Good health

IN this week’s issue we look at the particular challenges professional riders face that can negatively affect mental health. There is much greater understanding in the horseworld, as elsewhere, than there was 20 years ago, that mental health should be treated with as much support as physical health conditions.

There is thankfully greater acceptance, too, that to overcome mental health challenges takes so much more than “kicking on”, as we equestrians are prone to saying.

The riders quoted in this feature (p34) have sound advice on where to look for that help, and how to support others who may not realise they could benefit from it. If this feature helps one person realise that actually they’re not just having a bad start to the year, that they need to seek professional support, that would be a very good thing.

We also look at the issue of social media trolls (p30), the effect they can have on readers’ mental health and what to do about them. We’ve moved on from accepting that abusive comments are part of having an online presence, or simply ignoring them.

Anyone can take action to protect themselves from online abuse, whether that abuse is intentional or otherwise, and whether trolls are active on their own page or those they look after for a business or clients.

And we look at the stories of those whose mental health has been bettered by the affects of horse ownership

(p38) – the responsibility and support that horses bring to riders’ lives reminding us again what extraordinary animals we work with every day.

Sarah Jenkins Editor-in-Chief