a martingale...and of course my helmet.. and went and rode..

he spooked a bit but I was able to get him under control pretty easily with the better brakes and the martingale. When I'm getting nervous riding, (it happens, I have gotten on some unruly horses over the years) I find counting steps out loud helps. It really centers you as well as you can really tell by your own voice when your getting tense..when you hear yourself getting tense and upset, visualize melting butter and take a few really deep breaths.

Also talk to your horse..I know sometimes it might feel a bit goofy, but some horses really respond well to a kindly spoken word, lol.

Anyways, keep at it... one day your horse will be super well behaved and all this will be a distant memory!

[Ari]

Sometimes horses just do that to try to shake you if they don't want to work. My horse is practically famous for bucking in flat classes - she's not in pain, she just wants to get me off of her back! I used to always get scared and hop off when she did that. Finally, I got fed up with her and just smacked her with my crop and rode through it. She was still a bit harem-scarem, but it was a dramatic improvement over her last effort. All you need to do is have confidence in yourself and your ability. You can handle anything your horse throws at you. I know it's easier said than done, but if you have confidence in yourself, your horse will soon realize that he can't put anything over on you. Good Luck!

[Bernd]

I'd like to encourage you to find out more about this "work hard" thing.

Does he try to avoid just any type of hard work? In this case you may have a "simple" dominance problem that may be correctable in the way Ari suggested.

Or does he try to avoid special types of lessons, e.g. those that require bending to one side, increased collection, turns etc and does all the rest ok.
In this case I would suspect a special pain problem and a professional trainer or a physician may be able to help you identify it.

On the other side, if it only comes up once a year it can't be very difficult. You'll probably overcome it automatically with a raising level of competence by you and your horse. - well, and even top class riders fall off or with horses from time to time. :-)) You'll get more practice in that, too.

Have fun
Bernd

[Hank]

I would agree with Bernd and Ari and might add that it's important for you to ride your horse as if he had never bucked you off. Visualize yourself being large and in charge as opposed to being careful with said steed. The more you think about the incident, the more ingrained it will become. I've heard that you can become a better athlete as much by visualizing yourself a good athlete as by actually physically practicing your sport. So think of how it feels when everything goes right and try not to give the feeling of being bucked off another thought.

[Petstorejunkie]

Learn his mental limitations. Pushing them to improve is one thing, but pushing to the point of creating tension is what gets people injured. dont be a puss to your horse, but find that balance known as firm but fair... and that is a different place from horse to horse.

[Frances Brown]

First, are you ensuring that your horse is ready for hard work? Are you warming him up in walk and working trot sufficiently, or lunging the crap out of him before you get on if he's fresh? Many times a change in the weather, the environment, or elevated anxiety from you can cause your horse to have "happy feet". They don't mean any harm, they just can't keep their enthusiasm under control.

Lunge your horse before your ride, until he is traveling at a steady pace with a soft eye. Then pay very close attention to your own breathing once you get on - deep, slow breaths, exhaling with the thought of expelling all your tension. Every deep breath in drops your center all the way through your seat into your saddle and right through the horse's back.

Remember this: your horse, in all likelihood, has no personal vendetta against you. He's just a horse and can't intentionally "plan" to dump you in a premeditated way.

I've dealt with fear all of my life. I'm still riding, still loving it, and still have occasional bouts with the internal boogy man. But I'll be 52 this week, and I'm still climbing on every day!

[Kathi]

I had not been back to this topic for a while. After a fiasco at a show (trainer involved) in late summer I realized my horse and I were not happy in the dressage discipline.
I have since switched to Western and am retraining my horse to do trail classes. He is learning to neck rain, etc and he is SO much happier! He isn't stressed about someone asking him to be consistantly on the bit, doing difficult shoulder-ins, etc.
My horse, even though he was BRED to do dressage, simply is not physically and mentally able to do the tougher movements required at the higher levels.
We BOTH are less stressed and are enjoying our new "sport".
Thanks to all the input on th fear. I still have that little "what if" in the very back of my head, but it is slowly going away as I know my horse will not react the way he did when being "drilled" as much as he was in dressage.
:)

[Frances Brown]

Bravo! As long as you and your horse are having fun together, it doesn't really matter what discipline you follow. I can relate, so well. For awhile, even though I ride english, I couldn't do anything but plod along in my western saddle, keeping my horse at that western pleasure lope. It was ok, though. We were having fun, and took the time to regain our trust in each other.

Keep us posted on how things are going!

[Camilla Mowbray]

Commiserations about falling off - however horses don't know that you will fall off when they shy (especially if it doesn't happen very often. Shying when asked to work harder is not a way to "get out of work". Horses can't make this rationalisation. Your horse might just have been a bit more adrenalised by the harder work, and a bit sharper. This might have made you tense. If he had merely shied, and you hadn't tipped off, you probably wouldn't even consider the spook as being relevant or worth remembering.