Challenges for Horse People

Sometimes my life feels like the messes River makes

Feeling like a nobody

I’m a nobody in the horse world. Really. Honestly. I am practically a nobody even in my local horse community. I mean, sure, I am a riding instructor. Yes, my students love me. I am a fairly accomplished rider. But I rarely ride in clinics or shows, and my students don’t show. A lot of riders in my area have no idea who I am. I’m kind of a loner. Yes, that needs to change. But it’s hard. I don’t always feel comfortable or welcome around other riders and trainers. I often fear that people will laugh at the idea that I am a trainer.

We’ve all been there

So why am I telling you this? Because chances are, you’re a nobody too. Or at least you feel like it. And if you’re anything like me, you often feel like you’re not cut out to be somebody. You may think you’ll never be any good. You see, we’re all a lot more alike than we might realize. So I’m sharing my struggles in hopes that I can help others along the way. Because I have this feeling that many of us feel alone in our pain. We see others succeeding, and we think that something must be wrong with us. Other people always seem to have it together and we don’t see that they are actually more like us than we ever imagined.

Getting in our own way

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies. Perfectionism and self doubt creep in and sabotage our efforts to meet our goals. We succumb to our inner critic and give up on ourselves. It’s easy to lose motivation, but it’s really important to just keep going, to get on and ride even when we don’t feel like it. Usually once I ride, I am so glad that I made myself do it.

Roadblocks

A lot of things are standing in the way of my goals as a rider right now. Money is in short supply, this has been an extremely wet winter, my horse is covered in mud over an inch thick, and my first grandchild just arrived. Many of my relationships are strained right now, and all of this is competing for my attention. Needless to say, it’s been hard the last couple of months to find any motivation to ride or to work on my horse business.

Getting past it all

It’s time for me to start putting more time into doing the things I want to do, and the things that make me feel accomplished. I’ve been stagnant for too long. For awhile now I’ve been listening to some great inspirational and motivational podcasts, and I have recently realized that I don’t have to try to be somebody I’m not. I can be me here on my blog, in my riding, and in front of my students. My students love me for who I am, so why can’t I and why won’t my readers? Join me by following along as I tackle some of the hard questions in life with horses, the ones no one wants to address. I’m going to address them right here on this blog, starting with my own personal growth!