My son fell off his horse and now he is scared to ride. He wants to know how to get over this.

Well, not that this has to do with what you were asking, but a horse that is less than 2 shouldn't be ridden in the 1st place. They are too young & not done growing. I would definately say that she's not properly broken. On to what you asked...riding a horse is like riding a bike. You fall off & then you have to get right back on. You can't let something stop you. I have been stepped on & rolled on by horses. I never let it stop me from getting back on. I was riding a friend's horse & she forgot to check the cinch in the saddle & it started pinching the horse. The horse dropped to the ground & started rolling with me on it. I was fortunate enough to be able to move out of the way before I got hurt. I went back the next day & rode the same horse. It's just something that you have to decide to do. I'm not sure anyone can really help with it.

well easy steps!!!... 1st get him near the horse..and stufff then ride with him on the horse.. or ride near him.. and then he'll ride alone

If he loves Horses it shouldn't be a problem. Let him ride it again over and over untill he feels comfortable riding the horse.

I have been thrown from a few horses and injured. I was scared to get back on, but you have to face your fears. After a little time it got easier. I was about 11 when I was thrown the first time. I would suggest that he just start out with the horse in the corral. They can't take off to far in there. This should allow him to regain his trust and confidence with this horse. Once that is regained, then start riding her out of the corral. I wish you luck and hope it works out.

It happened to me too. Till this day I wont ride a horse. They tried to get me back on one, but I just refused. Sorry I cant help you on this one.

you can help him doing that....You show him how to ride a horse...and if possible just be there on the horse with him...this is a gradual process the fear will disappear...

If he really wants to get over it, he will have to go on a horse again. Perhaps some adult can sit in front, and your son can sit behind, just to get used to it again.

Well, first off I probably wouldn't have paired a 2 y/o inexperienced horse with a new rider. Not only is 2 years old too young for a horse to be ridden (they are still growing and it can hurt a horses development, check out racehorses for example). In terms of being scared the same thing happened to me, though I was on an old horse with lots of experience and I was a very experienced rider (Ive been riding about 18 years now). Anyway, the horse bolted because of a kangaroo, I fell and when I was getting on my more younger experienced horses I started getting nervous, which in turn made them nervous and even more jumpy which made me more nervous and so on and so forth. What I did to correct this was getting someone in to ride my more spirited horses and I got back on my older one, I rode and did more scary things until my confidence grew. Then I got on my younger ones and did things that didn't require anything too ahrd, walking, maybe a bit of a trot in a confined area. And I worked with an instructor just to keep up the confidence. After I worked through a few spooks my confidence is back to where it was and Im back to training youngens :) If you want more information about this kind of thing there is an amazing woman called Jessica Jahiel who writes the most fantastic free online newsletter. She knows her stuff and has infinite experience and with my experience in this industry I can tell you the information she provides for free is VERY hard to come by even with payment. She basically answers questions each week or so about this kind of thing: http://www.horse-sense.org/ I really suggest you check out the archives as Im sure someone has already asked this question.

Yeah he could get over it he should try a different horse though.......

Many years ago when I was young and (I thought) indestructable, I broke and trained horses. One horse used to throw me about 4 times out of 7. Most the time it was bruising and getting the wind knocked out of me, and back up to try again. The last time this animal threw me I ended up with both feet broken. Several weeks later when I could walk again, I went out with another person to give me a leg up. Yep, this was one BIG horse. I was shaking and hesitant. I put my foot in the stirrup and as I was reaching up to mount, I was asked...."Are you scared?" My answer was "Damned right." And I was on! That horse never threw me again, although others did. The old saying is true. Face the fear and get back on. What is the worst is the trust he had in the animal has been torn. That tear can heal. If he will only mount and ride once more.

Unfortunately the best way to do it is get back on STRAIGHT away...I've fallen off countless times when I was learning and it was a lot easier if you didn't leave it till later. Maybe if your son just spends a bit of time on the ground with his horse and becomes familiar with her again?

Just like the saying says, get back on the horse. That's really the only way I know of.

I would say go back to the basics find out what was that that went wrong, work on it ans simply get back on the horse.

As a trainer of horses, especially in the racing field, I know what your son is going through. I could impart many stories of the many horses I've ridden, both the good one and the bad. Many a time it has been I have had to get on a horse that I did not want to. Well, the good thing is that your son had the guts to get back on. Plus, he admits that he is nervouse and recognizes that the horse senses this. The question is, is the horse trying to take advantage of this or not? The wonderful thing is that your boy has worked with her and has gained her trust. Now is the time for him to trust her. Now not knowing the mentality of the horse her, I'm assuming that she was kind of green and unbroke. Plus the age and history of the horse is also a factor. Also the conditions that caused her to run off before would be a consideration. Was she spooked? What spooked her? If such a thing happened, then work her and help her get over her fear of that item/thing, or, if she doesn't, then your son knows what conditions to avoid for a reoccurance for such a thing to happen again. Much like he had to take his time in gaining her trust, now again alot of time may have to be taken for him to trust her. If she is of the mentality to not take advantage of this trust, then she will work to earn that trust again. If she has a tendency to take advantage of the trust, then that trust will have to be achieved by both sides, the horse and rider. I hope to hear back from you and see how things develop with your boy. In some of these situations, it is easier to have another experienced person nearby to observe and give some pointers. I am not certain that your son has anyone available, but if he is as you describe, pushing the limits, he will work through this.

the only way to get over it would be to get back on and ride again. i know that is cliche but its the truth.

I agree with what alot of people are saying. if he is getting back on like you said, then he has already started to face his fears. my only suggestion is to get another horse. maybe a four or five year old. this is when they start calming down, and maybe you two can work your way back up to trusting the original horse. you have to let him know, that when riding horses, you have to understand that anything can happen, and he will probably get thrown off again. even proffesionals get thrown off. its just a part of riding. Another thing, if he is really still scared or nervous, and he only brusied his side, than maybe this isnt the sport for him. some people love it, and some people cant even learn to love it. Make sure this is what he wants to do, and if it is work with him to help him face his fears, maybe even take him to a horse farm, and give him riding lessons, so he can know what to do if a horse rears up, or starts to buck. i hope this advice helped a little.

the first thing to do is not to hype up the incident and his fear. motivate him to get him back riding the horse, except that there is no other way to beat this fear. whatever game you play once in awhile you will definitely get her but that doesn't mean you have to stop playing all together . there are people was met with serious accidents during games and still once they recover from the injuries they are back again playing the game. that is the only way you can beat the fear and nothing else

en......you should tell him this is the common situation when someone learn how to ride and there is nothing to be afraid of. I suggest you should let him spend more time with horses, to foster his interest and the same time, he can learn more about horses and will never be afraid of riding again.

your son is doing a good job with the horse,just tell him to be more confident and i'm sure he will no longer be nervous

It would be my advice to not ever "push the limits" w/ horses. A rider who has less than 3 years experience should not be riding an untrained 2 year old. There is much more to riding than trust (although it is a huge part of it.) It is so wonderful that he has such a love for horses, it would be a shame to put the horse and the rider in a situation where they might make bad memories. Such an accident could scar either of them for life. If this horse is the only option, and you are not able to get the animal professionally trained, he should do ground work with the horse until they are both %100 comfortable with one another again. There are many resources on this and I would be happy to discuss 'groundwork' in more detail.