# What are your hangups, and why?



## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Escalating. If I have to get firm or aggressive with a horse and they challenge me back, I'm always afraid I won't be able to get them to back down and then I've just taught them they can challenge. This might be a horse who sucks back and bucks when asked for forward. I can kick them forward, but what if they still refuse to go? What if they manage to pile me? Now it's going to be harder next tine. 

Same with horses who threaten to kick or bite. I can get after them, but what if they challenge back? When I was younger, I reprimanded a horse for threatening to kick while grooming. That horse proceeded to jump forward and double barrel me. 

I can generally push through it and get it done, but I've let little habits slip through where my trainer isn't there to knock sense into me and push me.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Well, of course spooks, but also riding on the road. Can't do it. I wish I could, I really do, but it terrifies me. This comes from my childhood when I had a horse that was terrified of cars and when I had some scary experiences. But also, I think from a very sane realization that we live on a country road on a hill. Large logging trucks come roaring down that hill so fast they could never avoid me if my horse decided to spook INTO the road rather than in the ditch. So nope, ain't doing it. If we were on a quiet road with a low speed limit where only cars drove, maybe, but with logging trucks, ATVs, souped-up pickup trucks that like to roar past my house (don't even get me started), I'm not risking it.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Currently, cantering is my hangup. I have about 20 years of riding experience under my belt, included starting babies & fixing problem horses, but a took a 10 year break from horsesafter college. Did well getting backinto horses as an adult, but a freak accident on my then-3yr old landed me inthe hospital with a severe concussion, followed by 1 month off work and 1 monthworking part time while I recovered. I had a trainer “leg up” said horse once I was cleared to ride and he's never threatened to do anything remotely similar again. But somenagging fear is still in the back of my mind almost 3 years later, so he's a still-green 6 year old. We can lope for brief periods on his left/goodlead, but I get anxious trying to work on his right/tough lead and I know it affects his effort/confidence. Perhaps this fall I’ll be able to trailer fora few lessons, but 99.99% of the time I’m riding solo at home.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I don't like horse cantering up behind me. This goes hand in hand with bolting. I had a horse when I was in my teens that was a runner. He ran all of the time. In place if you held him back and I made quite a few unplanned trips home and had some really horrible wrecks (including him falling with me) after he bolted. To this day a horse cantering up behind my horse makes me nervous - as I am always ready for my horse to bolt.

And bees- been the recipient of stings from unsettled ground bees on the trail and had my horse rear and spin trying to get away - when I ride if anyone says bees I will do anything in my power to stay away


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I am not comfortable cantering . not as much as I should be, considering how long I've been riding. Have had two falls where the horse just went down on their knees at the canter and I was basically plowed into the ground, so now I always worry the hrose will trip and chuck me or roll over on me. I end up hauling too hard on the horse's mouth, trying to 'keep' his head up. 
Of course, I do canter the horse, but only for short distances on the trails, and usually going up a hill.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

The Escalation issue. I have to remind myself to not back down and let them do whatever they like, but if I'm not careful, an ever increasing spiral of violence and frustration will begin and then its counter-productive. After Trigger's rearing problem, I start to worry it'll happen again, or the others will try it, etc. and that's when I start getting nervous and they know it, and push the issue.

Loping makes me nervous... mostly because our Teacher Horse likes to trip. He's done it just playing with the other horses, he's done it just at a sedate walk on level ground. He's never QUITE gone down on his face but its still nerve wracking (Leroy, the horse I sold to cousin's girl DID go down in thick brush and trees once, and all I could think in that 1 second window was to get my right foot out of the stirrup and throw myself as far from him as I could so I didn't get smashed between him and a tree or rolled on), and Trigger is just too fast. He scares seasoned riders... he's the one that bolted on me and he's an emotional train wreck we're unraveling.

Steep grades... Going UP or down. Again I worry about the horse losing his or her footing or me doing something catastrophically dumb to cause it.

Also. Profanity. There are times its like I have Tourettes when I'm on a horse. Bad words just... fall right out of my mouth, esp. when something sudden happens, like a spook or a trip.

My boss used to doing competitive cutting, and he just smiles and laughs a little and reminds me: Its time in the saddle. You're getting better, just keep spending time in the saddle.


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## ChieTheRider (May 3, 2017)

Hangups. Hm.

If anything mine might be laziness. I've forgotten to go out and feed my horse before and other things. Horses are a lot of work, and though I'm distracted with school and everything else, I need to remember that they depend on me to live. 

