I was riding my Percheron carriage horse a month or so ago and he tripped and fell to his knees with me on his back. My backside came up out of the saddle half a foot and I landed on his neck dead center. I figured I was earth bound for sure. Lucky for me he jumped back up and I was instantly re-seated right where I was before he fell. It all seemed like it was happening in slow motion.
Afterwards,,,the thing that really was different than in the past was that it didn't un-nerve me at all. It was just a simple s**t-happens kind of thought and then forgotten. I kept right on riding which in the past I would not have. In the past I might have even been reluctant to ride at all unless I was feeling especially brave. I remember thinking how nice it was to have my nerve totally back. I'm still and will probably always be a careful rider, but at my age I figure that's a good thing, at least it didn't give me the jitters.
Karen G www.princesscarriage.com
--- On Wed, 2/10/10, kiolak <kiolak@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: kiolak <kiolak@hotmail.com>
Subject: [haflingerfriends] Re: A MileStone Day (First Ride on Charlie!!)(NOW First Lesson!)
To: haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 11:43 AM
Hey Marlene, post away! I think it is just so awesome that you have made such great progress. I miss hearing these kind of positive stories here.
I think each and every one of us have gone through scary times of nerves... you are not alone there at all. Some people become so stuck on the bad stuff, that they simply cannot move on and often sell the horse and leave horses all together. It takes a lot of courage to stick with it. Don't be hard on yourself if the butterfly's come back from time to time... It takes awhile to get past those types of things. What matters the most is that you are not giving up and you have a great instructor and a wonderful horse who will reap the benefits of your growing confidence.
Charlie can't say it, but I will: Thank you Marlene for not giving up and believing that you can work through this.
PS: I had 2 accidents two months apart before I hit 40, I had been riding for a few years, but still not entirely balanced. Both were my fault. First one I ended up bailing off at high speed and broke my wrist and severly bruised the side of my bottom (still numb even years later). Doc told me not to ride for six weeks... I did not listen. I did not want to stop! I did have some big fear issues surrounding that though. I had some friends (the Nayborly girls) take my pony and put some more miles on him while I came down and rode in a lesson with him once a week. It helped me tremendously to have thier support and encouragement. It helped him to remember his manners... and that whoa meant whoa!
Then shortly after the cast came off, I ended up becoming unbalanced and came off my daughter's gelding Lucky at a trot, we were riding down a grass hill, and he stumbled a bit in a divit, and I came off! It was so stupid of me! Especially since I landed on my collar bone - snap. That one hurt a lot!!! I still didn't stop riding though! Funny though, that injury never left me with worries, although I do have a lovely big bump on my collar bone because I didn't hold still enough while it was healing. ;^)
See, we all deal with scary things, the real horsewomen (or men) out there stick it out and refuse to give up. That would be you Marlene!
LOL... a few things happened after those falls for me that have helped me keep from breaking any more bones. 1) I promised myself "no more broken bones" after 40. I am 45 now, so I am doing good so far. 2) My husband told me if I had anymore bad accidents he was going to be selling my horses! I don't know if he was serious or not, but I am not going to test that.
Sorry - that was a long PS! But since we have so many new people here, I thought I would share old stories. Many of the older members probably remember those stories when they happened, as I shared about them way back when here.
Your Haffiefriend,
~Kiola~
Brier, WA
--- In haflingerfriends@ yahoogroups. com, "sassyme808" <sassyme808@ ...> wrote:
>
> Denny,
> The lesson went well. Charlie was terrific even though I made him a little worried with MY nerves. During the lesson the trainer asked me out of the blue, "Do you LOVE your horse?" I answered with a very enthusiastic YES! and a huge grin. The trainer then pointed out that I had met my 2010 goal of riding Charlie...as stated on the picture I posted on the bulletin board of YOU on your horse riding in the snow! I feel like I went from riding a motorcycle (the trainers performance trained reining horse) to a sturdy 4-wheeler that couldn't tip over if you tried, and I love it! I promise that I won't post about EVERY ride I have on Charlie, of which there will be a lot, but I'm just so darn thrilled!
> Marlene in Oregon
>
> --- In haflingerfriends@ yahoogroups. com, "golden horse" <denny1@> wrote:
> >
> > I've only just seen this and WHOOT WHOOT, I just know how good it feels to overcom ethose nerves and get up there. Just wanted to say well done, and it makes me feel good today just reading this.
> >
> > Thanks for sharing
> >
> > Denny in chilly Saskatchewan
> >
> > --- In haflingerfriends@ yahoogroups. com, "sassyme808" <sassyme808@ > wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Today I'm taking my first lesson ON Charlie instead of the lesson horse! I'm very excited. I'll let you know how it goes. MY DH (a long haul trucker) is home today and he's really anxious to see me ride the big boy too.
> > > Marlene in Oregon
> > >
> >
>
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