“Satisfied. Accomplished. Delighted. Pleased. Gratified. These are all synonyms for fulfilled. So is concluded, attained, dispatched, finished, reached. But when I think about myself and my horses and this word, I think of the former set of synonyms. My horses bring me more emotional fulfillment than most other things in my life. My job fulfills me and so does my relationship. But before I had those, I had horses. Well a horse. But life was never better than time I got to spend with him and bonding with him. “
WinterDanceThoroughbreds Instagram
This blog post has been on the back burner for a bit. Just sitting in drafts waiting for the right time to come into fruition. My original aim was to expand more on all the wonderful things in life that bring me fulfillment. My horses, my partner, my job. But I have decided to expand more about how I find fulfillment in my horses, even when things don’t necessarily fall right into place the way you want them too.
I recently posted about mourning plans and goals you were not able to meet; and this week we have run a bit into the ground with Bacardi because of some body stuff with him. We as equestrians get SO goal oriented sometimes that I feel like we forget these are living breathing souls, not machines. They are not here for us just to go to the barn, tack up, ride and go home. There are going to be days when its not perfect. There are gonna be BAD rides, and there are going to be days you get to the barn and even the IDEA of tacking your horse up seems impossible. But in those days you can still be fulfilled by your equine partner.
In the last week or so, Bacardi has come up super tight. Like his back feels like a rock. And after spending some time panicking and blaming myself, I decided to just spend some time with him and let him tell me what was bothering him and just enjoy our time together. In that time I sacrificed ride time, but that didn’t make me any less fulfilled.
Since stepping Ruffi back, I have only been in her saddle once. When we got home from Las Vegas, we went on a family trail ride. Just because my goals have stepped back doesn’t make out time together less fulfilling.
What I am trying to get at with my rambling is that just because maybe you aren’t riding or working toward a goal, it doesn’t make your bond with your equine any less fulfilling.
So I challenge you next time you are at the barn, put your agenda on the back burner and just take time to remember why we do this. Why we enjoy our horses. What really makes us fulfilled.
Once again, thank you to Anna at Horsewrite for all her inspiration and make sure you check out her products.
happy riding and reading
A+P+B+R