# Total Fear Day--I froze at the mounting block!



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

The important thing is that you pushed through it! That's fantastic! 

Are you taking lessons? It seems like it would be good to have someone assisting you when this sort of thing happens, and it would also be really good to have eyes on the ground to help you correct little things so you can continue to improve. I'd also like to suggest a helmet to keep that head well protected! 

I don't think I ever got so nervous I couldn't get on, but there were definitely times when my heart would race, especially when I rode my very nervous mare. Even now, riding my very steady appy gelding, my heart might accelerate a little sometimes, like today, when we rode by the barn and an icicle crashed down near us, and he decided to spook a little. The good thing is that his spooks are easy to ride - nothing like my mare's explosions. But I have a bit of PTSD from her bad spooks (she gave me a concussion - lucky I was wearing a helmet that day!) so even when I know I'm fine, sometimes my body still reacts. The only thing to do is to keep riding. Eventually it goes away.


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## Feathers7 (Jun 11, 2019)

Way to go!!! You were obviously very in tune with yourself and the situation. I'd call that excellently assessed and handled. And great photos! Draumsyn is so cute - look at that white face and flaxen mane and tail!

Menopause doesn't have to be the only reason that you're feeling anxious. I'm not there yet, but I've had days where I psyche myself up and confidently think "I'm going to try this today! Yeah!" ...then I get out there and my body reacts with anxiety. I think it just takes practice to become mentally and physically zen in the saddle. This is especially true when presented with new experiences (like a new horse) or more speed or heights. You don't know what could happen, and so why not exercise caution? You can't invalidate your body's reaction, but you can at least tell yourself that it's not productive to feel that way. And nothing beats riding anxiety like being prepared. We might not be able to tell the future, but we can all know how to do a 1-rein stop and be prepared for anything. =)


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Riding blind is 100 times, . . . no, 1000 times more difficult than riding sighted. Those of you who have never ridden with blind riders have no idea how difficult it is to find your balance when you are blind.

To help my blind friend and understand her issues better, I used to ride blindfolded from time to time. My blind friend fussed constantly about the length of her stirrups. They had to be "just so." After riding blindfolded, I understood perfectly how important balanced and even stirrups were. Your balance is so precarious when you can't see. EVERYTHING is so precarious when you can't see. 
@Animalia, you used to canter bareback when you were sighted. It's a whole 'nother thing to ride blind. I think you need to cut yourself some slack. What you are doing is so so difficult. Just the fact that you get on and ride is wonderful.

Sighted riders, if you want an adventure, take your horse into an arena, put a black cloth bag over your head, and ride for 20 minutes.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Well done! You are much braver than me.

I was a nervous wreck for a long time. So what I would do is just walk my horse in hand if I was too scared to get on. Until I got bored. You can’t be bored and scared at the same time. Until you can, that is :/ I took a lot of lessons but I told my instructors not to push me. It helps a lot to know that you can get off at any time. I’m not scared any more, but I avoid riding in very scary situations. High winds in a tent indoor is a no go situation for me. A pack of stray dogs saunters into the arena, I get off. You get the idea.

Don’t let anyone tell you there is nothing to be scared of because there is. Take lessons, get your seat solid and the probability of getting hurt goes down. If the horse is misbehaving and you are struggling, find a different horse. If the wind is blowing and the horse is jumping all over the place, don’t ride that day. We are to old to play tough girls and they don’t make spare parts for us.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

FWIW I personally don't think you should be pushing yourself to canter, just because you used to be able to do it. I think a lot of older people who used to ride feel like they should just be able to get back on and do whatever they used to do, but it doesn't work that way.

Really good job, though.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Well done! this should have left you feeling GOOD, not bad. You went forward, when every molecule said back away.


The nice thing about getting older is that we are gentler with ourselves, and our expectations. We allow ourselves to enjoy the little things, . . . and it's great!


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

I think you are awesome! And very inspiring! My hubby is legally blind and I've thought about talking him into taking riding lessons on a good safe school horse. You've given me inspiration to get him thinking about it! I know you have the courage to overcome this setback. There's no reason on earth to feel bad about a scare, and every reason to just think about and savor that big win you had! 



Carry on!!


