Getting Back in the Saddle; Can It Be BETTER than Before? YES!

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It often causes us to look back at or reminisce about past experiences with rose-tinted glasses. And your horse riding journey is no different. Especially when you’re thinking about getting back in the saddle after a significant breakaway.

When you remember all of the adventures you’ve already had when it comes to horses and riding, it can sometimes leave you questioning if there’s any way it could ever hope to be like that again…

And that doubt over how good getting back in the saddle could be is one of the big reasons riders never take the next action. They don’t go out and tack up. Or they stop exploring riding clubs, or schools that are nearby. And that is such a shame…

While you’re paused because you’re worrying if a new riding experience could possibly measure up to ‘what was’ for you before; you’re missing out on the very real possibility that things could actually be even better.

Today I want to explore how this is a very real (and even more probable) out come for you if you finally take the plunge and take action on getting back in the saddle after a break.

A Deeper Appreciation

We’re told that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder. I find this is almost always true when it comes to riding. However, I have also seen and personally experienced how often it’s only when we actually make the move, and take the action, that we feel this way. It’s not until we move from thinking about getting back in the saddle to actually riding that we tend to really understand and appreciate what we were really missing all of that time.

And when that realisation of ‘missing out’ is coupled with a more life-experienced you, this will almost always lead to a deeper appreciation for not only your horse but also for yourself as a rider.

I’ve seen over and over how dedicated returning riders are to both their riding and the time allocated for riding. There is an increased focus, a clearer intention, and an increased curiosity about what they’re doing and how. They really see their riding time as special. They realize how privileged they are to actually get to have a conversation with and develop a partnership with a horse. It’s magic!

A Keen Curiosity

This brings me to the second reason your getting back into the saddle might just surpass all of your past experiences with riding; you are curious to find out more about it. So often, when we learn to ride initially, we tend to rush through the early lessons. We are so keen to do everything that we skip as fast as possible through the basics to get to the ‘exciting’ stuff. Coming back to riding often has the opposite effect on us.

We want to know ‘why’ things work that way. Is there a different or better way to do things. What would happen if we applied our aids in a different way or situation. And just how to use the basics for better overall development…

This curiosity is what really guides us to become more skilled in the saddle because we begin understanding ‘why’. It is really the catalyst to going from ‘medicore’ to great as a horse person. And even if our body is not what it was originally when we rode, by staying curious, we learn how to work with what we have now. And often this can develop our skills past all of our previous expectations.

A Fresh Start

Unfortunately, many riders leave riding initially because they just are not enjoying it or having fun. When you begin to think about getting back in the saddle, you can start rewriting your expectations and your story about being a rider. If confidence became an issue for you originally, you can come back to ‘riding’ with a strong focus on groundwork and partnership. Over time, that will lead to confident riding again – if that’s what you want.

A fresh start also allows you to let go of old stories that held you back… Maybe about time or resources. Or even about your abilities as a rider; what you can or cannot do.

Getting back in the saddle let’s you start a new story – one that better aligns with you as you are right now.

And if the ‘old you’ had certain habits that you would have been better without, the break from riding and then coming back to it is the perfect time to rid yourself of them. Your body and your mind will be much more malleable now to doing things differently. Take full advantage of this and make any changes that you wanted to make back then but struggled with.

A Stronger Connection

Finally, as you return to riding after your break, I can almost guarantee that you will begin to create a stronger connection and partnership with your horse. There is something that happens to most of us with the passage of time. A greater appreciation for each individual we meet along our path. And this applies to our animals and horses as well.

Getting back into the saddle after a longer break often opens riders up to just how much their connection to their horse is energy based. They tend to allow themselves to be more intuitively guided when it comes to their interactions with their horse.

Less emphasis is put on ‘doing things right’ and more is placed on ‘doing this together’. This will always lead to a greater respect; for the rider for their horse, and the horse for their rider. This connection is often what will get you through any speed wobbles when it comes to questioning if getting back in the saddle was the right decision.

Over all, getting back in the saddle often becomes less about riding – and more about developing a deep trusting bond with your horse… Which is magic in itself.