{"id":7773,"date":"2020-07-22T18:11:28","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T22:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/?p=7773"},"modified":"2022-11-07T21:40:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T01:40:48","slug":"overcoming-fear-for-riders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/overcoming-fear-for-riders\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Fear for Riders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>All riders experience fear at some point in their riding careers.&nbsp;I have felt fear more times than I can count, and at so many stages in my riding career. Even nowadays, there are things that make me nervous. Overcoming fear for riders, including myself, is sometimes the biggest barrier to developing our skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sometimes (not always though!) fear is a caused by having a lack of knowledge. If you think this might be the issue for you, make sure to check out my 100% <a href=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/the-beginner-riders-ebook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FREE Beginner Rider&#8217;s EBook<\/a>! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll learn how to keep a consistent pace (whether you&#8217;re riding a fast or slow horse), how to make smoothen transitions, how to finally get the flexion and bend you want, The Emergency Brake as well as bonus chapters on making cantering and jumping so much easier!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"fd-form-5f59505876d8d63589cee92a\"><\/div>\n<script>\n  window.fd('form', {\n    formId: '5f59505876d8d63589cee92a',\n    containerEl: '#fd-form-5f59505876d8d63589cee92a'\n  });\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I want you to think about the last time that you experienced fear.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe you were riding. Or perhaps you were thinking about riding. Maybe you were even thinking about competing for the first time, or at a higher level than you ever have before?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can feel impossible to overcome your fears at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets.jpg\" alt=\"Overcoming fear for riders\" class=\"wp-image-1004\" width=\"786\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets.jpg 960w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-225x150.jpg 225w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Types-of-turnout-blankets-500x333.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 786px) 100vw, 786px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two exercises for overcoming fear for riders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I want to share two quick and simple exercises that I try to implement whenever I feel nervous. These have really helped me in the past. They have been so useful when I&#8217;ve hit road blocks and experienced a lot of fear towards something I wanted to achieve with a horse. I really hope they can help you too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>#1.<\/strong> Dealing with the pain of being afraid is not as bad as dealing with the pain of regret if you don&#8217;t try something that you really want to do. Either way, you have to deal with pain. I would always choose the shorter-lived, easier pain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>#2.<\/strong> Don&#8217;t let yourself slip into &#8220;I should&#8221; or &#8220;I have to&#8221; mindset. That puts you in immediate conflict with yourself. Part of you is saying &#8220;you should do so and so&#8230;&#8221; which immediately means there&#8217;s another part of you saying &#8220;but I don&#8217;t want to&#8230;&#8221; Instead, try thinking &#8220;I choose to do so and so&#8230;&#8221; Really mean it and notice how your attitude almost immediately shifts towards more confident&nbsp;as your whole body unconsciously prepares for the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overthinking things and building up anxiety in your head almost always comes from inner conflict &#8211; at least it does for me! &#8211; when I adopt this almost authoritarian &#8220;I should be doing so and so..&#8221; or &#8220;I have to do so and so&#8230;&#8221; attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes overcoming fear for riders can be as simple as changing goals that are too big or out of your control. Have a look at <a href=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/goal-setting-for-riders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my tips for setting goals for riders here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-9bd5ce76 gb-headline-text\">How I Overcame My Fear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When I got Rudy, a 4 year old warmblood gelding, I was teaching him how to jump. I had gone through some bad falls related to jumping and he was very green. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The combination was definitely enough to shake my confidence significantly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to get over my fear, I found Natasha Althoff, a dressage superstar who has dedicated her life to helping riders overcome their riding fear and building confidence. She literally helped me to go from nervous to do trot polls to jumping cross country combinations in a field with Rudy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ve since become friends and she&#8217;s done me a huge favour by putting together a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fearlessridingsuccess.com\/fearsecrets-m-aff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FREE training specifically for you guys<\/a>! How awesome is that? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fearlessridingsuccess.com\/fearsecrets-m-aff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to sign up<\/a> for the training and thank me later \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy (and less fearful) riding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martina<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this post? Why not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.ca\/equestrianbandb\/_created\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"pin (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">pin<\/a> it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-683x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9638\" width=\"467\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-100x150.png 100w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3-300x450.png 300w, https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/1-3.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All riders experience fear at some point in their riding careers.&nbsp;I have felt fear more times than I can count, and at so many stages in my riding career. Even nowadays, there are things that make me nervous. Overcoming fear for riders, including myself, is sometimes the biggest barrier to developing our skills. Sometimes (not &#8230; <a title=\"Overcoming Fear for Riders\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/overcoming-fear-for-riders\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Overcoming Fear for Riders\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[261,19],"tags":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/13.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Martina","author_link":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/author\/martina\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7773"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14040,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7773\/revisions\/14040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equestrianbootsandbridles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}