Besides that it's not much. Luckily, I'm not afraid of falling. Anymore. I was for a little while after I got bucked off my gelding when I was 13. I went flying and landed in a heap, with only the wind knocked out of me. I think that might be the first time I cursed in my life...it scared me. Had to get my trainer to help with my confidence and stuff.

It was my own fault I got bucked off, I forgot to put the saddle pad on and it was a big western saddle. Also this horse was trained English and probably didn't know what this giant pinchy contraption on his back was anyway. Stupid me.


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## k9kenai (Jul 1, 2017)

Riding in front of people. I've never had a good experience riding in groups of people in lessons and I hated being part of the "boarding barn" experience where other riders were always judging you and I always felt self conscious about my riding skills even though my instructors always said I was a good rider. It got to the point where if I went to the barn and there were other people there I would just do groundwork and lunging exercises with my horse rather than ride. I always took private lessons instead of group lessons after a while too, even though they were twice as expensive.

Now that I am older and more confident, I still won't do the boarding barn and I am waiting to purchase another horse until I have a property of my own. I have someone who will coach me privately but I still probably won't do group lessons even though I am more confident. Even though I was never confident enough to show when I was younger, I would probably try it out now.

I think I also have a slight hang up with cantering but only because it's been a while since I've done it. I never had a real problem with it when I was doing it regularly. I've never galloped (at least on purpose...) so I would definitely have some nerves if I tried to do that.

I have bipolar disorder too so there are moments where I'm like "I can do anything!" and then there are moments where it seems like everything is a hangup. :\


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Competition. I'm not afraid of it, I just have never experienced what other people say they get out of it. From what I can gather, it's fun dressing up going somewhere, and it's fun having a goal to work toward, and it's fun to go to a social event. I get that part, although, because I'm not a very social person, none of those things really appeal all that much. But obviously it is much more than that, and I don't know what it is. 

Whenever I compete in something, beforehand I am nervous (like almost everyone), then when I'm competing I feel a kind of white foggy nothing-brain where I can't think very well, it is unpleasant, but if I have practiced enough the muscle memory carries me through. Then when it's over all I can think of are the things I did wrong, which I could not grasp very well while I was doing them. At the awards, if I lose I shrug and try to forget about it (wondering why I put myself through that), and if I win, I think, wow, I guess everyone was worse than me. 

Then I'm really tired and there's all the driving and cleaning and putting everything away. 

So, competition, I don't get it at all. This is every kind of competition.


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## Kaiit (Mar 28, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Also. Profanity. There are times its like I have Tourettes when I'm on a horse. Bad words just... fall right out of my mouth, esp. when something sudden happens, like a spook or a trip.


lol I can relate. Words just fall out. I called mine a dickhead today for spooking at something. Spooks used to bother me but because he's so reactive, it's just become a normal part of our rides. They still knock the air out of me when big, unexpected ones happen though, and a word often slips out!

I have a big hang-up about being firm. I guess this fits in with the escalation thing as well. I think I'm firm enough now but it took me a while to get there. I really hate using a whip but I know it can be a useful tool when used correctly. I'm just so worried all the time about causing pain or irreversible fear. I say I think I am firm enough because if I'm not, he will either just tank off with me or shuffle along at a snail's pace. But sometimes I just don't know if I need to be firmer or if he's just having a strong/stubborn day :s


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

I hate micromanagement - whether it's done to me or I am expected to do it to others. As a consequence, being consistent with my aids is very difficult for me. I don't have yet a good intuitive, internalized (rather than abstract, conceptual) understanding that the horse is incapable of thinking contextually.

For example, my horse has a lot of go, and she frequently asks to go. Many, many times I look at the terrain ahead and, rather than make her wait for my aid, just let he proceed. After all, the horse had a good idea, I agree...let's have fun! It does came back to haunt me when she asks to go fast when it's really not appropriate, so I have to correct her more than I like.


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## SpicedGold (Aug 2, 2011)

Riding near dogs. A few years ago, my sister and I were on a ride and a loose dog attacked both our horses. I got thrown, my sister got bolted with. Both horses were badly bitten, my sister's horse the worst. He's had three bad experiences with dogs now, poor guy.

Now if there's a loose dog anywhere I'm riding, I go the other way. Doesn't matter what horse I'm riding, it gets my heart beating faster just looking at them. In the three years since that incident, I've ridden the trail where it happened only three times. I can't relax on it anymore. A pity, it's a beautiful ride.


