A while back, for quite a few years, my obsessiveness of horses sorta ebbed away a little. I have always loved horses as long as I could remember, but living in a big family of 9 it was kind-of hard to take lessons at all, seeing as when one kid did something ALL the other wanted to do it too. I am thankful to this day that my parent raised me with a great work ethic: If you really, really want something, your going to work to make it possible to happen. So unto this day now, my sister and I are happily taking lessons every Saturday.....and working for each lesson!! So not only do I get lessons, but I have the happy knowledge than I have worked hard to get them. And get to spend time with the horses when I am working in or around the barn, too! It's a win-win situation: They get the barn clean and I get to ride horses!!!
This summer, between showing every weekend and not getting enough quality time with my horse, my drive began to decrease. I almost had to force myself to ride at one time. However, when colder weather came I was able to spend more time with my horses and revive my passion and drive.
My era of lack of motivation to ride was when My young mare was in training. She is a very stubborn horse and I was getting annoyed because she wasn't understanding and we were constantly on ends. But, i looked at other people's well trained horses and said 'I was my horse to look like that one day.'
I live in Minnesota so the weather here isn't always... cooperative with my horse schedules. In the summer we often find it grossly hot and humid and in the winter its usually freezing cold with icy wind. Plus a lot of the time my horse doesn't want to cooperate with me in these conditions. So the thing that keeps me motivated is once I complete the task at hand and have some fun on horseback I have the joy of getting it right! (Plus the air conditioning or heated house awaiting me will sometimes get things moving in the right direction!)
After years of competitive riding on the "A" show circuit, my adult equestrian career has consisted mostly of trail rides and mind-numbing arena work. Time, money, and family commitments kept me from riding competitively. With no avenue to showcase the work that I had put into my new horses, I began to lose focus and motivation. That is when I discovered the local show circuit. We may only compete a handful of times a year, but those shows give me something nearby, affordable, and rewarding to work toward with "my boys."
I've spent time just doing little things with my horse, such as teaching tricks. It has really stregthened my bond with my horse.
After I fell several times while riding and broke several bones in a hand my pride and confidence were shattered, as well as my motivation. I felt like letting horses go, but thanks to my mare I kept trying. She was merely greenbroke, but I loved her and knew that someone would have to train her or she would be passed off as "unrideable" from place to place and/or finally put down. I couldn't let that happen. I read training books, watched videos of clinicians, read training articles, got help from a trainer---did everything I possibly could to learn more. And it worked! We learned all sorts of groundwork; hindquarter disengaging, forequarter yielding, backing, lungeing, etc until she respected me and I was confident enough to start riding again. Sometimes we'll hit "plateaus", but it's comforting to remember that everyone hits a wall in their training. You can push ahead or take a break, whichever works for you, just don't give up. I contribute my success to my faith and my wonderful mare. Please learn from our story.
After being bucked off of a horse the first time, shattering my confidence at the age of 13, I vowed to never ride again. That only lasted about a month and since re-discovering the fun I have with horses, every free minute is spent with my equine friends. The best part is that I have met a new riding buddy, and her enthusiasm combined with mine helps us both fight Michigan winters and get out to the barn!
I'm what you would call a "die-hard" when it comes to riding. Usually there isn't much that gets my breeches in a bunch. The one thing that started getting me down a while ago, though, was the height of the jumps we were working on in lessons. They were the same height for months, and months and I was getting antsy. But then one day my trainer kept knocking the jumps higher and higher and I found myself excited and nervous again. It was just what I needed to remind myself how exhilarating this sport is!
My horse's saddle was fitting incorrectly, so he was behaving badly under saddle and since I couldn't ride until I got a new saddle, I felt as if I couldn't spend time with my horse. I was wrong though, and started grooming for hours, and doing simple groundwork such as longing or practicing voice commands. I realized that riding isn't all about being in the saddle, it's about being with your horse.