I had such fun this afternoon. My new job makes for a sedentary lifestyle and I’m saddened at the reality that my fitness is a shadow of what it used to be. I hence decided to go for a jog up the street before the sun set on the weekend.
I put in my headphones and was jogging down the driveway to the road when I noticed our two horses looking up at me. The thought occurred: why jog on the boring street when I could have some fun running around with the horses. Play time!
Play is important. It’s a shame we give it up when we grow up. The experience of fun and play is fundamental to how our brains grow and adapt. Play produces dopamine and importantly turns monotonous exercise into an enjoyable fun.
Our older boy is very motivated by food but you have to catch him in the mood for running around playfully. Our young girl however isn’t five years old yet so I focused on her for getting their interest.
I started jogging around her, running up and then away from her and hiding behind trees so she’d have to move around to see me. We’re breaking her in at the moment and this provided a great opportunity to stimulate her and extend our on-the-ground working relationship. She’s not really seen me run around like this before so she was looking at me with a what on earth are you up to look on her long, gorgeous face!
It didn’t take long before she decided to play along! She’s a playful kid and after I’d run up the incline to one of our top paddocks and stopped to look down at them, she decided to launch into a canter after me! The sound and sight of a horse barreling towards you isn’t for the faint of heart. She pulled up in front of me and looked at me as if to ask “what’s next?”
After running up and down the hills for a while Scarab decided he’d finally join in. At this stage I went inside to get my phone to try to get some video of the fun but that’s easier said than done. It’s super hard to hold a camera, run and fend off a half tonne excited horse! Here’s my best attempt
Anyway, they were really cuddly after our bonding time so not only did I get some cardio but I built on the relationship with our horses too.
Then it was feed time. I always know when Scarab is in a good mood as he drops his “foal maker” out for everyone to admire. Checkout one of our resident magpies who now knows our horse feeding routine. He comes out of nowhere when I walk out with the feed buckets and feasts on the seeds and pellets that fall out of the bucket. I’ve noticed a few of them do this recently and I think it’s because the place is so dry.
Then it was time to go back in the house and what do I find? A beef bone broth stew ready to go in the oven! It’ll be ready soon so time to leave the keyboard….
Thanks for reading and remember your play time!
wtf
Good advice. Sometimes it's hard to remember to stop being so serious! Your property is just gorgeous.
Thank you @seajai. We are happy here. The property is a bit over 10 acres and it's nicely private. I agree about always being serious. Hard to break the routine sometimes.
Seems like a lot of horsing around if you ask me! Exercise is good no matter how you get it!
Thanks mate 🐎
👍
I so much enjoyed reading this. It's first thing in the morning here and I'm imagining how it must be feeling to run through a field like that with horses - awesome. Thanks.
Yes we are lucky here @paddlesteemer, thanks! We have a great functional relationship with these two so I'm comfortable doing these things with them, even in the dark as we have good trust. Thanks for the comment 😊
I can see you know how lucky you are - you are so blessed. And so are your lovely horses and family :)
Wow beautiful horsies! Fun read, u should run with them more often. Hope the stew turned out ok? Cheers
It did, thanks @goldenarms. I used to jog with Scarab on a lead in a straight line but he'd obviously drain me. I could sprint briefly with him at a slow canter or I'd run at a fast jog with him trotting but I thought it was frustrating for him as he always wanted more speed and I'd have to pull him back all the time! Freestyling seems more fun.
Always necessary and enjoyable to get your time to have fun and enjoy life. Exercise is a bonus too if said things give you some of it.
Especially important in a time poor lifestyle where motivation may be an issue. Good point @thegoliath, thanks for contributing
gorgeous horses
Thanks so much@rally88! We love them.
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Looks like you've got that work/life balance working perfectly for you.
Happy for you mate, keep up the good work :)
Would like more life than work mate, it's not that balanced but I try!. Thanks @forexbrokr
Haha, wouldn't we all...
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