Have you ever kept a riding journal? Even if journaling isn’t quite up your alley, there are many benefits to keeping a riding journal. It only takes a few minutes and it doesn’t even have to be a daily activity - you can keep a journal dedicated only to lessons, only to shows, or even only to what you think are significant achievements in your riding. If you’re not yet keeping a riding journal, here’s why you might want to.

Track Your Development as a Rider
Having a written record of your learning and development as a rider is priceless. By journaling your growing knowledge, horsemanship, and ability as a rider, you’ll be able to look back and see your progress over the years. This is invaluable in the sport of horseback riding, where so often we can work for days and weeks and even months on end without seeing sudden significant progress. Being able to look back and see your development through your own words can really drive home just how far you have come, which can be especially important and comforting on days when riding just doesn’t seem to be going well.

Mark Important Days and Significant Achievements
Do you remember the first time you trotted a horse? How about the first time you jumped? Your first trail ride? Depending on how long ago these events happened, they may be starting to fade from your memory. By writing about them, you’ll be able to relive them and reflect on them and how much they meant to you as a rider. Reading your journal entries can take you back to the excitement and elation you felt on special days in your riding career.

Record Information on Your Horse’s Physical Condition
It can be hard to remember little bumps and bruises that your horse has here and there, but months or years later those little ailments might be significant. As you chronicle your journey with your horse through a riding journal, you’re also creating a pretty detailed record of your horse’s health and any physical issues. This can be a valuable tool in looking back at your horse’s physical history over the years.

Chronicle Your Relationship with Your Horse
Relationships with horses are funny things. They’re constantly developing, deepening, and changing. Your relationship with your horse five years ago is very different from your relationship with him today. Reading over your journal entries will drive that home and help you to see just how much you and your horse have developed. Our time with our horses is precious - when we no longer have our horses with us, our journals chronicling our journeys with them become very precious.

And don’t forget, journals provide great ways to remind yourself of the wise words of your trainers and of lessons that you need to remember. Are you keeping a riding journal yet? If not, are you going to start?

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Carrying medications safely with you when riding can be a challenge, especially when those medications are temperature-sensitive. Last year I learned that I am allergic to bees – somehow in all my years of riding I’ve managed to avoid ever being stung, but now that I know of the allergy, going without my Epi Pen is not a risk I want to take.

I’m not terribly fond of fanny packs, and slipping the Epi-Pen into my boot as I’ve heard other riders do didn’t seem like a great idea. Still, I wanted it attached to my body in case my mare and I should ever part ways and I should need to use it. But Epi-Pens need to be protected from heat, a feat that would prove a challenge during hot summer rides. Thanks to some hunting around the internet, I’ve come up with a solution.

FRIO makes a Duo Insulin Cooling Wallet which is large enough to carry one (or two) Epi-Pens. The wallet is soft, the Epi-Pen easily fits inside, and I’m reassured that my body heat and the summer temperatures won’t affect the viability of the Epi-Pen. According to FRIO, the cooling wallet will stay cold for up to 45 hours. It also protects against freezing. While the wallet requires about a half hour’s worth of preparation time, I do it while I’m tacking up my horse. By the time we’re ready to go, so is the cooling wallet.

The whole case, Epi-Pen included, fits inside the adult-sized SPIbelt. Designed for runners and athletes, the SPIbelt (Small Personal Item belt) features a soft, expandable zippered pocket. It fights tightly against the body and doesn’t move around, which I appreciate, and is nowhere near as bulky as a fanny pack. I wear it under my shirt, and while the look isn’t exactly flattering, it’s still pretty decent considering it’s an Epi-Pen that I’ve strapped to myself.

So, if you or another rider you know needs to carry an Epi-Pen, insulin, or other medication, the pairing of these two items might be a good solution for you. Happy riding!