How to Feel More Confident Riding Your Horse on the Road

For many riders, riding on the road is one of the most nerve-racking parts of horse riding.

You may feel perfectly comfortable in the arena or riding along a quiet bridleway, yet become tense the moment your route involves traffic. Perhaps you're worried about a car passing too quickly, a large lorry approaching, a motorbike appearing behind you or your horse reacting to something unexpected.

Sometimes those concerns follow a frightening experience. Sometimes they develop gradually as roads become busier or your own confidence changes.

And some caution is entirely sensible. Horses and traffic can be unpredictable, and confidence on the road should never mean ignoring genuine risks.

The aim isn't to become fearless. It's to feel sufficiently calm, prepared and in control of your own reactions that you can make sensible decisions while riding.

As a clinical hypnotherapist and an experienced horse owner and rider of more than 30 years, I know there is an important difference between respecting a genuine risk and mentally rehearsing everything that could possibly go wrong.

If anxiety has started to take over, there are practical ways to begin rebuilding your road-riding confidence.

Why Do Riders Lose Confidence on the Road?

There isn't always one obvious reason.

You may have experienced:

• a vehicle passing too closely or quickly

• a horse spinning or trying to turn for home

• a frightening encounter with a lorry, tractor or motorbike

• a sudden horn or loud engine

• your horse slipping on the road

• a dog rushing towards you

• an accident or near miss

• a horse becoming increasingly nervous in traffic

Alternatively, your horse may actually be sensible on the road, but you've gradually become more aware of what could happen.

Once anxiety develops, you can find yourself watching every approaching vehicle and preparing for trouble before there is any sign of it.

Start by Separating Genuine Risk From Anxiety

This is particularly important with road riding.

If your horse is genuinely unsafe in traffic, repeatedly putting yourself back into the same situation isn't confidence building.

A horse that panics around vehicles, spins into traffic, bolts or behaves in a way you cannot safely manage may need appropriate professional training before road riding is reconsidered.

Similarly, some roads simply aren't suitable for horses.

Confidence shouldn't mean convincing yourself that an unsafe situation is safe.

Instead, ask yourself:

Is my horse generally sensible in traffic, but I'm frightened about what might happen?

Or is there a genuine safety or training problem that needs addressing?

Those are very different situations.

Make Road Safety Part of Your Confidence

Feeling prepared can reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding road riding.

The British Horse Society recommends that riders familiarise themselves with the Highway Code, remain alert, wear high-visibility and reflective equipment, carry a charged mobile phone and tell somebody where they're going and approximately how long they'll be out. The BHS also recommends its Ride Safe Award for developing practical road-riding knowledge and skills.

Knowing what you can reasonably do to reduce risk gives you a much better foundation for confidence than simply telling yourself not to worry.

Before leaving the yard, consider your route, the time of day, likely traffic conditions and whether you and your horse are ready for what you're asking.

Choose the Easiest Route First

If road confidence has disappeared, don't begin by tackling your most difficult route.

Choose the quietest suitable road available.

A short stretch that you've ridden many times before may be enough initially.

You aren't trying to prove that you're brave.

You're trying to give yourself successful experiences that begin changing what your mind expects from road riding.

If you ride for ten minutes, meet a couple of vehicles and return feeling comfortable, that can be far more valuable than forcing yourself around a long route while frightened.

Ride With a Calm Companion

A sensible horse and experienced rider can make an enormous difference while you're rebuilding confidence.

Knowing somebody is alongside you can reduce the feeling that you have to deal with everything alone.

It may also help your horse if they're inexperienced or uncertain in traffic.

But use company as a stepping stone rather than automatically deciding you'll never ride on the road without another rider again.

If riding independently is something you want to regain, you can gradually work towards it as your confidence improves.

What If You're Frightened of Large Vehicles?

Lorries, buses, tractors and other large vehicles worry many riders.

They're bigger, noisier and can create movement and sound that some horses find unsettling.

If you already expect your horse to react, you may become tense as soon as you see one approaching.

Try not to ride the reaction before it happens.

Stay aware of the vehicle, your surroundings and your horse, and respond to what is actually happening.

Where appropriate, communicate clearly with other road users.

The BHS advises motorists encountering horses to slow to a maximum of 10mph, be patient, avoid sounding the horn or revving the engine, and pass wide and slow — allowing at least two metres where possible.

