A pandemic and riding – to be or not to be!

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Like me, you have probably seen lots of controversy over the whole ‘do we or don’t we ride’ during the current pandemic and a country in lockdown. I like many others have also had to consider this question in relation to the strain on the health service.

I can conclude though that yes I have continued to ride but should this had occurred a few years ago, then there’s no way I would have gotten on board my faithful steed. However, I can now confidently say that I do trust my horse! I understand that things can happen unexpectedly and horses can be unpredictable. Therefore, I have considered my actions and we have been sensible in our riding.

Field cuddles

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2019 reflections and looking forward to 2020

Anyone who knows me will know, I don’t really like New Year, I just don’t get it! However, I couldn’t not reflect on the past year and how much progress me and Fred have made. Now don’t get me wrong it has not been without its ups and downs and the beginning of 2019 started out badly with a bit of a confidence knock after a hard fall in the school. We went back to groundwork and continued to hack as this was still fine, most of the time and only with company. If I tried to hack alone he would try to return to the yard which was frustrating and put me off trying.

Then in April we moved yards and everything fell into place, he settled well and once again was the horse I knew before moving to the previous yard, it is strange how they react at some places. We started to hack out alone and he has grown in

Confidence after babies

During June I ran a couple of polls on social media to find out about the confidence of riding after having children and becoming a mother. As parents, we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do our best and try to be a model parent and this also extends to activities outside of parenting. This can lead us to doubt ourselves and our ability to be as good as we once were and this can affect one’s confidence.

So let’s review the top reasons given, as to why we struggle with confidence after having children:

1. Fear of being hurt – I can relate to this, being older now I certainly don’t bounce like I use to.

2. Not being as good – Again it’s that pressure to be perfect and not fail or be seen to fail.

3. Guilt – This I think is a big one for most and we get this from all angles, from feeding choices to going back to work. However, it’s important that mums have some time for our emotional health.

One reason though that I expected to get more votes, was pain following childbirth, this got minimal votes but goes to show how great women are and how resilient we are after such a painful ordeal. However, becoming a mother can change