The struggles of balancing work, horses and family – more awareness needed as riders experience burnout

More awareness of burnout in those who work full-time and have horses outside their jobs is needed – as many riders will not seek help for fear of being judged.

These are the conclusions of Megan Lane, who studied burnout in a small sample of women who work at least 30 hours per week and kept horses on DIY or part livery, for her dissertation in sport and exercise psychology.

Equestrian mental health charity Riders Minds helped find the 20 participants in Megan’s study, who took part in interviews and completed a questionnaire, in an area she intends to take further.

“I would love for this to be accessible and seen by others,” she told H&H. “A key finding was that more knowledge is needed around burnout to challenge the negative perception of it in the industry, which reduced help-seeking for fear of being seen as weak or being judged.”

In her dissertation, Megan explains that sports burnout is seen as a “multidimensional cognitive affective syndrome, characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and sport devaluation”, and that it can lead to “performance decrements, decreased motivation, sport dropout, social issues, anxiety, depression, illness, and substance abuse”.

Add to that the need to cater for horses’ needs as well as their own, and the time and money involved in owning horses, the demands on equestrian athletes are high.

“The analysis revealed that many of the participants were struggling with the stress from balancing equestrian demands, work, and family commitments with the financial burden of horse ownership adding stress and contributing to burnout,” a Riders Minds spokesperson said.

“One of the more alarming observations from the survey was the negative perception of burnout within the equestrian industry, which reduced any help-seeking, for fear of being judged or seen as weak.”

There has been little research into burnout in “dual-career” equestrians, who keep horses as well as working full-time. This study found over 47% of the riders were experiencing it.

“The study aims to highlight the awareness and identification of burnout and reduce the negative stigma to increase the number of people willing to ask for help,” the spokesperson said.

“Burnout can cause a range of physical and emotional clinic signs, including a lack of motivation and energy, feelings of overwhelm, procrastinating, withdrawing from social circles and changes in sleep patterns.”

Megan, who is also a rider, said she has seen riders struggling, especially those who also work.

“I myself have struggled with burnout, so it made sense for me to use the opportunity I had to conduct research into an area I am passionate about,” she said.

“I want to thank every participant for being so open and honest with me about a difficult topic during the interviews. It was really eye-opening for me, and I hope that my dissertation is the start of greater awareness of burnout for equestrians, to which I hope to contribute through further research.”

Some participants in the study said greater awareness would help riders as some had not realised they were experiencing burnout at the time. They also “highlighted a want for professional and well-known equestrians to be more open about their mental health, to show individuals that struggles and burnout are common in the industry, and reduce the negative stigma around burnout”.

Riders Minds services are free, confidential and accessible 24 hours a day. Call the helpline on 0800 088 2073, or text 07480 488 103, or access the web chat through the website.

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