There is a noticeable trend with equestrians in that many of us struggle with some kind of injury or pain condition.
Of course many of these injuries and ongoing conditions are caused by numerous falls etc. over the years as its safe to say even if we are lucky enough to avoid serious injury have still taken a fair battering over the years.
I think many Equestrians could teach others some lessons in dealing with pain. As there are a huge proportion of us that no matter what we still drag ourselves up and ride half a ton of animal and nothing is going to stop us-heck some Equestrians lose limbs and it doesn’t stop them!
Why is that? Why can some people absolutely put up with whatever is thrown at them and carry on upwards when others with often less medically serious issues give up and go home?
Mind-set! You see pain is a hugely complicated issue with many factors that can influence it but one of the most important factors is your own mind.
It has become a little anecdote of mine that when I ask at initial consultations with clients if they’ve had any injuries they will reply “nothing serious……..just a broken foot, broken ribs, collarbone, vertebrae, and pins in my hip…..but nothing major!” Perhaps we just accept it as part of our sport that these things will happen?
I also think that for most of us, horses are not just a hobby we do when we have spare time, they are our life. We go to work solely to fund our horses, we go without other luxuries (apparently there are these things called beach holidays that people go on?) so our mind set is incredibly positive towards doing whatever it takes to keep horses in our lives.
I honestly believe that that is a great thing! As in most cases the exercise, fresh air and mental wellbeing that comes from being with our horses and riding is exactly what is needed to deal with pain both from a mental and a physical view-there are very few medical conditions that get better by sitting still!
Of course in my job I work with equestrians to help them become even better at dealing with and eliminating their injuries and pain issues. I’m going to talk a little bit about that in future blogs but if you would like some 121 coaching with me to help you really tackle your issues and get you back riding as your best self then hit reply!
There is also a new Wednesday evening class about to launch, 7.30pm at the studio based WN8 9QP. Only 2 spaces remaining so let me know today if you want in!
