spooking!!

[ponypinkyp]

Ive put off every lesson this week because of him spooking..

Im being stupid I know but really,,,we excersize in the same place everytime,, I have only had him for a month now and my trainer rides him before I get on to fight the fizz 'if any'.

Everytime he does something It puts me off getting back on the next time.... dont get me wrong hes not nasty with it,,, just jumpy which sounds nothing but a begginner like me finds it terrifying.

I need some confidence therapy perhaps

please help

[ilovemyboys]

are you nervous when you ride? maybe he senses you being tense and it makes him tense? also you can try desensitizing(sp) him like try to get him to walk over tarp or flap an umbrella at him? despook him sort of get him used to things hes not used to so maybe he'll be ready for them when they come

[ponypinkyp]

I start to get nervous but only when he spooks or gives me reason to. I begin my lesson quite confident as ive had the night before to beat myself up over being silly,, so get on the following day and think 'right then'!

Its when he starts getting jumpy I loose it.

Getting on him to walk over scary stuff would give me a nervous breakdown ,,,,

[*-crazy-chaz-*]

tell us a bit about your horse, might help

(age, breeding, experience etc)

[kirby]

Look into taking Rescue Remedy, it helps calm people who are nervous for many reasons.

Are you confident on the ground with him, maybe build your confidence by doing inhand work with him :D

[Gruntfuttock]

I wonder if he can sense that you are actually very nervous, despite the surface bravado, and he gets nervous as a result.

Have you tried him on a calmer of some sort? Maybe some Rescue Remedy for you and a good magnesium-based calmer for him would help the two of you to relax in each other's company. Once you are more comfortable with each other and have built up your confidence in each other, you can reduce the doses (for you both!). A beginner rider and a fizzy, spooky pony can be a nerve-wracking combination, and i would suggest you need to take action now, before he destroys your confidence completely.

You can also do a lot of de-spooking work on the ground. For example, if he is scared of flappy carrier bags, put food in a Tesco bag and let him investigate it. If you are so worried about his spooking that you can't even do this on the ground, though, then i think you may need to re-think if this is the right pony for you.

[ponypinkyp]

WOW!

What was I worried about!!???

Plucked upthe courage to have a lesson this eve,,,, let my trainer ride for the first 10 mins,, he was calm,,, but thats been said before!

Got on,,,, everything okay,,,,, started trotting and turning circles,,, control came and and I felt like something 'clicked'....

Told my trainer after 30 mins to leave me for a few mins,,, as I felt great & in control of everything,,,,,, he walked to the gate to turn and find me cantering down the long side of the menage',,,,,,!!!!!

I saw the corner after a moment of trotting and just went for it!

It felt fantastic!!!!
Pip is a very forward going Arab x Welsh B and cannot wait to canter usually,,, he has always been trained/schooled,, walk, trot and canter.

My trainer kept it to walk & trot until I got on,,,,

What an amazing lesson!

It was sunny, cool 'after 6pm',,, and no spooky stuff in sight!,,, All ive gotta do is control it when the rain & wind is here!

Thanks everyone,,,,, god I feel good!

Parelli dvd is now on again,,, watched it in the early hours and think it may have helped,,,,

xx

[ilovemyboys]

YAYYY good for you ponypinkyp and good for pip also!!!

[Poppet25]

First of all how old are you? I don't actually want you to answer that publicly on an open forum because of internet safety, please don't, but from your username I'm assuming you're quite young. I'm trying to assess your capabilities which is quite hard online but your age is quite important.

Next thing, how much experience do you have? are you a beginner/novice or have you been riding for a while? You say you are a beginner but is that a total beginner or have you had lessons and then bought a pony or is this from scratch?

Like CC says it would be useful to know what the horse itself was like, age, experience , breeding etc, a 4 year old TB is a total different matter than a 15 year old plod no matter how lively it is.

One thing that concerns me is that your trainer feels it necessary to ride the horse before you get on it to reduce the fizz, are you over horsed? Some history to this problem would help people to help you.

[ponypinkyp]

I am 34 years old ,

Pip is 16 years old, and no where near 'a plod'

He is a Welsh Sec B x Arab. Very forward and loves fizz.

