Fear of horses

[citrusbliss]

I was watching horse videos on YouTube playlist and it took me to a video of a girl who died. Something titled RIP Jessica (or something like that). Anyway, she died because she was riding her horse and her horse bolted. Her horse jumped over the fence (she tried to turn him in toward a fence to stop him), and he fell on top of her. When her body was found (outside the arena fence) her neck had been broken, her skull crushed, and she had bruises on her hands from pulling the reins so hard (and the reins were broken too).

I'm afraid to see or ride my horses again :( What do I do? I want to get over my new fear of horses. But I have had constant anxiety for days, and have lost a lot of sleep just by thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

Note: my herd is boarded at an equestrian facility. They get water, hay, feed pellets, and grooming (and blanketing if it's cold) every day regardless of whether I go or not. The facility owners and farm hands take care of that for me. So I'm not neglecting my horses by not visiting them. They have full care, and several people check on them daily.

[Dahila]

how often someone dies because of bad jump? The statistics are pretty low. Once I fall off the horse, it was in building, and a lot of horses were running. My husband started to pray. No horse even touched me, you know that. They will avoid to step on people, or anything soft.
she had bruises on her hands from pulling the reins so hard (and the reins were broken too).

Just put your attention on the sentence you wrote. Please, I had seen horses who were bleeding from their mouths. When people pull on reins the horse protests. It hurts, reins must be always lose in hands. You probably know it well enough. The girl panicked, so did the horse, got spooked or something. She probably fell and was somehow pulled, maybe she could not let the reins go. Accidents like that happens, but probability that it will happen to you are low. ;)) please do ride them. Remember how you feel when you ride the horse. It is the best feeling in the world. I will never forget it. You and the horse are one;))

[KeepYourCalm]

Yeah, a video showing an accident can seem pretty real, to the point where it's traumatic to the viewer as well.

What I think you should do is take baby steps.

You wrote that "I'm afraid to see or ride my horses again."

How about just going in to see them from time to time?

I think for the time being, you shouldn't try riding them unless you feel that you genuinely want to and you trust your horses.

On the other hand, I think you could start by just seeing them. Maybe groom them a little. Touch them and see how they react. Look in their eyes and see how they look back at you. I think you'll find that your beloved horses are perfectly safe and docile. :)

I think your reaction to that video is perfectly normal. I've once seen an airplane accident in the news and it made me afraid to board an airplane for a long time. I had to give myself time to rebuild my trust for pilots and huge constructs of flying metal. :)

I think you'll also need to rebuild your trust for horses and I think it won't take long. Right now whenever you think of horses, those vivid images of the accident come floating back into your mind. It's still a powerful experience. However, if you wait for those terrible images to fade from memory and put enough calm, loving images of your beloved horses into your mind, I think you'll be able to rebuild the trust in no time at all. :)

[Kirk]

I am afraid of horses also. Years ago I was on vacation with my wife and daughter. We all got on horses to ride in the desert when my
horse turned around and tried to bite me. I panicked and got off the horse and have never ridden again. Avoidance is the worst thing to
do which I have done. Don't follow my example and ride. Accidents are indeed very rare.

[citrusbliss]

Thank you both :-) Hopefully I get over this fear soon! I just have been thinking about it for days, all the things that could go wrong.

To Kirk: I'm really sorry you had that experience. It's very scary when they bite!