Author: Anne Axell

I have helped many equestrians with their mindset and relationship with their horse, so they now are confident and enjoy the equestrian sport. Thanks to my extensive experience with horses, I can lead you to success in your riding. I have been actively riding the different riding styles,(dressage, hunter/jumper and trail) owened a lot of horses and have an equestrian business. l have also been breeding and selling horses for many years. I am a coach and trainer and have also completed courses as a judge. In addition, I have been a saddlemaker for many years and can advise you in terms of equipment and how it affects your horse. I can help you in 3 langauge, Danish, Swedish and English.

3 mistake to avoid if you have fear of riding!

3 top mistakes, when You want to get rid of Your fear of riding.

We all do different, and we all learned from other people and Our own experiences. I am no different, so I might be wrong!

Though I also maybee worked so much with the problem , fear of riding, so I have seen and heard a lot.

You can choose to take my advices if it will help you, but you can also choose to not. But think about what I am saying, and please write what you think, so I get some other aspects about it and it is always intresting to hear about your oppinion!

Nr 1 mistake to do when you are afraid of riding

An old sign says that the only thing you can do is to get up on the horse emedately if you had fallen off. If the horse has bucked you off and you have hurt yourself, I think it is not a good idea.

You are scared, the horse is scared. The risk would be that You will be stiff in your body and scared to death.

Something made the horse buck you off and you have to find out what did happened, before you are trying to get on him/her again.

When I was a child we often had old millitaries who should teach us how to ride. It was very tough for a young girl.  It was hard for the horses too, I think today we know more about horses language, instead off being hard and cruel to them. The fear dont just dissapear because you get ordered to get back on the horse. I agree that action concures fear, but I think the action is going to be more well handeled, than just get up on a scared horse again.

NR2 Big mistakes to do when you are afraid of riding:

Many people tells you that the horse must have respect for you so you have to do it in a hard way. If you have a horse who is scared its the worse thing you could do, to force him trough his fear with a whip.

To be a leader is not the same as to be hard. You will have to teach him/her things before he/she knows he/she kan trust you..

Off cause he cant run over you and he/she cant bite you, but to punish him/her is not the right way to do it. Teach him/her the things you want him/her to do, show him/her the way:)

When I as a young kid was on the riding scool, my trainer punished the horses with a whip when they didnt do as he told them. Unfortunally, I thought it was the right way, because he was my trainer, but later on I saw how wrong this was and found better methods along the way.

Nr 3 big mistakes to do when you are afraid of riding:

 Lunge him/her a lot before riding, to get him/her tired. You could lunge him/her when he got his saddle on to see if he is embarrased by the geird, but to lunge him/her to make him/her tired is the wrong way.

He will just get in a better fit if you do this every day, and more difficult to work with in the future. A tired horse dont learn, so you will not solve the problem this way. I love to use long reins, its a lot easyer to keep them calm and you can influence them more this way.

What does having a good day with your horse mean to you?

If you own a horse, most people think that  if you don’t ride it, it is a waste of money.

Riding is not always the main thing for us horse people. Just the smell and the sound of a horse chewing its food is a therapy and heal your soul. The stress goes away and just talking to and be with the horse is amazing.

Riding can be a big part of having a horse but not necessary. The horse don’t care if You ride it or not, as long as it has food and big space to move around in and good company of other horses.

You can do a lot more with your horse than riding and you have the horse because you love it and love to be together with it.

Some people start to breed on their horse when they are not riding anymore,(if they have a mare) because they want to justify that they have it economically.

It is wonderful to get at new little foal, but watch up, the next thing you know is that you will have 2 horses!

It is almost impossible to sell a horse you have been breeding yourself and soon you will have to break it in and a lot of work and new things is happening. Think it over more than twice, before you start to breed.

Are you afraid what others are thinking about Your riding style?

If you ride together with other people or you are in a place where people can look when you are riding, You might wonder how the others are thinking about how you sit on the horse, and how good you are riding your horse.

That is very comment and I would say that it is 99% of all riders who would be thinking that way.

There is nothing wrong about caring what other people might think, because it will help us to provide and get better and make us think about how to ride in a better way. The problem is not the thought in it self, but how you recieve it and what meaning you give it.

Our thoughts can go far in imagination, about what other people think about us, and it can make us fell useless or dum, but it could also get you to improve instead.

If you see a couple who are waching you and you notice that they are talking together, you would often think that it is you who are the target and you are shure they are mention all the things you dont do right at the moment.

BUT maybee they are not talking about You at all…..

Equestrian people though are very kean about their horses, and most of them think that the way they treat their horse, is the best way to do it. You can alwayes get a ”good” advice, how to ride, or how to feed Your horse, even if the person is not very educated.

Sometimes the less educated the more they want to give advice. You will have  to realize that it is not the advice in it self, it is how you recieve it.

It is easy to get frustrated and angry if somebody, you know is not very well educated, tryes to convert you to do as they want. You can´t affect the way they are thinking, but you can decide how you are going to recieve it.

As a rider you will never ever learn it all, its a journey, and even with a whole life with horses, you will never know it all.

So it is simply to accept where you are on the journey, and try to move foreward. Listen to what they have to say. Maybee you can use it, and if you cant, then dont!

You will never move foreward if you dont listen, maybee you could learn something, you will never know.

 Just dont listen to garbish, and if anybody speaks bad about you, ask them directly, why. Mostly it is people with  a bad selfconfidence, because if you are well educated and know that you are good at riding, you dont have to talk bad about other people.

Just think that you are going to learn and be comfortable where you are, as long as you are nice to the horse, then you are good.