Dear Cherry,
My name is Kelsey. I’m 16 years old and I have been learning to ride for about 6-9 months now and have yet to go any further than a jog on my 4-year-old quarter horse. My first riding instructor said she could no longer teach me no more because I’m, according to her, “Way behind the rest of the students and wont go any further”. I know I have a fear of loping because my first bad experience with a horse was when she spooked and started loping. I fell off but was being dragged by the stirrup till I grabbed a hold of the paddock fencing and was free. My horse spooked recently and went into a lope and I had to get off and didn’t have the courage to get back on him. Today I started loping on a lunge line but I was so scared I needed to take an adivan in able to calm down. When I tried to lope for the 3rd time my foot came out of my stirrup and I was scared I was going to fall so my new teacher had to quickly act to make him stop. I want more than anything to lope, but this fear keeps holding me back from actually wanting to do it and do have to courage to do so. I’m scared I’ll never be able to lope on my horse and will be stuck in novice class events forever and will always be considered a nervous and novice rider when all my peers have learned how to lope in less than 6-9 months. Is there anything I can do to help get rid of this fear and be able to actually run with my horse and lope like my peers without having to rely on drugs to calm me down to do so?
Thanks for your time Cherry!
Kelsey
Hi Kelsey,
Well, if you were here, I’d say, just hop on behind me and we’d go loping off. That way you wouldn’t have to be in control of the horse, you could hold onto me around the waist, and just soak in the feeling of the rhythm of the lope. After a few minutes, you’d be thinking, “Wow, this feels wonderful” and you’d relax and soon become addicted to loping ! On a well trained, smooth gaited horse, the lope is wonderful rolling gait with a soothing, rocking motion to it. You’ll love it once you find a steady horse and can relax. Relaxation is the key because if you are tense, you probably are making the horse tense….and worrying your instructor.
But you should know that MANY people are afraid to lope, so don’t feel like the Lone Ranger ! It is because the lope is such a free, rolling motion, and that the horse’s feet come off the ground, that you might feel like you are floating and have lost control for a second in each stride. AND if the horse is not absolutely steady and well trained, you might not feel as confident.
So, if you know someone with a kind, gentle horse with smooth gaits, and the rider is very experienced and the horse has been ridden “double” (two riders), ask if you can hop on behind. If that is not an option, then I would suggest to continue to pursue longe lessons because that is a great way to allow you to focus on your balance and rhythm without needing to control the horse.
How do you feel about heights in general? Do you have the same fear when your ride a bike or motorcycle? How about skiing? Sometimes you can overcome one fear by facing another.
Best of luck and have a great ride.
for more information on riding see Becoming an Effective Rider
Becoming an Effective Rider by Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill's Horsekeeping 
Hi, Cherry,
Your blog is so helpful. THanks so much! Yesterday I had an experience cantoring on a different school horse than I usually ride. This horse had a very bouncy and fast cantor and I found it really hard to stay in the saddle. But as I gripped with my knees to help myself stay down, the horse interpreted that as my request for him to go even fastor. After three tries, my teacher and I decided that I needed more experience on a less bouncy horse before attempting to cantor on this one again.
Any ideas what might have been going on? Do all horses have different amounts of “bounce” in their cantor. How could I have stayed in the saddle without gripping with my knees.
I’m a newbie, older rider – taking lessons for the first time in many many years!
Thanks,
Pam
Welcome and thanks for writing. I’m assuming since you are asking about
cantering, that you are riding English so I will reply that way.
Oh yes, horses vary in the fluidity and smoothness of their canter (lope)
from positively heavenly gliding to a rough, quick, jarring gait. It is all
about conformation, balance, soundness and training, subjects that could
fill books !
Ideally, you should become so thoroughly familiar with cantering on a
smooth-gaited horse, that you no longer have an ounce of counterproductive
tension in your body. THEN, and only then, should you attempt to master
cantering on a horse with less-than-ideal gaits.
Now, with any rider on any horse, the concept is simply stated but takes a
bit of body awareness and practice. You need to develop a deep seat, a long,
relaxed leg with weight deep in your heels and an upper body that is
directly over your seat. The first reaction to loss of control or security
on a horse is to (grip with the knees) draw the legs up by flexing the knee,
raising the heels higher than the toes and shortening your leg overall,
thereby defeating the long leg goal. Also most riders pull backward on the
reins and lean the upper body forward. All of these things make a horse
canter shorter and faster.
I’ve found that once a rider masters the sitting trot, not the jog, but an
active trot, then finding a deep seat at the canter becomes much easier. I’d
suggest you ask your instructor to match you up with a horse that has a very
solid metronome-like medium trot and practice lengthening your legs,
deepening your seat, and following the movement of the horse with your seat
and upper body. You’ll be surprised at how your body awareness will carry
over once you are cantering, hopefully on that same smooth-gaited horse.
Best of luck and come back often !
hi cherry,
My name is mayme i am 11 yrs old. I have a horse named Henry, he is a Quarter Horse and he is around 21 yrs old. I have been riding for 3 or 4 yrs. One day my sister and i were riding i started to lope, i lost control and fell off. luckily we were just down the road and he ran home. This was about 3 yrs ago and since then i have always been scared i wont be able to stop and or i wont have control. I will lope but im not comfort doing it, i will lope on my sister’s horse but then again i’m not very comfortable. when i lope tend to sit up and i know that makes them want to go faster. i think i need to be able to trust my horse and i need a way to calm my self so i dont sit up but i guess nerves get to me. thanks for your time and for your suggestions.
