10 things you wish you had known...

1. How expensive it all actually was, thought I'd budgeted enough.
2. How time consuming it is.
3. That you worry about them too much, every little cut is the a worry.
4. That 12 miles is too far to travel each way on a motorbike to see the horse, through the grotty weather
5. How grotty Britain's weather actually is, maybe my first horse should have lived in Spain! Didn't help with getting the horse in winter!
6. Wish I'd known how stroppy he can be, not exactly a selling point though.
7. That I should of stuck to the criteria in my head of what I wanted, bit of a heart over head decision.
8. That you should find a stable before you get the horse, cue me deciding which yard the transporter should be heading for as we were on our way down with the horse
9. It is so different to loaning or sharing, each decision affects the horse and it all rests on the owners shoulders.
10. How much fun it all is, if I'd known this I'd of done it earlier :)
 
How expensive they are
How heartbreaking they can be
How much time they take up
How much mental energy they take up
How despite all this they are way too addictive

x2
 
1. Don't do it.
2. You'll regret it
3. He'll cost you a fortune
4. He'll take all your spare time
5. You'll fall off and hurt yourself many times
6. You'll never (or rarely) have a lie-in again
7. You'l feel guilty every time you sit in your office watching the rain, knowing he's out in it
8. He'll break your heart when he dies
9. Even though your heart has been broken you'll do it all again as you don't know what to do with yourself without horses
10. None of this matters. When he whinnies at you at over the stable door at 6.30am your heart will melt and you'll be the happiest girl in the world.
 
annagain said:
1. Don't do it.
2. You'll regret it
3. He'll cost you a fortune
4. He'll take all your spare time
5. You'll fall off and hurt yourself many times
6. You'll never (or rarely) have a lie-in again
7. You'l feel guilty every time you sit in your office watching the rain, knowing he's out in it
8. He'll break your heart when he dies
9. Even though your heart has been broken you'll do it all again as you don't know what to do with yourself without horses
10. None of this matters. When he whinnies at you at over the stable door at 6.30am your heart will melt and you'll be the happiest girl in the world.
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this!
 
1. Lie-ins will become a thing of the past, even when you're on holiday as your body clock will have shifted from all the early mornings!
2. He'll cost you a fortune.
3. You will become a compulsive shopper, but for him not for you!
4. You'll suddenly take an interest in the weather.
5. You'll spend an inordinate amount of time picking up poo.
6. You'll discover muscles you didn't know you had.
7. You'll hate winter even more than before - dark, cold mornings and no riding after work! :(
8. You'll make new friends who understand your "horsy-ness"
9. You'll live in wellies.
10. When things go well, it's the best feeling in the world!
 
1. Smelling like horses becomes the norm. Your family and friends become resigned to the fact you smell like a stable.
2. "I'll just be an hour" really means, "you might see me before tomorrow."
3. The reasoning you do with yourself about the expense of it all. You become a master at bargaining with your split personality about every horse related decision.
4. The dread of parting with more money than you had budgeted for this month because horse has broken rug/tack/stable/fence/itself.
5. That you will become extremely good at bending reality when it comes to telling family and friends how much it really costs (especially OH).
6. You'll laugh lots
7. You'll cry more
8. Hindsight is a grand thing. You never stop learning, and you'll realise that the decisions you can make are boundless and daunting. But whatever decision you make will be with your horses best interests at heart.
9. Hay/shavings/straw/feed/dirt/muck gets everywhere. Don't ever expect a clean car again.
10. Nothing, not ever, really beats the feeling.
 
Nope. I know I can't live without them. I managed 3 months between losing my old boy and finding my new one (although I started looking after 3 weeks). Worst 3 months of my life. I was bored, crabby and stressed like a caged lion. I was going to the gym every day but I hated it. I remember phoning my sister to ask what I was supposed to after getting home from work and her answer was "watch Neighbours". I nearly cried.
 
Having been in this position 8 months ago...

1. It's exciting, but steel yourself. Just because you fall in love with a sweetest little pony, doesn't mean you should definitely buy it. Make sure it can do everything you want it to, else you'll just be frustrated down the line when you find it won't jump, or doesn't know what a circle is.

