Babies & Horses??

Ginger Bear

Ginger Bear

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 November 2010
Messages
1,319
Location
Essex
Visit site
Me & the OH have been having the 'baby conversation' & have come to the coonclusion that we would like to try for a baby by the end of the year.. I won't be going back to work (i just work part time at the mo) so will just be a mum & house wife.. so was wondering how you people with young babies & horses cope & what your routines are as gettig rid of my boy is definately not an option for me! Thanks in advance..x
 
I have known so many horsey people have children and most have got their horses on loan, have a sharer or have sold them (the horse not the baby lol)!

Others have struggled to give the full time to the horse like they used to until they start school, as in horse well cared for but not groomed much or ridden.

THIS IS WHY IM NEVER HAVING ANY!!!!!!

You're lucky though if you wont have to fit work in as you can have time for horsey whilst using babysitters which will be a godsend!

Hard work but Im sure will be very rewarding :)
 
My aunt loans one day per week but a proper share would definately be better.. I've got my nan saying..'a horse, a dog & A BABY!!!???' lol... My boy hasn't had the best past & he definately has a forever home with me, so he will not be going anywhere..my mum has her horse in the stable next door to me so that's got to work in my favour?? We do have services if need be at our yard. & my sister is a child carer so I suppposse that's a good thing too..mmm..I don't know maybe a bit of full livery for the first few months & then a yard baby on my back lol..(obviously not when riding)...lol.
 
I did the opposite and bought a horse when I was 6 months pregnant!!

He was a yearling and it was summer so he just lived in the field, when it came to winter I had him and a pony both on DIY which I managed with a baby. She was very good and slept a lot so I could muck out etc.

When I came to start riding she would sit in her buggy in the school and I had the time it took for her to eat a packet of mini cheddars!

I'm pregnant again now, but my horse is out on loan anyway so I'm not planning on doing it again!
However my daughter who is now 7 is the healthiest child ever, she is never ill and I'm sure it was all that fresh air and yard germs she was exposed to as a baby!
 
When I had my first child, my pony was semi-retired, so baby used to come with me in the mornings to muck out (DIY) and when hubby came home, I'd go off and finish off and have a pootle about. Bought another horse when child was 9 months old.

When 2nd child came along, I just had the one horse, oldie had died. I rode till about 7 months and then had a sharer until baby was 1 month old. Moved horse onto DIY and closer to home and the same thing happened as with first.

If my OH had worked away, or wasn't able to look after the children in the evening, I'm not sure what I would have done.
Getting rid of the horse(s) was never discussed as it was never going to happen.
 
Wow sounds like you have alot of things in place already- obviously well thought through!

People I've known, like you say have had a little time off whilst baby was newborn, at least if you do this you can try to establish a routine without worrying about a hungry horse and hungry baby! Then if you have time you can still pop and see horsie when is convenient for you and not have to worry about being there at a spesific time to turnout/ feed etc.
Then ideally when baby is in a routine you can fit yard visits around baby's feed times etc to work to your advantage.

Does your horse live out in summer? Ideal time to have a newborn as horsie will be easier to look after :)

If you're considering a sharer maybe start looking now so you can spend the time (while you have it) showing them the ropes?
 
Fortunately both of mine were born early and late Spring time. So it was around the time they would be out 24/7. During both pregnancies I was mucking out and carrying water buckets, haynets etc as usual until the night I went into labour. It was about 2 days after I got home with baby no.1 before I went to see them, OH was doing them for me, plus one of my friends helped out if OH was busy or in at the hospital with me.

I was quite ill after baby no.2 as I had a major blood loss (same as Kat Slater!! But she miraculously recovered and could walk the next day - I couldnt stand up without passing out), so it was a couple of weeks before I could see them, but again, between my OH and my friend, they got the horses done for me. They were only really needing checked that time as they were already out 24/7.

