How can I overcome my fear of riding my horse after a frightening incident?

Hello! I am so sorry to hear the fear has become this hard for you. The first thing to say is that it is completely natural to feel afraid sometimes. We handle large flight animals, and most of us riders get frightened at some point.

It is lovely that things are working again with other horses. That is an important step along the way. Here are some tips:

1. Start by thinking about how you are around horses when you are not afraid. How do you breathe? How do you move? Do you move that way around your own horse too?
2. Think about how you ride when you are relaxed. How do you hold the reins, how do you breathe, how do you use your leg? Try to find one thing you can focus on, such as your breathing, and carry it with you when you ride your horse.
3. Just as we need to work on building trust in the relationship for our horse's sake, WE need it for our own sake too. Make time for groundwork, walks, grooming sessions and so on. Spending time together is building trust 🌷

Then give yourself time to rebuild that trust from the saddle, step by step. Make sure you can ride and feel safe in walk and then trot, even at a faster tempo, before you challenge yourself with canter 💞