Episodes

When did "I'm just getting older" become the answer to EVERYTHING? Your horse gets a little stiff, and you start making adjustments. YOU get a little stiff, and suddenly it's just another birthday catching up with you! What's wrong with this picture? We put so much thought into keeping our horses healthy and comfortable as they age. We adjust their nutrition, exercise, conditioning, and recovery because we want them to keep feeling GOOD. But what about the person sitting in the saddle? In ...

Ever get on your horse feeling perfectly fine... and suddenly your brain has written 47 different disaster scenarios before you've even left the mounting block? And now your shoulders are somewhere around your ears, you're holding your breath, and your horse is wondering what on EARTH is going on! Sound familiar? Horseback riding anxiety isn't always just a mental problem. Your emotions, thoughts, and physical reactions are constantly influencing one another. And when one gets out of whack, ...

Your horse takes ONE funny step, and you're researching supplements, calling the vet, and scheduling bodywork. Meanwhile… YOU'RE held together with Baling Twine and Duct Tape! Sound familiar? As horsewomen, we're REALLY good at noticing when something isn't quite right with our horses. Stiffness, soreness, low energy, changes in balance... we notice EVERYTHING. But when it's our own bodies? “Eh. I'm just getting older.” What if we gave ourselves the same care and attention we give our hor...

Snap. Crackle. Pop. GROAN. Does getting on your horse sound more like breakfast cereal than horseback riding? And when did getting older become our excuse for EVERYTHING? Stiffness. Low energy. Losing our balance. Struggling to do things that used to be EASY. What if getting older doesn't mean you have to keep feeling older? In today's episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about how improving your health, energy, flexibility, balance, and strength can help you feel better AND mo...

Ever lose your keys and discover they were right where you left them? What if your riding confidence is the same way? You haven't necessarily LOST it. Fear, anxiety, What Ifs, and life may have just buried it under a whole bunch of STUFF! If you're afraid to ride your horse, struggling with horseback riding anxiety, or wondering how to regain the confidence you once had, this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around is for you. We're going looking for that confidence! In this episode, you'll lear...

Confidence feels different when your body trusts its balance. Your horse moves forward. Sideways. Sometimes unexpectedly. And your body needs to feel capable of moving WITH them. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about the connection between rider balance and riding confidence—and why improving your balance off your horse can help you feel steadier and more confident in the saddle. When your balance changes, riding can start to feel different too. You may feel less se...

Riding may seem harder after 50, but really… it's different. And different? We can work with. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about horseback riding after 50 and what happens as our bodies, energy, balance, strength, and flexibility begin to change. Maybe mounting doesn't feel quite as easy. Your balance feels different. You get tired faster. Your body doesn't move exactly the way it did 20 years ago. That doesn't mean you have to stop doing what you love. We alr...

What if NOT riding today means you're even MORE afraid tomorrow? That thought can create a whole lot of pressure. I HAVE to ride. I'm going to make my fear worse if I don't. But is that actually true? In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about riding avoidance, riding anxiety, and the fear that skipping a ride will somehow undo your progress or make you even more scared to ride your horse the next time. Riding isn't automatically moving you forward. And not riding isn...

You can build riding confidence before you ever get on your horse. But eventually... you've gotta get on if you want to ride. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about how to start rebuilding your riding confidence BEFORE you get in the saddle—and why eventually riding becomes an important part of creating new confident experiences with your horse. If you're scared to ride your horse or dealing with horseback riding anxiety, confidence can start on the ground. You can m...

Your horse has NO IDEA you were supposed to ride today. But YOU do. If you feel guilty when you don't ride your horse, you're probably carrying around a whole list of expectations. I should ride more. My horse needs to be worked. I'm wasting another beautiful day. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about the guilt and pressure riders can put on themselves when they don't ride—especially when riding anxiety, fear, or a loss of confidence is already making the decision...

The pressure to push through riding fear might be exactly what's keeping you stuck. Just get on. Push through it. Don't let fear win. Riders hear this advice all the time. But what happens when you never actually deal with WHY you're afraid to ride? In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're looking at the difference between pushing through riding fear and actually working through it. Sometimes pushing through works. Sometimes it adds more pressure without addressing what your fear i...

What if riding could be FUN again? Not something you SHOULD do. Something you WANT to do. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about what can happen when riding fear, riding anxiety, or a loss of confidence takes the fun out of horseback riding—and how to start finding your way back to enjoying time in the saddle. Remember when riding was FUN? You weren't analyzing every ride or wondering whether you felt confident enough. You just wanted to get on your horse and GO. Ma...