Then it was a case of getting back into a routine but one that fitted in around the baby's routine. I wrapped them up and stuck them in their 3 wheeler and just got on with it. I was lucky though that it was just me and my horses at the farm and wasn't a big busy yard, or things would have been different.

Good luck! You'll cope! :)
 
My son used to come to the yard with me everyday, he'd sit in his pushchair in the stable while I mucked out, and I tried to time my riding with when he was asleep and the YO let me park my car next to the school.
The only thing that was difficult was turning out and bringing in but it was offered as a service so wasn't too much of a problem, its hard work to combine them both but with good organisation and the help of friends and family its very possible.
 
Quirky..that's how I'd like it to be.. I know a baby will alter our life but I want the baby to fit in with us & our life not for us to be the sort of parents to change everything because the baby is here...ie getting rid of my boy. Plus I think it's lovely for children to grow up outside & around animals..

Sugarlump..no he doesn't live out in summer.. I did think that I would like for the baby to be here by the summer just so I haven't got a newborn with all the hard work in the winter..plus I won't ride while pregnant, I have a nervy tb so wouldn't take the risk & I know it's a bit selfish but I'd rather be pregnant through the winter so I can be riding again by summer.. I have advertised for a sharer already & do have the option of getting my aunt to do a bit extra or one of my mum's friends wanted to loan Pablo a year ago but I didn't need a loaner at the time.
 
it largely depends on your support network. i have a 6yr old, a 15 month old, 3 dogs/chickens etc and studyinh a degree!!
it can be done. i have a sharer so i do mine 4 days a week and if i dont get time to ride atleast i know that my sharer rides! i gaver up riding at 3 months preg and started again when baby was 2 months but i had a complicated birth! my o.h looks after kids whilst i ride or my mother in law does!!
it can be done!
 
hubby also works from home quite a lot so if I'm organised enough I can get to the yard & turn out while he has the bubba & get back so he can start or go to work. Plus me & my mum take turns turning out & bringing in anyway so it's not like I have to do everyday like clockwork...better get organised..lol.
 
Can I just add that for me, it was when they got to the 'I don't want to sit in my pushchair' age that things got tricky.

There is a time when they want to be up and about but aren't big enough to do anything to 'help' and that is the awkward few months.

I got my little girl her own set of tools and barrow and she used to 'help' muck out ... in fact, she's an ace sweeper upper as that was her favourite job :D.
She has just started school this (academic) year and she says she misses going to see the horse :(.
 
I found out I was pregnant about 4 months after buying a 3yo warmblood!! I thought I would have to give him up as he was a handfull, however I presevered. I stopped riding straight away (as he was only 3 and kept throwing me!) and moved him to a yard with good grazing and 24hr turnout. It was summer time so there wasn't much to except groom and the occasional lunge. When I was about 2 weeks off I sent him away for full livery and schooling and amazingly he was perfect. Turns out that the summer off complelty chilled him out and gave him chance to grow up a bit!
He was at the competition yard for 3 months where I made appearances to watch him ridden initially and then start riding him myself again. I then brought him back and did my jobs with him in a buggy or in the car and then rode with car next to menage. When he got a bit older I had a DVD player fitted in the car and he still watches films in the car whilst I ride in the menage and he's 3 now. He does go to nursery in the afternoons but I also remained working throughtout all of this and that has to take priority!! I do work for myself so I get to juggle my own hours. It's definatly do-able but not alwasy easy. Just be prepared to keep changing your routine around the baby.
 
