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How would you categorize your life with horses? As an action-packed adventure, a sad movie, or a drama series with endless episodes? Most who own or share a horse will recognize that having a horse is not always a bed of roses. With horse life comes a long list of worries about things that happen, might happen, or may never happen.
Buying a horse is to buy into worries. Many horse owners would agree. We can spend countless hours with strained faces, sleepless nights, and stomach aches. Either because our horse gets hurt, because we are afraid of getting hurt ourselves, because we are nervous about a particular situation, or just unsure how our four-legged friend is doing.
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Even though it might not be something we talk loudly about, those of us with children at home are often more worried about our horse than our children. Maybe because we don't live with our horse, so we can't keep an eye on it all the time. Or simply because our horse can't tell us how it's feeling.
As horse owners, we spend a lot of time on our dearest possession, even when we're not in the stable. Having a horse is not just a hobby, but more of a lifestyle. Many of us see our horse as our friend, one we want to take care of.
One of the worst things that can happen is if our horse becomes ill or injured. Many of us can lie awake at night worrying about what we can do, how long the horse will be sick, when we can do something with it again, and whether it's in pain or sad.
What's worse in this situation is that we often are powerless and have limited ability to help the horse ourselves. This helplessness can often exacerbate worries and can drive even the most seasoned horse owner to madness.
A sad expression, changed behavior, reluctance. It doesn't take much before the red lights start flashing. What's wrong and what can you do? Is the horse not happy with its pasture mates, the pasture, the box, the equipment, or the training? Many possible theories can pop up in our heads when we observe the horse in its daily life.
You probably know it. You put a blanket on the horse the day before and went to work. During the day, the weather changes, and you check the weather forecast several times to follow the temperatures. If you're lucky, you can get someone in the stable to change the blanket. Otherwise, you just sit on pins and needles and try to ignore that your horse is either melting or standing and chattering its teeth. When you're off work, you rush to the stable to make your horse comfortable.
Having responsibility for a horse is a huge responsibility. Do you know enough, are you doing well enough, and are you doing enough? Does the horse like you, and are you training it in a way that is optimal for its psyche and physique? What if you're not skilled enough?
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Worries about one's own abilities are also part of everyday life with horses. And the glossy images on social media often don't help to boost one's self-confidence. There's a lot to live up to, and it's easy to become worried and lose courage.
Fortunately, life with horses is filled with great emotions, fantastic experiences, and magical moments. That's what makes us faithfully go to the stable, fetch the horse from the muddy pasture, care for its wounds, and spend a lot of money on boarding, vet, farrier, dentist, training, competitions, and equipment.
But we can't avoid the worries. They are simply a part of having a horse. Perhaps we should indeed have an association where we can share our worries. Or maybe it already exists? In the stable, in Facebook groups, and among horse friends.
