Anyone else discoverd they don't really mind not riding?

Spotherisk said:
I’ve found that I don’t mind it at all, except I’d love to still be riding Harley. He is 31 and happily retired though, so my boots are hung up (probably).
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My best old boy was a Harley 🥰 look after him. You can get back to riding one day later. My favourite horse owning memories are just looking after my beloved old Harls
 
I am still the opposite. When I had nothing to ride over winter as my horse was on box rest, I was very down and didn’t look forward to time off and was very negative about the future. This was despite being at the yard most days to tend to him so it wasn’t the social side I was missing.

Planning riding and my “goals” gives me a real sense of drive and purpose. I use goals lightly as this could range from training to enter a specific competition/achieve certain scores to doing a new hack successfully through a spooky village.

Any nice days and I quite literally am itching to get to the yard and on a horse. But I imagine this won’t last forever..
 
I discovered the opposite. This is how I ended up with two horses. I bought a two-year old in February, stupidly optimistic that my 27-year old horse would rally in the spring and could have a least a summer of light riding. She did not, and I had to PTS at the start of June. Decided to buy something of ridable age. Fin was in my old horse's stable by the third week of July.

Looking at the horse hunting thread, that's warp speed. My criteria were sound, cute, and mostly acceptable levels of bonkers. Hermosa had just foaled at this point, and she had become a foal proud uncatchable feral horse. So if it wasn't pregnant, and I could catch it, I felt like I was buying Valegro.

I knew there would be a gap between old horse and baby horse, but hoped it would not be long (nor did I think that baby horse would have another baby horse exactly a week after putting old horse to sleep). At the time, I thought I would back the youngster at 3. That did not happen, either, so I was very happy to have a Fin and then back Hermosa when it felt right.
 
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I'm having a confidence crisis at the moment and haven't ridden in about 5 months. I'm frustrated at myself, but I'm not actually upset that I'm not riding if that makes sense. I love looking after my horses, I love that they watch me slaving away carting 6 hay bags and feed up the paddock while they stamp their feet because I'm being too slow, I love spending thousands on bodyworkers, dentists and farrier to ensure that they are comfortable and happy mooching about lazily in the field and I don't really care that get nothing tangible in return. Many would say I'm crazy, but then most horse people are, I guess.
 
I want to ride a bit, but not enough to go through the rigmarole of taking Alf away from his friend, who has the most enormous attack of the frillies if he can't be within 10ft of Alf at all times (Alf couldn't care less!)
I am however, planning to make a regular thing out of swapping Alf for friend 2, who friend 1 enjoys playing with, so that I can ride a bit more regularly now the weather is nicer.
I get the most pleasure out of hanging out with Alf and feeding him treats, now that he is old and doesn't need to be gainfully employed
 
I don’t miss riding when I can’t do it. I have 2 young children, work full time and life is just hectic. I’ve recently thought of giving up altogether but I do enjoy having a horse for the most part. It’s getting harder every year though, I feel guilty if I don’t ride - horse isn’t fussed as long as he’s fed! It’s been a long winter and I just want a break from daily chores at the yard and I’d like some of my time back. We’re still in winter mode as the fields are so wet so it’s really becoming a struggle, I think I may look for a part loaner. However I’m very untrusting!
 
umm its a tricky one. I miss being able to enjoy to ride, i've not for a long time in the way I want- beach rides, jumping confidently etc.

now i'm stepping away from horses i'm appreciating all the time I have for everything else.. sometimes I see old photos of me riding and yearn for the past, or I follow others journeys and wish I could do the same. but if push came to shove, there's a million obstacles blocking my path, so I think its more a wistful thing.
 
I don’t miss it nearly as much as I thought I would. I’ve never had my own but I’m very mindful now of how much I pay, and what I’m paying for. Having ridden a few nice, and a couple of quality horses, I have no desire to pay almost three figures for something average, and the Russian roulette of horse allocations.

I’ve done my time spending most of a lesson straightening and/or softening a horse, working ‘with what we’ve got’. That’s not to demean the horse, or skill of doing it (an under taught, undervalued skill imho), just that I want to enjoy riding and learning new things.
 
I think enjoying riding depends on the stars aligning: you have the right horse, the right place, maybe good companions, time to do it, fitness to enjoy it. I’ve been lucky to enjoy such times in my life, great memories.
These days, in my late sixties, I drive my pony. After a long muddy winter I think maybe I do just enjoy having him and looking after him? Then the sun shines and we hitch up and we’re off again. Yes I love it! Do what you can when you can.
 
I have backed two ponies before my current one, and in both cases, I already had a riding pony, so I would back the youngster and still be riding. Now, I have found myself with a retired pony, and my new youngster, and things are very different. I can really dedicate myself to his training and have found that I really love doing the in-hand foundation work, and as I have no-one to ride with, getting as much done in-hand as I can is vital to make the switch to ridden as seamless and as safe as possible. Like most of the other comments, we go out for miles in hand as the best way to introduce a rather feral pony to the real world.
So, I have found that I don't miss the riding as much as I thought I would, but then again, I can't wait to be riding on him, and I feel that our relationship and understanding is so much stronger having spent so much time working together on the ground.
 
I could give up riding easier than giving up owning which I have considered but came to the conclusion that I like looking after them and don't think I could live without that. When I was in my 20s, I didn't see the point of keeping a horse if I didn't hunt & compete because I could always get plenty of riding exercising other people's horses. Now I'm not that fussed about riding, often lose motivation for it though not quite ready to give it up completely just yet but sure it will come eventually.
 
Sugarplum Furry said:
Since I lost my arab 3 years ago the light seems to have gone out of my riding life. I owned him for 18 years, we were so absolutely in tune with each other to the point where any horse I've ridden since doesn't hold any real joy for me. I know I can't expect to find that magic again, it was once in a lifetime. I've got an elderly but full of beans and great fun section D Welsh mare that I haven't ridden for over a year, I groom her, get the tack out and realise my riding mojo has disappeared and the saddle goes back on the rack. I do genuinly miss riding, it doesn't help that I've got my own little yard here at home so there's nobody to pep talk me back into it, and nobody to ride with.
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I can totally relate, I lost my special one in 2017 and I've failed to find another even remotely as nice or as right for me as he was.

Also have a yard to myself and instead of finding another companion (I had had a friend's horse or a sort of loan/full livery arrangement but she wanted her back when her other horse died), I found someone to share with me. I know it can be difficult to find the right person and I was prepared for it to go tits up but it has worked out extremely well.
 
Jenko109 said:
I have a 17yo schoolmaster out in the field who hasnt been ridden in months and possibly I wont ever ride him again.

He has gone a bit feral and is absolutely in his element just dossing about in the field all day with his friends.
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That's also my mare! 17 in May and turned out happy and feral.

I haven't ridden since November. The roads aren't safe/I'm not willing to put her at risk and I don't have or want a school. She's also been lame on and off - and because of that - I am very hesitant to get her going again.

How do I know she is entirely free of pain? I don't. She loves going out and would mask her discomfort.
 
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