Ahhh bless her.. well you very positive inspirational lot have given me a lot of help & ideas!! Thanks for that... there's no point in talking about it with non horsey people as they think your mad trying to fit everything else in..
 
i've always had horses and have only depended on myself and occassionally my OH when i had kids to look after the horses.
i'm a fulltime mum, i tried having a job but because my kids have disabilities it didn't work out (time off work etc), my OH works a job that allows me to spend time with my horses without the kids which is a big bonus.

my youngest goes to the yard with me though if i go early in the day and he helps me out as much as he can, my eldest sometimes goes with me if i leave after he gets home from school. again he helps me out alot.

each of my kids have had to fit in around my horses and they all accept that i have to give as much attention to the horses as i do them.
i've been slated by school mums for having horses and i'm probably not giving my kids the right amount of attention or i spend all my money on the horses but at the end of the day my kids are happy, they are well adjusted and caring, they also respect my time and my horses, they don't like seeing a horse being smacked for no reason as they know there is always a better way (i've not taught them this). the mums that don't have horses (that i know personally) go out most nights get drunk, leave their kids with a babysitter watching the tv, them kids are rude, bolshy and very unfit...........my kids are very fit for their ages.

^^^^what i'm saying there is that my kids get more time spent with them because we share responsibilities (so to speak) and they are happy because i'm happy.
when they were born i'd take them to the yard and sit them in the pushchair, the yards i was on was perfect for that, i could deal with the horses and kids without being stressed. my OH would be there too and we would take it in turns to do whatever was needed and it worked.

it also helps if you have a big support network with family, i didn't have family to help which was hard sometimes but i've got through it and have enjoyed every minute of it (looking back!!!).
sorry that was so long!
 
Its easy while baby is immobile, you wrap it up well and strap it in and carry on as normal. Once they are up and about its a bit harder - I was lucky my mother-in-law is a saint and had Small Boy 1 for me while I rode. I keep the horses at home so I could nip out to get them in while he was asleep and so on.
 
we manage fine, 3 kids (4yo,2.5yo & 10months), dog & kids welsh A & currently welsh C on loan (i loan her) but she has to go back not due to time ect but due to my hip damage. cant ride/walk far/carry much ect........ but i did all of it right through all pregnancys & baby stages, its hard work & means careful planning but more than doeable, kids are all very healthy & love being outside (TV/computer time is a treat not the norm)
i wouldnt change it for the world (well exept the broken hips bit!)
 
I've been thinking about this too.

I've got two horses, but one is unsound and retired. I think I will try and get a loaner or a sharer for my good riding horse for 1 year, and be clear in the advert it's only for a year. I will also be insisting that my horse stays at his current yard - I'm lucky in that I live in quite a 'busy' area so finding a suitable local person will hopefully be possible.

If I only have to look after my retired horse, I think I will be able to manage quite easily and I'll be able to have him on full livery during times I can't be there.
 
Last edited:
I think your lucky if you have support, were nearly bought again last year and this week im glad we didnt!! my 3 year old has had chicken pox, also got a 1 year old, no support around us and hubby goes at 7am and gets back at 7pm. Im desperate to ride and have my own again but the children come first at the moment they wont be babies forever.
 
If you are not working I can't see why it would be a problem? My friend has 4 kids, single mum and works p/t but still have not only her own horse but her daughters section b also.

Another friend has a 9 month old son and she runs a training yard!! Works 7 days a week and with the help of her mum who takes her son for a couple of days or else the little boy goes to the yard with her and spends the day straped to her back, looked after by the girls who help her, with his dad (who also works at the yard) or enjoying himself watching mum and dad riding the horses!! He's one of the happiest healthiest little boys I know...plus the moment he starts to cry pop him on the back of one of the horses and he's grinning from ear to ear...guess what he's destined to be???? ;)

Were there is a will there is a way, you obviously value your horse highly so you'll find a way of making it work. I think sometimes people make kids/dogs/horses out to be so much work but if you are organised it doesn't need to be. Kids are not something that should alter your life but should enhance it.
 
Hi

I had two horses when I became pregnant and with help (I was working full time so had a paid helper anyway) I managed to keep them both in work and rode myself until I was 8 months pregnant.

