I'm pondering the idea of getting out of horses, but I need help and advice with my decision, please.
I've been involved with horses my entire life and am needing to make some hard decisions. Unfortunately, several things make riding and having anything to do with horses in general very hard.
Physical issues: I'm 24 years old and have a history of hip dysplasia and have something weird going on with my knees, too. I've heard them described as "double jointed". My right knee will occasionally try to pop out of place if it's bent at just the right angle, but hasn't actually done it in over 10 years (knock on wood). I haven't had too much trouble with these while riding, other than the fact that I can tend to lean to one side and used to do it even worse before I began wearing an insert in one boot, but chances are good that my joints are only going to get worse over time. I may eventually develop arthritis.
My job and location: I unfortunately live and work in an area with pretty much no horse community, especially in the hunter/jumper discipline. I am currently driving over an hour to take lessons because of this. I can also only ride once a week due to how far away the barn is and my job, and therefore I hardly make any progress in my riding. My time is only going to become increasingly limited and eventually I will be on call almost all of the time, if not all. However, this job is my best opportunity (and important to me) and quitting is not an option. I also cannot afford to get hurt, as my job requires physical labor.
Riding ability and progress: As I've stated, I am not really progressing due to only being able to ride once a week. I'm not a good rider at all and it's frustrating being stuck at beginner level all over again for two years since I started lessons back up. I have made progress, but it's been very slow. I don't feel as if I have any real riding ability at all and it may just not be for me, unfortunately. I enjoy it, but am not good at it in the slightest. I really don't enjoy being awful at something I enjoy or being the worst rider at the barn. I am completely unable to do most of what I could as a kid and don't see myself being able to again.
Fluctuating interest, confidence issues, and stress: Horses and riding have started to become stressful to me, and I can never maintain a consistent interest anymore. I usually really enjoy it and it does make me feel happy, but I go through episodes of wanting to just be done or feeling very "blah" about it at best. It's really my only hobby and I don't know what else I'll do if I quit, but I've burned myself out on other things before to the point I resented them, and don't want to do that again. I also sustained a bad fall many years ago and my confidence has never recovered. It's gotten better, but I still have my ups and downs.
I still enjoy riding and have goals I'd like to accomplish, but it seems that everything involving riding never works out. I live in an awful location for riding, am in a job less than ideal for it (great pay to support it, but limited time), and don't get the opportunity to progress and am not sure I have the ability to. I also do NOT want to take a break or pick it back up at a later time; this is the second time I've done that now and going through all of the pain, soreness, and frustration of trying to get back to an enjoyable level of riding is something I never want to do again. I don't want to start over a third time. If I quit, I will be done for good, which is what makes this even harder.
Submitted October 08, 2019 at 12:32PM by equestrianthrowaway
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Horses/comments/df43dr/im_pondering_the_idea_of_getting_out_of_horses/?utm_source=ifttt
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