Are horses a hobby?

Paint it Lucky

Paint it Lucky

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My old yardowner used to really p*ss me off by referring to horse keeping as a 'hobby', I find this really insulting (maybe I am overeacting!) but I think of a hobby as something you do a few times a week or on a rainy day, things like playing chess or stamp collecting! How can something you do everyday, (often more than once) be classed as a hobby, surely it is a lifestyle! What do you guys think!
 
I think of it more as a lifestyle, after all my life kinda revolves around doing my horse at each end of the day every day - not that i don't have a life outside iit but you know what I mean...
 
I'm with you on this one. Some foreign idiot once called me a hobby rider as I didn't compete, which really annoyed me.

I don't think people who own horses can be classes as hobby riders but perhaps those who visit their riding school once a week would be!?

I am willing to be proved wrong though.
 
Horse riding- Hobby
Owning a horse... dont know? I dont call my dogs a hobby so I wouldnt call me horses one..
 
It's a bone of contention between me and my other half.

I was outside yesterday (like most days) for 9 hours in total either dealing with the horses, mucking out etc, riding and taking the dogs for walks.

My hubby (at the point in day I moaned) had been outside working (he's a dairy farmer) for 4 1/2 hours.

When I got in the house I had a sink full of dishes, the fire to set, washing to iron and put away and tea to prepare.

Apparently I had no cause to moan as I was only messing with horses which is a hobby, my choice to own them, and he was tired because he was working.

I do more hours a day tending to my various animals, we have hens and ducks too, than alot of my friends and family do at work. However, because I don't have a paid job I am seen as some sort of lazy lady of leisure. Indeed, I was insulted so much about being classed as lazy that I left Stable Ads forum over it.
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They're definately a lifestyle, especially if you're on DIY or keep them at home. Thats not to say its a chore and not out of choice though, its a great lifestyle, but it costs a lot of money and does really affect your life.
If you ride once a week at a riding school they're a hobby.
 
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People just don't appreciate how much work looking after horses is!

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Exactly. I have four and keep them at home on our farm. I also have two liveries and I feed them breakfast, administer medication if necessary and check on them in the evenings as well as seeing to my own.

Also have two dogs which I seem to be solely responsible for walking....because I don't work, it will "give me something to do" apparently. They can't be walked together, so I end up doing eight walks a day, split between both dogs (sometimes 10).

Then there are the hens and ducks. I don't even like eggs myself, but I have to tend to them.

Don't get me wrong, I like having all of the animals, I just sometimes wish the amount of effort and time it takes to look after them is appreciated. I am still viewed by many as stay at home mum who watches tv all day, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth. I rarely watch tv!

Take now...I'm browsing the net whilst cooking dinner.
 
When I asked my Mum if she would help me muck out last week said said that 'it was my Hobby!'. aggrr!!

I class a hobby as something you do as and when you want. Keeping horses at home is definitely not a hobby. As much as I love looking after them as well as riding, There are times I would love an extra hour in bed or would rather not go and skip out 3 stables at 10.30pm in the pouring rain and wind, but it always has to be done. I would say it is a Lifestyle but non-horsey people don't understand it.

That said I think if I kept my horses on Full livery and could turn up and ride when ever I wanted that would be my hobby, an expensive one at that!
 
But at the end of the day, we choose to have horses, they're not just something we're 'stuck' with, as a few of you are making them out to be. I know people who would love to have to get up early every day to see to their horse, but just can't afford to keep one. It would say it was a lifestyle choice, similar to having children. You don't have to have them and if you do, its up to you to look after them.
 
I'm in two minds about this. It is a hobby, in that I choose to keep a horse and I look after/ride her in my free time. But once you have a horse (especially on DIY) it is a lifestyle. There is no getting away from that - you can't pack the horse up and put it in the cupboard when you are busy!

However, when I'm struggling for cash I do find myself defending my 'hobby' to myself. It isn't NECESSARY for me to keep a horse, but I do feel driven to do so!
 
Sorry, going against popular opinion here, but yes I would class horses as hobby. Maybe I have a slightly different view though never having owned a horse. I'm not underestimating the commitment involved, I just think that unless horses are your livelihood then they are, by definition, a hobby.

Dictionary definition: Hobby - An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.
 
