Hello, everyone! I am Carolina @equestriantrend, one of the Spanish Boot Company style advocates. It is a pleasure to be writing for such an exciting audience and guest blogging for the first time ever!
I spent quite some time thinking about which topic I should bring to this blog post and even discussed it with my boyfriend. Because I wanted to bring something that perhaps would be useful to many of you, he suggested that I should share some tips on how I manage to survive the crazy life of owning a horse and still having time to have fun now that I am on the summer break from college.
During the month of college finals everything gets pretty chaotic, I don’t have enough time to ride, to be with friends or even to sleep enough so I can only think about holidays and the time that I will spend at the barn having fun (even barn chores become way more appealing during those stressful weeks!). But somehow, when holidays start it feels that I have even less time to do everything. Why? Because all my friends start making plans and they don’t remember that I also have a four-legged friend that I love and that needs me every day.
If you are like me and you also feel overwhelmed by the amount of things you have to do, here are five tips that I find incredibly useful:
- Plan your days
A rider’s agenda is crazy and if you don’t plan your days, you will end up spending the entire day at the barn or even arriving late to all your dates. To me it is almost impossible to spend less than three hours per day at the barn and I don’t even leave 100% happy if I have to rush. Therefore, make sure you have enough time to be at the barn and to get ready to your next affair without having to stress too much.
- Ride in the morning
I know this one is probably the hardest tip but I find it incredibly helpful. When I ride in the morning I feel much more productive and even if I leave the barn at 2pm, I still have the afternoon! Plus, I can have lunch with my equestrian friends and near my horse!
- If possible, don’t go to the barn every day of the week
If you choose some days of the week where you can just relax alone or have some fun with your friends and family, you will notice that your trips to the barn and your rides get much better. You will also miss your horse so bad that when you get back you will appreciate more every second you spend with him.
- Don’t let people put pressure on you
What usually stresses me the most isn’t the amount of things that I have to do. In fact, I can handle that pretty well but I hate when people start complaining that I’m always riding or the other way around when my barn friends say that I could spend more time with them. I used to feel really sad when that happened but I have learnt that there is a simple way to make them stop: describing your typical day to them, your obligations and responsibilities, the needs of your horse and so on. They eventually start understanding why you are so busy and even start being helpful!
Follow Carolina on Instagram @equestriantrend