My trainer jumps on 1st because I ask him too if I feel intimidated to ride at the start of my lessons,,,, he never offers to ride him before I do,, it just makes me feel better to know hes had his 1st few mins with an acomplished rider. I purchased the horse from his partner who he teached on him and now knows very well . She was a complete novice at 31 who last had riding lessons at the age of 12.


I am a beginner,, but not a novice. I owned a 16,2hh TB x Hanovarian 3 yrs ago and have not ridden since. I had issues with him and tended to do loads of groundwork in place of riding.

Now I work it the other way around,,,, ride 1st and then other stuff.

[Brandy Snap]

you sound a lot like a girl (or woamn rather!) on my yard. She's nervous of her pony and in her lessons I've seen her being lead round by her instructor at first till she feels a little more confifent. Her pony is a gorgous cheeky connemara.

Advice wize I'd just say listen to your instructor! Your doing the right thing by having lessons.

And now you've had that brillient experince you can think on that before each lesson. Remember how you felt, how happy and relaxed you were. Then get on in that same relaxed happy manner.

Thats what I do when I'm jumping. I tell myself that I've done it before and survived, that I felt amazing after I'd done it and it felt like an atchievement and then I go do it! I'm now at the stage where jumping fences of about 70 - 75cm makes me feel excited and I actully enjoy it at the time! I never used to enjoy jumpoing at the time, just after I'd done it!

[Poppet25]

Ok thanks for the history, sorry I sounded a bit pompous in my previous post, not intended that's the internet for you :rolleyes:

I missed your good post too, how I'll never know I was responding to your first post about your nerves.

Fair enough you ask the trainer to ride the pony before you do but that is a less than ideal situation. Do you ride him without being on a lesson?

Sorry for all the questions.

[ponypinkyp]

Ok thanks for the history, sorry I sounded a bit pompous in my previous post, not intended that's the internet for you :rolleyes:

I missed your good post too, how I'll never know I was responding to your first post about your nerves.

Fair enough you ask the trainer to ride the pony before you do but that is a less than ideal situation. Do you ride him without being on a lesson?

Sorry for all the questions.


Internet chat & text messages sound very blunt & to the point,,,, I dislike it muchly x

You didnt sound pompous at all x

I am a nervous person, think its something thats come 'with age' perhaps!!?? I donat always ask him to ride before me,,, just on the odd days where Pip has had 3 days off or so,,, just to see what frame of mind he is in on that day.

I have owned Pip for nearly a month now and have never ridden him without my trainer being there,,, theres an issue with crossing a field full of mares and foals to get to the menage' and with a fear of horses in open space its not the best way to begin my lesson to be fair,,,

So by the time im in the arena,,,, im already getting over 'getting there'. The mares are going to be moved to another field soon,,, so that will be much better.

Its a windy spot with lots of trees around the menage' too,,, and with Pip only having been here a month & approx 10 lessons later he is still very wiery of the menage space. Hense the spookiness I suppose. Yesterday was a clear bright cool evening lesson with no wind and he had had 3 days off too,,, maybe that helped?

Just feel like Im useless sometimes,, it makes me sad to feel so nervous. He is a very forward going pony and has put up with a lot from me in the past couple of weeks as my riding wasnt so good to begin with.

Am better at riding with no stirrups too,,,, makes me feel seated and safe somehow,,,

Thankyou Poppet,,, I am all yours for more advice on what ive just written,,, you could never ask me too many questions,,,, x

[*-crazy-chaz-*]

glad to hear it is sorted :)

hope this problem doesnt arise in the future aswell lol

btw, ponypinkyp, you like your commas don't you? :p

[annette h]

A month is a very short time for you to build up a rapport and trust with the pony, there is no reason for you too feel rushed and stressed. I would just enjoy handling him and riding him quietly in the school. Also walking him out in hand would perhaps help build your confidence.

I never found rescue remedy very helpful for me........a brandy and lemonade first worked much better imho :D

Thinking about it maybe I should have given it to my horse :) :) :)

[acw295]

Do you hack? Maybe it would help your confidence to get out of the arena and have a change of scenery?

Obviously not on your own - and maybe even being led if you're really nervous - but it might help to vary what you do a bit? You don't have to go far and can stick to walk :)

My pony is very forward going (Welsh D x) so know how that feels - had her 7weeks. She has settled incredibly quickly but we still have the odd spooky moment. Fortunately I love her whizziness and giggle when we get carried away :D