SO MUCH HAPPIER AT MY NEW BARN OMG!!
My last barn was absolutely not the place for me. There were lots of old, mean, grumpy, judgmental barn bitches there. I never felt welcomed nor like I enjoyed the people.
People were hostile and rude. The type of people who don’t say “hi” when you say “hey” I find that weird. The owner was very petty and seemed to want to cultivate a culture of snitching and backstabbing. Like the most uncool, shitty people in high school decided to run a barn.
My new barn is SO much better! People are kind. They greet you and say “hey! Good morning”. They compliment my horse. They offer treats to all the horses. They enquire as to how things are going with your horse. They seem genuinely happy and confident. There’s an air of “this is a welcome place and we are in this together”. They share snacks. They share tips. There’s a communal brush rack and a communal wash basket with supplies - there are no gaslighting Facebook posts.
I just want to say - if you feel ick every time you set foot on the barn property, and you don’t love being there? LEAVE. In my case, I knew that something was off after 1 week. I was ready to leave after 1 month. I started looking for my next barn almost immediately and wanted to make sure I found the best place. I’m lucky AF to live in a place with so many different options. I know that’s not the case for everyone.
Life is too short for petty, sour, mentally unstable people who treat you like shit. This is an expensive, dangerous, and potentially deadly sport. We voluntarily partner our bodies with big strong animals who have a propensity for danger.
This applies to life. As so much of barn wisdom does. One of the best things I’ve learned over the last year is to deeply listen to my body. It’s helped me get in tune with myself and my horse. That voice that says “I don’t like this” or “That was weird, and I don’t want experience that again” or “that person gives off bad energy” is often correct. The work is to listen to it, without bias and without judgement.
Picture of new barn cuz it’s cute AF.
My last barn was absolutely not the place for me. There were lots of old, mean, grumpy, judgmental barn bitches there. I never felt welcomed nor like I enjoyed the people.
People were hostile and rude. The type of people who don’t say “hi” when you say “hey” I find that weird. The owner was very petty and seemed to want to cultivate a culture of snitching and backstabbing. Like the most uncool, shitty people in high school decided to run a barn.
My new barn is SO much better! People are kind. They greet you and say “hey! Good morning”. They compliment my horse. They offer treats to all the horses. They enquire as to how things are going with your horse. They seem genuinely happy and confident. There’s an air of “this is a welcome place and we are in this together”. They share snacks. They share tips. There’s a communal brush rack and a communal wash basket with supplies - there are no gaslighting Facebook posts.
I just want to say - if you feel ick every time you set foot on the barn property, and you don’t love being there? LEAVE. In my case, I knew that something was off after 1 week. I was ready to leave after 1 month. I started looking for my next barn almost immediately and wanted to make sure I found the best place. I’m lucky AF to live in a place with so many different options. I know that’s not the case for everyone.
Life is too short for petty, sour, mentally unstable people who treat you like shit. This is an expensive, dangerous, and potentially deadly sport. We voluntarily partner our bodies with big strong animals who have a propensity for danger.
This applies to life. As so much of barn wisdom does. One of the best things I’ve learned over the last year is to deeply listen to my body. It’s helped me get in tune with myself and my horse. That voice that says “I don’t like this” or “That was weird, and I don’t want experience that again” or “that person gives off bad energy” is often correct. The work is to listen to it, without bias and without judgement.
Picture of new barn cuz it’s cute AF.