Winter motivation: plan the week, then stop deciding

The facts

Source

Your Horse, published 5 November 2026

Author

Tijen Sheircliff, equestrian confidence and mindset coach and NLP practitioner

Core suggestion

Sit down on a Sunday evening and plan the coming week's riding

Language shift

Swap "have to" for "get to" when describing yard and riding tasks

Her view on discipline

Forcing yourself to ride when resistant or exhausted can turn riding into an obligation

The article opens with a point most owners will recognise: nobody took up riding because of winter. It is a season to get through on the way to lighter evenings and longer hacks. Dreading frozen ground and short days is described as being human, not a personal failing.

Sheircliff's practical suggestion is a planning habit. Set aside Sunday evening and decide what the week looks like. Her reasoning is that the worst moment to work out what to do is while you are already cold, in the dark, trying to talk yourself into tacking up. If the decision is made in advance, you only have to carry it out.

She also suggests watching the words you use about your horse. Replacing "have to" with "get to" doesn't pretend winter is easy, she says, but it does reconnect the task with the reason you do it. The example given is boxing up for a lesson with your trainer.

The wider argument is about identity rather than achievement. Yard jobs happen every day, including Christmas Day, without anyone needing to be motivated, because they are simply part of who you are. Riding, she suggests, is often the thing that gets dropped in winter because it has become loaded with expectation. A short flat patch doesn't mean you care less.

What this means for you

Owners who feel guilty about not riding enough

The article's position is that a short stretch without motivation means you are tired and cold, not less committed or less capable.

Anyone riding after work in the dark

The suggested fix is a weekly plan written in advance, so no decision-making is needed at the yard gate.

Riders who've been told to just be disciplined

Sheircliff argues that advice taken in isolation can be unhelpful, and that riding through resistance and exhaustion risks turning a hobby into a duty.

What to do

1. Put twenty minutes aside to write down what you'll do with your horse each day of the coming week

   Sunday 8 November 2026

2. Notice when you say you have to do something with your horse, and try saying you get to instead

3. Decide what you want to be doing by summer, and pick one small thing this winter that moves you towards it

4. If you're resisting riding, ask whether it's the riding or the expectation attached to it that feels heavy