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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

How long to get confidence back after an accident?

14 replies

Rollingdragon · 16/09/2020 09:47

I had a nasty fall last year, resulting in an injury needing surgery, and months of not being able to ride. I've been back riding this year, on a new horse, but I am still spending far too much of my time in the saddle feeling scared. It is complicated by having to get to know the new horse, and deal with all the usual teething problems while my confidence isn't great. I am starting to wonder whether I will ever get back to feeling relaxed when riding, and enjoy it like I used to.

I see loads on Facebook, of, mostly professional riders, who seem to be straight back to it after horrendous falls and injuries, with no nerves in sight. I'd be interested to hear from any other mere mortals like me, who have lost confidence. Did you get it back? How long did it take?

OP posts:
lastqueenofscotland · 16/09/2020 10:53

Are you at a riding school or is it your own horse?
I used to work on a racing yard and just getting back on is part and parcel of it, often with really quite daft bravado (I remember AP McCoy riding with a broken collarbone for a large chunk of one season!) I think people like that are just a different breed.
Also professionals will be riding sharp horses that will be burying them a lot more than they let on on social media so the fear factor is less there.

m0use · 16/09/2020 11:00

I was used to sharp, quirky horses competed to a reasonable level. Then I had a relatively minor accident, and never fully got my confidence back; I still find myself being anxious about certain things like scanning hedgerows for rogue pheasants!

With time though, things are getting better. The biggest change for me was moving to a different yard/area, so I didn't have the associations of "he normally spooks here", "this is where he usually naps".

It took me, maybe, 7 years to get that gung ho "will ride anything" attitude back, but only a year or two to start enjoying riding fully again.

maxelly · 16/09/2020 11:21

Sympathies, to be honest I think confidence is not a binary thing that you have or don't have, more something which can ebb and flow depending on so many factors, including what else is going on in your life. When I had the worst riding fall of my life about a decade ago, resulting in a broken ankle and months on crutches, I was probably (on the surface at least) one of the people who 'jumped back on and had no nerves' - in fact I rode again far too early and caused myself some extra damage which will probably never fully heal Blush Blush. But actually despite this I do think permanent damage has been done to my confidence although I find it's more that I am much less able to cope with stressful circumstances and respond correctly than I was before - it was massively exacerbated when I bought my own mare (fall was off someone's else's horse) - that was a very stressful time anyway as mare was difficult and not really suitable for me in lots of ways and I felt all at sea for a long time and the whole thing was very much tied up in my fears for and about her, would she ever settle, was I doing the right thing by her, was I wasting my time/money/effort etc.

To reassure you though, although I can't really pinpoint a moment when my confidence 'came back' and I would still say I am more cautious or perhaps even sensible (!), conscious that it is possible to break yourself and of my other responsibilities etc. than before, I definitely do now feel relaxed and happy when riding, haven't had a panic or meltdown in years and have even pushed myself competitively a bit in the last few years, so I guess you would say I am confident!

The things that helped, in no particular order were: accepting and admitting that I was anxious, about riding in general and particularly about the new mare and that that was a natural and normal reaction to having had a bad accident (mentally shouting at myself 'WHY ARE YOU SO TENSE! RELAX! YOU'RE USELESS! RELAX!!!' was absolutely not helping Grin ), using some sports psychology techniques such as visualisation and positive thinking, talking about it to others (but only helpful people, not the kind that would say things like 'oh I never feel nervous' or 'you need to get rid of your mare, she's dangerous'), asking for help from trusted people, including lots of lessons from an understanding instructor (for me this was someone who didn't just sympathise with my nerves but also knew how and when to push me through them, different for different people but I didn't get on with the kind of instructor who said things like 'just do as much as you feel able, it's fine to just groom her/do ground work/ride in walk only,' I needed more of a 'I believe in you, you can do more, I know it's scary but try' type attitude) and also getting instructor who is very confident to ride my mare for me regularly so I could see she was capable of going well, setting small goals (sometimes these were very small, I think the first one was to trot a 20m circle without any panic on my part or mare's!) and pushing myself to achieve them, and creating a 'bank' of positive memories, experiences, photos etc to look back on and see how far we'd come and finally having patience with myself and the mare, occasionally I'd get frustrated that it had been X months and we hadn't done Y or Z yet but instead of getting into a mental spiral of self-criticism and thinking it would never happen I'd try and remember what we had achieved and break down the steps towards future goals...

