Feeling Burnt Out? It’s OK To Take A Step Back

Feeling too tired to go to the barn? Apathetic about lessons or showing? Feeling like you’re spinning your wheels, working hard but never getting closer to reaching your goals? If you answered yes to any of these questions, well, you may be burnt out, or coming close to it.

Burnout is real, even in our most beloved hobbies. It is totally possible to do too much too fast, or to try too hard for too long, and end up feeling disappointed or sour about it. The hosts of the Heels Down Happy Hour podcast tackled a tough discussion about burnout recently, and how it applies in the barn.

Listen to Heels Down Happy Hour 70: Burnout Is Real, Even With Horses here.

“There are times when I get home from working full-time and doing barn chores in the morning, and I don’t want to ride,” explained Ellie Woznica. “Just the idea of having to get on is exhausting.”

But Ellie says she tries to push through it, and focus on doing something light and fun instead.

“I’ll get on bareback just to go do something,” she said. “I’ll do some hill work, or turn on the forehand and leg yields. Anything to mix it up. That helps me stay motivated, since I don’t have show goals. But it helps the horses too. I think getting out and giving them a light hack and mixing it up makes them happier. They can feel when I am stressed.”

Jess Payne explained how important it is to set obtainable goals to keep motivation top of mind.

“We’re a competitive barn,” Jess said. “We set big goals for the year, or for five years out, but also weekly goals. If you’re not competing, it’s a great exercise to say, ‘I really want to try to do this by the end of the week.'”

A good example would be to ride exercises to help sharpen your eye for the number between fences.

“Choose something that’s obtainable,” she stressed. “Pick something that will keep you motivated and get to you say, ‘I’ve got to do this this week.'”

While there were no horse shows on the horizon over the last few months, the students and clients in the Payne Equestrian barn took to striking up a friendly rivalry between themselves to stay motivated, Jess explained. She called it “the Thunderdome.”

“Since we weren’t going anywhere, we’d set up a course and have everyone compete on a Sunday afternoon,” she said. “And we would judge it. The first round wouldn’t be timed, but you’d get points knocked off if you chipped in or missed your spot.”

She said the events not only helped keep competition goals alive, but it created a healthy rivalry and day of fun for all their students.

Ellie recalled what it was like to buy a farm and move away from a show barn. She said she actually felt depressed.

“I didn’t have my show connections and no steady trainer,” she recalled. “It was kind of like a, ‘what am I going to do now?’ kind of thing.”

So she tried to focus on keeping her training fun and interesting for her personal and client horses.

Justine Griffin explained how tired she can be at the end of a long work day, and how hard it can be to find the motivation to prioritize her riding goals.

“Working in the news industry, it’s hard to compartmentalize certain parts of your life. I take it home with me,” she said. “Riding should be fun and no pressure right now, because the show season doesn’t pick back up to the fall. So right now I’m trying to think about what I want do this summer.”

She settled on taking her stirrups off her dressage saddle to help improve her no stirrup work and ultimately her sitting trot.

“I think it’s important to set small goals to keep us working,” she said. “I’ll work on this goal little by little, and there’s no pressure. But by fall, I’ll know I can sit the trot. That’s the biggest goal I want to focus on right now.”

Justine added that it’s OK to know when and if you need to take a step back from the sport.

“If you’re going to the barn and not feeling good about it, give yourself a break,” she said. “My horse is happy when I don’t show up for four days in a row. We put this guilt on ourselves.”