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## DanteDressageNerd (Mar 12, 2015)

I don't like riding horses who need to be dominated and/or micromanaged. I ride sensitive, hot and quirky well but a horse that needs to be "made" to work or handled almost aggressively consistently is not my thing. I can do it but it's not my style. I don't like riding horses that have no motivation or desire to try or fight because you asked, rather than demanded. I get along with mares really well. I love a good mare. 

I have aspergers (Autism spectrum) so that honestly helps me a lot but makes me very neurotic which is good because I notice details others do not pick up on and Im super sensitive/intuitive with the horses I ride and I think I can relate to them and understand the horse's better because of that but sometimes it's hard for me to relate what I feel and what I do to people. Sometimes I have to tell myself to quit being so neurotic and focus because focus can be a weakness of mine. I've gotten better about it with age.

I'm not as comfortable jumping as I used to be. I don't especially like jumping fresh/green jumpers. I do alright, I used to jump 3'3-3'6 and schooled training level cross country with one or two prelim sized fences but I'm out of practice and the only horses I have to jump are green as grass over fences. And I never was good at riding stoppers, I never let mine stop so when I rode something that had a habit of stopping that sometimes was a shock to me because I was used to riding the type that would try to over power the rider and get ahead to the fences. I rode very defensively as a jumper/eventer because my event horses was SO SO bold and SO SO powerful. He was a sport bred tb but massive with a huge gallop stride, his jump was so tricky to stay with you had to get a touch behind over the fences or he'd pop you over his neck on landing and if you weren't recovered in time he was going with or without you. I also broke my hand on a green jumper because he half jumped then leaped side ways and my hand rolled onto his neck and snapped and I can't afford to get hurt and not riding horses then how will I pay my bills?

I don't like horses with such excessive anxiety that they go catatonic, basically black out and have no sense of self preservation. I've almost been killed by horses like that and I flat out refuse to ride horses like that because there really is nothing you can do for them. They're missing nuts and bolts in their brain. You can do so much ground work, do so much desensitization, so much trust building exercises and you can raise them entirely and know they've had no bad experiences and some of them are just missing a brain between their ears. That scares me. One mare I helped raise, I was the one who did all her imprinting after she was born and she is just not wired right. She goes out of her mind for random odd things that she could deal with it her entire life but all of a sudden she's not okay with it and loses her mind to where she has no sense of self preservation and forgets her manners, etc. You can't pay me to break her, I flat out refuse because she isn't a horse you can reason with or work past because she basically checks out and is in a pure flight mode. One day it was fly spray which she's been fly sprayed almost every day for her entire life. Another day is was a tractor. One time I petted her face and within seconds had her teeth around my jaw. I was so lucky I didn't lose my face, I was SHOCKED but things can happen so fast and out of the blue, it's mind boggling.

I have another one I have to give the initial sedation drugs to orally because he's better for me then give him the shot because he will try to kick your head in if you just give him a shot and he has to be sedated for the farrier and vet, he's a piece of work but apparently he was abused pretty badly at one point in his life. 

I don't like giving shots in the vein, it makes me nervous.

I don't mind clipper training horses but I HATE clipper training horses who have had bad experiences with people who had no business clipper training. Teaching horses to load when they've had traumatic experiences isn't something I enjoy and takes a TON of patience. 

In general there are a lot of ground things that REALLY irk me because most people/riders just arent' horsemen and don't really know how to ground train, work with horses or inspire confidence/trust in their horses and when people do it badly with a sensitive horse, it's quite an extensive process to get them where they should be and it takes a lot of time and patience. 

Similarly I really hate riding horses who are good horses but are so badly psychologically damaged you can't really "rehab" them because they're too far gone. That's heartbreaking. I get tired of re-training horses off of other trainers. I get frustrated when I get on a horse and it basically runs off with me first ride because they're so used to having a death grip on their mouth and front end that when I ride them from behind and use my core to regulate their rhythm and balance them that I end up having to re-train the horse because it has no idea what a seat-core half halt is and is used to having it's mouth hauled on. 

Honestly there are a lot. I really didn't enjoy riding a few of the horses in Germany because they were SO strong in the bridle. All of mine you feel them in the contact but you don't have to put much pressure on the bridle at all, it's all body position, core and fingers and most of them you can put both reins in one hand and everything stays the same. So it blows my mind when I get on almost anything dressage trained outside of my barn and they have NO sense of self carriage, can't do long and low at all, yet supposedly compete 4th level and yet don't really collect or work in self carriage. Blows my mind, it's like someone got on, held the horses together, made it do some movements and never trained the horse.


