Motivation to ride...

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LittleLady2

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Recently I've lacked the motivation to go riding. My horse is quite young so there's no such thing as a relaxing ride out. I much prefer to go up, brush him, fuss him etc. Once I tack up and get on its fine, and I always thing why am I so unmotivated to do this. I would take a break but I have my father on my back nagging me to ride and that my horse needs to be ridden. What do you do to motivate yourself to ride when your in a slump?
 
sometimes i do have trouble getting motivated and on those days i'll lunge. I have a young horse too, 4, who needs to be ridden or worked daily at the moment, and i know if i slope off home after a quick cuddle and stable chores i feel guilty for the rest of the day that i allowed myself to be lazy. I try and make sure i ride in the mornings before work. Get it out of the way and into get a routine.

Minimilton's idea of having a goal is a great one.
 
minimilton said:
I always have to have a goal to aim towards. If I don't have a competition coming up or good lesson looming I get lazy
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This. Having a goal is a great motivator, even if it's not a comp and with the days getting shorter find a schooling goal that'll be fun for both of you like a bit of pole/lateral work or just a fun 20min hack with a bit of fast work etc.
 
I used to lack motivation in the winter. I don't get to the stables until 7pm and the prospect of going out in the cold and dark to school was a bit too much to take! I used to find schooling really hard and never really enjoyed it. However, since last year I've been having lessons with a new instructor (who teaches classical) and since then I've not looked back! Each lesson I'm given something new to work on and so my motivation comes from trying to nail it before the next lesson. And I also enter dressage anywhere competitions so have that as motivation as well.

As others have suggested, maybe set yourself small goals you want to achieve with schooling or a long term goal to work towards.
 
I always remind myself of my bank balance, and how much expense it is to finance my horse. That usually spurs me on to ride!! ;-)
 
I do think setting myself a little goal is a good idea, maybe try to get out around 2 - 3 times a week. I took him out for a 20 minute hack out and had a nightmare of a hack. Rather than put me off its kind of spurred me on to try even harder.
 
I have three horses, who all unfortunately happen to be lame or otherwise off at the moment: I have all the motivation but none of the opportunity - consider yourself lucky to be able to ride and get on out there!
 
Cortez said:
I have three horses, who all unfortunately happen to be lame or otherwise off at the moment: I have all the motivation but none of the opportunity - consider yourself lucky to be able to ride and get on out there!
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Absolutely. I can lack motivation at times, but having just endured 5 months of grueling chemotherapy I have realised I need to enjoy every moment spent with my horses. I rode on my better days throughout the treatment. It was hard at times but well worth the effort.

We are all fortunate to be able to share our lives with such beautiful creatures.
 
Do you have anyone you can hack with? I find if I've arranged to ride with a friend then I am more motivated as I won't let them down at the last minute and the horses enjoy a friend along too.
 
I agree, you need a goal :) Some lessons maybe, to give you something to work on? Perhaps aim for a local show?
 
I lost motivation with my previous horse as he was unrewarding to work with - he and I were not a good personality match and he just frustrated me! My goal was to work him to the point where he was responsive and reliable then I sold him in favour of a more willing partner, it was a hard slog ad I had to learn a lot of different approaches to connect with him. My current horse is a much more willing partner so I enjoy riding her much more. I do still have periods of lack of motivation and its usually when I try to find something new to do - its simply because we are bored, reached the limit of what I know and don't know what else to do to keep things interesting. This year we've boxed out to some new rides and attended a clinic to keep it fresh. I guess I'm trying to say there are different reasons for losing motivation - figure out what your reasons are and what you can do to change that - there's your goal :)
 
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