Of course, you cannot guarantee every driver will behave correctly. That's one reason remaining alert matters.

But there's a difference between being alert and assuming every approaching vehicle is going to cause a problem.

What If Motorbikes Make You Nervous?

Motorbikes can be particularly worrying because of their sound, speed and relatively small size.

If you've previously had a frightening encounter with one, simply hearing a motorbike approaching can trigger anxiety before you've even seen it.

Notice what happens in your body.

Do you grip?

Hold your breath?

Shorten your reins?

Tighten your shoulders?

Those reactions are understandable, but they may also change how you communicate with your horse.

Rather than telling yourself, “Don't panic”, give yourself something practical to do.

Breathe out.

Keep your attention on your horse.

Stay aware of the motorbike.

Communicate if necessary.

Then deal with what actually happens rather than the scene your imagination has already created.

Your Horse Can Feel When Your Body Changes

Riders often say, “My horse knows I'm nervous.”

Your horse doesn't need to understand what you're thinking to notice that something has changed.

When you're anxious, you may grip with your legs, become rigid through your seat, hold the reins more tightly or alter your breathing.

A sensitive horse may respond to those changes.

You then feel the horse become tense and think:

“I knew something was going to happen.”

That makes you even more nervous.

It's an easy cycle to create.

Periodically check your body while you're riding.

Drop your shoulders.

Breathe normally.

Notice whether you're gripping unnecessarily.

Keep an appropriate contact without using the reins as something to hold onto for reassurance.

You don't need to become completely relaxed. On the road you need to remain alert.

The aim is calm alertness, not switching off.

Stop Mentally Rehearsing an Accident

One of the biggest problems with road-riding anxiety is that the imagination can become extremely convincing.

A car appears in the distance and within seconds you've imagined it passing too quickly, your horse spooking, you losing control and an accident happening.

None of it has actually occurred.

But your body can begin reacting as though it has.

Then the car passes perfectly normally.

A few minutes later, another vehicle appears and the whole process begins again.

Try asking yourself:

What is actually happening right now?

There's a car approaching.

My horse is walking.

I'm aware of the car.

At this moment, everything is okay.

That isn't pretending there is no risk. It's keeping your attention on reality rather than continually responding to imagined disasters.

Don't Let One Bad Driver Represent Every Driver

A frightening incident can change the way you see every vehicle afterwards.

If one driver passed too quickly, you may begin expecting every driver to do the same.

Your mind is trying to protect you by remembering the danger.

But that can mean dozens of perfectly ordinary encounters barely register while the one bad experience remains vivid.

Start noticing the good encounters as well.

The driver who slows down.

The vehicle that gives you plenty of space.

The person who waits patiently.

The lorry driver who stops.

These experiences matter because they give your brain more balanced evidence about what happens when you ride on the road.

Rebuilding Confidence After a Frightening Road Incident

After a frightening experience, it's tempting either to avoid the road completely or to force yourself straight back out before you've had time to process what happened.

Neither extreme is always helpful.

Think about what actually occurred.

Was there something you could do differently?

Was your horse's reaction unusual?

Has a training issue been uncovered?

Was it simply another road user's behaviour over which you had little control?

If something needs addressing, address it.

Then choose an easier situation for your first few rides rather than immediately recreating the circumstances that frightened you.

Confidence usually returns through a series of manageable experiences, not one enormous act of bravery.

If the incident has also affected how much you trust your horse generally, you may find my guide to [LINK: How to Rebuild Trust With Your Horse] useful.

What If You're Too Nervous to Leave the Yard?

Sometimes the anxiety begins before you reach the road.

You tack up while wondering what the traffic will be like.

You get on already tense.

By the time you reach the gate, you've mentally completed the entire ride and imagined several things going wrong.

In that situation, make the goal smaller.

Perhaps today's goal is simply to ride to the end of the drive and back.

Next time, you might ride a short distance along the road.

You don't have to conquer the whole problem in one ride.

Small successful experiences can gradually make leaving the yard feel ordinary again.

Don't Measure Confidence by How Far You Ride

A five-mile hack isn't automatically more successful than a ten-minute road ride.

If you ride a short route feeling calm, aware and in control of yourself, you've achieved something useful.

Likewise, turning around because conditions have changed isn't failure.

Perhaps traffic is unexpectedly heavy.

Perhaps roadworks have appeared.