2. Don't cheap out. Save at least 3k before looking. Not that there aren't wonderful first ponies under 2k, but you're more likely to get a good all round for a bigger price.

3. Save at least 1k on top for all the equipment you'll need once purchased. You'll be surprised how much the initial outlay can be! Not just food and tack, things like storage, brushes, lotions and potions, and those little things 'just because' stack up rather fast!

4. Visit yards and even offer to lend a hand one day at any potential places. Really helped me get a feel for a place, and if I didn't like the vibe, I didn't have to worry about moving a horse as well!

5. Don't get something with full feathers. It may look gorgeous and cute, but you'll soon spend more time brushing them out and worrying about feathermites than anything else! :p

6. Get as much history as possible on any potential buys. Wish I knew more about my ponies past, besides knowing she's had babies at some point from her weak back and saggy teats, she's a bit of a question mark!

7. Show 10 people a rock and you'll get different opinions about it. It's very easy to get pulled left and right with other peoples opinions on what you should or shouldn't do. Look at all your options, consider the pros and cons, and then do what you think works for you and your horse.

8. Following on, the horse world is full of opinionated, oftentimes rude people. Try not to get too upset or offended by these people, or allow yourself to be made to feel inadequate.

9. Following on again, don't feel like a complete failure when someone points out you are legitimately doing something wrong. It can sting sometimes and it's easy to think you are useless, but it's all part of the learning process. They're not saying it with the intention of upsetting you, they care about the well being of you and your horse.

10. Don't take out a loan to afford it. It's a dumb idea. Sure, you can afford to pay it off and all the other expenses, but it would be nice to have that £279 a month freed up :p

Bonus round: Get lessons together! Even if you think you just want to be a happy hacker, lessons with an instructor are a real boom, and the skills transfer to hacking as well as schooling!
 
annagain said:
1. Don't do it.
2. You'll regret it
3. He'll cost you a fortune
4. He'll take all your spare time
5. You'll fall off and hurt yourself many times
6. You'll never (or rarely) have a lie-in again
7. You'l feel guilty every time you sit in your office watching the rain, knowing he's out in it
8. He'll break your heart when he dies
9. Even though your heart has been broken you'll do it all again as you don't know what to do with yourself without horses
10. None of this matters. When he whinnies at you at over the stable door at 6.30am your heart will melt and you'll be the happiest girl in the world.
Click to expand...

This sums it up prefectly for me, especially number 8 - I can clearly remember standing in the field with my fataly injured & much loved mare waiting for the vet to come & put her down thinking "never ever ever ever again"
It didn't last & I have done it again!
 
Spreebok said:
Having been in this position 8 months ago...

1. It's exciting, but steel yourself. Just because you fall in love with a sweetest little pony, doesn't mean you should definitely buy it. Make sure it can do everything you want it to, else you'll just be frustrated down the line when you find it won't jump, or doesn't know what a circle is.

2. Don't cheap out. Save at least 3k before looking. Not that there aren't wonderful first ponies under 2k, but you're more likely to get a good all round for a bigger price.

3. Save at least 1k on top for all the equipment you'll need once purchased. You'll be surprised how much the initial outlay can be! Not just food and tack, things like storage, brushes, lotions and potions, and those little things 'just because' stack up rather fast!

4. Visit yards and even offer to lend a hand one day at any potential places. Really helped me get a feel for a place, and if I didn't like the vibe, I didn't have to worry about moving a horse as well!

5. Don't get something with full feathers. It may look gorgeous and cute, but you'll soon spend more time brushing them out and worrying about feathermites than anything else! :p

6. Get as much history as possible on any potential buys. Wish I knew more about my ponies past, besides knowing she's had babies at some point from her weak back and saggy teats, she's a bit of a question mark!

7. Show 10 people a rock and you'll get different opinions about it. It's very easy to get pulled left and right with other peoples opinions on what you should or shouldn't do. Look at all your options, consider the pros and cons, and then do what you think works for you and your horse.

8. Following on, the horse world is full of opinionated, oftentimes rude people. Try not to get too upset or offended by these people, or allow yourself to be made to feel inadequate.

9. Following on again, don't feel like a complete failure when someone points out you are legitimately doing something wrong. It can sting sometimes and it's easy to think you are useless, but it's all part of the learning process. They're not saying it with the intention of upsetting you, they care about the well being of you and your horse.

