Get Off Your Computer & Go Ride Your Horse

Or lunge your horse, or do work in hand, or groom your horse for an hour, or just go roll around in a (less-manure-covered) grass pasture.

There are many wonderful things that the internet provides for equestrians and horse lovers. A non-stop stream of information, both helpful and hurtful. Sometimes we need a break from it all – even the good stuff coming at us from every direction – so we can sort it all out in our brain and assemble it into something useful.

And the not-so-helpful information we're bombarded with… we can benefit from setting that aside for a while too.

But I might miss something important!

No, you won't.

Really, the most important thing you're missing right now is not being with your horse 1-on-1. Stop reading this article, put on some barn-appropriate-attire and say, “screw it” to whatever you had planned to do on the computer (those 6 hours of repetitiously refreshing your Facebook newsfeed for example..). The emails you were going to grudgingly respond to can wait until the morning. That series you were going to watch on Netflix can't compete with the horsehair you'll be covered in for the rest of the night.

But in all seriousness – your horse needs you, and you need your horse to be healthy, happy and productive in the long run. The internet doesn't need you, and it can be a huge drain on your energy over time.

But it's too [insert lame excuse here]…

No, it's not.

But it is procrastination, and probably a good amount of denial. First, go work with your horse. Second, come back here and read “How to Stop Procrastinating“. It's a worthwhile read that I've found very useful over the years.

But I'm involved in this group and…

They can wait.

I know it's easy to think the world won't go on spinning if we aren't there to watch it happen, but it will. It's been doing it for thousands of years and will continue on after we've passed on. What won't be there is our horse if we fail to show up. Our horse needs us to be present if we want our relationship with him to remain consistent or improve.

Besides, what would happen if that group suddenly didn't exist? Is the group making important, real world, actions to improve the world around us? Or is it a sounding board? Save your wrists the carpal tunnel from typing and go sound off in the barn – your horse won't mind listening to everything you have to say; just be polite about how you say it.

And that's why it's been so quiet around the blog. I've been disconnecting from the online horse-community to re-prioritize and create some much-needed space.

I encourage you to do the same in whatever dose feels appropriate for you.

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