A Letter To Horse Crazy Grown Up's

I know you are out there. I see you at the farm with your kids. I see you at community events standing in line with your child to take a pony ride. You are glued to the television on Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont days. You pull the car over if you see a mare and foal turned out in a field next to the road. You could watch them for hours.

Maybe you are like me, a horse crazy kid turned horse crazy grown up. Maybe you have always loved horses, but only from afar. Maybe you have never had the opportunity to take riding lessons. Maybe you rode as a kid and then let it go when it was time for college and families. There are so many scenarios you could see yourself in.

Horse crazy starts in many different places and goes in many different directions. What I want you adults to know is this, it is never too late to get to know horses.

There are many different ways you can get to know them. You can take riding lessons, you can volunteer at a horse farm or horse rescue. You can join a local horse and pony organization.

I don't think that the issue the horse crazy adults have is that they don't know how to get involved with horses. I think it is that they just need a little encouragement. They think of barns being only filled with little girls. They think that if you didn't grow up riding, it isn't something that you can learn to do as an adult.

There are many preconceived notions about the horse world. I'm writing this letter to all the horse crazy grown up's out there to tell them that it is never too late to get involved with horses.

Barns offer private lessons for adults or group lessons with other adults. You won't have to learn alongside a bunch of kids unless you want to. Maybe you have a son or daughter who wants to ride and you want to learn to ride with them. Many farms offer lessons to accommodate that.

Maybe you are a horse crazy grown up that isn't sure exactly how you want to get involved. Maybe you don't think you want to ride. Whether it be for a physical reason or just the simple fact that even though you are fascinated by them, their size is intimidating.

Contact a friend that has a horse, contact a local lesson barn. The time around horses can be therapeutic and relaxing. It can be an escape from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 job life.

Horses teach us a lot about ourselves, they reflect our emotions back on to us. They mirror our behavior. Working with horses requires self-control, leadership, and awareness of yourself and your environment. All of the skills we use around horses can help us be better people and be more successful in our everyday life.

We all deserve to have time to ourselves. Whether you are still working, or retired and spend your time volunteering and helping others. You deserve to do something for yourself.

As far as my experience goes, if you chose horses as your self-indulgence, you couldn't possibly make a better choice. It gets you outdoors, it gets you moving around, learning new skills and making new friends.

It is never too late to get involved with horses. Learn to groom a horse and see how relaxing it is. See how being in the presence of horses is humbling and calming. To think that you can control something so much bigger than yourself is empowering. Accepting that they are prey animals and their instincts are different than ours is enlightening.

Horses will teach you to let go of what happened yesterday, they live in the moment and expect us to as well. Horses always are surprising us. They teach us to roll with the punches and to take responsibility for our mistakes. Just like Robert Redford said in the movie "the horse whisperer", he doesn't help people with horse problems, he helps horses with people problems. We have to let go and learn to communicate with them in their language. To show leadership and respect is the best way to get results.

It is true, if you started to be around horses and ride at a younger age, you might not be as fearful. It wouldn't have seemed so far to fall. It might not have taken such a big push out of your comfort zone to do something for yourself. That does not mean that you can't do it though! It might be a little harder, you might have to be a little braver. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and get involved with horses. You will be glad you did.

Think of that horse crazy kid you were and how badly you wanted to be around horses. You would have done anything for the chance to be near horses. Now you finally have the chance, you should take it.

Let this blog post be the push you needed, that little bit of bravery to look into horse farms and opportunities for you in your area. Horses are not just for little kids.

The benefits of horses for adults are just as great as they are for children, if not greater. There are things we appreciate about them as adults, that we don't when we are children. A whole different set of lessons to be learned.

It is almost a new year. Make 2019 the year that you do what you have always wanted. Take lessons, learn to groom and care for horses. Learn how they communicate with each other and how we communicate with them.

You don't have to have expensive riding gear or anything like that. Find the right barn to introduce you to horses and they will give you a basic list of what you might need. I think you will be surprised at how reasonable the cost is. Also, how little special equipment most farms require for new riders.

I meet people all the time who tell me how lucky I'm to get to be around horses and own horses. I'm lucky, I'm more than lucky. I'm blessed to get to live the horse life. I just want to encourage you and tell you that you can get involved too. Horses aren't just for rich people, or little girls. Horses have lessons to teach us on many different levels. No matter how old we happen to be when we get started.

There is nothing wrong with being a horse crazy kid turned horse crazy grown up! I'm one and I'm proud of it! There are lots of people like me out there who are more than happy to help you live your dreams of getting to spend time with horses. Make this the year that you decide to finally do it!