56 episodes
Seniors with Horses - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them Paul Sherland
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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.
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Planning for After Us
In this episode of the Senior Horsemanship Podcast, I talk about planning for after us. That is planning for our horses' care if we can't care for them anymore.One possibility is to adopt a horse from a rescue like Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society. Bluebonnet retains ownership of the horse and will always take the horse back if the adopter can't care for it. Bluebonnet will also provide training and fostering to make the horse more adoptable. If you don't live in Texas, perhaps there's a resc...
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Top Reasons for a Senior to Volunteer with Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society
There are many good reasons for seniors to volunteer for Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society in Texas or at similar horse rescues in other areas. According to Dr. Jennifer Williams, Executive Director at Bluebonnet, the top reasons are:Seniors fostering horses can do that for a limited time and get a fostering stipend to offset some of the costs of having horses.Seniors volunteering in other ways can be involved in promoting the welfare of horses without the responsibilities and costs of owning ...
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Top Reasons to Adopt a Horse from Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society
So in summary, here are four good reasons why you should consider adopting from Bluebonnet if you’re a senior living in Texas.#1 - You get an honest health and training history for the horse you adopt. Anything Bluebonnet knows, you will know. #2 - You get a 30 day period to try the horse at your barn and if the horse doesn’t work out, you can return the horse and get your adoption fee back. #3 - If your circumstances change and due to finances or health, you can’t keep your horse B...
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What's a Good Horseman or Horsewoman
It comes back to whether or not we accept that definition of a good horseman or horsewoman: “A good horseman or horsewoman is someone who, in an educated way, always puts the best interest of the horse first and foremost.”This is a quote from the book, Begin and Begin Again - The Bright Optimism of Reinventing Life with Horses, by Denny Emerson.Welcome to the Senior Horsemanship Podcast. Which was the Second Half Horsemanship Podcast. We'll be talking about better horsemanship in the senior p...
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Your Invitation to Future Horsemanship
A burden of these years is to allow all the stereotypes of old age to hold me back. To hold me down. To stop the flow of life in me. A blessing of these years. Is that they give me the chance to break the bounds of a past life. And to create for myself, a life more suited to what I now want to be. This is a quote from the book, The Gift of Years, Growing Older Gracefully, by Joan Chittister.Do you want to be able to ride for years into the future?Do you want your horse to be healthy for...
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Senior Horsemanship for the Love of It
I’ve also become increasingly aware of how challenging it is to age. Our bodies change, grief finds us more frequently, we listen as our doctor tells us about invasive health screenings we must endure. Health insurance goes up and energy goes down.But along with all of that, I also notice the frost on a horse’s whiskers in the winter. How on a chilly morning, the wind catches the mist of their breath. How standing beside them allows me to calm down and experience a grounded sense of peace. Th...