Why Can't I Just Get Over It! }:0(

[*Candy*Horse*]

For 3 years I had terrible experiences with my stiruups. Everytime a horse would get scared the would run/spook and I would loose my strirrups and fall. When I weas told to drop my stirrups I would but tense up, bounce all over, and usually fall. Of if I canter and suddlenly my feet fly out, I start to freak out. Now whenever I ride, I'm way toooo scared to drop my stirrups becuase of all the experiences.
Chrissy
ps. god bless to all who help me!!!

[horselover]

It sounds like a balance problem when you are talking about riding without stirrups. For this, you might want to try simple things at the beginning of your lesson to work on balance (on longe or lead line). Example: hold arms out to side, hold arms above head, one arm above head, two-point position, etc. Try to concentrate on moving with the motion of the horse.

As for losing your stirrups, do you ride English or western? Sometimes a western saddle can be really stiff, making it difficult to turn the stirrups out to keep your feet in. Also, your heels might be coming up, especially at faster gaits, which can cause your feet to slide out.

It could also be something as simple as slippery soles on your boots.

Maybe this will help. Good luck!

[*Candy*Horse*]

I have a new instructor that said if I have a lesson with him i will be stretching my arms above my head, and he works on balance a lot. I ride english. My problem is people say he's strict but is careful with horse and rider. I'm just afraid that when I have a lesson with him I will be forced to ride without stirrups whcih will scare me even more.
Chrissy
please help

[vclay]

Nobody can force you to do anything; you are the paying customer!
I would explain to your new instructor that you are very insecure about no stirrups andwould like to start slowly with him.
You can do a lot of upper body exercises (feet in) to help with balance; and eventually you will feel quite happy without the stirrup support; but don't rush it. Good luck, Vera

[*Candy*Horse*]

I'm going to get my mom to go to the barn with me for my first lesson. I want her to tell him that I've had bad experiences without stirrups. I DO want to take it slow. But I hope the instructor will understand. I'll tell you hoiw everything goes on Thursday ( i think)
Chrissy

[horselover]

vclay is absolutely right! Your instructor can't make you do something you are nervous about. If the instructor is as careful as everyone says, once you explain your nervousness to him, he will understand. If someone is very nervous about doing something on a horse, a good instructor will not make her do it. Instead, he will probably help you work up to it in small steps, over time.

[Wally]

Are you happy walking without stirrups in an enclosed school? If so start there, learn to absorb the movement of the walk by flexing your back. Then when you are happy go for no more than 4 or 5 strides of trot, then come back to walk before you loose your balance and freak. Go bak into trot for a few strides and then walk. Next couple of weeks try to go for an extra couple of strides. You will soon get your balance and learn to relax. Don't canter until you are happy. Only do what you are happy with.

[*Candy*Horse*]

Yes I am quite OK with riding at a walk without stirrups. I agree that starting at a walk without stirrups and trotting a few strides would get me used to the feel a little bit at a time. Everyone told me (at the barn) that he would probably start me on a longe line and basically start at ground 0. I am okay with that because I want to learn what I have done wrong to make me feel so insecure. But I also believe it was my old trainers fault, too. She would make me ride on race horses (well recently retired ones) and they still responded that a touch of a heel meant GO!!!! Soi when I had to drop my stirrups I would tense up ( I mean c'mon a prancy race horse that is almost 17 hands!! bouncy trot, who wouldn't??) and the horse would go to a straight gallop! I would stay on for about 3 times around the ring but then I would get sooo scared and exhaausted I knew there was only one way..... down. This has happened 2 times in a row and many other times in lessons. What a bad experience!!
Chrissy

[Wally]

For goodness sake, no wonder you are windy about riding without stirrups! how unfair to make you ride such twitchy horses without stirrups. You should be starting on a slug who will ignor any wrong signals!! Once you are confident then go for the highly strung ones. You do not need to ask why your confidence is shattered, your instructor has caused it, Why were you not given a horse suitable for your degree of confidence. It is not your fault!