Dragonsanddinosaurs · 16/09/2020 13:25

Sounds like there is hope then. It is my own horse. I sold the one that broke me and bought something more sensible. Currently struggling with the usual new horse teething issues. New horse hasn't done anything hideous but testing boundaries as they all do, and at the moment I just don't have the guts to cope. Might see if I can get someone else to ride him a few times. That is a good idea.

lastqueenofscotland · 16/09/2020 14:37

What area are you in? I might be able to recommend some good freelance riders

ApplestheHare · 17/09/2020 11:23

I'd definitely get someone else in to ride so you can watch and then use those mental images of the horse working nicely when you visualise yourself riding. I think a big part of confidence is knowing you'll get there in the end and feeling like you can work your way round/over/under any obstacles as they come up.

I also think confidence is something that ebbs and flows. Mine's definitely lower than it was when I was younger, but I'm much more aware of the risks and have a lot more to lose. One thing that helped me recently was going on a few hacks on some confidence givers at a riding school. It's relaxing to have someone else leading the ride and overseeing the whole thing. I could just concentrate on riding, not really the risks, iyswim?

frostyfingers · 17/09/2020 19:35

Having had some nasty experiences whilst trying to buy new horses (not fall related but rearing, going over backwards, napping) I was surprised at how nervous I had become even when sitting on a friend’s schoolmaster who I knew wouldn’t do anything.

I would suggest lessons in a school from a sympathetic and patient instructor, don’t overface yourself and don’t expect too much straight away. If you go out with someone else make it with a confident and calm rider who will encourage you, not another nervous nelly who will just increase your worries. Above all don’t expect to feel back to normal or how you were straight away, confidence is a fragile thing, easy to lose and hard to find.

Amazingly I have had my confidence restored by buying a 4yo (to be fair we thought she was 6 when I tried her) and have enjoyed the process of getting to know her and also using her age as an excuse for not over doing stuff - it’s worked wonders!

Good luck.

Rollingdragon · 17/09/2020 19:40

That's really kind of you Lastqueen, but I do have a very competent friend who is willing to get on him, so will give that a go.

I think to a degree I am my own worst enemy, as I want to be back out doing everything now. I need to learn some patience!

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lizzielou80 · 19/09/2020 08:48

I broke my back and neck in 2012. Had 2 lots of surgery and 2 years recovering. I've only just started "enjoying" riding again after 8 years and 3 horses. I've now got a traditional cob that I adore. He's got me jumping again and I no longer feel sick before I ride or worry when riding. It's PTSD which never really goes away. You just have to manage your expectations and learn to love what's good for you Wink

MilerVino · 20/09/2020 18:52

Like Maxelly, I find confidence ebbs and flows. One thing that really, really helped me riding a new mare who was very sharp and sensitive was having groundwork lessons and doing a lot of groundwork. We went from her spinning around on the end of the lungeline like a thing possessed, to making transitions within and between paces according to my body language and slight adjustments in breathing. Essentially I learned to use her sensitivity to my advantage. Once I knew that I could get her to go from canter, to trot, to walk by changing my breathing on the ground, I became much more confident on board that we had a real connection and that she would listen to me.

Rollingdragon · 26/09/2020 12:27

Thanks. Lizzie, that took some guts to come back from that. Hope it doesn't take me that long. Your advice was really helpful though. I am trying to focus on enjoying what I am doing now, rather than what I wish I was doing. That shift in perspective has really helped. I've had a really positive week just hacking and doing flat work. Going to focus on getting to know new horse without any pressure over the winter and see where we go from there.

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stevalnamechanger · 14/10/2020 00:24

Join the Horse Riders nervous/ loss of confidence group (original) on fb . There's 12k of us there or something mad like that

Rollingdragon · 14/10/2020 16:46

Oh thanks. Will have a look.

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stevalnamechanger · 14/10/2020 17:48

Lots of lessons where you feel safe .

Also I'd try for a few lessons on the advanced mechanical horse if there is one near you !

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