I remember as a teenager
I had so much more time
I didn’t have a smart phone
And nor did I drink wine!
I went to school and home again
Always past the stables
Carefree times of years gone by
Almost seem like fables
My first horse was off the track
He’d had a little time to learn
He cost me two thousand dollars
It took me quite a while to earn.
When I first got this thoroughbred
I thought I was the best
But it didn’t take me long to realise
I didn’t know the rest!
I had learnt a lot at riding school
But more so from my friends
I’d begged and borrowed and stolen a ride
Driven my mum around the bend!
Although I thought I knew a lot
I still asked a lot of questions
I listened too with answers given
And kept up having lessons.
But what I had then I don’t have now
That’s endless time to spare
My whole day rides of years gone by
Now just an hour here or there.
We didn’t spend our rides checking in
To see if we’d gotten a text
We kept our minds on the job at hand
And didn’t worry what was next.
I look wistfully at Ocean’s yard
And wish I had more time
To ride the horse I truly love
The one that I call mine
I know that I am not alone
In finding time to ride
We all have busy jobs to do
And things that fill our lives.
Our horses sit around a lot
They’re often quite well fed
So when we ride them once a week
It’s no wonder they’re off their head!
We rush to the horses after work
Before we lose the light
And once we’ve done the urgent jobs
It’s really late at night.
We think we’ll ride another day
But even then we’re just as busy
So we skip the quality time
And send them in circles til they’re dizzy
We’re always going rush rush rush
And don’t take the moments in
The horse picks up our busy vibe
And so it begins to spin…
The frustration from the office
We haven’t left behind
Our horse is probably the only one
Who can tell what’s on our mind.
For horses cannot lie, you see
Or pretend that they’re ok
They can only deal with what they feel
It’s us who gets in their way!
We need to ride with clearer minds
To leave our thoughts at entrance gate
Be mentally present with our horses
To hell with if we’re late!
Don’t think about what’s for dinner
Or if you missed that call
If the office bitch has emailed you
Or that person who made you feel small.
Allow more time to enjoy your horse
Take the time to get to know
Enjoy the peace that each one brings
Forget about winning that show.
I’ve never really liked the phrase
“I have to work my horse”
It really implies no one’s having fun
And it’s all done as a matter of course.
So perhaps it’s time to change our thoughts
To build a stronger bond
But this doesn’t happen overnight
I don’t have a magic wand!
And while I can definitely fast track
The training of your horse
The true relationship building
Is up to you of course!
We get out of them what we put in
Although they often give us more
It’s time for us to improve ourselves
To leave our worries at the door.
If finding hours within the day
Seems impossible to you
It might be time to shove your phone
Or drop it in the loo!
Give quality time to your horses
Like we did in days way back
Keep focused our minds in the present
It’s truly what they lack.