This is probably a theme among a lot of horse people right now - the daylight savings time/winter struggle. The cold weather & short daylight hours are brutal when it comes to doing horse stuff. Trying to squeeze in a ride in the short time after work or just accepting your fate that it just won't happen any days you work.
Lately, I find myself struggling with this adjustment more than normal. I feel more unmotivated in my riding life, and it takes a lot of effort to convince myself to rush outside right after I get home from work in order to fit in a ride after an already long, tiring day.
My nostalgia is at an all time high though lately. Memories on Facebook and Instagram are reminding me of when I first began getting back to regular lessons 3 years ago. Memories of the first ride where Banner finally got it over a jump last year.
It makes me sad that even though my horses are the most accessible that they have ever been to me by a long shot, my motivation to do more than cuddle them feels like it is at an all time low. Three years ago, Charmer lived 40+ minutes from my house, and yet I still made it out to him 5+ days a week and at least lunged him or rode him nearly every single one of those days. Now it takes me not even 40 seconds to walk from my bedroom door to his stall and I can't find the motivation to lunge/ride him 5+ days a week.
I want to get back to how excited and motivated I used to be to ride all the time! I decided to use some of my nostalgia to kickstart my motivation back. I scrolled back through hundreds of posts on Instagram and read through all of my old posts about how excited I was when Charms started going so well, because I got him in a program. I looked at all of the posts from last year where I was doing absolutely the most tedious work imaginable with Banner, and yet I still managed to climb aboard constantly because I knew how important all those long, boring days of monotonous work would be in the long run (and I was right!).
So last night, after fueling my nostalgia to the max, despite the fact that all I wanted to do was relax and take a nap, I dragged my sorry butt outside and pulled Charmer out for a light lunge. And afterwards, I felt good that I did! Despite the fact that he did have one major meltdown moment on the lunge, it was a super productive little session and it makes my heart happy to see how good he looks.
I'm trying to reignite the fire and the passion that I felt, not even that long ago. Doing some light work with my big kid helped remind me how fun even just doing something with them for 10-15 minutes can be. I've decided that my goal is to start doing something with at least one of the boys every day. Even if it just means grooming one of them or a short bareback/tackless walk around the arena.
Anyone have any good tips or tricks to help get over a funk in your love of horses and riding?
Lately, I find myself struggling with this adjustment more than normal. I feel more unmotivated in my riding life, and it takes a lot of effort to convince myself to rush outside right after I get home from work in order to fit in a ride after an already long, tiring day.
My nostalgia is at an all time high though lately. Memories on Facebook and Instagram are reminding me of when I first began getting back to regular lessons 3 years ago. Memories of the first ride where Banner finally got it over a jump last year.
It makes me sad that even though my horses are the most accessible that they have ever been to me by a long shot, my motivation to do more than cuddle them feels like it is at an all time low. Three years ago, Charmer lived 40+ minutes from my house, and yet I still made it out to him 5+ days a week and at least lunged him or rode him nearly every single one of those days. Now it takes me not even 40 seconds to walk from my bedroom door to his stall and I can't find the motivation to lunge/ride him 5+ days a week.
I want to get back to how excited and motivated I used to be to ride all the time! I decided to use some of my nostalgia to kickstart my motivation back. I scrolled back through hundreds of posts on Instagram and read through all of my old posts about how excited I was when Charms started going so well, because I got him in a program. I looked at all of the posts from last year where I was doing absolutely the most tedious work imaginable with Banner, and yet I still managed to climb aboard constantly because I knew how important all those long, boring days of monotonous work would be in the long run (and I was right!).
So last night, after fueling my nostalgia to the max, despite the fact that all I wanted to do was relax and take a nap, I dragged my sorry butt outside and pulled Charmer out for a light lunge. And afterwards, I felt good that I did! Despite the fact that he did have one major meltdown moment on the lunge, it was a super productive little session and it makes my heart happy to see how good he looks.
I'm trying to reignite the fire and the passion that I felt, not even that long ago. Doing some light work with my big kid helped remind me how fun even just doing something with them for 10-15 minutes can be. I've decided that my goal is to start doing something with at least one of the boys every day. Even if it just means grooming one of them or a short bareback/tackless walk around the arena.
Anyone have any good tips or tricks to help get over a funk in your love of horses and riding?
Comments
Post a Comment