Hi ~ thank you so much for the first lesson which really has helped me. I’ve just returned to riding after a 30+ year break (I’m now 53). I’m losing confidence on a daily basis as I seem to be failing in my riding technique ~ I think I’m trying to hard, not enjoying my time with my beautiful horse & trying to keep up with the other riders in the yard who have been riding for many years! I’ve only been back in the saddle since September last year, had a very nasty fall from my horse in January… Read more »

I’m enjoying reading all of your stories. And just like you, you might be noticing a few similar themes popping up. I thought it would be fun to take one challenge per day and talk about it here… and then you let me know your thoughts. (I’m going to share my thoughts without concern for grammar, etc… so hang with me. (-:) So here’s our first… concern over getting older and diminishing confidence as we age… for lots of reasons. One reason is that we’re not as strong or agile as we used to be. This brings up safety concerns… Read more »

This past month my trusty 18 yr. old mare has developed Uveitis. Unfortunately her future is looking poor. I now have to change from riding the trails with her to hand walking in local areas only. My confidence level is low since I’m 68 yrs. old and she is now struggling with her vision.

I’ve been riding all my life and training my own horses for the past 30 years and my lack of confidence is definitely within when I’m faced with high level competition starting about 6 years ago. I attended a Lanny Basham seminar 5 years ago that definitely helped, but lately I’ve struggled with my horses not having confidence in and out of the arena. I KNOW it’s coming from me. My struggle is real and very frustrating. I currently have a 6 year old QH mare I’ve trained for Cowboy Mounted Shooting over the past 2 years and she has… Read more »

Confidence within is my main struggle

I’M age 73 and not been riding for the last 10 years, since my beloved horse died.
In the meantime I realize, I miss riding and don’t know how to start again.Friends of mine have horses for me to ride.

Thank you for these lessons. I need a big boost in confidence that I’m doing the right things in managing the health of my horse. I had a 28 year break in owning a horse due to my service in the Army and then raising our children. I bought another horse 4 1/2 years ago and love riding her but I always boarded her so I was not involved in the daily care. We moved into a new home in January with 23 acres so now she is with me and I see so many little things that make me… Read more »

Hiya , I will just share I broke an ankle 2 years ago and after a lifeltime of regualr riding , I havent ridden since so feeling thrilled to have found this.
I have been in regular contact with a horse that I fell in love with 18 months ago who has also lost his confidence and was poorly treated @ a knackers yard before he was rescued,
We make a good match, in some ways tho’ he is big @ 16 hh and I’m small & 70 years old .
I live in Southeast England.

For me it’s being able to ride transitions with my sight impaired horse, he spooks at shadows, and almost everything if he feels like it, and I’ve been under his front feet looking up at him as he stands there laughing and asking me what I’m doing on the ground. I’m feeling too old to be hitting the ground at my age, and his trot to canter is really big in movement , lessons with my instructor help lots, but I’ve been taking my time and some days I just don’t feel like doing anything but a walk and trot.… Read more »

Thank you for the food for thought! My struggle is with the negative self-talk and not self-acknowledging the positive effects I have on my young horse. I keep reminding myself to celebrate the small achievements. I look forward to the next session.