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## equesjumping (Aug 6, 2017)

Horse refusing to jump and oxers. :sad:

A horse that refuses has always been a fear of mine since I bought my fast-tempered mare. We have had refusal problems from time to time and they're terrifying!

Oxers are another fear because Lotte (my mare) takes ''jumping a little higher than the actual jump'' to a whole new meaning. We're approaching a, let's say, 70cm oxer and already a few strides before it, she tenses up and when the actual oxer has to be she LAUNCHES OVER IT like a maniac.. The problem is, she never jumps oxers the same so I can never adjust completely..


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

SpicedGold said:


> Riding near dogs. A few years ago, my sister and I were on a ride and a loose dog attacked both our horses. I got thrown, my sister got bolted with. Both horses were badly bitten, my sister's horse the worst. He's had three bad experiences with dogs now, poor guy.
> 
> Now if there's a loose dog anywhere I'm riding, I go the other way. Doesn't matter what horse I'm riding, it gets my heart beating faster just looking at them. In the three years since that incident, I've ridden the trail where it happened only three times. I can't relax on it anymore. A pity, it's a beautiful ride.


Ooohh yeah. That sucks and I feel for you. Even the ones that just charge out barking their fool heads off... you don't know if they're biters or barkers! We have that problem too with some neighbors that live along the route we ride. They made us all nervous but couldn't get past the fence... until one day one of them DID get past the fence. He'd dug him out a hole in one spot and it got to where he was waiting on us every time we rode by.

After that, it was constant, that dog trying to bite the horses... then my daughter got enough of it and tried to run the dog DOWN with her horse. Our mare really got all involved too - she was going to stomp that dog to pudding like she was an attack horse. Before it was over, the dog was yelping and running for its life. 

He uh... stayed on his side of the fence after that. I'm not a cruel or mean person and love my own goggies, but I have a special hate for that dog.


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

For me, it's getting my feet stuck in the stirrups. Rearing? Go ahead. Bucking? I'll just get back on. Bolting? I'll either jump off or hold on. Most of the time I ride in a saddle, I drop my stirrups. No leg pain, better position and I'm more relaxed because I know I can't get my feet caught. When I got bucked off near christmas I blacked out, but I DO remember clearly my reaction when I knew I was going over. The first words in my brain were "STIRRUPS" and I can actually remember violently throwing my feet out of the stirrups.


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Ooohh yeah. That sucks and I feel for you. Even the ones that just charge out barking their fool heads off... you don't know if they're biters or barkers! We have that problem too with some neighbors that live along the route we ride. They made us all nervous but couldn't get past the fence... until one day one of them DID get past the fence. He'd dug him out a hole in one spot and it got to where he was waiting on us every time we rode by.
> 
> After that, it was constant, that dog trying to bite the horses... then my daughter got enough of it and tried to run the dog DOWN with her horse. Our mare really got all involved too - she was going to stomp that dog to pudding like she was an attack horse. Before it was over, the dog was yelping and running for its life.
> 
> He uh... stayed on his side of the fence after that. I'm not a cruel or mean person and love my own goggies, but I have a special hate for that dog.


I actually let Trouble nearly kill our neighbours dog. Our baack pasture butts their land, which is about 600 feet from their house. It's an empty lot with a swamp between it and their house. Last year their dogs attacked Trouble and lamed him. He had multiple puncture wounds and I thought he'd never be sound again. We found out their dogs visit our pasture quite often and decided after warning them multiple times- we were going to shoot them. They ripped the flanks of our oldest retiree and it hit her hard. 

After that, we knew the dogs were coming into the pasture but couldn't see them- then a good family friend who has a little boy who walks to our house told me he was chased back home by their dogs and he was quite traumatized. 

Fast forward to this spring. The first time I took Trouble out after I got him back home I decided to go down the road and travel an old dirt path. That direction took up past the neighbours. Ha. Low and behold one mangy mutt came charging out of the driveway (which is 200 yards long btw) and came straight for us. Trouble didn't spook, but he went straight at the dog, ears back and feet stomping. He ended up getting the dog under him and kneeling on it, while tearing at it with his teeth. I admit that I just sat aboard and waited for it to end. That miserable dog had it coming and who was I to stop it. 

They thought he got hit by a car and it ended in $500 in vet bills. #sorrynotsorry


Funny thing though. Both their dogs are tied on tethers when theyre out in the day now.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Speed on an unbalanced horse, because it may cause it to fall. I had a fall from my horse last year, she tripped over rocks cantering, I was in too forward a half seat, went over her neck and took the full force of the landing square between my eyes. 