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

Well done! I have a huge mare and at the start she was very antsy at the mounting block. I used to have to mount in front of a crowd with ppl yelling at me to hurry up lol. It made things WORSE and I would get so anxious. I always had a fear of being dragged by a stirrup mounting... When I moved yards somewhere quiet it would take me 15mins to mount as I refused to get on while she was fidgeting. I wasn't ready to take that leap and eventually she learned to park herself and wait lol. At old yard I saw one woman at the mounting block for half an hour who eventually gave up, after refusing help. It seems so silly but its not really. We're so vulnerable when we lift our leg over and it's even worse when we gotta do it on our own. Honestly some of the most nerve wrecking rides were when I was alone for the first few times. The first arena ride. The first solo hack. The first solo trot and canter... You're not alone. It will pass and soon become second nature


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## Jolien (Aug 19, 2019)

@Animalia Hi, I understand your problem... I think the body sometimes instinctively remembers how certain situations could be dangerous for you even if you are in a totally different situation. It works the same with horses. They once had something really bad happen and their instincts and survival gut tell them to tense up/be scared every time in a similar situation. (which is kinda normal, you would want to survive above all) You are probably experiencing the same. After all humans are also animals. I think what the other riders said is true: you are very brave and if you try to get past your fear every time and move a little bit forward in your bravery every time, then you can retrain your brain. What also helps are positive visualizations and a good bond with your horse. I ride a non-beginners horse (and I am a beginner, so you can imagine...) and he used to pull all kinds of tricks on me, but now I have gotten to know him and I truly trust him. I know he will never intentionally ditch me so that helps me relax.  



And also sometimes you just have a bad day... That's only human. Try to build your trust and self esteem by feeling safe (maybe you can add a neck rope or something to balance yourself? Or maybe grab the pommel to feel the movement of the horse...) Or maybe you can even train the horse to make a certain sound when he is gonna do a different gait?? Or you can add some sort of thing to the tack that gives you some tactic feedback??) You could also wear a body protector so you are more protected in case of a fall. Personally I do wear one always (I seem to be the only adult that does this.) The horse I ride likes to unzip it though, haha.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

*Acadianartist*----Thanks for that! Oh, and I always wear a helmet when I ride. I just took it off for a couple quick photos at the standstill.  I am not currently taking lessons but have been considering it. I was always a Western Pleasure girl, and even showed in that discipline a tiny bit when I was younger. But English riding is a bit more tricky, I have limited experience with it, and I'm way out of practice in general. So I'm going to see if the boarding stable where Draumsyn is has an instructor--and if I can afford a couple lessons. Her owner is an excellent rider and while not an actual instructor I thought about asking her. The only problem is that D is so bonded to her--when Brianna is around, I cannot ride--because all Draumsyn does is constantly try to go where her owner is to be near her. It's ridiculous--and a little cute.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

knightrider;
Sighted riders said:


> Thanks for the vote of confidence Knightrider! Actually, to experience my level of vision, put a couple layers of cheesecloth over your eyes--with several more layers over the right eye for more complete white-out effect. You can still see where you are going pretty much, and some colors and even some detail close up--but you can't see more than 4 or 5 feet in front of you with any sort of detail and everything is a little blurry. My vision has been this way for at least 10 years now, so my brain as adjusted to my new "normal". I function very well all things considered. But yes, balance is an issue and I find myself looking down at my horses's neck and ears all the time instead of looking towards where we want to go--because it's all a big blur. But I can still look that direction. I have the same problem in yoga, but I can usually find something on the wall--a dark spot or light spot or something--that may be a clock or poster--to focus on. LOL


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Thank you for all your wonderful replies! I am very lucky to have a sweet, safe horse. She does challenge me and test me and act up more than I'd like, but we're working on it. I've done some groundwork with her in the round pen and that has helped us bond a bit. And at the end of my last two rides in the indoor arena, I got off and let her go cause I wanted to her walk a bit to see if she was limping. I figured she wouldn't go far and I can see her overall outline to know if she's limping or not. Well, she just stayed glued to me like Velcro horse. Now it's a game--I get off and walk and run all over the arena and try to "get away" from her and she heels like a dog. Very endearing. She is not a beginner horse in the saddle, but she's not too advanced for me. I'm just used to riding only completely idiotproof guided trail horses (Dude ranch type) the last many years. Now I actually have to RIDE.  I have a goal. My goal is to be able to ride at the walk and trot--bareback, by next Summer. Seems achievable. Especially since her "trot" is actually a tolt or a pace--and both are smoother than a trot. As far as cantering (in the saddle!) that may take longer. Or not. I'm not going to worry about it too much, but it is a goal eventually. 



Jolien---I'm going to think about the stuff you said. Some very interesting ideas!


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## therhondamarie (Sep 18, 2019)

I cannot tell you how inspiring your posts are to me. Seriously. 

