Using Your Barn Time To De-Stress
Stress is everywhere in today’s culture.
It’s a sad statement, but most people live with a certain stress level daily. Whether you are stressed from work, home life, finances, or trying to balance it all, cortisol levels (stress hormones) are at higher levels in your body. We know stress causes many health issues over time, but how do we destress when constantly experiencing stress and stressful situations?
Luckily, we have one of the best ways to address stress standing in the barn—your horse.
There have been numerous studies about horses and reducing stress. Here are some ways to reduce your stress and cortisol levels using your barn time.
Take a Walk with Your Horse
Getting outside and enjoying nature allows you to distract your brain from work, house chores, and other elements causing you stress. Think about how lovely this experience will be with a calming presence, like your horse, along for the stroll. Walking lets you both be active, increase your circulation and blood flow, and experience new areas. Whether you walk around a new area of your property or head out on a trail, escaping to the outdoors is very beneficial.
Grooming
Grooming can be meditative for you and your horse. Instead of the quick, five-minute grooming you generally do before a horseback ride, extend your typical grooming session. Do a longer curry session, wash, dry, and braid manes and tails, and polish hooves. Wash your horse, spending extra time scrubbing and rinsing out dirt, and apply a coat conditioner if the weather is warm enough. You can even lookup equine massage techniques to test. You will be surprised how relaxed you and your horse will be by the end of the session.
Trail Riding
As horse owners, you know the physical relief you experience the second you get into the saddle. That deep exhale seems automatic after a long, stressful day at work. It almost feels like you are letting it all go. Trail riding combines this feeling with the natural healing and calming elements of nature. If you have time, try to ride for at least an hour. This feeling of serenity will often follow you after you get out of the saddle.
Deep Cleaning
Now deep cleaning may not work for everyone, but if you are a cathartic cleaner, this is a great option. Pick an area in your barn to target for an hour and start cleaning. Organize your tack room, clean blankets, and wraps, remove cobwebs (these are a fire hazard anyway!), and sweep. You’ll be amazed how quickly the hour goes by and how much better you feel. One of the best parts about a deep cleaning project is it is physical labor that you don’t need to think about too much. If your brain is already “fried” from the day, this is an excellent physical outlet for your stress.
Cleaning Stalls
Most of our tips have focused on calm, meditative activities. Cleaning stalls is on the opposite end of the spectrum. This activity lets you “take it out on the manure". We know stalls take a lot of work and can be very intensive. Putting in your headphones, listening to music or your favorite podcast, and focusing on the physical labor in front of you lets you move forward in a positive mindset.