We've had some issues with crossing water this summer- thankfully now resolved- but she would spin or dance sideways on a narrow trail to avoid going over it and I know I clenched down on her with my seat and hands because I worried that while she was trying to accelerate her way out of the water she was going to trip and send us both to the ground. When I stopped worrying about that crossing the water got much easier.

Like others have said, I also really dislike riding in front of other people, especially a horse I don't know. I need a solo ride to work out the kinks and look stupid while I figure out how the horse moves and responds and then feel more comfortable with others watching.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

WhattaTroublemaker said:


> I actually let Trouble nearly kill our neighbours dog. Our baack pasture butts their land, which is about 600 feet from their house. It's an empty lot with a swamp between it and their house. Last year their dogs attacked Trouble and lamed him. He had multiple puncture wounds and I thought he'd never be sound again. We found out their dogs visit our pasture quite often and decided after warning them multiple times- we were going to shoot them. They ripped the flanks of our oldest retiree and it hit her hard.
> 
> After that, we knew the dogs were coming into the pasture but couldn't see them- then a good family friend who has a little boy who walks to our house told me he was chased back home by their dogs and he was quite traumatized.
> 
> ...


I feel like I'm a horrible person for not feeling sorry for the dog.

But I don't.

Honestly, I LOVE, LOVE our dogs. I just weep at the ASPCA commercials and hug my cats and dogs every chance I get, but stuff like what you described, and the dog Nope nearly trashed that one day? I just don't feel sorry for them or their people. Maybe I should, IDK, but in that situation, its either them or me... my horse or them. 

What Trouble did with the ears back and stomping? That's what Nope did. She was READY to maul that dog. May have been one of the few times that mare and my daughter were of one mind. 

Odd thing - the lady that has that dog (and FIVE OTHERS) also has about a half a dozen retired roping horses - all of them gentle and sociable. The dogs never bother them, just our horses.


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## ChieTheRider (May 3, 2017)

Or German Shep is a big dope who chases the horses. He's gotten kicked in the face multiple times and all three of the horses chase him. 

The stupid dog still tries to bite their ankles. We're getting rid of him, luckily, but I truthfully don't feel sorry for him when he gets kicked. It's his own dumb fault.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Riding in traffic - after spending years and years riding on busy, narrow UK roads I had a few very near misses when inconsiderate drivers have whizzed past almost touching my stirrup in the last few years we lived in the UK and it totally destroyed my optimism. I'd always felt that as long as I had my horse under control we'd be safe but that isn't the case.


I'm not keen on riding across land where I can't see the ground for all the long grass and scrub. I had a bad accident ages ago when a horse stumbled over something I couldn't see. I was riding on a long loose rein and talking to friends, maybe if I'd been more attentive it wouldn't have been as bad as it was so now I'm super careful and on high alert in places like that


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

Competitions are definitely a hang-up for me; I used to do them when I was younger and although I had a relaxed introduction to them and was never put under any pressure, I never enjoyed myself. I’m not a very competitive person but my friends were doing them so I thought I’d have a go as well. Ultimately, I wasn’t overly concerned about the result but still got so nervous that I couldn’t function at times. Given the amount of work involved with preparing and travelling it just wasn’t worth the stress. I was always extremely relieved when it was over and I soon realised that there were other ways to enjoy horses. Occasionally I helped out as groom and travelled around the UK, it involved the preparation but without the pressure at the end and I really enjoyed the work.

Jumping isn’t something I enjoy. I just hate the feeling. I used to do some showjumping and cross country but I’m happier with all four hoofs on the ground. I’m never sure if the horse is going to stop or swerve and that’s the worst way to approach a fence.

Rearing is another. I rode a couple of horses who’d developed this habit. They’d do a series of rears while backing-up. Any attempts to rectify often made the situation worse before it improved. As they were being retrained I had support but I was often backed towards fences and ditches. There was always that moment when I thought ‘I’m I going to get you going forward before you take us over’.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

This really has me thinking....

Full speed gallop? On a seasoned horse - no problem. On my greenie - no way. I think it has to do with knowing I'm in control. 

Scary things that might cause a spook - training opportunity. I might loop around and approach it from several different directions, or even dismount to introduce that scary (discarded mattress in the field? overfilled trashcan? For Sale sign) thing.

Riding on roads? Again, on my seasoned mare, I have no problems, even when there's only a 4-10' verge with a fence. On my greenie, I do ride beside roads because I want him to become confident about them, but I won't yet ride him along roads that don't have an open field (escape route) beside us.