And yes I have experience this (in recent history). I was almost too nervous to even ride but I forced my way through it and my nervousness was making PopTart a nervous wreck as well so we just rode in the round pen until I could breath again. I honestly do not know what gets into me sometimes. I am so glad that you rode through it and were able to talk yourself down from the fear monster.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Rhonda--glad to know I'm not alone! I had almost forgotten this, but one of the last times I really rode, on my own, on a green broke horse I was working with (the horse was the daughter of a horse I had a great relationship with for many years). She spooked--badly--went up and spun and I went off the side and broke my wrist. I was losing my vision at the time and everyone blamed it on that. That was over 15 years ago now, but I think I might have some latent PTSD from it. It's the first time since I was 6 or 7 years old that I've fallen off--and it involved an ambulance! And it involved my family and boyfriend at the time coming down on me hard for what they considered "reckless" behavior (riding horses when you have chronic inflammatory conditions and are going blind). Horses never seemed a scary activity to me. So, now I'm just finally getting ALL the part of my life back together. 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I so often feel like a dolt, it's nice to hear I can actually inspire people!


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Oh, by the way Rhonda--did I see in another post you are working on barrel racing? Or did I get that wrong? If so, that's very brave!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Animalia said:


> Thank you for all your wonderful replies! I am very lucky to have a sweet, safe horse. She does challenge me and test me and act up more than I'd like, but we're working on it. I've done some groundwork with her in the round pen and that has helped us bond a bit. And at the end of my last two rides in the indoor arena, I got off and let her go cause I wanted to her walk a bit to see if she was limping. I figured she wouldn't go far and I can see her overall outline to know if she's limping or not. Well, she just stayed glued to me like Velcro horse. Now it's a game--I get off and walk and run all over the arena and try to "get away" from her and she heels like a dog. Very endearing. She is not a beginner horse in the saddle, but she's not too advanced for me. I'm just used to riding only completely idiotproof guided trail horses (Dude ranch type) the last many years. Now I actually have to RIDE.  I have a goal. *My goal is to be able to ride at the walk and trot--bareback, by next Summer. Seems achievable. Es*pecially since her "trot" is actually a tolt or a pace--and both are smoother than a trot. As far as cantering (in the saddle!) that may take longer. Or not. I'm not going to worry about it too much, but it is a goal eventually.
> 
> 
> 
> Jolien---I'm going to think about the stuff you said. Some very interesting ideas!





Here's what I thought when I first read the bolded part:


If your balance is compromised, you have some health issues that mean a fall would be more impactful to you than to another person, but you have the heart to want to ride again, . . . then. . . ride SMART. To me, that means you do not ride bareback, at all. It's just too easy to come off, and if coming off could set you back in your dream, or re-stimulate the PTSD that is holding you back, then why increase your odds of that happening?


To me, I'd work on being a real rider, IN a saddle. Take your slowly building confidence and become the best rider you can in your saddle, working on becoming a 'pilot' to your horse, not just a passenger.
It's great to have a seat that's good enough to ride bareback, but bareback riding is not a requirement to becoming a better rider.



If I were younger, I'd totally do that, ride around bareback. Heck , I used to do it a fair amoungt. But, I want to ride for a long time, and I am more likely to fall if I ride bareback, so I'm going to consign that to my younger self's dreams.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I think that is great!! Way to go!  Don't push yourself to canter though, do it when you are good & ready. There's no rush. Just because you used to be able to do it doesn't mean you necessarily HAVE to do it now. Take your time. Take baby steps. Little wins mean a LOT. Keep it up! Very inspiring!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Push past the fears, and get the job done. You are still my hero! Carry on.


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## therhondamarie (Sep 18, 2019)

Animalia said:


> Oh, by the way Rhonda--did I see in another post you are working on barrel racing? Or did I get that wrong? If so, that's very brave!


I am going back to barrel racing! I did it my whole life from age 10 to about 30, but I've been off for a few years. I'm now 38, and I'm pursuing my passion again! I'm actually going to go over to a barrel race tomorrow and just do an exhibition for fun.  

And yes, you could have some latent PTS from that. It always pops up when we are least aware!


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Tinyliny--You make some good points. I don't like to be held back by my health issues, but I do want to be smart about stuff too--so I don't get worse. I will have to think long and hard about this. When I say I want to be able to ride bareback, I just want to be able to--I won't necessarily do it that much. So, am I really saying I want to be very sure of my seat and my balance on the horse--in the saddle as well? Again, I have to think about this. Thanks for the advice! I do appreciate it. 



