jumping confidence needed!!!

[ღerinღ]

i had quite a nasty x-country accident just over a year and a half ago!!i took me awhile to get back to trusting my horse (even though it wasnt her fault)i know it would of been loads better if i could of got straight back on,but with a Suspected broken neck i wasnt allow!!!:eek: over time i have got back to popping over some tiny fences, but i now feel,its time to start jumping Properly again!!and with my RI's help we r workin on paces and counting strides over troting poles!!i was just wondering if anybody had anytips to help build my confidence, because it all goes to pot,when i see a fence over 18inchs lol!!:rolleyes: thanks

[mogadoga]

hi, im the same, just not the same circumtances. so good luck!!! hopefully this will help me:)

[Cheeky]

Heya

Simular situation .. I am known as the Dressage rider around my house hold/mates .. but I wanna do some jumping! But I am a little 'iffy' about it .. :( But I have never fallen (well once.. that didn't knock my confidence at all) over a jump.

So, let's get serious jumping! Hey - we should stick together, keep each other updated :) And anyone else who wants to start pushing theirselves jumping, should join :p Hehe .. a little confidence club :)

Ideas .. yep. Get the feel back of the horse .. A great trick I was taught was to be able to tell (and count out loud) when I was 4,3,2,1 stride before the jump. Because, if the horse decides to duck out .. this is most likely when its gonna be .. so if you can judge when you're 4-3 strides away, this is where to put the leg on, and tell him you're gonna do it :)

Breathe!! Vital :p

No stirrup work over poles/in general .. bouncey but useful for seat and confidence and balance. Same with no reins. And both! But take it slowly ;) I remember my old RI made our group do a jump(30cm?) with no stirrups .. bareback! I can tell you .. I learnt my seat very quickly :p

Good luck

[NuttyMare]

Once I can get Woody up and running again then I'll join! :p

I've fallen off around 6 times jumping and my confidence is now in shreds :eek:

But I'm determined to give it another go.

[skye06]

I would generally suggest riding a different horse who is an absolute schoolmaster when jumping. Sometimes you have to change to progress. When you get some confidence you can go back to your own horse. It will take time, keep them small and only raise them as you are comfy.

[ღerinღ]

thanks every1, i had a riding lesson this morning, and got the hang of counting my steps and did some really tiny jumps with poles in front and counted my steps upto it!!:D i feel really happy and feeling i might be able to do this jumping lark!!haha :rolleyes: :) :D :eek:

[Trewsers]

Wow, I think you're really brave giving it another go - good for you.:) I'm a real nervous nellie of a rider and just recently have been able to pluck up the courage to go over a few small jumps on Storm (nothing as big and scary as x country jumps mind;) good luck to you - a great teacher is the key and taking it slowly and lots of support along the way. :)

[hunny]

hi i lack confidence jumping i can jump but get really nervous about it which makes me mess it up i ustu luv 2 jump wen i had my last horse but unfortinatly her days of jumping r gone n now i have a new 1that i trust i need sum confidence !!!!!!!!!

[jenren!!]

Hmmm, i'd say you're on the right track. Remember to breathe, and perhaps borrow a schoolmaster to practise on. Just take it step by step, once you are comfortable jumping small fences and poles you will eventually feel like you want a challenge. Good luck!

Jenny xx

[xLuckibrunette]

You know...I had a problem like that. I spent many a months wondering how I should get back on & why it happened, what I should do next time & the MANY things that could happen.

Then you know what I realized.

I LOVE JUMPING. I LOVE HORSES. I LOVE X-COUNTRY. I had been riding & doing cross country for a WHILE and I had won many times I had trained many many horses and it was a freak accident. It was neither of our faults and those are the kinds of things that I decided when I started riding.

I loved it and I was sick of worrying and not getting better. I went out rode the course like I was ou to win & didn't have a problem after that. Yes I have fallen & yes I have lost but it's what its about & riding is way to important to me to give up that easily.

Good lucky, sweety.

[Waikato Valuta]

I know exactly how you feel. I get my confidence knocked very easily.

I have had to re-build several times. I have found that getting out and doing it is the best way. Obviously you don’t want to put the jump right back up to full height but just get a height you are comfortable with and just that then put just one jump up a tiny bit above your comfort zone and try again.

It does take a while, so don’t expect to wake up one morning and go jumping 3'.

I also found the book 101 jumping exercises very good, it gives you loads to practice over and you don’t have to put the jumps up high, just get your technique and canter/trot right going over the smaller jumps in all sorts of different patterns.

Just keep trying, I dotn know taht i'm the best person to give this advise becuse I am still a nervouse nellie, but at least I get out there and push my comfort zone a little further each time I ride.

[EquestrianRider]

Everyone goes through periods like this where they lose confidence due to an accident or near riding accident. I'm coming back from a badly injured elbow after my horse bucked me off after a jump, and I have to regain my confidence and get back to the level I was at.

[jumper-4-joy]

hey! i know exactly how you feel! i had a cross country accident on a horse that ran out so now i am always freaked out that he will run out. one day i got on him and decided "you know what, who cares?? if i fall when he runs out its okay it wont hurt that bad."and i looked at the jump with determination and kept thinking "ok i am very determined i am getting over this jump" and subconciously while thinking that you automatically drive your horse with your leg. so just talk to yourself! it will make you breathe and relax- it looks a little weird but who cares! :) good luck!

[CER1389]

because it all goes to pot,when i see a fence over 18inchs lol!!:rolleyes: thanks

Your starting with plastic show jump type fences right?

What I had to do when I lost my show jumping confidence was to get my RI to set up a jump at the top of the wings. I would warm up around this BIG jump, which as I warmed up my RI would put down a few holes at a time. When we reached the desiered height, 2ft-2ft6 depending on how brave I felt in the lesson, the fence looked so tiny compared to how big the top of the wings looked, that I would jump it.

It does help so much, seeing this massive fence which is then put down a heck of a lot.

[ponies-R-gr8!!!]

Hiya i have had exactly the same, fell off while jumping a 3ft paralel fence a fw years ago. Now, i am fine at cross poles but with paralel fences my legs tense up and i lose my stirrups! anyone got any tips on how to relax and regain my confidence cos i love jumping! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease help!!!

[coverblown]

Hi there just the same and I love the ide of keeping each other going and confident on this. I have fallen off 5 times this year and am about to re-start jumping. Probably at the end of the month. Love jumpiong though and havent done any since the end of May. Need to get back.

Keep posting how you get on

Anne x