[*Candy*Horse*]

Yeah that'd why I am terrified, and my instructor would just laugh when I would cry and fall. She was nice to talk to, but not to have a lesson with. And you should hear about JUMPING lessons with her!! Although I still love that very much.
Chrissy

[rainy]

are your stirrups too long? are the bottoms of your shoes slick and smooth? do you wear breeches or some form of chaps? if the first two things are true, change them, and if the third isn't, then change that.
practice helps a lot. and if you are scared to ride without stirrups try it on a longe line first. also to get balance without stirrups ride on a very well trained horse and on a longe line to start out with, without reins, or very loose reins. i used to have the exact same problem, and those things all helped. i can jump over 2 feet without stirrups now. so there's hope! good luck and i hope you do well.

[Sharon H]

I can understand why you're so nervous about going stirrupless! The only thing I can think of to say to you is that it isn't really all that difficult once you get the hang of it, honest! A lot of places will start off ther begginers without stirrups at all to start with and in some ways, I think this is a good idea. Theoretically, you should be aiming at a sufficiently secure and balanced seat to be able to do anything without a saddle at all. People when they start to ride get the idea that the stirrups and reins are like a seat belt in a car and that their life depends upon having them! They become convinced that if they are asked to ride without them they will fall off. This really isn't true, what keeps you on top is balance and the aforesaid secure seat. One way of developing this secure seat is to ride without stirrups so it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Explain your fears to the instuctor before you start, ask if you can have a neckstrap to hold onto for added security. Personally, I would see if it were possible to have a private lunge lesson, that way, you can concentrate on your own balance and position, without having the extra hassle of trying to control the horse at the same time. This should help alleviate your understandable fears about being run away with as well. The reason that the horse you were riding got faster and faster when you rode without stirrups before was probably because as you became less and less relaxed and balanced, you got all tense and clingy which would have made him go faster and faster, did anyone bother to explain this to you? The more tense you get, the more likely it is that you will fall off. My final tip would be to concentrate on being as relaxed and loose as you possibly can be when you start to ride without stirrups, don't start worrying too much about your overall position,ie. whether your heels are up or down etc., you can fine tune that later, just focus on finding your balance and moving your body in tune with the horse,one day, it will all click into place and you'll wonder how you ever found it so difficult. When I learnt to ride many years ago as a child, it took months to learn how to do a rising trot. Looking back, I realise that the reason I couldn't get the hang of it was because to instructor used to stand in the middle shouting 'up,down,up,down' and her 'ups and downs' bore absolutely no relation to what was going on beneath me! I was trying to go up and down to her timing, not my pony's stride, no wonder it took me so long! If you can learn to ride without stirrups, you will find that you are able to really 'feel' what is going on beneath you and it will make a world of difference to your riding abilities.

[Tammy]

Bareback on the lunge will do wonders for you. Just ask your instructor to take it slowly and use a largish circle. Also, see if you can use a bareback pad (definitely one without stirrups!!). You will still be able to "feel" the horse but will not slip as much and these pads have a "handle" built in. Suede ones are best and second best are fleece. Cotton is a bit more slippery.

[Wally]

I don't think the problem is with the rider, I think she is being asked to learn something on a horse that isn't able to teach her how to do it! It's no good trying to ride without stirrups when the horse is acting on every misintended signal.

[*Candy*Horse*]

MY LESSON WAS AWESOME!I RODE THIS GORGEOUS QH NAMED JESSICA. SHE WAS QUIET, POKY AND I DID SOMETHING I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD GO AGAIN. I RODE HER WITHOUT STIRRUPS LIKE A PRO! MY INSTRUCTOR UNDERSTOOD MY PROBLEM AND DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO COMFORT ME! IT WORKED, AND WITH MORE TIME I COULD GET BETTER AT IT! I LISTENED TO WHAT YOU GUYS TOLD ME AND I FOLLOWED THROUGH TO IT!!!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL FOR HELPING!!
CHRISSY

[Wally]

See, you can do it, it wasn't you, 90% was horse. Well done. Once you are confident then go back and have a go at the ex-racers!!!

[Tammy]

I'm sorry, CandyHorse, I put my reply on the wrong thread....usually read all the threads and then go back to reply.

It sounds as though you are walking on air with your successful lesson...keep smiling and remember that you can do it and enjoy it!!!