Rhonda--congrats to you--I've never done any riding like barrel racing--that would scare the crap out of me. Do you have pics? 



Waresbear--thanks for the kind words!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

BTW , tell us about your Icelandic horse. Where did you get her?


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

While I agree with @*tinyliny* that you should remain safe at all times, I don't think it's unrealistic for you to do brief bareback rides eventually. I like to do this after a good ride on my appaloosa, Rusty. When we have been working for about half an hour, I know he is all tired out, and I can take the saddle off and do a cool-down bareback. I've ridden him bareback at a trot, but just briefly (I'm sure your Icelandic will be smoother). I wouldn't ride bareback for an entire lesson / ride, but it's a way to relax together after a workout, and by then, any antics will have been worked through and the horse is ready to be quiet and steady. So if you're just wanting to have it as a goal to say that you've been able to do it, that would be a good time. Do have someone watching you though, just to be safe when you do this because it is easier to lose balance.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I have had this happen -- and with one of the safest horses I've ridden, too! I'd sat through a couple of out-of-character spooks on a previous ride (it had been on a windy, stormy, weird day), and the next time I rode her in a different situation, it was all I could do to get myself to swing my leg over. We walked about 20 feet, she tossed her head and let out a loud screaming whinny for a her buddies. I made her walk a few more steps (so she didn't *think* I was getting down because of the whinny) and hopped off was like "NOPE!" I can't recall exactly how things ended up. I think I hand-walked her around for a while before eventually getting back on and doing a very very short walk-trot ride. But I remember the fear, and how hard it was to even make myself get on. It took me quite a while to get back to "normal" about it.

I'll third the helmet recommendation. Give yourself every advantage! She may be small but you don't have to fall very far or hard to get a serious brain injury. Knowing that you have a little more protection can help with that fear, because it IS coming from a place of self-preservation. A logical place. We all push down that logic when we ride! If you think about it, getting on a horse at ALL is a pretty stupid idea. But it's a FUN stupid idea.  Make it as safe as possible for yourself, though.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

SteadyOn;
I'll third the helmet recommendation. Give yourself every advantage!
Just to reiterate said:


> that[/I] stupid person.  I just took the helmet off because I thought I was done riding and my husband showed up so I hopped back on for a minute for some pictures. I knew I was going to be in trouble when I forgot to mention that in the original post. *laugh*


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Acadianartist said:


> While I agree with @*tinyliny* that you should remain safe at all times, I don't think it's unrealistic for you to do brief bareback rides eventually. I like to do this after a good ride on my appaloosa, Rusty. When we have been working for about half an hour, I know he is all tired out, and I can take the saddle off and do a cool-down bareback. I've ridden him bareback at a trot, but just briefly (I'm sure your Icelandic will be smoother). I wouldn't ride bareback for an entire lesson / ride, but it's a way to relax together after a workout, and by then, any antics will have been worked through and the horse is ready to be quiet and steady. So if you're just wanting to have it as a goal to say that you've been able to do it, that would be a good time. Do have someone watching you though, just to be safe when you do this because it is easier to lose balance.



This is exactly how I want to do bareback rides. In my younger days I would go trail riding bareback--without a helmet. Sheesh! We are so stupid when we are young and fearless. Anyway, yes, only after she is more tired out and complacent and only for a few minutes and mainly for my confidence building and building a partnership with the horse. I like "feeling" the horse under me in that direct contact. I would love to eventually do some "liberty" riding, but that's WAY in the future, if ever.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

tinyliny said:


> BTW , tell us about your Icelandic horse. Where did you get her?



I am only leasing her. I live in Wisconsin and she came from Kentucky. The owner bought her and her sister 6 years ago directly from Kentucky. he no longer has the sister as she had some issues that required special training and she was sold to the trainer. The farm was really old and rundown and Draumsyn was 7 years old and had never had a halter on! 

She put a lot of training into Draumsyn, who became her "heart" horse. The owner has a medical condition and very busy job that both keep her away from the barn and away from riding--which is why she's leasing. But she said she will never sell this horse. But she's happy to have me leasing long term if I want. 



Draumsyn has all 5 gaits (walk, trot, tolt, flying pace, canter) but her trot is a little non-existent--she starts trotting but it goes pretty quickly into a pace. I have trouble getting her to tolt until towards the end of our ride. 