Perhaps your horse feels unusually tense.

Good riders make decisions.

Confidence includes being willing to change your plan when circumstances require it.

Learn the Skills That Make You Feel Safer

Sometimes greater confidence comes from greater competence.

If you're uncertain about hand signals, positioning, negotiating hazards or communicating with other road users, improving those skills can reduce anxiety.

The BHS Ride Safe Award specifically includes preparing horse and rider, riding on roads, negotiating hazards, understanding signs and communicating with other road users.

For somebody whose anxiety partly comes from feeling unsure what to do, practical road-safety training can be extremely valuable.

Can Self-Hypnosis Help With Confidence Riding a Horse on the Road?

Self-hypnosis may help when your horse is reasonably safe in traffic and you have the necessary riding skills, but anxiety is making road riding more difficult than it needs to be.

Hypnosis can help you relax physically while mentally rehearsing situations that normally make you nervous.

You might imagine remaining calm as a vehicle approaches, keeping your body steady when you hear a sudden noise, or responding confidently when your horse becomes alert.

This isn't about convincing yourself that roads are completely safe.

It's about reducing unnecessary anticipatory anxiety while keeping the awareness you need to ride responsibly.

I created my Roadwork with Confidence Self-Hypnosis MP3 specifically for riders who feel nervous around traffic, noise and unexpected situations on the road.

It is designed to help you approach road riding with greater calmness and confidence while remaining alert and aware of what's happening around you.

Road Confidence and Hacking Confidence Aren't Quite the Same Thing

You can enjoy hacking and still dislike roads.

Perhaps you're perfectly happy once you reach the bridleways but spend the road section wishing it were over.

Equally, some riders become anxious about hacking more generally — riding alone, open spaces, spooking, leaving the yard or being further from home.

If your nerves extend beyond traffic and roadwork, my guide to How to Feel More Confident Hacking Out on Your Horse looks at the wider problem of hacking confidence.

Give Your Mind Evidence That You Can Cope

After each road ride, notice what went well.

Not just what frightened you.

Perhaps:

• three cars passed and your horse didn't react

• you remained calm when a van approached

• you asked a driver to slow down

• your horse looked at something but listened to you

• you rode a little further than last time

• you returned feeling more comfortable than when you left

These aren't insignificant events.

They're the experiences from which confidence is rebuilt.

You Don't Need to Love Riding on the Road

Some riders will never particularly enjoy roadwork, and that's perfectly reasonable.

Roads require awareness and sensible caution.

The goal isn't to make yourself believe that nothing bad could happen.

It's to reach the point where sensible caution doesn't become overwhelming anxiety.

Prepare properly.

Choose appropriate routes.

Develop your road-riding skills.

Listen to genuine warning signs.

And gradually give yourself opportunities to discover that you can handle ordinary road situations without mentally rehearsing disaster every time you see a vehicle.

Confidence isn't the absence of caution.

It's being able to stay sufficiently calm to use that caution well.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I become more confident riding my horse on the road?

Start with quiet, familiar routes and manageable rides. Ride with a sensible companion if necessary, improve your road-safety skills and gradually build experience rather than immediately tackling the situations you find most frightening.

Is it normal to be nervous riding a horse in traffic?

Yes. Traffic presents genuine risks, so some caution is appropriate. The problem is when sensible awareness becomes excessive anxiety that prevents you riding even when you and your horse are appropriately prepared.

What should I do if my horse is genuinely frightened of traffic?

Treat it as a training and safety issue rather than simply trying to make yourself braver. Seek appropriate professional help and avoid putting yourself, your horse or other road users into situations you're not equipped to manage safely.

How do I regain confidence after a bad experience on the road?

Work out whether the incident revealed a genuine training or safety issue, address anything that needs attention, and then rebuild gradually with easier routes and manageable traffic situations.

Can self-hypnosis help with road-riding nerves?

Self-hypnosis may help reduce anticipatory anxiety and unnecessary physical tension while allowing you to mentally rehearse responding more calmly to traffic and other road situations. It should complement, rather than replace, appropriate riding skills, safety precautions and training.

Should I ride on the road if I'm frightened?

That depends on the degree of fear, your riding ability, your horse and the road conditions. You don't need to force yourself into a situation that feels unsafe. If you want to regain road confidence, gradual exposure with appropriate support is usually more sensible than pushing yourself too far too quickly.