10. Don't take out a loan to afford it. It's a dumb idea. Sure, you can afford to pay it off and all the other expenses, but it would be nice to have that £279 a month freed up :p

Bonus round: Get lessons together! Even if you think you just want to be a happy hacker, lessons with an instructor are a real boom, and the skills transfer to hacking as well as schooling!
Click to expand...

Really good advice. especially the show 10 people a rock one. Went through hell trying to get my boy (who has been with me 2 weeks now... and he is my first horse)

1)Initial outlay is much more than I thought.. luckily had some savings/a very loving boyfriend
2) Bargain shop, ebay facebook pages use all of them to get great deals... just don't do it the weekend before
3) Lessons are super important so make sure you factor that into your budget
4) shop around for hay/bedding not on the day of your horse arrive.. you just end up caving in the first shop you go to.. and of course that ends up being the most expensive!
5) If your horse needs a farrier make sure you book this in advance. My boy really needed doing but I had to wait 2 weeks before getting him shod
6) Organise what you will do in winter before hand... so that you have a back up plan of a back up plan
7) I over thought everything before getting my boy.... If I had come to the yard before hand and chatted through what they all did on a daily routine it would be off been easier.. ie I was stressing I didn't have a wheel barrow... but turns out everyone borrows!
8) Try and make sure your yard is on your way to work.. and factor in the cost of petrol!
9) The head collar doesn't always come with the horse....
10) all the worry disappears when you see him coming off the ramp and the owner gives you his head collar and you think gosh he really is mine and suddenly it all melts away
 
wish upon a star said:
1. How expensive it all actually was, thought I'd budgeted enough.
2. How time consuming it is.
3. That you worry about them too much, every little cut is the a worry.
4. That 12 miles is too far to travel each way on a motorbike to see the horse, through the grotty weather
5. How grotty Britain's weather actually is, maybe my first horse should have lived in Spain! Didn't help with getting the horse in winter!
6. Wish I'd known how stroppy he can be, not exactly a selling point though.
7. That I should of stuck to the criteria in my head of what I wanted, bit of a heart over head decision.
8. That you should find a stable before you get the horse, cue me deciding which yard the transporter should be heading for as we were on our way down with the horse
9. It is so different to loaning or sharing, each decision affects the horse and it all rests on the owners shoulders.
10. How much fun it all is, if I'd known this I'd of done it earlier :)
Click to expand...

This......plus to budget extra for vets bills and the odd 'no you don't need it but want it as it's so pretty' bit of kit :D
 
Having shared and then loaned mine before I bought him I thought a lot of the 'first horse' worries wouldn't happen to me. Oh my lordy how wrong I was!

I wish I'd known:

1. No matter how well you know him, when your horse moves to a new home he will turn into a complete pillock that you don't recognise.
2. Groundwork is SO important, and you're never too old to learn it.
3. You will spend more time than you ever thought possible picking, looking at, thinking about, analysing, and talking about poo. The shapes, colours and consistencies of poo will be to you as types of snow supposedly are to the Inuit. The frequency of poo production will be the cause of sleepless nights. This attention to detail will pay off when your horse colics and you can catch it early, but this will mean your attention to every poo will be increased approximately tenfold.
4. Every tiny cut or graze will appear on first inspection to be a hideous wound, a spot of blood will resemble arterial spray, any penetration of the skin will appear to be a gash down to the bone. It probably isn't that bad.
5. You could build your horse a companion using only the horse hair which will make its way into your house.
6. Equine nutrition is incomprehensible, and everyone in the world but you is an expert in it. Pick what works for your horse.
7. In summer everything you possess will become saturated with fly repellent. In winter you will never be fully dry or fully warm. By the time you've started to thaw out, it will be time to go outside again.
8. Udder cream is the solution to everything.
9. At some point your beloved horse will disappoint you. He is not perfect, he has off-days, sometimes he's irritable or lazy, or destructive or just plain daft. When you see him at least twice a day every single day, he will do something, sooner or later, which makes you think you've made a horrible mistake or ruined a good horse. This will not last forever, it will get better, and it doesn't only happen to you.
10. It doesn't matter how much your horse cost, how old he is, or what anyone else thinks of him, if you enjoy him that's all that matters. If he can bring a smile to your face even after he's been an utter prat, or make you feel better after a dreadful day, or make you feel like you've achieved something, even if it's only small, if it matters to you, then the opinions of others aren't worth listening to.
 
