We are all probably guilty of it. We say, “I’m going to the barn; I’ll just be an hour,” and friends, family, and non-horsey people look at us like we are mad. They know it’s never just for an hour. But people who do not spend time with horses do not understand what time with horses is actually like. They do not understand that it is a wondrous, magical time, where time stands still, clocks don’t work, and our outside life does not matter. We are simply living in the present moment with horses, and we love it.
1) The Goals Vs Reality
We all go up with our goals, a list of everything we intend to do; it could be just to do basic chores, maybe the farrier is arriving, but it never goes according to plan. You weren’t planning on riding, but then a couple of friends turn up and are going for a hack and ask you to go; before you know it, that hack has turned into two hours.
You go down to the field to bring your horse in. Your horse always stands so nicely for you, but not today. You arrive to find the horses running around, playing, and having quite the party, and you have to wait until they have tired themselves out. Or they could just decide, “nope, not today,” and you’re walking back to the yard to grab a small handful of grain in the hope it will allow your horse to be caught and you don’t get completely mobbed by horses while they all try to get to the bowl. The reality is life always throws challenges at us, and we know that no matter how much we try to plan our time, life never goes according to plan.
2) We Make Excuses To Visit
The stables are our happy place, so who can blame us if we want to make excuses to go?
- I just need to the check the horses are ok
- I forgot to give them a kiss
- I need to check their water…again
- I have an excess amount of carrots and apples, the horses need them more
- I miss the horses
- They are my children I need to check on them
- They might just need some help at the stables
- I just want to see them
- The horses miss me
- The horses need their blankets changed
We don’t visit the stables because we are worried about our horses, we just simply love spending time with horses, it is our world, our happy place, where we don’t even think about the outside world and we just like to make excuses no matter if we own a horse or help out at a stables, we just want to be with horses.
3) Minutes Turn Into Hours Before You Know It
They say time goes quickly when you’re having fun, so is it any wonder why the time just flies by? But those unexpected surprises mean your day takes longer. What starts as a simple day leads to a messy stable, a blanket that needs fixing, and a chaotic tack room, and before you know it, you’ve spent an extra hour or so doing unplanned chores and you haven’t even ridden yet. You arrive to find your horse has had a good roll and is incredibly muddy. What was meant to be a simple grooming session has turned into a major overhaul, or you arrive to find the horses playing in the field and you decide to watch; you stand there blissfully watching and time just runs away.
4) The Friendly Horse
You notice a horse who is so friendly that you start petting them, and before you know it you are giving them treats, you’ve found the right spot and are giving scratches, and a quick hello has turned into “I don’t want to say goodbye or leave.”
5) You simply don’t want to leave
This happens all the time, you have everything done that you wanted to do and we still do not want to leave, so we look for excuses to say
- Talking with friends
- Offer to take videos and photos for friends while they are riding
- You go round and say hello to every horse
- You offer to help other people
- You decide to hand graze horses to extend your time together
- They miss me, I’m just going to sit quietly with them for a while
- We find jobs, because there is always something to do.
Summary
The stables are our happy place; they are heaven on earth. We get to escape our everyday life and all its stresses, and we get to switch off. But it’s not just the horses we go to see; it’s the people and the community we build. We get to talk to friends who are just as horse-crazy—and who can blame us for wanting to lose ourselves in the magical world of horses, horse smell, and horse friends? We simply do not want the day to end. There is no other explanation other than that we just love being there.
