how to overcome nerves?

[chaz666]

i have a biiiiig issue with jumping... i love it.. but i get nervous, up untill recently the highest i'd jump was about 1foot....seriously! ive jumped 5ft jumps with ease when i was younger but allways had this nagging feeling on the approach.

i went to my first sj class ever 3 weeks ago and jumped about 2ft3 clear round. once i was over the first fence i was fine!! i loved every second, the bigger the jump the better it felt but it was the approach! i was shaking like gillian mckeith by the time i got in there!

3 days later i took my boy to our first ever show jumping lesson. (he's never really jumped before as come out of racing a year ago) she was putting the fences up and up and in no time it was a 2ft9 double... the more i sat there and thought about it the more i was shaking... but i didnt want to look a plum and say i was too scared to do it so i went over it.. all went fine, and i felt relieved afterwards... then everyone else went and i was sat there praying she wouldnt make me go over it again (even though i'd already succesfully been over it a couple of times!) but she did and i was soo nervous, i soo didnt want to do it because i was nervous but at the same time i wanted to do it because i love jumping!

just wondering if anyone has any advice atall?! problem is my boy has sooo much talent and i know i can jump and ii know i love the feel of it! but i get sooo nervous! im better on a course or away from home with someone i dont know as then i cant back out. whereas if im at home i cant jump a single fence! there was a tiny 1ft fence in the school the other day and i couldnt pluck up the courage to go over it!

sorry about the essay im just annoying myself because i really want to be able to do it!!

i did my first x country course in about 7 years last month on him and i loved every second of it but my friend kept commenting on the fact i stopped breathing as sooon as i saw a fence and finally started breathing after i'd jumped it!! i dont even notice i do it but its the same with all jumping!

i need to get a grip!! lol

[annmarie]

gosh you sound like me hun only i will never jump its CANTER with me i get to nervous even tho i know its easy haha will watch this thread with interest i keep telling myself to just keep trying and every success no matter how small is a step in right direction why do we do this to our selfes lol ... we must just love it xxx good luk hun i am gunna try some rescue remedy as suggested in another post similar to this xx

[eeek]

I think with nerves if you allow them too grow too much they will eat you. If you listen to them they will grow, so ignore them. Tell them you are not going to listen to them because they are WRONG. You can jump, you know you can jump, your horse can jump, you want to jump, what's the problem? Danger? What do you mean danger? There's a time and a place to wonder whether jumping is too dangerous for you and that is NOT on the approach to the jump.

I once lost my nerve but was desperate to race, even though the mere thought of it petrified me. I entered for the race anyway, convinced I was going to die. A few hours before the race I had become so terrified I couldn't function at all, I was a gibbering wreck. Fortunately it hadn't occurred to me it was still possible to back out of the race. This deranged version of myself somehow managed to tack up the horse and climb on, and then a marvelous thing happened. My fears couldn't get any worse because there wasn't space for them, and then they suddenly disappeared just as I was riding onto the track and I felt at peace.

Since then I've realised that you can banish fear altogether when you know how to. I think there is some kind of pain barrier you have to get through, but after that it's easy. I don't get nervous racing anymore. If I start to feel a bit worried I firmly tell my nerves to F off, and these days they are quite obedient.

[chaz666]

ive noticed its more if im waiting around, after i was jumping the 2ft9 doubles at this jumping lesson i felt soo much more confident.. yet its been a couple of weeks since ive jumped now and im getting nervous again, theres a riding club christmas comp next weekend and i really want to go and do it. the smallest class is 2ft3 which i know i can do easily but am still nervous!

[Tnavas]

The more you do it the less fearfull it becomes. I do this every time I have a break from riding and jumping. I foound that if I jumped 3 or 4 times a week I was fine - if I left it for a few weeks then I was a wrerck.

I happily rode a stroppy stopping horse for my BHS Stage IV but bottled when jumping my very reliable horse around a cross country course. I felt really sick and got a panic attack at the mere thought of it. Was furious with myself afterwards. But have now realised why I was like it.
Lots of deep breathing helps. I think though as we get older we visualise the possible problems more dramatically.

[Moondancer]

I would agree that the more you practice the less scary it becomes. I had the same problem when I got a new horse and my instructor told me just to do a jump every time I rode. Only pop over it once or twice in the session. It really did help because it reinforces regularly that you can jump the fence absolutely fine.

[funkyboots]

even when i rode daily i'd get a few nerves and buzz of excitement too and in theory it made me better but now i ride about 2-3 times a year and i know i'm older and it hurts more when i come off..lol....altho i did offer to jump a nieghbours anglo arab in clear round course as she won't jump him! i said its easy then remembered i've not jumped on purpose in years!!lol....luckily shes not took me up on it..yet...