Sometimes I wonder why I blog. Is it selfish? Maybe. Definitively self indulgent..
But I am not just blogging about what I am doing, I am reading about what other people are doing. So many blogs about horses! I read about eventers, reiners, trail riders, jumpers, endurance riders... people just starting out with horses, people who have been riding for years, amateurs and professionals. People who ride with bits, without bits, train with fancy sticks, whisper, or who do none of the above. Why do I bother? Why don't I just read books, magazines, and rent dvds to supplement my lessons and clinics like I used to do?
Maybe the answer is in the two links above. When I read blogs I am learning through shared experience. As horse people who blog we are all connected. We all have pieces of a big puzzle that is the horse and through our blogs maybe we can get together and finally see the big picture.
What do you think about the idea of sharing and building off ideas in the horse blog world? Are you learning something or just wasting time? Why do you read blogs?
Ha ha ha.... wasting time! Yup, I think that so often and make myself do something else. But, blogging has brought me so many friends and yes, many tips about my horses. If I ever have a problem, be it horse related, or other, I know that I will get many thoughtful, caring responses. It is truly a unique world, this blogger world of ours!
ReplyDeleteA great question! I am just starting out with horses and just bought my first horse in July. I started blogging as a way to track my progress and chronicle what I was doing, but through blogging I have discovered so many wonderful people and their horses! Through blogging, I am able to share in ideas and experiences, get advice, and learn about others and what they do with their horses.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am learning something and I enjoy all the blogs I read.
I started out blogging for purely commercial reasons - I wanted to raise my profile and drive traffic to my gallery site. However, its addictive - I began putting more of myself into it, instead of simply posting new paintings, and now it's a chronicle of my life. The act of thinking about things, and problems, in order to put them in a coherent post, is actually a really useful way of working through things for me.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I read others? curiosity about subjects I'm interested in, fascination at the way so many different people do things in so many different ways, and most importantly, for the sense of connection. I love the fact I can 'talk' to people like this!
I read blogs to learn. No one ever knows enough about horses or anything for that matter. If you get a chance to read about horses and their owners/trainers then you can put together a bigger picture. I've learned things I didn't know from some bloggers. It's also a great cross section of opinions from riders who train and ride differently than I'm used to. Having been a hunter jumper rider my whole life I've expanded my knowledge and learned about Western and dressage and more. I find it all very interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteI knew of blogs before, but had never explored them until I ran across Cob Jockey's blog. Thru her blog I found others and started my own. I see it as an electronic editorial magazine with an amazing amount of information. So reading other blogs is educational for me and writing one, I guess is cathartic.
ReplyDeleteI started my blog as a way to keep in touch with my dad and keep track of my horses' progress. Somehow it became a lot more than that- I found other bloggers and started gobbling up information left and right and then I found a way I could give back.
ReplyDeleteThough sometimes I make a post and include lots of pictures just so I can look at my horses at work ;)
It's different for everyone, I think. I've had a personal blog interspersed with equine posts since 2002, which I write mainly so that I can see how much I've grown mentally and in order to reminisce. With my equine blog, it's both a training log and a platform for me to help the Welsh Cob breed gain exposure.
ReplyDeleteI tagged you with the Leibster award on my blog. Feel free to pass it on or just consider it free exposure!