She is very sweet on the ground, a little stubborn in the saddle, but safe. I am actually riding her bitless. I've ridden with the bit, then a regular flat halter, tried the bit again and now I'm using a rope halter with a braided/padded noseband and sidepulls. This will be our headgear from now on. She does not like the bit---at least not with me riding and I have pretty quiet hands. It was a little scary to try her without the bit the first time, but she actually balked a lot less. I have to use a little more muscle sometimes, but that's ok. At least she isn't fighting me and tossing her head and making bad mouth gyrations. 



The owner's other Icelandic (a gelding) came from Michigan. That is apparently a really nice place. If I decide to buy my own Icelandic, that's probably where I would go. She told me you can get a nice horse, trained and ready to ride for about $5000. For an Icelandic that's a really good price. It's more than I initially wanted to spend on a horse, if I bought one, but Icelandics are such easy keepers! They eat very little, don't take up much space, are very hardy in all weather--have tough feet and legs. So their maintenance and upkeep costs are lower than other horses. Draumsyn and Loki have always lived outside--in pasture board and they prefer it that way. She didn't even like riding in the indoor arena at first, she just wanted to be outside.  But the outdoor arena gets very mushy so I didn't always feel comfortable on wet days. 



My husband is actually very happy that I found Draumsyn because he feels more at ease with me being around her. She's small, she's gentle and he feels more confident leaving me alone with her to ride. (he's on the property, just not always with me). I wanted a very large horse to ride--like a Percheron or Clydesdale or at least a large Quarter Horse or mix. I have very long legs and i'm not a petite size by any means. But Draumsyn is working out so well and given the fears I've been having anyway, I'm glad I don't have a huge horse.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Animalia said:


> I got her out, tacked her up and took her into the arena and got on the mounting block and my heart started pounding and I froze.
> 
> Sheesh! Anyone else experience this?



Yup, and I'm much younger than you. No worries. Good for you for getting through it. 



I'm 33 and (I like to think) smarter than I used to be. I'm I am getting on a horse that *might* do something, or that I don't know, my foot is pretty sticky to the ground......


Been there done that with starting colts and my brain remembers how much it hurts to hit the ground, LOL. 



When I started riding Dexter for the first time last year, my mom gave me a heads up on a couple things he did. Let's just say I rode in the arena for the whole first week. He didn't do anything mean or intentional -- poor guy had been abused in the past and he would shy/spook/scoot away from your left hand when you mounted and/or stuck your hand out. I wasn't taking any chances out in the open, so I stuck inside the soft dirt arena until I felt confident to take him out. I really had to FORCE myself to get on him those first few times. And you know what? No shame. I'm just taking more safety measures nowadays than I used to. 



Probably won't be the last time this happens to you!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Just a note on "easy keepers." They are really only "easy" in the sense that if you have them stalled or on a dry lot, you can get away with feeding them less. And you can keep them on poor pastures and not worry about them starving.

I have easy keepers, and two of them are overweight / borderline overweight just on pasture and hay. I worry about the sugar content of my hay and of their pasture, their joints, and of course the dreaded laminitis / founder. I spend money on slow-feed hay nets, and I feel guilty when I can't ride, even though they are on pasture 24/7, because they are fat and need the exercise.

Having said that, there's nothing wrong with having an "easy keeper" (BTW the horse you lease is beyond adorable), just realize that they aren't actually "easy." At least not in my experience.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Well, I rode yesterday and one of my biggest fears happened. I was riding around the farm--we were both getting bored riding around the indoor arena, so I thought I would ride outside for 10 minutes or so to end our riding time. Draumsyn saw something that just scared the hell out of her and she whirled/spun, sidestepped/backed and took off in the other direction--I think she was at a canter before I pulled her up. For me, it was a little like a car accident--I was in slow motion, and afterwards, shaking and trying to remember what was happening in the moment. I thought I was going overboard! But in that instant, all my muscle memory and training from decades of riding kicked in and I apparently did everything right--did not fall off, got the horse under control rather quickly and stayed on and rode her for another 10 minutes without incident--and without fear! I'm actually glad this happened and I was so happy at the end of the ride--I did it!! I now know I can handle an incident like that without the certainty of falling and injury. (I know there's never a guarantee). But I stayed sane, didn't bail on the ride and turned it into a good experience. 

