Re: Anything ever made you lose your confidence?

lou41 said:

I'm still wary when in a field but am back loving it and looking forward to my own pony who I'm getting next week x   

Well done on getting back to horses, that must have taken a lot of courage......and good luck with the new pony !! Lets see some pics, please !!

Re: Anything ever made you lose your confidence?

Some of these are bone chilling guys!

I am generally quite confident, my worst thing is self critism made worse by an old y/o.

Think steryotypical horse woman, blonde, busty , loud! We moved Silver up to her yard about half a year after getting him, she had a school and lovely moor hacking. She started to give me lessons and gennerally nothing was ever good enough, when i looked back at what me and silver achieved it was amazing, but never ever perfect enough for her, we were jumping around a metre fifteen at home, and doing open 15hh workers at a national level, P.U.K and champs. These were massive tracks, Silver has always been a tricky lad and I was only 13 so really looking back we were doing well. getting placed etc.

On day we went to a show, it was a HOYs quailfer well up to height and spreads of 1.30m so really on a 15hh massive, bless silver's heart (he really is a horse in a million) we jumped round it only knocking the back bar of a skinny.He jumped out of his skin and I remember landing of the last fence thinking how we'd done it, it was such an acheivment, all my friends were cheering because even though i'd knocked one we were only one of only 4 horses who got round out of 35!!! We didn't qualify but just getting round.

my instructor took me to one side as i came out and basically made me out to be an embarrasment, a terrible rider and swore at me etc, saying i'd wasted her time, i was wasting a talented horse etc ect.

Haven't been able to compete since, a few local level things, its silly i'm aware that i'm being overly self critical, but i'm just so nervous and scared of showing myself/the horse up. I love my hacking, local dressage but can't ever see myself competing at a high level again, its too never wracking and its all because of how she made feel in those moments after, for knocking one pole.

Needless to say off that yard and have a lovely instructor now, Silver is retired and I can't ever thank that horse enough for what he did for me in the years after.

Re: Anything ever made you lose your confidence?

last April, i was riding my cob in my grass school at home and he suddenly and totally out of character started leaping about and i came off and knocked myself out (apparently - i was on my own and was spotted by a man working on the empty house the other side of the hedge to my field) i cracked my hat from top to bottom and was severely concussed, i didn't go to hospital til the next day - i even got back on and rode (i don't really remember!) the hospital were useless and said i had a bit of mild concussion and have the day off work.

they never scanned my head or anything despite the fact i could not focus my eyes on anything or string a sentence together! i had 2 weeks off work in which i just slept - i couldn't stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time cos my brain was so swollen. i went back to hospital 3 times and they eventually suggested that i'd probably had a bleed on the brain and possible hairline fracture of the skull but they still never did anything! i went back to work but i was exhausted by mid day and then after about 5 weeks i started to get bad whiplash symptoms. i had the worst headache ever for about 8-10 weeks and then physio for my neck revealed i had nerve damage to my left side as i was noticeably weaker. i still get the odd headache and still suffer from a bad neck and back.

i have ridden my horse again but he has also been off through injury and illness since july last year so i'm terrified of taking him in open spaces again as he's not what you could call a dobbin!! he's a bit of a lunatic actually but i ride him now round the lanes in walk and trot. i haven't ridden him in my grass school since my accident either.

i bought another (tame) horse in october last year who is very calm and steady but i do like my bit of danger by riding the BH! i rode the tame one in my grass school for the first time since my accident a week ago and i was nervous but i had my music playing and was ok. it'll be a different story when i have to ride BH in the school again!

sorry it's a bit of a long one! lol

xxx