After baby came in December I had had a C section so couldnt walk or drive to my field for several weeks (thick mud, sore, knackered all round fairly grim). BUT then it got much easier in the spring except my LO had huge separation anxiety and screamed if I left him for even two minutes. Needless to say I had to keep the help for a good few months but I did start riding again within 8 weeks of his birth I think. I was/am much fatter still though which is annoying and I havent competed since he was born. Something I WILL change this year.

Two years on almost to the day its much easier although I have swapped my cob for a section A and just kept the one riding horse. My horses are not at livery but a mile away from my house so although I have to drive or walk to my field my son comes with me and either sits in the puschair and watches or he watches a video in the car while I do jobs. He gets out and 'helps' a lot too. One of my favourite things is watching him feeding the pony hay and although things are very different now and it probably would have been much easier if they were at home or livery we have managed and there was never a question of giving up.

I think change is inevitable if you have a baby unless your circumstances mean you have a lot of help anyway. I haven't gone back to work now either so most days I walk dogs, play with horses and my son. It sounds idyllic and mostly it is but I had to make some hard decisions about working/horses and logistics i,e I dont have any help any more and my house is a bomb site but I wouldt change it for the world..

Oh and, maybe its just me but I dont stress anything like as much as I used to about the horses. Before baby I would have been stressed about the weather and lack of riding. Now I just shrugged, thought of them as 'turned away' and enjoyed a few weekends where my family and I spent a bit more time together.

Good luck and sorry if I havent answered your questions exactly, this is just my experience.

EL
 
when i had ryan (now 1) i had 3 horses :) all wer turned away to grass just then so it wasnt too much of a problem as i only had to check them once a day. this winter my old boy had to be stable kept so hubbie went up and fed / turned him out in the morning befor work and i was up in the afternoon while hubbie had ryan to muck out and groom ect. im now pregnant again and since loosing my old boy i have decided to get a nice youngster that i can play with untill the babys are old enough to be at school ect and i will back it.
there is no reason you shouldnt still have your horse :) i love my little boy but when i go up to my horse (which i do every afternoon) it gives him a chance to spend time with his daddy. i have been known to have ryan up there with me if i cant get a baby sitter! he loves the horses and is happy to sit in his pram while i muck out ect
 
Babies and horses can definatly go together!

I work with horses and have a 20month old little girl.

I've been doing the yard to 6yrs now and i admit i did take a year off from when i was about 30 weeks pregnant till baby was 8months old but i would've gone back sooner had someone not been covering my maternity.

I got my own pony when my baby was 9months and since day one baby has come up stables with me come rain, shine or snow!

My partner works shifts so its not always that she has to come with me but more often than not shes there, she has a playpen set up and knows no different allthough she is a very very laid back child.

Having a baby doesnt mean life with horses has to stop, ok its not always easy but if you have the support of friends and family its easier!

My little one is very healthy and contented child....must be all that fresh air! (or horse dung lol)
 
Hi.

Ive just had a baby!! Well shes now 6 months old, but have had horses throughout!

No loaning, no selling (one went back but not cause of having a baby, more cause he was a pain in the butt).

I think a sharer would've made life a bit easier but hey i've got this far ok.

Ted did have about 6 months off, where he would get lunged more then ridden. he was not bothered in the slightest.

Im now back to riding again... ALOT!.... I will go up the yard in the morning, drive into the yard outside my stable, if the baby is asleep I leave her in car to sleep while I do yard jobs. If shes awake I put her in the buggy to watch. She even sits in the buggy outside the arena quite happily watching while i lunge or ride.

I do not ride unless someone else is about, just in case.

If I hack out OH has her, and any time he can I will leave her home to go to the yard. Its the perfect little getaway from baby baby baby stuff!! :) :)

Oh I also have a 6yr old, she sits in car plays her DS, or in summer uses the quad and helps poo pick! :)
 
Last edited:
You all actually seem to love having your kiddies with you at the yard rather than finding it a pain in the backside.. I'm actually looking forward to it already!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top