On the other hand, I'm a little concerned about how nervous Draumsyn is, sometimes about every little thing. Apparently she's not like this for her owner (but I don't think her owner has ridden her regularly for at least a couple of years--she had another leaser before me). Anyway, I do not want to take this horse out on trails until she's more calm. We had plenty of space yesterday, for her freak out, but if that happens in the trees or other narrow space between buildings or whatever--it could be bad for both of us. I even did some Reiki on her before I saddled her up and played my Native American cedar flute and she was still explosive.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Question--about my spooky horse who wasn't always spooky. Could her anxiety be nutritional? She's only been at this boarding facility for a few months and her owner mentioned that she worried about her horses getting fat because the pasture there is so rich compared to what they were used to. Could there be more carbs/sugars in the pasture and now the hay (which I think is grown on the farm)? If so, I'm not sure what I can do about it, except talk to the owner about giving her a calming supplement. Anyone have any recommendations? I am an amateur herbal healer, a shamanic practitioner and former Veterinary Technician. I prefer to try natural things and I'll have to look up what herbs and supplements are safe for horses. I also want to start giving her MSM for some stiffness and creaking joints. Any other recommendations there too, I'm all ears.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Could be a few things that you could look into:

-Ulcers (can cause major personality changes, definitely including spookiness). If she's going long stretches without hay during the day, that alone can cause them. Even horses on a diet need constant forage -- they just need it managed by being fed in slow feeders.
-Magnesium deficiency in the diet
-Vision problems


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Is there any way you can ride with someone else outside the arena? Someone with a calm horse that isn't going to spook? Seems like spooky type horses go so much better with a companion.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Also, keep in mind that most horses are a bit silly when cold first sets in. If that is the case with her, she should settle down in a few weeks.

“He is a bit fresh today” is often heard around the barn these days, whilst the rider is fluttering in the wind, holding on for dear life and swearing like a sailor hoodwinked by a “belle de nuit”.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

knightrider said:


> Is there any way you can ride with someone else outside the arena? Someone with a calm horse that isn't going to spook? Seems like spooky type horses go so much better with a companion.



Yea, that might be a good idea, except that this boarding facility is always deserted when I'm there. I've met two other people who board there--but one is a young girl who does hotshot stuff on her Western horse and I've only seen her once briefly and the other I've only seen twice while she was there brushing out her horse and then putting him away. The next time I see her I'll ask if I could meet her there for a ride someday. Honestly, this place is totally deserted most of the time, even the property owner is usually not there and the barn manager doesn't get there until close to 5PM--long after I'm gone. I could drive up with a trailer and steal a bunch of horses and tack and drive off with no worries. haha. My husband had to run to the gas station one day and it felt a little unsettling to be completely alone on this 80 acre property with 3 barns and indoor and outdoor area, trails and lots of grounds. I didn't ride until he got back. On the other hand, it's wonderful having both arenas to myself all the time!


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

SteadyOn said:


> Could be a few things that you could look into:
> 
> -Ulcers (can cause major personality changes, definitely including spookiness). If she's going long stretches without hay during the day, that alone can cause them. Even horses on a diet need constant forage -- they just need it managed by being fed in slow feeders.
> -Magnesium deficiency in the diet
> -Vision problems



Interesting, I'll look into these! She has very weepy/crusty eyes. That's how the eye condition that led to my vision loss started--and animals can get it too. And from what I can tell, they get fed hay in the morning and maybe at night. I've been out there as early as 10AM and there has been no hay, and as late as 4PM and there was no hay. And there is no feeder in their paddock--so the hay just gets fed on top of the absolute muck and puddles in there. They don't get fed in their shelter.


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

I have had the idea to start riding obstacle courses with my Icelandic. I don't think she's ever done this before. But both of us are very bored riding around in a circle in the arena and she's too nervous and spooky right now to take on the trail. The farm where she's boarded has a lot of obstacle equipment I can use to start building short obstacles and build up her confidence--and start using some scary items when we're ready. I will also need to see if she will sidepass, and/or if I can teach her to. And turn on the forehand. I feel really good about this. It's specific stuff to work on, rather than riding mindlessly around the arena--it's pretty safe if I don't introduce too many scary elements at first, and it's a discipline that is not hard on an aging horse, and not dangerous for an aging rider! LOL I am very excited to ride tomorrow and set up a short path of poles, some barrels and some cones and maybe a pole to step over. As of a month ago, her owner did rider her over a large teeter board in the outdoor arena and she did great. I've walked her over it in hand and she was great. I may try riding her over that if it's not too mushy tomorrow. But i'm going to start indoors. I feel like this will really hone my riding skills and give me specific things to focus on/work on and help her relax and focus on me--and become less spooky overall with me as she learns to trust me and has fun at the same time. Woo Hoo!


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