7 Things Owning A Horse Taught Me - Guest Blog

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This is a guest blog by one of my students Mackenzie.

An amazing article on how a young rider adapts and learns from owning her first horse!

“I bought my first horse when I was 19 and nowhere near ready. I had been working in a barn when I fell in love with an OTTB named Tink. He was about to be sold to someone else, so to stop him from leaving I offered to buy him myself.

I can’t say that at the time I was the right rider for him, as I lacked the experience necessary for a young thoroughbred. But with the promise to help me get to the place I needed to be for Tink, my coach agreed to sell him to me.

I’m not going to pretend it’s been a walk in the park ever since, we’ve had many ups and downs, but I have learned so much about horses, and riding, and even more about life.

Patience. Nothing with horses ever comes easy, and it definitely never comes fast. Results and changes do not happen overnight. Having a horse has taught me a level of patience I never knew existed before. However, as patient as I think I am with him, he has always been a million times more patient with me.

Responsibility. Taking care of a horse, and being responsible for a living animal as high maintenance as these ones, is not an easy task. His wants and needs always come before my own. Having an animal that relies on you day in and day out, even when you’re sick or tired, is a great responsibility. But it also gives your life a great purpose, a great reason to get out of bed even on the days you don’t want to, and a great thing to look forward to every single morning.

Time Management. Owning a horse is time consuming. There are days where I feel like it’s impossible to get everything done that I need to, while still making time to clean up after, groom, and work my horse. But the truth of the matter is that I do. I make time, mostly because I have no choice. These are things that must be done when you are a horse owner, and this in turn will force you to better manage your time in all aspects of your life.

Listen. Horses can’t speak to us, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t try to. Your horse will force you to listen in ways you’ve never even thought of. You will learn to pick up on their body language and their energy like it’s second nature. And this, learning the importance of listening even when no words are being said, will serve you with people too.

Value of Hard Work. It’s no secret that if you want to be good at something, you have to work hard for it. Horse riding is no different, and neither is simply owning one. I have put countless hours of blood, sweat, and even some tears into my riding, but also into just owning a horse. Barn work is not easy work, and riding is not an effortless sport, but they have shown me time and time again how good it feels when your hard work pays off. After experiencing this, there is no work and no challenge that will ever seem to hard for you. You will learn to let the hard work drive you.

Always Get Back On. There is no bad day that a ride can’t fix. Having a horse has given me a reliable escape from all things life whenever I need it. There are times when I’ll be in the worst possible mood, and not even realize that a ride was exactly what I needed until after I’ve gone for one. However, there are also many times a ride won’t go as planned, and I might even end up in the dirt, but it’s okay. I get back on, and we try again. The same is true in life. When things don’t go as planned, and they aren’t working out, and you end up in the dirt once or maybe a hundred times, you get up, brush yourself off, and get back on the horse we call life.

Love. Above all else, my horse has taught me how to love and how to be loved unconditionally. They forgive us every time we make a mistake, they love us despite who we are and what we’ve done, and they have put 100% of their faith and trust in us. And we’ve done the same with them. Having a horse means having a forever best friend. These are lifetime bonds we are creating with the most amazing animals. And as much as we know we do for them, they will always do more for us.

Owning a horse may never be easy, but there is not a day that goes by where it isn’t so incredibly worth it.”