Hi Mayme,
I received your “Ask Cherry” question yesterday and I am looking forward to answering it soon – there are just a few questions before that one………in the meantime, take a keep breath ! Talk to you soon, Cherry Hill
sorry for the grammar mistakes too. have good day and god bless! thanks!!!!!
mayme
No need to apologize. I think you write quite well for an 11 year old. More later……………Cherry Hill
[…] search turns up an article Overcoming the Fear of Loping. You can click on the title here and it will take you to that […]
Thanks for the information.I am a new rider from 1 1/2 years and started at 51. I have had my spills/falls but do manage to get back on eventually. I have yet loped, but tried it a week ago, but stopped because of fear. I still have trouble with getting my balanced seat. I am determined to ride my quarter horse mare. I love reading information and Cherry I love your books I have quite a few! So thank-you, and God bless.
A mature rider in Canada.
It’s great to hear from you Barbara. Often the slower you go, the faster you’ll get there ! So be safe and enjoy your mare ! Cherry
Hello, I’m a new rider 1 1/2 years and have been loping almost from the begining (long story). I’m not sure about the position of my feet/heels should be once I start loping. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Sue,
Keep your feet under your hips as much as you can. There should be a straight line from your ear through your hip to your heel. And your heels should be lower than your toes. All of these things help to deepen your seat, pulling you down onto your horse (saddle) so you move with the horse in a gliding forward motion.
Enjoy !
And happy holidays to you too !
Cherry
[…] The busiest day of the year was July 13th with 125 views. The most popular post that day was Riding a Horse – Overcoming the Fear of Loping. […]
This article was great, but today while riding my horse’s lope was very fast and “choppy”. I found it rather hard to find my balance; I was flopping and bouncing around in the saddle like I was jello. I’m a senior in high school and have been riding since the 7th grade and haven’t had this problem for a long, long time. My horse Jackie, 17, is a lazy barnsour horse in the beginning, but is quite energetic if you can get her going. She wasn’t barnsour today, but was quite the energetic. Anyways…
While trotting I didn’t have a balancing problem, even as my horse was trotting fast. But as soon as a asked her to lope I was jello. I squeezed with my knees and thighs…hanging on for dear life! She kept going faster and faster! I noticed that most of my weight was in the left stirrup but when I tried to adjust I almost flipped right out of the saddle. There was one moment where she was loping along at just the right pace and I found my balance, but alas..the moment quickly left. How and what do I find my balance during her choppy lopes, and gallops? What can I do to calm her fast pace? I love to lope, but todday was just embarassing!
I’m aware some elements will have an effect on both of your performances. -The roads were mostly muddy from the melted snow. -She wasn’t ridden for about a month and a half…partly because of school work and my winter laziness. Definatly my fault, but in the past she has gone a whole winter without a ride. I live 30 minutes away with a gas gusseler of truck and can’t get to her everyday.
Thanks!
Hi Jenna,
You’ve answered most of your own questions quite eloquently I might say. Yes, when a horse isn’t ridden regularly, then you take to the winter roads, well…..
But here is one thing I spotted in your comments…….” I squeezed with my knees and thighs…hanging on for dear life!” – Usually any squeezing, especially for dear life, creates tension in the rider which is transmitted to the horse. Give the cue, relax and follow the movement.
The keys to a smooth lope are practicing lots of upward and downward transitions and circles.
Have a great ride,
Cherry
Thanks so much for the reply! Looking back now on yesterday, I do realize I should have just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. What I still don’t get quite well is what it means to sit deeply and slowing down her lope. My horse may be 17 but she sure has alot of spring and is full of herself sometimes in the saddle but not the ground. I know you shouldn’t lean back while a horse runs or yank back to slow down but I seems to migrate towards leaning while trying to “sit deeply” What does it mean to sit deeply, and control her lope?
Again thanks so much!
Hi Cherry,
My name is Jenny, I am 13 years old. I have been riding for about a year and a half or so. I own a 2 year old Quarter Horse filly who will be 3 on May 21st. I am currently training her, but have been riding her since she was a year and a half- no problem.
Anyways, I have been taking lessons at a local riding center. I am pretty good at posting and trotting. I have it down. but whenever we start to speed up I tend to tense up and lean forward. This has kept me from exceeding to loping, for I have a fear to.
So I was wondering, how can I get over my fear of loping, and get better balance?
I have fallen off of my horse many times in her training process (I ride her bareback with a hackamore), not to mention that I do not use my horse for my mainstream lessons.
Any suggestions? Thank you so much!
Hi Jenny,
After reading all the articles and comments on the topic here on this blog and on my website http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse-articles.htm what are your specific additional questions?
Cherry Hill
Hi, i was just wondering what im supposed to do with my legs when loping or canter western if i do squeeze with my calfs or knees or just put all the weight in my heels and dont squeeze at all? please help i need to know this with as much detail as possible. also any tricks to help with it
Hello,
If you use the Ask Cherry feature in the right hand column of this blog, I will put your question in line to be answered as a separate post with a through response.
Hi, I’ve been riding for a year and a half to two years now and I just loped for the first time a week ago. I’ve always been scared riding and I’m over walking and trotting but the lope scares me. I was in the lope but i stiffened up making it bouncy and I know not to tense or stiffen up but I was scared. My instructor had me on a lunge line so I could finally lope without the horse turning to the side or something. And today I have to lope again. I’m really nervous.
Dear Hanna,
First of all, congratulations on your first try at loping! It can be a little scary at first. My first time loping was a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
One thing that helped me was to lope as often as possible and get myself used to the rhythm of it. The more you practice, the more comforable you should become. Also, when you stiffen up, it is good to take deep breaths and try to relax your body. Sometimes when I am talking to my horse and telling him “easy”, hearing myself talk can calm me down. Just remember to keep your voice easy and soothing. It should help you and your horse! I hope this helps. Riding can be a real joy!
Lily