Senior Horsemanship - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them
The podcast name is changed to Senior Horsemanship and I’ll be building the senior horsemanship website over the next few weeks.So why the change? Probably the most important reason is that I’m certainly a senior horseman at age 71 with three horses. I’m very interested in riding, caring for, and training my horses as long as I can. I’m also very interested in making as long as I can to be as long as possible.That’s my goal in horsemanship. I don’t have any goals in the competitive arena, Not that competition is bad, but I just want to enjoy my horses. If you compete, then I hope you do it for the joy of working with your horse.So what will we talk about? How about the following.I’d like to talk about horse training, first because a well trained horse makes life safer and makes our time with our horse more enjoyable. A well trained horse also has better prospects for a good home if for some reason, we can’t continue to keep our horse. So for the good of ourselves and our horses, horse training for seniors is a great topic.I’d like to talk about horse care. I care for my horses myself and I’ve learned some things in the process that I’d like to share. I also hope to learn from others about ways to make horse care better and easier as we grow older.I’d like to talk about riding fitness and safety around horses. I’ve lost about 40 pounds over the last year and a half and it’s made riding easier for me and my horses. But with the weight loss has come a loss of some strength. I’ve also suffered from my share of horse-related injuries over the years including a broken arm, broken ribs, several concussions and most recently broken toes. What can we do to be safer with our horses. I’m not as nimble as I once was.I’d like to talk about the mental aspects of horsemanship because we need to rely on the mental more than the physical as we get older. When I was younger, there were ways of handling horses that could be characterized by “make them do it” and “don’t let them get away with it”. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that there are better ways and I’ll talk about them.Finally, I’ll talk about how horsemanship can be much more than riding a horse. I’ve been a volunteer with Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society here in Texas for a number of years and there are some volunteers who could be examples for all of us. Several volunteers can’t ride anymore, but they foster horses and give them a great start on a new path in life. Other volunteers work on the admin side to give the organization the ability to help as many horses as possible. All of those activities count as horsemanship. We’ll talk about those and more.Again, I appreciate all of the topic ideas I’ve received from members of the Equestrian Seniors Facebook group. I appreciate your interest in the podcast. And I hope to continue to provide information that interests you in the days ahead.Thanks for listening.
Senior Horsemanship - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them
Better Horsemanship and Better Podcasts Take Time
Nothing great, said Epictetus, is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requires time: let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then ripen. If, then, the fruit of a fig tree not perfected suddenly and in one hour, would you possess the fruit of a man’s mind in so short a time and so easily? Do not expect it, even if I tell you.
This quote is from the book, The Discourses of Epictetus.
Although Epictetus does not mention horses in the quote, it’s also true that better horsemanship is not produced suddenly. It takes time.
As I’ve worked on this podcast, it became apparent to me that I couldn’t podcast daily and still find time for my horses and my horsemanship. So I tried podcasting once on the weekends and three times during the week.
That was better, but the schedule also left little time for riding and training. So I’m going to try podcasting once a week on weekends.
That will hopefully allow me the time to finish the Second Half Horsemanship website and also spend some time riding and training my horses.
Here's a link to Descript, my recommended audio and video editing tool.
And a link to the Second Half Horsemanship website.
Nothing great said Epictetus is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requires time. Let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then ripen. If then the fruit of a fig tree is not perfected suddenly and in one hour, would you possess the fruit of a man's mind in so short a time and so easily. Do not expect it, even if I tell you. This quote is from the book, The Discourses of Epictetus. Welcome to the Second Half Horsemanship podcast, where we talk about using your mind more than your muscles on the path to better horsemanship in the second half of life. I'm your host, Paul Sherland. Although Epictetus does not mention horses in the quote, it's also true that better horsemanship is not produced suddenly. It takes time. As I've worked on this podcast, it's become apparent to me that I couldn't podcast daily and still find time for my horses and my horsemanship. So I tried podcasting once on the weekends and three times during the week. That was better, but the schedule also left little time for riding and training, so I'm going to try podcasting once a week on the weekends. That will hopefully allow me the time to finish the Second Half Horsemanship website and also spend some time riding and training my horses. I attended a Ross Jacobs clinic in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, and a Shawna Karrasch clinic here in Texas last weekend. I'm looking forward to having a bit of extra time to apply what I learned with my horses. Thanks for listening to the Second Half Horsemanship podcast. If you're also on the second half horsemanship journey, please leave a comment on our website, second half horsemanship.com. We're always looking for topic and interview ideas. When I use links to books, products, and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links. One more note, I use Descript for editing the podcast. If you do any video or audio editing, you should check out what Descript offers. It's an incredible tool for creatives. I'll also have a link to Descript in the show notes. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your reviews help the podcast reach a larger audience. Thank you very much.
