Overcoming Fear

After my accident last Spring, when Junior bucked me off and I ended up in the ER, naturally my shaky confidence was clearly shaken even more. It's important to be confident and relaxed when riding your horse because these animals are sensitive to their rider and if you're tense and nervous that will reflect on your horse's ability to listen to you and read the correct signals. That accident even made me hesitant over Misty who I've never really had an issue with and have always been comfortable with. So purchasing a new horse to ride last September made me think on how to overcome the fear of being injured, or doing a bad job, or being judged by others and I have semi-formulated a plan. I planned on not riding Kola until spring and letting her get used to me and her new home. And starting slow with her this spring, even if it means just getting her ready to ride and not actually going through with it until I'm confident with the actions of getting her ready ie: grooming, saddling, bridling, doing some lunging work in the training pen and then short rides in the training pen. I find it interesting, that even the most confident horse owners I respect and admire sometimes suffer with this same issue. I think more so than people are willing to admit. If anyone has any advice, I'm open to listening to it. And I'm hoping to build my confidence and overcoming my fear.