If you plan on having horses again some day I wouldn’t sell the trailer either. You don’t sound like you have much time for hobbies. Any therapeutic riding programs local you can help out at when you have time?
It’s already sold. It’s paying for my desperately needed kitchen remodel. Besides, having it sit there for 2 or 3 years with no cover (despite being aluminum skin), wouldn’t really have helped it hold its value. I can always buy another one when we are ready for horse ownership again.
Yeah I really DON’T have time for a lot of extra hobbies. However, I am one of those people who likes to keep myself, my hands, and my mind busy. From the moment my eyes open to the moment my eyes close I’m moving and doing something. It’s a curse, I think :lol:
Just to play Devil’s Advocate, you could consider just stepping away from horses, other than trail riding with your friends on their extra horses, altogether. I just offer this because it is hard to do something that you used to be really into, but now are doing only alittle. Sometimes it’s better to just go cold turkey and do something else, instead of hanging on to the old thing by your fingernails. The fact is that sometimes, you can’t do it all. (You can certainly have it all, in this life, just not all at the same time.) Then, when your life is less busy, come back to horses and dive right in, refreshed from having taken the break.
I, myself, accomplished this after the death of my previous horse. Yes. I believe I lasted 22 hours before starting the search for the new one. But life would have be much simpler had I not succumbed. 
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Thank you for this.
Ok, I’m exhausted reading the OP’s post. Do you have to work at the morgan farm to achieve those goals or is that to stay in the horse game? Unless you can ride and work at the morgan farm, and you don’t need the income from it, I’d take that time into riding lessons. 1 x a week is doable. I did it for years, then moved to 2 times a week - whoo hoo, and then to part leasing. Once you decide to get back into it, maybe think about boarding vs keeping them at home.
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When I was on a horse break, of sorts, I found knitting to be a great hobby. Affordable, productive, creative, portable, and easy to pick up and put down!
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Something totally different: how about singing in a choir. It is sociable, engrossing, keeps you surprisingly fit and isn’t expensive.
LOL sounds like you’re still “in the game” with a weekly lesson, 2nd job with horses, and options to trail ride with friends. I’m not sure I would worry about backsliding or losing touch.
Your kids are young so you will have lots to keep you busy. Horses will always be there when/if you are ready for them.
Be prepared that you might find you love other things as much or more…I still have horses (at home) but I never ride anymore because I have another sport that conflicts with my time/energy and interest. It’s ok. My horses don’t really mind just hanging out and not working.
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While once a week lessons is enough to keep you in the game. Crosstraining will help as well. Especially if you aren’t a spring chicken anymore. I have found as I got older that maintaining took more and more work.
As for hobbies. I know you already shot down gardening but I took up raising micro-miniature African violets and sinningias when I last took a break from horses. They are really hard to kill. Set up a wick watering system and you don’t even have to mess with trying to maintain the proper level of wet without getting the soil too wet, just top off the reservoir every so often. I have a black thumb and I swear I can’t kill these guys, I killed almost all the other plants I tried, including succulents, but not these little guys.
I even snapped the top off the plants and plucked the tubers out of the soil. Wrapped those tubers in damp paper towels and transported them halfway across the world in a small tupperware container before replanting them a month later. It’s been 2 months since I did that and 3 of them have already regrown and are blooming again, the others are showing signs of reviving as well. The best part? The fully grown plant is less than 2 inches tall, so they take up very little room and look adorable. You can even get into hybridizing them them.
You will actually be surprised on how fast a year goes by. I did the same thing last year and because work has been so busy, time flew by pretty darn quickly that it feels like yesterday when I took my last ride.
I picked up photography as a new hobby. Its required so much time just learning, watching youtube videos, editing photos to practice, etc… that hours fly by for me. I’ve been consumed with it and really enjoy it. I still get to be around horses when I take photos of them so it has helped with the horse bug.
I originally said I would take a year off but I decided I am going to take 1 more year before I jump back in to horse ownership. It took a few years to finally be okay with this idea and I wish I had done this much sooner. But, since I was okay with the idea of not riding for a year, I don’t feel any envy when I see the photos my friends are posting of their horses.
The big thing I’ve enjoyed is how much sleep I am finally getting! I am living a bit of a slower, calmer paced life and it has been quite nice to not rush around all day long.
Take a cooking class. Or baking, for a start if you prefer. Seriously such a useful thing to be able to cook to your own tastes and adjust your diet as you like.
I was just going to suggest knitting!
I also second (third?) dog sports. And hiking!!!
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Absolutely! I also got a sport dog! A Belgian Malinois. She has changed my feelings about using the word hot to describe an animal. Lol. There are no hot horses in comparison to her crazy ass. Maybe don’t get a Malinois OP…
Knitting is good for not being a commitment like a dog or a horse. Hiking would be healthier though. I should try that myself!