What if “I don't want to ride anymore” isn't actually the whole story? What if what you really mean is... “I don't want to feel like THIS when I ride anymore.” In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about what happens when riding fear, riding anxiety, or a loss of confidence leaves you wondering whether you even want to ride your horse anymore. You love your horse. You WANT to want to ride. But when riding has become filled with fear, tension, What Ifs, or anxiety, it's ea...

What if you don't actually miss being fearless? What if you miss being EXCITED to ride? Remember when you couldn't WAIT to get to the barn? You weren't wondering whether you'd feel confident enough that day. You weren't analyzing every possible What If. You just wanted to RIDE. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're looking at something that can get lost when you're dealing with riding fear, riding anxiety, or a loss of confidence on your horse: the FUN. Sometimes we become so fo...

You used to be the rider who just got on and RODE. No committee meeting. No 47 possible What If scenarios. Just LET'S GO!!! So what happened? In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about why experienced riders can suddenly become scared to ride—even when they used to feel completely fearless on a horse. There's a whole lot of life wisdom between Fearless Kid You and the rider you are today. More experience. More knowledge. Maybe a fall or two. A different horse. And poss...

You know what's exhausting? Holding yourself together. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about why riding anxiety can leave you feeling physically exhausted in the saddle. Tension, holding your breath, tightening your muscles, bracing, and trying to control everything all use energy—sometimes more than we realize. If you tire quickly while horseback riding, feel exhausted after riding, or notice that anxiety makes your body tense and tight in the saddle, this episode w...

What if the goal isn't to stop the What Ifs? In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're looking at those "What if?" thoughts a little differently. Your brain is asking them for a reason. It wants to keep you safe. Instead of leaving the question unanswered, you can give your brain something much more useful—a plan. If riding anxiety has your brain jumping from one What if? to the next, this episode will help you turn those questions into something you can actually use. Because "What if...

Every good horseman knows you don't judge a horse until you've warmed them up. Maybe our own bodies deserve the same courtesy. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about stiffness and what happens when we give our bodies a chance to warm up before deciding what's really going on. Just like with our horses, movement gives us information. Once your body becomes as fluid as it can be today, you can start listening. Is it tension? Inflammation? Pain? Or simply a body that nee...

Shaking can be one of the most unsettling physical symptoms of riding anxiety. But there's a reason your body does it. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, we're talking about adrenaline—what happens in your body when it shows up and why something as simple as your horse swishing at a fly, shaking its head, or stepping into the canter can suddenly send your body into high alert. Understanding what's happening gives you something solid to work with. Your body is protecting you, and you ...

Mounting your horse shouldn't be the hardest part of your ride. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, I share a different way to think about pain when you mount. Instead of assuming it's "just getting older," what if your body is giving you useful information? Just like we pay attention when our horses tell us something, our own bodies deserve the same curiosity. If mounting has become uncomfortable, or you've started dreading that first step into the saddle, this episode is for you. Sma...

Maybe there is a better question than, "Will I ever get my confidence back?" In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, I explore a different way of thinking about riding confidence. What if your confidence was never really gone? What if it's simply been covered by layer after layer of your brain doing its job—keeping you safe? Instead of waiting for confidence to return, you can begin uncovering it one ride, one small win, and one step at a time. If you've been wondering whether you'll ever ...

Sometimes one decision changes everything. Not because it makes the fear disappear... but because it gives your brain a new direction. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, I share the one decision that changed my riding confidence forever. The moment I decided I was going to enjoy riding again, my brain stopped looking for reasons to quit and started looking for ways to make it happen. If you've been struggling with riding fear, riding anxiety, or wondering whether you'll ever enjoy r...

Sometimes losing confidence isn't what keeps us stuck. It's what happens after. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, I talk about one of the biggest mistakes riders make after a scary ride or loss of confidence. Our brains start asking "What if?"—and before we know it, one question has turned into ten more. The good news? Your brain isn't looking for fear. It's looking for a plan. If you've been struggling with riding fear, riding anxiety, or a mind that won't stop imagining everything...

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to get our confidence back... we forget to ask whether it's really gone. In this episode of Turn Riding Fear Around, I explore a different way of looking at riding confidence. What if the confident rider is still there, but she's been hiding behind low energy, aches, stiffness, or a body that doesn't feel the way it used to? Sometimes confidence doesn't begin in our minds. Sometimes it begins by helping our bodies feel better. If you've been feeling frus...