I suffered a real blow to my confidence after a fall
early last summer. It took about a month of private
lessons a few times a week to really relax, find my
seat, and get back to where I was before. I don't know
how I would have handled it if I was on my own.
I can say that what worked for me was just time in
the saddle- time doing stuff that was comfortable and
not being pushed right away. I was so tense and protectively
positioning myself that it actually hurt to ride- spending
time in the saddle and then having someone point out
where my position was tense helped.
My horse was more spooky during this time too- and
although I was bad at it, my trainer told me to just
fake it. They really do pick up on us.
If you've lost confidence after a fall from a horse,
one of the best things you can do is just to spend time
with your horse doing all you are comfortable with.
If you are comfortable at a walk around the pasture,
and can ride her confidently, that's better and more
healing for both of you than doing something you are
uncomfortable with and passing that anxiety on to your
horse.
