It is early Sunday morning and the house is quiet except for me making coffee. This is my favorite time to write and my head always seems to be the most clear before the day begins. Morning chores come early and soon I will hear the nickers of many horses anxiously waiting for me to feed them.
I have had the pleasure of talking with so many women from all over the country who are starting out in their horse business or have been in it for a while. Throughout all the conversations there has been one common theme. Each one of these wonderful people got into this business with a dream and passion and now were struggling in many different areas of their business and it was much harder than they ever expected. My heart broke for each of them and I could feel their pain completely because I have walked in their shoes and it is a difficult place to be.
Starting a horse business is a dream come true for all who venture to give it a try. Every person that works in the horse industry does it because they have a crazy passion and love for horses and want to make a living working with these animals. I was no different. When we started our horse business years ago I was over the moon with excitement and I couldn't believe this was happening to me. My dream job was coming a reality but it quickly turned into a bad dream through many errors my husband and I had made and it took many years of courage, perseverance and faith to see us through.
Today I want to celebrate and encourage the horse professional. You have chosen a profession that is not an easy one when it comes to the daily grind of it all. You are going to change and grow more than you will ever imagine and the trials you experience are what will make you a better barn owner, breeder, manager, trainer or any other career you decide to go into. You've got what it takes, now you just need to reach down deep inside and find your inner strength.
It Takes Courage - To start your horse business and live out your dreams. You will have many people along the way that will try to discourage you and even tell you it can't be done. You will have many days when you feel alone and it doesn't seem like anything is going right. It takes courage to keep going and not give up. Will it be hard in the beginning? Yes. But anything worth doing takes hard work. Today I want to celebrate with you on having the courage to try and not give up. Things don't always turn out like we plan but having the courage to try it when you don't know the outcome is something that you will never regret.
It Takes Perseverance - To keep your horse business going even when the days become long and the job becomes much more difficult than you ever expected. Perseverance is something that many people don't seem to have these days. In our society so many people want things done now and without any struggle. I am here tell you that perseverance is a gift and it will make you stronger and you will grow from within as a businesswoman. If you have perseverance then hang on to it and don't let go. You will use it often especially in your first few years of your business and it will separate you from the others that gave up.
It Takes Faith - To keep going when you feel like giving up. I believe this is the most important one or at least it is for me. It was a leap of faith to start our business not knowing how it was going to turn out. I had faith in myself and David that we could do the work but I didn't realize how much I would have to depend on my faith in God to keep me going when the cards were stacked against us. It takes great faith to start your business and I am sure you are a lot like me in that you had complete faith in yourself that you could handle anything that was thrown at you.
There are going to be times when you need to find an inner strength and you will not be able to find it in yourself. If you find that your faith is slowly disappearing in the business and yourself then I want to encourage you today to stop looking for faith in yourself and give it to Lord. When we can't do anything else and we are completely spent, take a leap of faith and ask Him to get you through this. When my days were the most difficult that is when He picked me up and carried me through it.
I want to wish you the very best on this wonderful morning and remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your horse business. Take it one day at a time and learn from each experience both good and bad and remember it is not a race but a journey. A life long journey.
I wish you many blessings in your horse business, Sheri Grunska