# HELP!!!!! Afraid to GALLOP!!



## DutchHorse (Sep 16, 2007)

Yes, you red it well (I had no idea in which topic to put it in!) I'm still in a learning phase to ride horses, but I'm still VERY afraid to gallop right! Everytime when the instructor tells us to gallop, then I have the feeling that I'm slipping out of the saddle. Possibly I can't get my balance right, and it's only in the right gallop (not the left, left is going smoothly!)

What can I do to gallop correctly and how do I lose the fear not sliding out of the saddle? (I'm been falling out of the saddle several times by now!) If someone there to help me, then I'm very happy!!!!

SO: How can I stay in the saddle and how can I improve my balance!? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!


----------



## xx-rambo-xx (Apr 13, 2007)

Never be afraid to hold mane, remember, but you should be in a position that allows you balance. Do plenty of practice in jumping position at trot & canter, that should help, with your heels right down, legs glued on & your weight central. I'm not sure why it's harder for you to gallop on the right rein..are your stirrups even? 
& tell your instructor as well, if you're having trouble..they're there to help you. =) Good luck!


----------



## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Maybe you need to have a talk with your instructor to let her/him know that you are afraid. It may be as simple as your sturrups need adjusted or your saddle may be too big for you. 
Are you riding english? if so you may need to get some breeches with a full seat. If western maybe you need a rough out seat. I ride western with a rough out seat and full seat breeches so I am really glued to the saddle, :wink: 
It really helps to keep your butt from slipping out of the saddle. 
Another suggestion is getting an exercise ball for doing some balancing exercises at home. 
Its tough to get that courage to go fast and gaining the trust in a horse to not hurt you. It will come in time, and don't be afraid to talk to your instructor about your anxietys. As John Wayne said "courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway"


----------



## kat399 (Sep 22, 2007)

I'm assuming you mean a canter. If your slipping around alot, make sure you're not putting all your weight in your stirrups. You want you weight on your rear end. Tilt you pelvis forward and relax your hips. The biggest challenged I faced when learning to ride was not to bounce when I cantered. You just have to learn how to absorb the horse's movements and to move with them. You also need to learn which muscles to grip with, and which to keep loose. Maybe you could ask you're instructor to give you a lesson on a lunge line. So you can focus on your body position, and not have to worry about where the horse is going.


----------



## DutchHorse (Sep 16, 2007)

Can I need more tips? The one's posted are very good, thank you guys!!!!!!!!!!

O yes... today I fell off my horse again... 

But eeeeeeeehhhhhmmmmm.... are you sure this question is in the right spot on this forum???


----------



## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Well, when I first learned to really ride horses.....I started out bareback for three months. I learned to lope and it was really fun. To me, once you learn to run you love it! I've helped work racehorses, they are so fast and its awesome. I have a need for speed and I am pretty happy that Blu can run pretty fast. Anyways, I just let myself go when I learned to run. Loping and running bareback is a little bit harder than English running.  I grasp the mane and just hold on as I urge my horse on. I know this isn't much help but its all I have.....


----------



## purest silver (Sep 3, 2007)

this applied to me too, so this is my advice for you: the more you do it, the better you get at it and the more you love it. the next scary thing though is speed, but don't worry about that right now :wink:


----------



## jazzyrider (Sep 16, 2007)

although already said, riding bareback can be invaluable help. if you can walk along quietly bareback, close your eyes (obviously in a controlled environment), relax your hips into your horses back and feel him move. feel the way everything is and whats bits move and dont move. even if you do this on the lunge.

when you canter you need to feel this same movement. every movement should go with him. if you can feel your horse and use it to your advantage, you will become much steadier in your seat. its all about being one with your horse. getting to know your horse and how he moves. 

above all relax. if you have a pre-concieved notion that you are going to slip out of the saddle and fall off, you probably will for two reasons: a) you get on the horse as nervous as you could be. this makes you tense and stiff. this in turn makes the horse tense and stiff, b) you are spending so much of your time worrying about cantering on the right side that you forget to think about what you are doing. you need to be focused and you cant be focused when your position or seat is wrong causing you to worry about falling off. 

as already mentioned as well, check your stirrup length, saddle size and talk to your instructor. horse riding is fun and rewarding. relax and enjoy it


----------



## Rachluvshorses4eva (Apr 11, 2007)

You can try holding onto the saddle. Try adjusting your stirrup a bit. Maybe it's because of your girth isn't tight enough? Try doing all those things and tell me what you think. :wink:


----------



## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

i was there at one point... i had a good wipe out and the other problem was when i was learning to canter my instuctor put me on a horse that bucked all the time, so yes at one point i got to be afraid of it, ask if you can have a sturip leather for around the horses neck so you can hold on


----------



## DutchHorse (Sep 16, 2007)

A few months ago I was riding with the group and we were cantering, but the instructor told us to go further in a nice gallop. Well, I gave my horse the sign to go in a gallop, and I still don't knwo what went wrong, cuz before I know it I was LAUNCHED out of my saddle... and came crashing down on the floor, 4 meters further from the horse! (sorry for the meters, I'm from holland, you know!) I stood up, walked back to the horse and went back into the saddle. My instructor said 'let's try to gallop again'. I tried, but no matter how hard I tried... I was just too scared to been fallen off AGAIN!


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

I was doing that too weird thing but go into the round pen with your horse and someone you trust alot. put a lunge line on the horse and move your horse in a circle (the problem way) at a walk while holding your arms out. After you get comfortablewith walking trot with your arms out make sure the person u have holding the lunge line is trustworthy cause trust is a key thing here. When you get comfortable trotting canter around in a circle. Then when you have accomplished that gallop. Throughout the different stages you will be able to find your center of gravity and find out what way to balance yourself. It sounds scary but my riding instructer had me do it a long long time ago and it helped me with my balance ALOT. So it may help you.


----------



## ranchgal (Sep 23, 2007)

If you want to learn balance, there's nothing like bareback riding. The best horsemen can do everything bareback that they can with a saddle. I've seen fellows cut cattle bareback, and I'm telling you these horses are moving incredibly fast, especially on tough cattle. Bareback will help you alot- do a walk first, practice some turns and stops and stuff. But don't train on your horse or do anything like that- you are training yourself here. Then graduate to a trot, which is pretty hard. Put a hobble strap or similar strap of leather around your horses neck, and resist the temptation to hold onto it unless you are absolutely about to fall off. Alot of bareback riding, and you'll have excellent balance!


----------



## MiniHorseLvr (Sep 29, 2007)

Are you talking about the canter? Or an acutal full out gallop (almost as fast as the horse can go.) If your instructor is asking you to GALLOP and not CANTER when you are not ready find another one. No instructor should push the gallop. Infact, my old English instructor wouldn't even teach it. I've never actually had ANY instructor teach galloping. Next time you go out to the barn to try whatever gait you are scared of listen to the hooves. If they make a 1-2-3 beat it's a canter and if it's a 1-2-3-4 beat it's a gallop. (Walk is also 1-2-3-4 and a trot is 1-2). The one thing I can tell you to do is do lots of trotting work WITHOUT stirrups or even bareback. This will improve your balance amazingly. If you are riding english put a neck strap around the horse and you can hold onto it if you begin to feel yourself slip or you can hold onto their manes...but don't pull to hard. You might need to shorten your stirrups or maybe the feeling of falling is because your saddle isn't tight enough. Good luck!
With tons of practice I can now run barrels, do jumping and galloping bareback. You'll get it sooner or later!


----------



## Delregans Way (Sep 11, 2007)

hey, yeh it is in the wrong topic (it should be in training, but no worries) Yeh balance is the key to horse riding. I think i am repeating it what other pple have sed so i will stop there. Good luck anyway!


----------



## DutchHorse (Sep 16, 2007)

Delregans Way said:


> hey, yeh it is in the wrong topic (it should be in training, but no worries) Yeh balance is the key to horse riding. I think i am repeating it what other pple have sed so i will stop there. Good luck anyway!


This was my first-ever topic in this forum!


----------



## xLaurenOscarx (Aug 11, 2009)

I Find Galloping A Lot Smoother Than Cantering!
Maybe 1 Stirrup Is Shorter Than The Other Causing Youu 2 Slip 1 Way?
Hold On2 The Mane Or Neck Strap!
Good Luck
X


----------



## PhantomLove (Aug 2, 2009)

It sounds like you shouldn't be galloping at all :/ I don't want to put down your instructor, but she is most likely pushing you too fast. If you're out of balance completely and falling at the gallop, you shouldn't be galloping. Simple as that. You need to master the basics before you ride the fastest gait a horse can go. Horses also get really excited when they gallop, and might throw a couple leaps/bucks in while they are running. So you need to be a skilled enough rider to be able to handle that, and be in balance with your horse. I'd talk to your instructor and say you're not comfortable with galloping. I'd do alot of no stirrups at the walk/trot, since the way you explain yourself seems like you wouldn't do too well cantering no stirrups. I don't want to sound mean, but I'm just telling the truth.


----------

