3 minutes reading time (668 words)
Horses on my back!!
Do you know the expression "having a monkey on your back"? It means you have an addiction. Well, I wish it was just a monkey on my back. Suffering from multiple horse syndrome, I have horses on my back. And they are bloody heavy!
Horses get a lot heavier on your back in the winter months... especially long tough winters like this one and last winter (well, maybe the one before that as well...). Plenty of lows and not a lot of highs to stay in addiction jargon. And I must say there are more and more times I wonder if I should kick this habit...
I read a post last week after a well-known equestrian took his own life wondering why horsey people are struggling with mental health so much. Personally, I need (we were talking about addiction right?) horses in my life, they keep me sane, they keep me grounded, they get me out of my bed and do something, they make me a little healthier and fitter, and they love me unconditionally. I know a lot of horsey people feel exactly the same
However they also have me on call 24-7, have me worried when ill, make me wonder how to solve the problems they present, let me slip and slide through the mud and snow and quite honestly they are starting to break my body. It is a catch 22: They keep me sane and drive me to despair.
However they also have me on call 24-7, have me worried when ill, make me wonder how to solve the problems they present, let me slip and slide through the mud and snow and quite honestly they are starting to break my body. It is a catch 22: They keep me sane and drive me to despair.
They are an expensive habit as well! The amounts of hay that are used are always massive this time of year. And usually, income as a self-employed equestrian is the opposite of hay-intake. Normally I would have some winter coaching and the riding SIMulator, but Covid has put a stop to that...
You might say that the multiple horse syndrome (yes, I am a hoarder...) has something to do with it. I had a chat with my sister, just have one she said... ONE???? What's that? I struggle with moderation (with everything: tea mostly 🤣) even on good days but I need my fix! (I find the fact horses are herd animals a great excuse to have more than one 🤣) And I truly am trying to cut down (if only to get some kind of money in to feed the rest of my monkeys, eh horses, as there is no income because of Covid at the moment). 4 are up for sale, as I can't decide I'll just see who (if any.. ) gets sold, but perhaps all 4 should go... it will help.
But hey! Here we go again, selling is not going too well because we have a tiny little pandemic going on for a while now and people are only allowed to do essential travel. Though I have noticed that "essential" is very broad in the interpretation for a lot of people at the moment and I seem to be one of the very few not allowing interested people to view (which means the interested people will probably get another horse from someone who interprets the rules a little more in their own favour). The second I would break the rules it will probable come and bite me in the arse because that's how my life goes (I must have been some awful bitch in a previous life because karma is always out to get me haha).
I have decided to stop breeding (endurance) horses and once the lockdown allows it some horses will find new homes because it is the only way I can keep this habit reasonably healthy for body and mind (my purse has no say but I'm sure that will be happier as well)
I know the highs will come again, and I will get my fix and get even more hooked when the foals come (oops, yes more...). The days will get dryer, the sun will warm the world up, the grass will start to grow, and I shall ride again.