I haven’t been able to participate in Clover Ledge Farm‘s NaBloPoMo prompts so far this month because I already had so much other stuff scheduled, but I’m gonna try to swing in here at the end and do a couple. Better late and incomplete than never, right? Plus I’m working hard on putting that annual Black Friday sales list together for you guys so I can post it tomorrow. Hope you’re ready to set your wallets on fire.
Anyway, today’s NaBloPoMo is “The Importance of Riding in My Life”… and like many of you, riding is absolutely critical for me. My world has revolved around horses and riding for such a long time, I don’t think there’s any other way that I could (or would want to) live. I eat, sleep, breathe this stuff, and spend most of my time thinking about it or reading about it or writing about it. One track mind? Definitely. Obsessed? Yeah probably.
I’ve tried to take a break from riding a couple of times… it doesn’t go so well. Apparently I have a pretty obsessive personality in general, and I don’t do well when my mind isn’t super occupied with something. On the first “break” (which ended up being, like… a month a half…) I threw myself into cooking. Like a lot. All the time. I bought so many cookbooks and made so many trips to the grocery store. The second “break” was when I first leased Sadie to Michelle – the plan was to get all the horses off my bills for a year or so and pay off all my debt. That was a cute plan. With nothing else to do, I threw myself 110% into triathlons and crit racing. For real, I was working out 2x a day just to keep myself busy and my mind occupied, and even then I ended up borderline crazy in the head. I was skinny, I was fit, and I was busy, but I wasn’t happy. Luckily that horseless period only lasted six months before I bought Henry.
I am definitely not myself when I’m not riding all the time. I just seem lost, like I’m floating around without a purpose, and I have nothing “fun” to give me that little reprieve from the stresses of real life. My stress and anxiety level starts to go up, and I find myself feeling uncertain about pretty much everything. Riding is definitely more than a hobby for me. It’s fun, sure, but also it gives me something to strive toward, and it keeps me grounded.
I’m also one of those people that needs their own horse, rather than just riding a bunch of others. I really enjoy building a relationship with a particular horse, growing over time, and bringing them along. I get an incredible amount of satisfaction out of that. Horses are so fantastic in that they never want anything from you (except maybe cookies) yet they’re willing to give you everything in return. And the truly great thing is that no matter how long you ride, there is always more to learn. Horses keep us humble. They show us our strengths and weaknesses. They teach us how to win, and they show us how to lose. They teach us what it’s like to persevere, and what it really means to have courage. And yes, sometimes horses break our hearts, but they also know how to fill them up like nothing else really can.
Not to mention that I really do have so very little in common with non-horse people. All of my best friends are my horse friends, and they’re the only ones that truly get me. Non-horse people just never seem to quite understand what makes us tick, or why we do the (usually completely insane) things we do. Plus, like, for real I cannot sit there and hold a conversation about Pinterest or Stitch Fix or whatever celebrity-du-jour for more than 30 seconds. It’s just not important to me, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.
So really, riding is of the utmost importance in my life. Hobby, therapy, family, purpose, sport, interpersonal relationships… you name it and horses & riding are “it” for me. I can’t even imagine a reality in which I didn’t have horses and riding in my life… it sounds horrible.
breedrideevent.com 
Hallelujah Amen! (and I stole the happiness pic to post on my fb thankyouverymuch)
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Haha – Ive often thought about it like “What do non-horse people DO? Brunch? Hike? Watch TV? With 10 horses in my care, I do not have time for anything else other than work.
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I think they like… watch tv and shop and cook and stuff?? I’m not totally sure either. Most of them have kids so I guess that takes up a lot of time.
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Kids and watch TV. Oh, and go to restaurants and post a gadjillion group selfies at said restaurants. Ok. Maybe this is just my non-horsey friends……
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Ya, kids, watch TV, obsess over fashion/makeup and start drama over nothing. Its like they have too much time on their hands!
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When I was pregnant with my son and couldn’t ride I was amaaaazed at how much stuff I would get done after work. I’d run multiple errands and cook food and still have time to read. I was like holy crap no wonder people watch TV, there’s not enough to do in a day to really entertain them.
Fortunately I could still groom, muck and fuss so my time wasn’t wasted.
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I totally identify with this post. They break your heart (and your bank account!), but horses are a part of me. Removing horses from my life would be like removing a limb. It sounds very dramatic, but it’s true. I really found “myself” in horses when I was a little girl and it’s been that way ever since.
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horses are it for me too. i’ve taken a break (the immediate years after college) and…. idk. i guess i did more happy hours or brunches or shopping trips or whatever. but i honestly can’t even really remember what that time was really like for me, whereas the time spent with horses gives an overall shape or direction to many aspects of life. and now i wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Preach!! Yeah horses are everything for me too. I don’t know how I’d live without them.
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Every once in a while I binge-watch something but then I wonder how people don’t get ansty if all they do is binge tv and dine out. I would be completely berserk all the time if I had no pony time.
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I was horseless for about 2 months once. I didn’t ride for a total of 3 days before I went mildly insane and had to at least hack a school horse every day. So yeah, “ditto” what you said.
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Yay! Glad you are writing even a few NaBloPoMo entries (and I am anxiously awaiting your Black Friday post!). I am also glad I am not the only one who thinks “what do people without horses even DO with their lives?” I definitely don’t connect well with folks unless they are horsey. Such a strange and wonderful breed we all are haha.
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of course i am going to a tgiving thing tnite with over 30 people there and NO HORSE PEOPLE at all. I dread it every year they all think I am batshit crazy (Well…) at least my sister will be there. Two horsey people against dozens of “Why are you still riding” HA!
we are odd but we are wonderful, Elizabeth 🙂 (And Amanda I am glad you are doing some topics too yay!)
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I feel you on this post. If I didn’t have a horse, I’d live in a nicer neighborhood, I’d wear nicer clothes, I’d have a nicer car annnnnnd I’d be dead on the inside.
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I ponder a few times a month all the things I could/would do with my money if I didn’t love horses so much. I know I’ll never be without them though, so the thought doesn’t go too far! I manage to jam-pack enough things even WITH horses.
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