Alex is an experienced rider who couldn't understand why she had become unable to cope with her new horse's spooky behaviour in the menage. After some careful questioning we identified several incidents in the past that were still affecting her. By dealing with these and consigning them to their place in the past Alex was able to focus on getting to know and to enjoy her new horse:

Having heard many impressive stories about Jo's ability to help riders with "hang-ups" I recently decided to bite the bullet myself and give her technique a go after buying a rather green six-year-old TB gelding.

The horse in question is a total sweetheart, but he is green, is not very confident and can be sharp. Having ridden and brought on a wide range of horses in the past, I could not understand why I was not coping mentally with his spooky behaviour in the menage, even though I felt totally relaxed when he behaved in a similar manner out hacking. When I asked for Jo's help I was at the stage where if he didn't look relaxed on the yard, in the back of my head I knew I didn't really want to get on him, although I wouldn't have admitted that to anyone else!

With Jo's help we managed to track my anxiety back to a couple of separate incidents that happened while riding in the outdoor school some four or five years ago. With Jo's help I "tapped" for these and other events that caused me to feel anxious or uncomfortable when revisiting them in my mind, until I could think about them without any gut churning reaction.

Since our session my relationship with my new horse has gone from strength to strength. I have no worries about riding him, whatever his mood, the weather, etc and when he does spook and shoot off down the school I can relax and ride him through it instead of just freezing and waiting for it to escalate into something much worse.

We have been making such good progress that I'm now planning our first competitive outing together at a local low key dressage event. Thank you Jo - without your help I don't think I would be where I am now.

Alex
14 November 2006

© Jo Cooper 2002-2017. All rights reserved

Back to Equestrian