I refer to my horse as my hobby when deciding not to ride in pissing rain and wind ! I always say its my hobby not my profession ans its supposed to be fun as my justification for not getting on if the weather is rubbish
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. It's both a hobby and a lifestyle choice IMO. I don't feel offended if someone calls it my hobby but then again, don't generally care about what anyone thinks of my choices in life
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- I do what makes me happy
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After working with horses for twenty years i love the thought that i now have horses as a hobby. when i worked with horses, doing my own seemed like a chore before and after work and when i competed i put pressure on my self, thinking i should perform as it was my career. Now i look forward to doing my horses before and after work and enjoy competing for me, no-one else. i teach occasionally and help others with their horses when i feel like it. i choose to do this so it is my hobby.
 
Hobby - an activity followed regularly for pleasure.

Having owned and competed horse for nearly 20 years, kept them DIY no turn out or bringing in I would still refer to them as a hobby.

Anyone who doesn't have a horse they regularly enjoy should consider selling it and either going horse free or getting a better one
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Ahhh! My husband's favourite subject!

I realise that it's my choice to keep horses, & I love having them & am lucky enough to have them at home. Living the dream as they say!

I stopped work to have children with my OH's support. Twelve years on, the 3 boys are a bit less needy, & when they are at school I have time to do the horses. Time infact, to have taken on a couple of liveries to help pay for this 'hobby'. Four horses are quite hard work & I do often come in whacked & ready to sit down with a cuppa. I might even have a moan about something horse related.

My OH often tells me that they're only a hobby. I can see this to a point, but they still need feeding & tending to at least twice a day.
I think it's a Lifestyle choice really, unfortunately it's not his sort of Lifestyle! (He's non-horsey in case you hadn't guessed). I also have a responsibility to the liveries which are a part-time job in my eyes.

I love this lifestyle, but I too get comments from other mums about watching daytime TV (love Loose Women at lunchtime!) all day or riding around on horses all day! Not true, obviously, but I can think of worse things to do with my time. I've never been so busy & I know that I was there for my children in the early years.
 
I've just gone from being a once a week rider to loaning a horse. and I tell you what, its definately a lifestyle, huge amount of work, everything takes longer than you think it will...but I love it!

I would say riding is my hobby, everything else that goes along with horses is a lifestyle. I think when you go that extra to buy/loan a horse it takes alot more commitment than a hobby.
 
Yes, I believe horses are a hobby. I choose to have them and yes, looking after them takes work, but so does maintaining a mountain bike for eg.

I would not class a hobby as simply something you do once or twice a week, but anything you do for enjoyment, pleasure and through choice.

I would say it can go further than a hobby as it does become part of your lifestyle, but they don't come under the work category and not really the homelife category (family, children etc).

Both definitions I have looked at in online dictionaries, define hobby as something someone does in their spare time for pleasure. This is what I do with horses.

However, I wouldn't say that it is an easy hobby as it does bring huge responsibilities. All part of the fun, though, I guess. If I didn't gain pleasure from them, I would sell them as they are quite expensive afterall.

Sorry to go against the grain.
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Sorry, going against popular opinion here, but yes I would class horses as hobby. Maybe I have a slightly different view though never having owned a horse. I'm not underestimating the commitment involved, I just think that unless horses are your livelihood then they are, by definition, a hobby.

Dictionary definition: Hobby - An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.

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I agree, DrSunflower - I'd call it a hobby. I have Ellie on DIY livery, and everything I do with her I do myself, but these are still choices that I have made. I think those who own horses as part of a business, whether that be a dealer or someone who competes for a living, are the ones for whom horses are truly a 'lifestyle'. But I am a hobby rider - I ride for fun, and for pleasure, and likewise actually owning Ellie - I look after her because I love doing it. Therefore, riding/horsecare is, for me, as much a hobby as gokarting/fishing/painting may be for another person.
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IMO, riding/owning horses are a hobby. Ok, so perhaps not the typical ballet or piano lessons, but a hobby nonetheless. It just a higher level of commitment involved.
I've seen so many bloody pony club mothers/fathers push and push their children into 'the sport', wanting them to win everything going, and I've argued countless times that it is 'only' a hobby. As soon as you push, you loose the fun-factor and that's what riding's about . . surely?

Unless horses are your livelihood, it is a hobby.
 
Unless you are earning a living from them then, yes, they are a hobby.
Any hobby can be a daily 'lifestyle' thing.
 
Definately a hobby, it may be a lifestyle change, but its our descision to do it LOL!

My husband often comments and says things like ' I wish i could play football all day' mind you i do work with them aswell, but my own are definately hobby, its my choice!
 
Ok I can see where other people are coming from now. I don't see horses as a hobby, I see them as a lot more than that (an obsession!) but then I work with them aswell as having two of my own so my life does literally revolve around horses! But i can see that if you didn't work with horses and had another job that you had to fit horses in around then it would be more of a hobby.
 
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