Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hello everyone,
       Let me make a short intro. My name is Kathryn but everyone calls me Kate. I've been lurking in the background on RC for @ a month now. I've been into horses since I was 3yrs. old but it took until I was an adult to keep my own. Being a woman in her mid 40s,I have been injured plenty of times by horses. I can say with all honesty "all my own fault." The worst was when my then green mare bucked me off like a rodeo bronc and broke my ankle. I was afraid of what she might do to me next! For the longest time, my fear was standing in the way of any further progress for the both of us. I decided that education was preferable to not riding this beautiful, athletic creature who I had bought with the sole purpose of being my endurance mount. 
       I read and tried to absorb any article on sport psychology when dealing with recovery from injury. I also decided to be humble with my training approach and consulted professionals. I sought out a trainer that was willing to teach me and to train my mare. It took 18 months to find the right person. In the mean time, I decided to learn all that I could on training from the ground and to rethink my approach. I'm happy to say it all work out well. I'm still a student of equine behavior. I still remain enthusiastic in my pursuit of knowledge. I have to look at it this way, What I know is not a 1/10 of what I needed to know. What I needed to know and don't, could fill a warehouse. 
       Fear can be a real stumbling block or a jumping off point (pardon the pun). We are all mortal but my plan is to work with horses as long as I am physically able. Life, for me, is so empty without horses. I think it was this realization that help me overcome my fear. Just my humble opinion. I wish anyone dealing with fear as the result of injury a speedy recovery.      Take care all........Kate