When is it time to just call it quits?
I’ve been riding on and off for years, broke my back in 2024 and haven’t got back on a horse since.
I had a lease horse in 2022, he was the first horse that I made a connection with, but when I moved him barns things went downhill, he was way to much horse for me, I was leaving the barn crying every day. I still think about him though. Every horse I’ve ridden since just seems meh in comparison. No personality. Just not feeling the same sort of connection. I’m guessing it’s because when I had a horse that was like mine and was the sole carer for it, it just creates that different sort of bond. I loved that horse a lot, but he was terrible to ride, so thinking about it now I think how I miss him but I also know that’s not how I felt at the time.
Part boarded for about a year, into 2024. Fell of a horse, fractured my vertebra, thought I was okay, a couple months later, severely herniated a disc. Bed ridden for 5 weeks. Healed. Herniated the same disc again in October 2025. Bedridden another 4 weeks. Now I’ve been thinking about trying to ride again but maybe I’m just not cut out for this anymore. I don’t know how to bring the joy back into it. I don’t enjoy just getting on random lesson horses that I don’t develop an emotional connection with.
Not really sure what to do next