American moving to Blighty with British husband, bringing horse!

[ohmissbrittany]

Hi all! I am Britt, and my husband and I recently decided we are moving to his home country in England, probably in the West Midlands/Northwest area next summer. I feel a little like I'm bringing my horse to Mars, because the UK doesn't have Smartpak and I'm not familiar with any of the brands/products or even the terminologies out there! So please be patient with me, as I'm trying to do a ton of research and asking questions about how things compare/contrast to the US.

I'm currently a chemical engineer, though that may change- I'm looking into horse careers so any advice on that is appreciated! The salary for engineers in the UK is not as high as the US, so my thinking is that if I am going to take a massive pay cut, I may as well find a situation/job I love. I've been riding for close to 20 years, starting in Western/Rodeo/cattle ranch work, and have been doing showjumping for the last 3 years- it's the love I never knew I had. I am very passionate about good farriery, medical issues, lameness rehab, grooming (OMG ALL THE GOOS AND GADGETS- I love trying things out!) and young horse starting. I've always been a very DIY horse owner, taking an active role in care and management of my equine athletic partners' education and fitness, and have learned a lot along the way. But you never stop learning!

We are bringing also bringing my feisty chestnut mare, Ygritte with us. I've had her for about two years and she is 8 so we have "grown up" through amateur showjumping in both rated and unrated showjumping circuits together in Texas. I hope the horse community is as friendly in the UK and welcoming as it is in Texas.

 

[Enfys]

Hi,

There are several ex-pat Americans and Canadians on here (Tarrsteps for one) and I am sure they will all be very helpful.

I did it the other way and left Britain for North America

Horse people are the same the world over, yard politics, know-it-alls, all the gear - no idea, the bitches, the gossips, and all the good, friendly, normal, helpful people too.

Other than the weather and the smallness of the UK ( area of Texas = 268,820 2quare miles, UK = 94,058 ! )
Horse management and terminology are probably going to be the biggest differences and you will get used to them and in time stop thinking "At home we don't do that" and you will stop translating everything into dollars after about 6 months (maybe ) Oh, and competition wear is a bit different too Last time I looked coloured breeches in the UK were for home and training only

Will you be boarding your horse or will you have your own property?

 

[skint1]

I'm from CT but I've lived here in UK for 30 years but never owned or had much to do with horses when I lived in the U.S.. Here in the UK I live in a large town but am only a 5 min drive from some seriously beautiful countryside where my horses live and I just love it here, you'll get to know which brand of feed and rugs ( blankets) suit your horse best. I know when I was last in CT I went to a tack shop and it was weird to try and figure what I would feed my horses if id have lived there!

 

[hobo]

I would think that you are better off keeping with a job you are qualified for which would probably give you more time to enjoy your own horse rather than trying to get horse work. Like Enfys says you will find all sorts of horsey people here, but join a riding club, go to group lessons and meet people. It maybe a good idea to find a yard that does a mix of full, part and DIY livery , you could start with a few weeks full or part to help you settle in.
Have fun planning and people on here will give you ideas when you know where you are moving to.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Good luck with your move, ask us anything and everything, I'm sure you'll be fine!