Hats off: Why I decided to stop riding

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After riding for years, Kia explains why she decided to stop

My first impression of riding was how damn slow everything was. When I started learning in 2014, we only took a step and trot for months. I thought until then I was on the right track. Instead, I was involved in the details of the technology.

However, when I became a better driver, I realized that it was not at all little things, but a fundamental part of learning. It is often said that the best drivers look as if they were not doing anything at all, and I have learned that this is true. I was slowly and carefully taught to me so that one day I could also call myself a rider.

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Kia drives in Montenegro, Ecuador and Namibia

When I learned to gallop, my teacher asked me to count my horse's steps, and I remember that I thought: "I'm trying to keep my back straight (but also relaxed), my head up, my leg, my heels below, my toes, the reins loose, while I looked at the right leash at the same time. Should I also count steps? '

Experienced riders do all of this effortlessly and although I have never arrived at this point, I finally learned to gallop and jump. There were more than a few accidents on the way there. I fell from my horse a few times, was kicked twice and kicked once (everything with some wonderful blue spots). Last year I broke a bone in my right hand and could not ride for two months. As with every good driver, however, I got in again as soon as I felt better.

I love riding. I love the thrill, freedom and romance. I love the calm temperament of horses. I am impressed how these incredibly powerful creatures can be gently and shy.

Mathilde coolen
Kia’s riding holiday in Montenegro

However, when I learned to deal with them, I started to doubt what I was doing. If you are not a rider, you probably only rode on vacation or on a trip on a horse. In these cases, the horses are usually saddled and wait. They do not see how the "bit" (a thick metal rod) is inserted into their mouth or the belt is tightened around their upper body, which often leaves a notch when it is removed.

I imagined what it feels like to have a thick metal rod in your mouth and a bridle around your head so that you cannot reduce the pressure that is exercised by the reiter's rein. There are bitless reins, but they still exert pressure on the head. It is true that most riders are gentle, but it is also true that we literally put them in bonds when riding.

  • Alt = "The bit partially explains why Kia gave up riding"
  • Alt = "Kia has decided to stop riding"
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The bit is inserted into the mouth of a horse so that the rider can control it with the reins

At first I ignored these little things. Much more experienced riders than I would tell me that horses like to be ridden; that their bodies are created for humans. I really wanted to continue driving, so I decided to believe them.

I drove for two more months until the Lockdown used in Great Britain. When the restrictions were gradually loosened, I came across an Instagram video of a young horse with its owner. It is presented sweet and funny, but I couldn't avoid that the horse was desperate and confused. Exchange him for a small child and this treatment would not be acceptable.

My doubts grew when I looked at an interview with the lifelong driver and coach Ren Hurst. In it, Ren explains why she made the difficult decision to give up riding after spending horses for a lifetime.

Ren Hurst explains why she gave up riding

Ren explains that those who claim to love their horse have no idea that the animals with which they spend time are in an absolute condition. "

Some riders argue that horses are domesticated and that submission lies in their nature. To them says Ren: "Natural Horsemanship on the natural dynamics of horses, as they are today, would be as if natural human behavior was being built up to observe a prison courtyard."

Horses are intelligent and empathetic animals that would choose to live in nature and in large groups. You would choose to graze on meadows, run, play, play and take long distances. It is true that domesticated horses are fed and protected and therefore benefit from human possession in a way - but would you choose to be ridden?

Alt = “Horses live in groups: End the riding”Davidyoung/ShutterstockHorses choose to live in groups

Some riders say that their horses love to be ridden; that they ask for it. Ren this point is very clear. "It's amazing," she says. "This is absolute madness. Which is even worse that many of the horses that show this behavior - that they like it to be tightened with the dead body parts of another animal and to have a metal rod in their mouths - probably because their life experience is so limited that this looks like fun in a cabin all day."

Ren adds: "There is such a discrepancy between this use of the word" love "and what we actually do with these animals. I know that these people feel love for their horses, but if it is the same love that they feel to their family members ... keep their family members in bondage, manage every aspect of your life in microragement and descend to you, whenever you want and ask you around it? The answer is no. '

Alt = "Kia decided to ride"Atlas & BootsKia, shown in Turkeysie, has decided to stop riding

Ren explains that their former customers were often upset when they heard their story. "You knew that someone like me would never give up if something was not deeply true about why I did it."

I thought a lot about this interview. I think why I wondered if it is finally time to stop riding. I am lucky that I have other passions (writing and travel) and that riding is more of a hobby. I feel with those who have ridden all of their lives and who see it as lifebuins that make it easier for everyday pressure. However, I wonder if you could spend time with horses without having to ride them.

Of course there are situations in which riding is necessary. Rural communities are dependent on the transport and income on horses. However, I do it out of pleasure. I don't have to ride and so I made the difficult decision to give up riding forever. As much as it hurts me to let go, I think it's right.

Main picture: SL Chen/Shutterstock
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