Okay, let me be honest. My self care in the past has pretty much been none existent. Like who needs sleep? Balanced diet and eating at appropriate times? You mean I can just have wine, pita chips and hummus for dinner like every night at 11:00PM? I don’t need to do any other activities other than riding? That sounds just plain ridiculous.

Now, I have read numerous articles from top riders and many others that you need to do more than just ride. Many of the successful upper level riders adhere to this as well. But I mean, you should be okay when you ride 3, 4, or 5 horses a day right for just some average rider? The answer to that question is still yes. You DO need to do more than just ride. And that is something that is really just coming to light for me. My muscles basically were giving up on me; too tight, too tired and worked repeatedly in the same way without any cross training. Basically everything that spells issues with a horse’s training and fitness, I was doing to myself. My horses have better care and upkeep with massages, chiropractic, cross training and access to all sorts of professional help to enable their success. My list of self care includes… well… I’ll have to think on that for a minute.

Now, taking care of yourself doesn’t necessarily mean weekly massages or extensive cross fit training, but it could be staring with do stretches daily to prolong your joints and make yourself less of a stiff board when riding. That’s basically where I have started. Daily stretches and yoga. No, it’s probably not enough to get me in the right direction to achieve my goals, but it’s a start in the right direction of feeling like jello.