Dogs? I learned a long time ago to just keep the horse facing the dog and usually the dog will back down or get tromped. 

I used to enjoy competitions - mostly gymkhana stuff. I don't think I'd enjoy big, formal shows though. At my age, though, I doubt there'll be much more competing for me (unless I decide to try a 100 day Mustang Makeover - it's a bucket list item).

Inclines, extreme trails, etc. (which include jumps and water crossings) - This is the type riding I really enjoy. My mare is good at it; I'm hoping in time my greenie boy will also become a confident and competent rough country trail horse.

I think my biggest hang-up is the frustration of having to train on-the-trail since I don't have the facilities (arena or round pen) to do a lot of the basics or finishing I'd like my horses to have. They end up being trained on-the-job, which sometimes leads to unexpected surprises (what? you aren't afraid of cars whizzing by, but wind in the cotton field freaks you out??). And it is difficult to do the simple things, like circles, or working on leads/lead changes.


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## Kaiit (Mar 28, 2017)

jaydee said:


> Riding in traffic - after spending years and years riding on busy, narrow UK roads I had a few very near misses when inconsiderate drivers have whizzed past almost touching my stirrup in the last few years we lived in the UK and it totally destroyed my optimism. I'd always felt that as long as I had my horse under control we'd be safe but that isn't the case.


Hm, I'm not a big fan of UK roads, either. On the bigger roads, less people slow down; on the smaller roads, more people get pushy with space. Most of the drivers where we are have been fairly considerate as long as I've been riding there, but you always get the odd one who decides to rev their engine a hair's breadth from your horse's tail. I took my boyfriend on a bicycle with me the first many times I hacked out so he could help slow down vehicles. I'm actually really afraid of farm vehicles on the road since a tractor driven by a teenage boy almost crushed my car a few years ago but the farm folk are by far the best when it comes to passing horses here.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

For me it's definitely dogs. And vehicles. But dogs are the worst because you can hear a vehicle coming and get off the road (most of the time) but dogs I've had pop out of nowhere. There is one place down the road from me that I have to ride past to get to the forest. I only see the dog there maybe 2 or 3 times a month. Most of the time he his on the other end of their property near the house. But if I am riding my green horse, the dog is nearly always there and pops out barking at us. You hardly ever see him coming because there are a lot of trees and brush and building materials and an abandoned mobilehttp://www.horseforum.com/horse-riding/what-your-hangups-why-772538/page3/ home. It's like the junk-lot end of the property and that dog just pops out of the junk barking! I've nearly come off several times because of that dog. 

God bless my greenie, I hadn't ridden him in like 6 months because he almost cut his leg off in January and then our first ride out this summer that dog popped out at us and he just shuddered in place. I've had him do 180's and nearly spin out from under me in the past.

I also curse ATV's and motorcycles (dirt bikes?). They are usually ridden by teenagers and they never slow down even when you try to signal them to. It's like they are completely dumb or doing it on purpose.

I'm also not a confident canterer. But it totally depends on the horse. On a trustworthy horse I love to canter. But I don't really trust my greenie and my old mare stumbles and has fallen with me before (at a trot).


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Ah I have such a hangup about being watched. I think it's from anxiety I guess.
But I just always assume people are watching/staring/judging which makes me second guess everything which can make my riding terrible.

Otherwise, down steep ditches, steep hills are great, but down makes me tense up.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Speed over poor footing. I will go any speed if I trust the footing, but if I'm worried there might be holes, hidden stuff, or slippery footing I will only go slow. To me it seems less of a hangup and more of a safety measure, but some people don't seem to mind running when there might be hidden holes.

I don't like riding horses that don't know how to bend. If a horse can't turn when I ask, it feels unsafe even if the horse responds nicely to cues to slow or whoa.


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## TuyaGirl (Mar 14, 2014)

Another one scared to gallop / canter. My mare took a big stumble at the beach once, all hapenned very fast, and I didn't fall, but the fact that she went down on her knees and got up, proceeding as if nothing hapenned, following the horses ahead of her, while I was still trying to get off her neck and find both stirrups, got me so shaken I am even affraid to gallop other horses since then. Bad footing always makes me slow down, as my mare is not the most surefooted horse that ever existed :-(
I also get really anxious going down sleep hills (or sand dunes) because Tuya does not know how to properly use herself to go slowly, and always ends up sticking her face up and rushing down at a sloppy trot... Oh well...

