Why do you ride?

only_me

only_me

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So why do YOU ride?

I ride because I love it - the adrenaline rush, the independance, the friendship between horse and rider. I do it because I love the outdoors and working with animals. The trials that come with it make the good days seem even more magical :D
So, tell me why you do it?
 
Because it keeps me sane!
The bond between horse and rider is about the best you can get :) makes me happy keeps me level headed and gives me the physical and mental exercise I need on a daily basis!
I couldn't be without it - not only that but the groundwork too :) grooming is such a special thing for them to allow us to do! :)
K x
 
Because I've always done it (since before I could walk) and it's a fairly definitive part of my whole personality! If I stopped it would be like part of what makes me me had been removed!
 
Blissful peace, its my time after a busy day at work and noisy electric guitars at home. I simply love them, horses not guitars that is
 
Also keeps me sane (ish lol)
The people you meet along the way, the experiences...
Love to jump and compete and the happyness that comes with winning and the contentment i feel when i ride :)
 
Because overcoming the early difficulties with my horse made me realise I was a better person than I thought I was, he gives me some confidence and a little bit of belief in myself. He also makes me laugh out loud most days. A friend who saw me with him said she's never seen me smile so much as when I'm with him.

When I'm riding him I love being out in the fresh air, kills 99% of all known germs and is a tonic if you're feeling rubbish, we get close to wildlife and enjoy the countryside, riding is a great de-stressor and makes a bad day at work evaporate. The riding and the mucking out also keeps me vaguely trim.
 
I sometimes wonder why I ride. It costs me a fortune, makes my bad back even worse and I have to get up early every morning, have *****e under my fingernails and in my knuckles permanently and my hair always stinks.....when the two horses I currently have are gone, I will have NO MORE HORSES - EVER!
 
Because it's a compulsion I cannot ignore.

I didn't start riding until I was nearly 12 but nagged for years to have lessons. Once I did, that was it, hooked! I am sure horsey-ness is a form of illness that takes over a person. I've been very fortunate and worked for a scurry driver who taught me to drive and have competed the biggest shows in the country on the back, an experience I wouldn't swop for anything. Horses have infiltrated my life in a way that non-horsey people just can't fathom and if I ever cannot ride, I will drive and if I am too frail to do so, I will stand in the field and watch horses graze until the day I die, that I am sure of.
 
because i can. sounds stupid but having 2 horses before this that i couldnt do anything with - its nice just to be able to potter round on her knowing shes not going to try kill me.

supposed to be my dressage horse... now turning into *potter round the field for 15 mins and thats enough*.... but im happy and so is she :) (coming from a girl who hates hacking...)! lmao
 
There are things I need to do - go to work, go to uni, and things I want to do - go out with friends. But riding and horseying about is the only thing I have a genuine compulsion to do, and whatever else I'm doing my mind always wanders back to it and it's always in a positive way. There's no nagging, there's no word counting, there's no tiptoeing round. It keeps me sane and I could never ever give it up.
 
Peace and quiet, kindred spirits - we are both misunderstood hormonal mares with demanding kids :D

Coz I have been riding so long I have bowed legs and they gotta be good at something hahahaha
 
Freedom, escapism, adrenalin rush, being with nature, having a non-verbal relationship, learning, the honesty you get from your horse which you could never get from a human.
It is a lifestyle choice though, not something you can play around at.

I think it is very similar to the kind of obsession surfers get. That is probably why I am marrying a surfer! - we understand each other.
 
Because I need to. I went for close to 10 years without a horse before I bought my present one and toward the end of it, I was going crazy. As soon as I got her, life felt right again. Something had been missing and it threw everything else off.

My favorite part of every day is when I sit down in a chair outside my stall after our ride or whatever work we've done. It's afternoon, the horses are munching their hay, Bella is rattling her bucket while she eats her grain, I'm comfortable with a book and a bottle of water (or a cup of tea in winter).

The air smells like horse, I smell like horse, I can hear tails swishing and hooves stomping and snorts and occasional squeals and a far-off whinny or two. It's perfect, and all the stresses of my life just roll off me.
 
Because I couldn't imagine what else to do if I didn't - it's hard enough being at uni and only being able to ride at holidays and when I'm home for weekends. Oh and being outside in the fresh air, the excitement, the happiness when it's all going well, my feelings for the horses, the feelings of achievement when you know all your hard work has paid off, the social side/spending time with my friends and family somewhere else than just the usual being at home...oh I could go on and on! Couldn't do without it! :D
 
Because it has been a part of my life for so long that I would not be complete without it.
It is a great escape, it's relaxing, gives you independance, it's something of you 'own', it lets you be competetive (which I am pretty competetive), i love seeing progress you and your horse has made, I love the bond between you and your horse, I love how each horse has a different personality and different quirks.
 
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