Anxiety moving up

[keenkick725]

I know nerves come with the sport of riding and I also know some people are more nervous than others. For those who’ve had lots of anxiety at one point moving up to a new height (or any horse related anxiety) what was your biggest “aha” moment or thought that helped you get past it? I find myself just stuck at 3’ and having such a desire to move up, my trainer thinks I’m plenty capable, and I feel I’ve been at stuck for so long (the past two years) to the point where I find myself getting too comfortable w the jumps and exercises but once the jumps go up I just overthink. So I pick and pick at the distance until it falls apart. I try to tell myself “it’s just 3 more inches, nbd” but it’s such a mental block I can’t get past and wish I stopped overthinking.

Wondering what aha moments people have had who’ve had a similar mental block in their riding?

[Mander]

It’s definitely not an uncommon problem. I’ve never come across a “special sauce” that fixes it for everyone, but there are definitely things you can try that might help shift the balance of worry > desire to move up the other way. Without knowing what you’ve tried already, here are things that might benefit you:

Go watch people jump 4’ or some GP rounds. By the time you get back to your 3’ 3’’ jumps they’ll look teeny and totally unassuming.

Gymnastics til you’re blue in the face. Can’t screw up your distances when you’re trotting in and jumping out, so it’s a great way to just get used to looking at fences at 3’3’’ or higher and getting used to it as the new “normal”. When my trainer builds them up, she doesn’t even tell me when the height goes up and that makes it easier for me to not worry about.

I also remind myself to focus on my past successes. I’m retraining an OTTB and when he first arrived at the barn, he was all GO and zero whoa. He’s also a bit of a nervous horse to begin with and his way of going made him just feel like he was just one strong breeze away from bolting. I wanted to ride this horse, and I knew I was capable, but his freshness from the track did mess with my head a bit. I would remind myself that although he always felt like he was going to bolt, he never actually did, so I needed to trust that that would continue and ride confidently instead of letting the fear of something (that had never happened!!!) eat at my brain. And even if he did bolt - so what? I can ride a galloping horse. Even if he ran for miles and miles and I couldn’t get him to stop, I’m not really in any danger because I know I can stay on a galloping horse and he will stop eventually. So I’d encourage you to think about what it is that you’re really worried about, and consider if it’s actually something you have a real reason to worry about. Getting a bad distance? Maybe a dirty stop? Surely those things have happened at 3’ too, and you’re still here to tell the story.

I also make a very conscious decision to trust my trainer. When I’m worried, I remind myself 1) that I like my trainer 2) that she’s very experienced 3) that she knows my riding ability, strengths and weaknesses well and 4) that it’s in her best interest for me to NOT get injured. And with that kept in mind, if she tells me to do XYZ, then it’s because she is confident we can do it and I’m going to trust her expertise and give it a go.

… and to follow that up, in those situations I’m still anxious about it, despite trying to trust her. So I do the 3-2-1 rule. I count down from 3 and when I get to 1, I just DO THE DAMN THING. No thinking, no fretting, no trying to plan. Just. GO. You can analyze and plan next time, but I think the biggest thing is to just do it once.

And if you’ve tried all of this, and you’re still worried sick, then maybe reach out to a sports psychologist. They’re literally trained to help athletes with exactly these kinds of problems and can give you a lot of useful tools to help in these situations.

[MadTrotter]

Get on a bigger horse. I’m not even kidding. I was stuck at the same height, and then one day I was just messing around in the arena with a friend, and she NEVER lets anyone ride her horse, but she said to me, “swapsies?”. She got on my 15.2 TB and I got on her 17.3 monster Irish hunter and floated around 3’6” like it was cross rails. Then I got back on my catty little mare and tried a few

[keenkick725]

Such great advice. I was reading through thag and felt immense relief after each paragraph haha, you’re therapeutic in the way you explain. I will definitely remember these words. Yes you’re absolutely right. I’ve had terrible distances and even ridiculous falls on even Xs (or not jumping at all), and it’s always worked itself out. Thank you for breaking that down! I’ll be sure to read this before my next lesson

[CHT]

My specialty is nervous re-riders, many who have bully coaches or bad incidents in their background. Tips:

1. Hack with jumps set at 3’3" or higher so you get used to riding around big jumps, and visualize jumping them.
2. On jumping days, have the jumps set bigger than 3’3", for your flat warm up, so when you see your coach lower them, your brain will be happier with the reduced size and think 3’3" is more doable.
3. Jump on a circle or other short, repetitive pattern, and have your coach raise one jump as you go (so you don’t watch it go up) so it ends at a height just above your current comfort level.
4. Use some landscape ties for jump rails. They are about 8 feet long. The narrow jumps will look bigger than they are, and while your rational brain will be able to process that the jump is only 2’9" or 3’0", so you will feel safe jumping it, when you then aim at a 12" wide 3’3" jump your brain will be tricked into processing the two jumps as similar in size, particularly if you use lower standards for the narrower jump.

Good luck!

[SweetestDownfall]

I have the same issue! I really think gymnastics help a person start to get used to more height.

[Foitin]

I feel you too! It is not just 3 inches, however. I moved up recently and am not so much scared of the height, but that the longer lines and wider oxers require more power, not to mention the more difficult handy courses and freakin’ trot jumps! I have one small horse and one big one and on the little one I need to make sure I have a good gallop beat. If you are fearful, it can be hard to get an effective pace. If you’re too slow, you are so much less likely to get a good distance; instead you’re stuck with picking and your horse having to make a bigger and uncomfortable effort (for him and you) and then needing to run up the line to a hail mary exit. Another consideration is that the adult hunters are often not actually 3 feet at many shows, but the 3’3’’, often, in the main ring, might be. At some of our regional shows, the adults are about 2’9’’, while the low amateurs are actually 3’3’’, which is a pretty significant difference. I think everyone has fantastic advice here, I plan to apply all of it! Go over it, get that gallop going, you’ve got this!

[RAyers]

I drink a lot.

[ThreeWishes]

Lol… before or after?

[RAyers]

Does during count?

[ThreeWishes]

You slay me lol. Yes it does.

[elizabethhund]

wear a safety vest…seriously…it is the right thing to do, and it’s kind of a security blanket for me. Lead by example!!!

[keenkick725]

Never thought of this. I may consider it actually! One of those air vests? Can you wear it under sweater? Or does that make it ineffective

[keenkick725]

This is a great idea, very backwards in how it’s usually done (building up from cross rails) so it makes a lot of sense.
I find that I just get nervous so leg way too much and miss my distance. Even writing it sounds crazy because again it’s not about quicker but having momentum but I panic I’ll break down to trot so let’s just chase to the jump and completely miss any appropriate distance.

[CHT]

If over thinking is your issue, consider counting a rhythm out loud on the way to a jump. This occupies your brain just enough that you can ride off your skills (unconscious competency) and not over react/over think.