Also hate tight curves on a trail where I cannot see if there's someone coming (cars, bikers...), narrow country roads with huge ditches on the sides (like where do we go if we meet a tractor or so?)


But my worst enemy is myself and all the "what ifs" my tricky mind keeps coming up with


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Going too fast, especially in the open. Nav sometimes gets strong when I canter him out in fields and I worry about what could happen if he decided he didn't want to listen to my seat or the mild loose ring snaffle we ride in. Also because we have fallen while riding too fast in the open - it was due to a sharp turn on soft ground, and I've been very careful about that ever since.

Another one is big jumps. Like, anything over 2'9" looks massive to me, and I wish it didn't because I want to be able to jump for fun or potentially do small events in the future. I think a big part of that is that one of my more recent big falls was off of Nav over a pretty large coop during a hound walk. I don't know if I imagined it or remember it but I swear I saw his feet going over me as I fell to the ground. It was terrifying. And then he ran off to catch up to the other horses. I think I would be more ok with jumping if I did it more regularly but I don't practice it without a spotter and unfortunately I often ride alone.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Mounting. I have full-blown panic attacks when I go to mount any horse. Stems from trying to help a fellow boarder with her horse at our old barn and the psycho mare rodeo bucked me off for no reason. Fractured my ankle and blacked out for a few seconds. When I came to, the mare was trying to come after me and trample me on the ground. Only my friend being in the round pen with us saved me, as she placed all 5'2" and 130lbs of herself between me and the mare and kept her off me until I could get up.


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## Yissy (Jul 7, 2013)

I'm so glad to see so many people say cantering! I get people all the time tell me I'm silly because I'm afraid to canter. I've had my Clydesdale for 4 years now and I've never cantered on her. Do I ever plan on doing it? Maybe....but I want it on my own terms at my own time.


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## jumpingtothemoon (Jun 16, 2017)

Going fast on a group trail! Although I do enjoy the "trail canter" that horses pick up on the trail, I'm always scared that they will run over the other horse, ending in kicking, biting, and rearing. I wish I could enjoy it more, as they get so speedy, and the horses enjoy it as well, however, they always end up running up another horses rear end. I think this started with a VERY strong Haflinger pony galloping ahead of the trail guide, making me swerve into the trees to avoid crashing. I remember trying every method I had been taught to brake her, but I still ended up galloping ahead, so I guess another hangup would be riding a horse where you have 0 control.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

bolting/speed that's more than I want in general. which makes life interesting when you own an ottb :lol:

Bucking? No problem. Rearing? Yeah, I know it's dangerous (and I DON'T ride other people's rearers, EVER), but meh, no biggie. My mare's first response to scary is to go up. She does it on the ground, she does it under saddle, she does it for everyone who ever handles her. Fear = rearing. I'm used to it, and it doesn't worry me. But bolting? Nope. I'm too physically (and mentally) messed up from falls off bolters to ever go there again.

And it's so much of a terror of mine that I have to remind myself not to panic when my mare gets a bit quick/rushy in her trot or canter. I've installed a set of fantastic, reliable brakes on her, she is NOT going to bolt off on me, but I still have that fear.

Literally nothing else bothers me. Even a lack of decent steering isn't an issue (I've ridden breakers, they generally don't "get it" right away even if you've done a ton of ground driving.. but I ALWAYS make sure a horse has good "bit brakes" before I get on its back. my bit is my backup.)... but if I can't control the speed of that horse, I am not getting back on.


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## bunkhouseboudoir (Aug 30, 2017)

Being out of control, having a runaway, or being bucked off and hurt. I used to be pretty fearless but once I became a parent I the fear became overwhelming. I've only ridden a few times in the past couple of years and only very short rides. I miss it intensely but I can't get over the fear of getting hurt and not being able to take care of my child. Sorry, newbie overshare!

Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Cantering in enclosed spaces. Like in a school or a field. Cantering out on trails - no problem. Go figure.

Also, riding with kids I don't know. They are just so erratic. I keep a close eye on how each of the riding school kids rides. I think I know them better than the instructor. Once I'm satisfied that a particular kid rides to my standards, I'll realax. I watch new kids like a hawk. And some of the more experienced ones have proven themselves to be rather air-headed so I stay out of their reach. It's annoying to ride like that but I'd rather do that than have them suddenly changing course right in front of me.

