I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had a break from horses or had a change of heart; anything like it.
Born in a horse family, I’ve always had my “own” horses (sharing with family). It was a hard decision but after my dad passed away and we were suddenly without income and being evicted, I moved out of the parental house and started renting. The horses, 9 of them at the time, had to be sold. I kept one for some years, but as a full-time student, cat mother of 4 and having a accident-related disability I couldn’t afford and give her the care she needed when she got older. She has amazing new owners now and I still see her whenever I can.
Last year I moved closer to my surviving family. They breed horses. My mom gave me the green light to come and do as I please with them, and I was super hesitant first. We ended up doing a driving course together (that was new, and I love it!) and I started taking equine photography more seriously.
It’s now been a year and I’m mainly working with their yearling filly and handling the foster filly we have currently to make her human-proof before she’s weaned. And honestly? I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun with horses in my life!
I love riding. It’s always been about riding. I’ve competed, I’ve tried many different disciplines, gone on many trail rides and so forth. I do miss riding.
But I think I found my new “passion”. Working with youngsters. I don’t think there’s anything as fun out there as training them from the ground up. Starting with getting their trust and attention, the basics like being haltered and walking on a lead. Teaching them how to stand tied, lift their feet up. Simple stuff.
With the yearling I’ve started liberty work. She was very bored and she’s human-focused. I thought she might enjoy having a “job” to do. She fricking loves it! She picks everything up super quickly and I can tell, as do our fellow boarders, that she’s mentally and physically as balanced as a yearling gets. We do working equitation in-hand occasionally and often play around liberty-style in the pasture. She’s well-mannered and getting used to strange, scary things in a safe and relaxed way.
What I found is that a) I like groundwork perhaps more than I ever expected, and b) young horses are an extreme mirror of you.
Every horse mirrors, but I feel like youngsters are much, much more clear in that. Any change in me is seen immediately in them. They’re a blank canvas, they don’t have all that life experience just yet, they’re reactive.
This might be the most fun I’ve had AND to top it off I’m learning faster than I have in the past. Every day I feel like I learn something new about horses and how to work with them. It’s also helped me do better work with the older mare, their dam.
Last week I got on horseback for the first time in a few years and despite thinking I must be rusty I think even my riding has gotten better without practice. I might start working on a project pony for someone soon and it has breathed new life into this old, worn twenty-somethinger body lol.
What about you all? Did you ever have a big shift in your horse life? A career change? Or did you find your true “passion” years later? What was it like? I’m all here for these stories!!