How to age a horse to within a few years. (bought a "10yo" who was actually 30 and died in a year. Yes, we were stupid as all hell)
 
annagain said:
1. Don't do it.
2. You'll regret it
3. He'll cost you a fortune
4. He'll take all your spare time
5. You'll fall off and hurt yourself many times
6. You'll never (or rarely) have a lie-in again
7. You'l feel guilty every time you sit in your office watching the rain, knowing he's out in it
8. He'll break your heart when he dies
9. Even though your heart has been broken you'll do it all again as you don't know what to do with yourself without horses
10. None of this matters. When he whinnies at you at over the stable door at 6.30am your heart will melt and you'll be the happiest girl in the world.
Click to expand...

This - especially 8. Though two and a half years into owning my current mare and getting my first morning whinnie (OH doesn't even get the food bowl whinnie which I've been getting for a few months) it really does make the hard times worthwhile!
 
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1. If you are unhappy at a yard, move. Immediately. Adult bullies exist
2. Forget about nice nails and embrace helmet hair.
3. Horses prefer being out if everyone else is
4. Don't buy a Tb
5. Don't buy a green, young horse unless you have the skills to bring it on
6. Don't buy a saddle company saddle and remember good saddlers have waiting lists ad are worth waiting for.
7. Don't waste money on fly sprays, just get cattle flypor, which is an egg cup every four weeks
8. If you are thinking about not having children, the purchase of a horse will further discourage you
9. A horsebox is a great investment. They keep their value, so buy one ASAP.
10. One day you will have ......four that you love as much as your dogs, your own land, be retired, deliriously content ..... and not regret a single moment of the journey that got you there.
 
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1. That somehow they breed, even if they are geldings.. One is never enough.
2.That if they can hurt themselves they will.
3. With reference to 2, that you should do some very thorough research on insurance before signing up.
4. That you need ONE horsey friend you trust to ask advice from.
5. That said horsey friend should begin every reply with "well I'm no expert but this is what works for me"...
6. That small ponies are evil... So when an angelic one pops up for free lease grab him, even is daughter is only 2 at the time.
7. That you can have more than one heart horse.
8. That they are the best thing that can possibly happen to an awkward teenager.
9. That when you get a horse, OH will demand a motorbike, and it is easier just to give in.
10. That they won't a) care or b) go irredeemably backwards if you don't ride for a month.
 
1) Most women with horses are slightly crazy (completely)
2) If your male and own a horse you will most likely end up marrying a crazy horse lady.
3) you will remain poor your entire life due to point 2
4) you will never do the normal holiday type stuff due to point 2
5) most of your spare time will be taken up fixing horseboxes, fencing, checking or dealing with horses as a result of point 2
6) you may end up with two crazy horse ladies if you have a daughter as a result of point 2
7) you will rarely see the crazy horse ladies during the summer.
8) in winter you will be moaned at for not spending enough time with CHL as for some reason horse only take a fraction of the time in winter.
9) In winter you will end up freezing your whatsits off as CHL suddenly really needs a lie in and could you please do the horses
10) 90% of conversations with CHL will be about very minor (to you not CHL) horse issues.
 
1. You should have got a friend to talk you out of it
2. You KNOW you can't afford it
3. When you get it home, IMMEDIATELY take it out for a hack straight off the wagon before you do anything else. My trainer swears by this as it will settle the horse by doing what they would do in the herd, i.e. explore new territory before eating or settling down
4. Accept that your (non-horsey) family will whinge as they won't see you any more. Full stop.
5. Accept that from now on, EVERYWHERE you go will have the all-pervasive stink of "horse"
6. Accept that in spite of your best efforts you will never ever get rid of the all-pervasive stink of horse
7. Accept that you will be permanently overdrawn from now on
8. Get saddle fitter out ASAP as priority even if you've been told the saddle fits, ditto physio & dentist.
9. Be prepared for your horse to show you something new and to learn from him/her
10. Get an expert in EARLIER rather than later if you run into an issue (and you will......)
 
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