We had one little boy dismount at the end of his lesson and just walk away from his horse, reins on the ground


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## Tihannah (Apr 7, 2015)

My position. Rolling my shoulders and leaning forward and putting myself in a chair seat. It drives me nuts that I can't seem to fix it. Thinking about ordering a shoulder/back brace to help retrain my body.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

Not so much a hang up on riding, but I am a total basket case when it comes to other people, especially those I don't know, handling or riding my horses. On one hand, I stress that they'll do something stupid and get hurt; on the other hand I stress that they'll do something to mess up my horse!


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## Daniellemurphy74 (Aug 30, 2017)

Road riding- I think it's too dangerous.
Cantering- I'm always afraid my horse won't stop.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Horse snobs are tough to put up with......competition...seems like it would steal the fun for me.....really, I've got 3 horses, one TWH/SSH and two quarter horses....I hate to trot....and am working on getting Mr. Jack to do a slow canter hoping to avoid the trot.....


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Riding along paved roads. I don't mind crossing them and dirt roads are fine, but cars zipping along a paved road and there is only three feet of grass to ride on...nope, not happening. 

Not really thrilled about going down really steep hills at the beginning of a ride. Its ok later when my horse is a bit more relaxed, but at the beginning of a trail, nope. Its the only time I want a horn - steep down-hills. 

Anyone remember the scene from The Man from Snowy River where he leaps over the edge of a cliff and races down the side of the mountain? He is nearly laying on the horses back it is so steep. That makes my heart RACE and I feel sick just thinking about it :eek_color:


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I don't do speed. When I started galloping TBs, I didn't like the wind whistling in my ears. I also don't want to be a quadraplegic and the risk of a "complete" spinal fracture is increased with speed.

Fortunately, something about me makes horses very chill. A cold seat, if you will. So I went into rehab. I still get the wind whistling past my ears, but not like when I was breezing horses. Unfortunately, it makes me stink at polo, which is a really fun game. So, I just do leg ups, rehabs, and schooling green horses.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I'm the same as Horsef. For some reason I can't get rid of this little bit of anxiety whenever I ask for a canter while flat schooling. While trail riding etc, perfectly okay. I have no fear while cantering and I'm happy to jump pretty decent sized fences. But every time I ask for a canter I always feel a bit of fear/anticipate something going wrong if I'm flat schooling. Most likely stems from my gelding bucking into every canter transition while I was still a novice. His tantrums don't bother me now, but they use to.


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## gingerscout (Jan 18, 2012)

finding people to ride with , or ones that aren't total flake outs. No amount of looking, searching, joining FB groups, ads in feed stores you name it.. I have done everything from offer to drive, meet people somewhere you name it.. and the thing is I have a horse that is so buddy sour I can't ride anywhere alone


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I have a new one; cows. I have no problem with them, but my horse does! Normally we ride up in the mountains, but yesterday we went to a new (to us) place because hunting has begun on our horse trails :-(

So I did not know this place had cattle, and spent a lot of time walking instead of riding. Don't believe my boy has ever seen cattle up close, and he doesn't like it at all!


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

LOL @AnitaAnne! I haven't tried to introduce my two to cattle - no opportunity. But this reminds me of a colt I raised several years ago. He was about 3 and newly broke, so I decided we'd go with my sister to a rodeo (she was a pro barrel racer for a few years) to give him some exposure to new things. The only place available for parking the trailer was right along the cattle chute.  We're settled in and relaxing when they started running slack for team roping and suddenly there are a bunch of bawling calves in the chute right where my colt is standing! His first reaction was "Holy Cow! Get me away!!" So of course I had to work to get him up close and personal - and then his breeding must've kicked in because he was entranced. A few years later I hurt my back and had to sell him; he went to a young cowboy who team-roped and at last report was doing exceptionally well.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

boots said:


> I don't do speed. When I started galloping TBs, I didn't like the wind whistling in my ears. I also don't want to be a quadraplegic and the risk of a "complete" spinal fracture is increased with speed.
> QUOTE]
> 
> 
> ...


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## Finalcanter (Apr 15, 2013)

falling said:


> I'm the same as Horsef. For some reason I can't get rid of this little bit of anxiety whenever I ask for a canter while flat schooling. While trail riding etc, perfectly okay. I have no fear while cantering and I'm happy to jump pretty decent sized fences. But every time I ask for a canter I always feel a bit of fear/anticipate something going wrong if I'm flat schooling. Most likely stems from my gelding bucking into every canter transition while I was still a novice. His tantrums don't bother me now, but they use to.


I mostly jump and school at the flat and although I love cantering, I get slight butterflies when cantering in the indoor arena. Cantering on trail rides are nice though. I rode a school horse who did not do well with trot-canter transitions and would also buck.


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