Hello, and welcome back to the blog. I always find myself somewhat resistant to coming back to this space to write about horses when physically, I am barely around them anymore. It’s must be some kind of imposter syndrome I am feeling but today, I am showing up anyway.
Even the act of sitting down to write feels foreign, I am so out of practice with it, so please bear with my ramblings.
Anyway, I thought I would sit down and write some of my goals for the new year to bring horses more into my life again, even if it means I can’t actually own one just yet.
What’s the situation now?
As mentioned, I still don’t have a horse of my own here in Australia (I still have Bo in Scotland, I will give an update on him later).
My son is now 8 months old, which I cannot quite fathom, and I find myself thinking about horses on the daily. I am in a place that is torn between wanting to read, watch and listen to ALL the horse content but then I spiral into feeling low about not being able to enjoy my own horse.
One thing I loved when I did have a horse was learning. I used to watch so many training videos, I loved learning about different groundwork styles, I even sat and cross referenced three different natural horsemanship trainers to create my own plan that resonated with me (it turns out they all do similar things, they just patent them with different catchy names). Now though, any learning I carry out feels like it just sits with me, there’s no outlet to try it out. I am trying to reframe this and to think about learning as helpful to my future horse, whoever he/she may be.
In my last post, I mentioned becoming a sponsor at Life with Horses for a horse named Prince Brinky. Just after I had set myself up to sponsor him, I got asked to go back to my old Agistment and teach riding lessons again. This was something I used to do every week purely for fun but when I moved yards, then fell pregnant, it just fell off the radar. I was thrilled to be able to get back down there and to teach again. It was an opportunity to be around horses and it is a lot more flexible for me. So, I ended up deciding to cease my sponsorship for now. Perhaps I will return to it at another point.
On another note, I got an email through recently about an induction to the Riding for the Disabled stables near me. I forgot I had enquired about that before the sponsorship. And though I’m not sure I will be able to go too regularly, I’m going to go to the induction anyways to see what I think. It does seem pretty flexible so it might be something I manage alongside my weekly coaching.
An update on Bo
I can’t believe Bo is going to be 25 years old this year! I was so happy to see him when I went home at Christmas time, we just slotted right back into our easy way of being around each other. I miss him so much and honestly when I think about what I want my next horse to be, it’s hard to imagine any better than Bo. He really is something special.
My mum who kindly looks after him for me has decided she needs to take a step back from the constant workload of horses, which after doing countless winters in Scotland, I completely understand. So, Bo is actually moving down to my best friend’s yard for retirement livery. He will be absolutely spoiled there and so well looked after. I’m glad he will have a calm space to enjoy his senior years!
Into the New Year Goals
At the very beginning of the year, I blocked out horse goals because I felt like I shouldn’t have them. But, as the month has gone on, I realised that there are things I can do to have a more horsey year this year and they all excite me.
I noticed the ‘bingo card’ for the year was a big thing so I have made one of those for my goals below!
Get back on a horse
This is probably my main goal of the year. Even if I do it once and it involves a walk around for 5 minutes, I want to get back on a horse .
I think I have some mental blockages here. I haven’t ridden a horse since I lost Harry which was over a year and a half ago. Somewhere mentally there is still grief there which causes me to back off from riding.
Another blockage is a lack of confidence. My body is not what it used to be and I don’t feel like I can ride anymore. I know it would all come back to me, as it always does when I am teaching, but there is an irrational fear that I just can’t do it anymore.
Regardless, we WILL get on a horse this year 💪🏻
Book a trail ride
Following from that, I have been meaning to book a trail ride for ages but something always comes up. I’m not sure if this is wise for the first ride back, or perhaps it’s just what I need to get back on. Either way, whether I have ridden or not before, I want to book a trail ride. I used to love hacking Bo and there is an amazing place not too far from me with literal thousands of acres of land to ride on. It’s a must do.
Focus on my physical fitness
As aforementioned, my postpartum body is very different to my pre-baby body. I am much heavier now, I am much less fit and flexible and I reckon I am probably quite tight in many places which is not conducive to a good riding position.
So, this year, I really want to focus on my health— getting my diet under control, incorporating some exercise and trying to get back down to a healthier weight. I know I will feel so much better when it comes to riding and buying a horse if I feel good in my body.
What’s pushing me here is the thought of going to a viewing and not being able to feel confident to get on a potential horse because my base fitness and health is not on point.
My exercise has always been through riding and the manual labour of owning horses so I have never formally exercised before. I am going to try to swim a couple times a week and incorporate some weights and yoga in there too as time goes on. It’s hard with a baby but doable.
Go to Adelaide Horse Show
I have wanted to go to the Adelaide Horse Show since I saw This Esme’s video on it in 2019. I really want to make this the year that I go. Not only that, I want to see Adelaide too.
Go to Mastery of the Horse
Another thing I have wanted to do but haven’t since moving to Australia. There is an event called Mastery of the Horse where trainers come in and demonstrate different techniques and the public can come with their horses. Obviously, I unfortunately do not have my own darling equine to take, but I can go watch. Another must do this year!
Get writing for BBequines again
I sound like a broken record BUT I do want to get writing again. I want to move away from the mindset that I can’t write about horses because I don’t have one here in Oz and just write anyway. Even if no one reads it, it feels good to keep my instagram going (I have a ton of pictures of Bo from over the years so no shortage of content even if it isn’t current) and to keep this blog going.
Read more horse books
There’s nothing better than mentally immersing yourself in a good horse book. So far, it’s been hard to find fiction that is accurate based around horses but I did find a series called ‘The Eventing Series’ by Natalie Keller Reinert. It looks promising and seems to have good reviews. There are 8 books in the series so if it’s good, I will be thrilled to have many many more to get through!
I also want to read some non-fiction too. Some on my reading list are:
2026 My Equestrian Bingo
I don’t have quite enough to fill the whole card but I think this is a good list for the year! I’ve added a couple extra from the new year goals above.
** This Bingo card design came from Elphick Event Ponies.
So, there we have it, my horsey goals for 2026. I am so excited for the year ahead and to try to be a more active member in the equestrian world again.
What are your goals for 2026?
Happy Horsing!
BBequines 