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Re: [RC] one giant step closer - Chris PausHi Jen,
I'm too far away geographically to mentor you, but I can understand fear. But like the Nike ads, you just have to do it to get over the fear.
About 9 years ago, an appy gelding reared up and flipped over on top of me. Believe me, I thought I had breathed my last breath when I saw that white butt coming right for my chest. I caught a glimpse of my riding buddy's eyes before the horse hit me and I could tell she was fearing the worst too.
I survived. The horse went down the road to someone else who got along with him better. My body hurt for months, but the psychological damage was much worse. I knew I wanted to get into endurance riding and thought the appy was my horse, but clearly he wasn't. My steady eddy horse that I had a lot of confidence in was a chronic laminitis case, so he wasn't rideable.
I wanted to keep riding, but I was terrified. I tried all kinds of horses and believe me, my legs shook like jello against their sides when I was aboard. I've been riding for 40 some years and never had that kind of fear before.
Then I got Star, a grade Arab gelding that nobody wanted. He was NOT the right horse for someone who was afraid! He was hot and jigged and he needed lots of reassurance. But somehow the two of us worked things out.
I think you have to figure out just what it is you are afraid of... falling? getting hurt? getting lost on trail? And then figure out what it will take to overcome that fear.
Of course after the appy, I was afraid of falling and of rearing horses. If Star lifted his front feet up an inch, I panicked! He also was a much faster horse than I was used to. I had to learn to ride as fast as he could go. I fell off him 11 times the first year I had him. And I survived!
You might invest in some lessons with someone who will help you work on your confidence and take you out on trail and teach you how to deal with the things that can happen on trail. I worked with a dressage instructor who also did some trail riding and rode his horses right down mainstreet of a small town. Those lessons helped me ride better and more balanced and I didnt' fall off so much! And they gave me confidence and helped Star improve his behavior and way of going. When I was less tense so was he. Wow!
when you are afraid do you breathe? It's hard to be tense when you breathe. An instructor told me to sing while I ride because that forces you to breathe. I didn't want to scare Star with my singing, so I talked a lot to him.
Now I teach riding lessons and the biggest thing I see people do is hold their breath. you can't relax and move with the horse when you do that. Practice deep breathing. REALLY it will help!
20 minutes is a good outing for your first time. There is no time limit for learning this. Take baby steps until you are more comfortable. Pat yourself on the back for that 20 minutes. Do it again and again until you can go out for 30 minutes or 40 minutes!
I hope you find someone to ride with. Hang in there, you'll learn to love the trails and find arenas terribly boring! Wear your helmet, take a cell phone and take all the reasonable precautions. That will help you feel a little more confident. And BREATHE!
chris
bsbat@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi, my name is Jen and I am new to R/C--I have been reading but this is my I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott
Chris Paus
BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus
Lake Region SWA http://lakeregionswa.fws1.com
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