Hi!
I’ve already written several posts similar to this one, but I really feel the need to post this in the hope that you can help me.
I’m an insecure rider and have lacked confidence pretty much forever. Outside of the horse world, I’m also someone who doesn’t believe in herself at all and lacks confidence in every aspect of life. But putting that aside, I’ve been riding for about 8 years now and I’ve never truly felt confident. I’ve felt insecure the whole time because I don’t see myself as capable of improving, and I’m basically limiting myself by feeding my fear.
I used to be terrified of riding, but little by little I improved over time to the point where I only felt some fear that didn’t limit me as much. I rode different horses and, although I felt a bit nervous, I could manage those emotions more or less well. The problem is that I started falling quite often, and my fear grew. I began to hold myself back because I believed I was going to fall all the time. Even horses I had ridden well before and knew well started to make me nervous, and it affected how I rode. Then suddenly I felt like I could handle anything, and they gave me horses I never thought I’d ride—but after a month I fell again and went back into the vicious cycle of my insecurity.
A few weeks ago, I had a good lesson with a horse I hadn’t ridden in a while because of my falls, and I felt confident. I felt a sense of release in my body that helped me in the next lesson—but then I fell again. Even though I felt some fear, I continued the lesson to avoid “trauma.” Since then, I start my lessons tense and gradually relax as the class goes on. I’ve been jumping even when I didn’t really feel like it, just to avoid developing fear, but I feel like my mind goes blank a lot of the time.
I don’t want to stop riding (as some people have already suggested), but I also don’t want to feel so stuck. I love this sport, and even though I fall quite a lot, I always want to get back on the horse.
Any advice is welcome.