Month: August 2017

Written by: Emma Knight

I go back to school in three weeks. THREE weeks.

Where has the summer gone?

As our thoughts go to difficult math equations and dry literature, remember that horses de-stress and relax us!

Here are a few ways to keep involved with our four-legged friends, whether you’re leaving your best friend at home while you move states, live an hour away, or live a few minutes away. This also applies to middle and high school students or college students living at home as schooling is distracting and stressful at any level, from any place.

1. Ride as Normal After School
   This is the most obvious option. If you are close to your own horse or still in middle/high school, this is probably the option for you. This also works if you are blessed with the funds and means to drive to a lease horse or lesson barn near you!
2. Start an Equestrian Team or Club
   This is what I did last year at my school a few states away. This club had less than 10 members, but it was a fun way to meet other equestrian people and motivate each other.
3. Join an Equestrian Team or Club
   If you are serious about riding as a career or part of a career, seriously consider going to a college that already has a club or team.
4. Ride Your Horse/Lease Horse on the Weekends
   This may seem simple, but it’s a good idea. If you’re a partier, ride in the early afternoon to give yourself plenty of time to recover from the night before and to give you time to get ready to have fun again in the evening! (If you’re not, like me, go whenever you want!)
5. Working Student
   If you are organized and able to handle multi-tasking, becoming a working student may be the job for you. In exchange for cleaning stalls, turnout, or feeding, you can ride for free! This will usually give you lessons (free or discounted) and a variety of horses. (Warning: this is not an easy choice!)
6. Volunteer
   Volunteering for therapeutic stables or rescues is a rewarding way to work with horses for free. Often these positions are non-riding, or you may have to work your way up to riding. Grooming and loving on these horses is very important!

Let me know what you do with horses during school!

 

Written by: Sarah Lewandowski

Balancing work, school, and a job in horseback riding is difficult at times. Sometimes you feel that you almost can’t juggle so many tasks at once. I’m here to tell you that it is possible, and I’ve been doing it for over 10 years.

One important thing about juggling so many different activities is that you need to know how to be organized as well how to prioritize your tasks. I work over 40 hours a week as well as riding horses 4 times a week. I also go to school which I study about 10 hours a week for, and I also have a social life.

What I found to be the best way to keep everything organized, as well as prioritized, is to have a planner. Usually on Sunday night I sit down for half an hour and write down what needs to be done the following week. If I have any major projects at work, I’ll write them down in one color; if I have a paper to write for school, I’ll write it in red pen; if I have any horseback riding lessons/riding just for fun, I will write it in a purple pen. When I do this, I can see what I have to do and how close activities are together, and then I can see if I need to change anything or if I need to move some activities around.

Dos and don’ts of organization:

• Do you make sure that you leave enough time for yourself – it’s really important to have time for yourself because you don’t want to feel overwhelmed.
• Don’t squeeze everything into one day. Make sure that you don’t overlap activities because you will need to finish one activity before you start another.
• Don’t I learned the hard way that there’s no point in procrastinating on projects or assignments that you need to get done. Try to get it done ahead of time!
• Do make sure that you still have fun!
• Do make a schedule to know what you have coming up that week, for appointments, or activities.
• Do make sure that you dedicate one place to keep your things. You don’t want to be running around in the morning before school looking for your book. When you keep all your things in one place it will make life easier.