Equestrians are meticulous about taking care of their beloved horses. Nutrition, mental well-being, and physical health are all a top priority of the horse lover. The horse always has a “staff” of professionals who keep the horse healthy and operating at its highest potential. Veterinarians, Farriers and Trimmers, Massage Therapists and other forms of professional body workers, dentists, chiropractors, nutritionists, behaviorists and trainers… just to name a few. Many riders don’t bat an eye when it comes to the care of their equine partners, but tend to have a hard time taking great care of themselves. While our horses have a complete nutrition and training program, many of us equestrians will settle for an iced coffee, pretend it’s a real breakfast, and spend little to no time on our physical health outside of riding. Yes, I’m also calling myself out on this one! Long term, this doesn’t serve our bodies and minds… and if we don’t take care of ourselves, who’s going to take care of our horses!?
Many will argue that caring for a horse IS a form of self-care for us horse lovers, and to some extent that is true. It brings us immense joy and satisfaction when we know we are taking care of our horses the best we know how. This is not to shame any horse lover who tends to keep themselves on the backburner, while they prioritize their horse’s wellbeing. Quite the opposite actually, I want to remind you all that you are worth taking the time to take care of. You are a wonderful human… horse obsessed like me… who deserves wonderful care. When we are aware that we actually deserve to feel good, we tend to also take great care of ourselves, and a byproduct of that is we can show up even greater for our loved ones… especially for our horses.
Horses are masters at reading our emotions, energy and intentions. They are programmed by nature to read predatory behavior, and avoid it. When we are stressed, we start acting more like a human, and that tends to feel very predator-like to a horse, who is a prey animal. We get direct-line in our thinking, we get tight and tense, we stop being in the moment, and that can be seen as pressure to a horse, and it can scare them. So, if we show up in a dysregulated emotional and physical state… our horses are immediately affected by it. Some more than others.
So, after reading this, if your only real reason to take good care of yourself is for the sake of your horses… I’ll take it!
Here are simple and effective ways that you can practice self-care as an Equestrian.
Practice Daily Gratitude.
This one I used to think was a bit hokey, if I’m being honest. But, until I made it a priority to consciously recognize how many things in my life I can be grateful for, I had a tendency to stay stuck in negative emotions for longer than necessary. It’s hard to stay in an unhealthy mind space when you are actively seeking out the beautiful parts of your everyday life with your horse. Simple things like; being grateful for your riding boots that have kept your feet safe the past few months.. or the cowboy hat that’s been protecting your face from the sun, or those gloves that saved your hands from that nasty rope burn. All very simple things to be grateful for, that have something to do with our horses. Other things, like being grateful your horse has a safe place to live, that the arena footing is nice, or that the people who take care of the barn are kind. Being grateful for your truck and trailer, or even your little car or bicycle… whatever gets you to the barn. Practicing gratitude for the barn cats who keep the mice away, the farmer who grows your horses hay, and the fly spray that’s actually effective. I can give you thousands of simple things surrounding your life with your horse to be grateful for. These little things add up fast, and many of them allow you to have a more productive, fulfilling and fun life with your horses. I think you get the picture.
Write down three things you LOVE about your horse.
This one is probably going to be much easier for most. It tends to be easy to think up reasons we absolutely adore our horses. The way he smells, the way he meets me at the gate, the way he waits for me to ask him to go, the way he nickers to me when he sees me, the way he looks, the way he just… exists! More importantly, the way he connects to every piece of me without even speaking a word to me. Our horses hold so much weight to us… we are who we are because of our love for them. So, regularly and consciously recognizing the things you love about your horse can help you stay in a centered place when life does get hard, or challenging circumstances take place. When we have a not so perfect ride, or a bad day competing, or yet another vet bill to take care of… we can think back to the wonderful reasons we still happily choose this life with our horses.
Keep Learning.
A mantra I live by is “Never-Ending Self-Improvement.” I know a little about a lot, and being a professional in the horse industry doesn’t make me immune to the world of adopting new or advanced ways of training. Everything is advancing, and I think it’s fascinating to keep learning all we can about horses. Listening to podcasts, utilizing online resources, spending time learning and taking lessons with coaches and instructors, and reading or listening to books are all great ways to gather new information, and learn how to be better for yourself and your horses. Whether it’s signing up to participate or audit a clinic, or choosing to jump into an internship or working student program, signing up for an online course, reading or listening to books and podcasts… never, ever stop learning! You’re not too old, it’s never too late to learn something new, and there is ALWAYS something new to learn about horses.
I hope these self-care rituals for equestrians help inspire you to find something simple and effective that you can do on a regular basis to make yourself feel like, and truly be, a priority. Remember to start small… practice gratitude for the little things that keep your life with your horse moving forward, be conscious of the things you love about your equine partner, take the opportunities to expand your knowledge and learn all you can about these amazing creatures we get to do life with. I hope this serves you horse lovers, now make sure you’re taking care of yourselves in some way. Lastly, to my iced coffee fans… Eat a real meal that nourishes your body and stay hydrated, so you can keep taking care of what we all know matters the most, our horses.
