Being religious & horsey

[galaxy]

I do not go to church except for school services, but I do not see that you have to go to a cold building, with someone speakIng AT you ( my parents assure me that is not the case now, but I am not prepared to risk it) is proof of any faith/ believing.

However if people feel that they need to go to church, it only takes an hour, once a week, so I do not see the conflict

lol, not all churches are like that!

I'm mormon (since I was a kid) but don't go to church or do churchy stuff as my OH isn't mormon or wants to do churchy stuff (although I would like to sometimes). I say, live and let live. I pray, on my own and try to raise my son with a good life ethic and values and consider the stables to be my church or "place of sanctuary", lol. I'm glad I have rubber mats in my stable as sometimes I'll say a quiet prayer without anyone knowing in their if things get too much or I just need to blab to god about crap that going down and it's amazing how the smell of horse wee/poo/hay/shavings + God can make things clear
There is another lady at my yard who is mormon as well and I can talk to her about God stuff but we don't shove it down anyone's throat at the yard and I don't think anyone knows that we are, she is pretty chilled out too although she does go to church on a sunday.

ditto (but still go ) but I call it LDS, people have ALL the wrong impressions about mormons I prefer them to start from scratch about what they think about me

 

[rowy]

I am a christian and go to church every sunday and have 3 of my own horses and compete regularly
I used to just compete on saturdays until I got a saturday job. Now I compete on sundays and go to the evening service at church

 

[FionaM12]

I am not religious in any shape or form. To me believing in God is like believing in Father Christmas: I grew out of both both because I don't see any evidence of either! I think we're all capable of leading a good life, being kind to humans and the natural world and making sound moral choices without the handbook a religion provides.

But that's my personal view, I have every respect for other peoples' views. I notice so far in this thread there seems to be an assumption that "religious" means Christian. There are many other religions and I respect them all equally.

The YO where I keep Mollie is a devout Jehovah's Witness. If ever there was an embassador for that faith, it's him and his wife. Kind, gentle and sensible horse-lovers who never push their religious points of view on anyone. I only know about their faith because on a long hack with YO, I once asked.

 

[mulledwhine]

Galaxy , LOL my parents keep telling me this but not prepared to risk it

 

[ischa]

You obversly Havnt met my motherin law
Lol and wouldn't want to
She is religious and constainly goes on about it , but she is horsey to and use to own which is all in good if I need someone to look after my 3

 

[Kokopelli]

I can't really recall anyone I know who does both horses and religion.

Probably get shot down for this but I'm an atheist but keep my opinions to myself and respect those with different believes to me. TBH I can't think of anything better than a Sunday morning ride.

It's not just religion though I don't believe in anything of the paranormal/ psi phenomena/ luck or even coincidence. I believe they are just things our mind makes up and as humans are imperfect especially in our cognitive workings which makes me to believe anything 'abnormal' to be a mistake of our mind.

 

[Kat]

My "nearly a vicar" friend did a dissertation on how the Sabbath and traditional church worship sit alongside modern life. It is entirely possible to believe and not go to church on a Sunday.

Until he started his vicar training he worked in hospitality and could not get Sundays off. He would try to attend either morning or evening service but sometimes couldn't do either. However there are mid week services, chaplains in many workplaces, and now even online churches to allow people to worship "out of hours" the church of England are trying very hard to accomodate those who find traditional Sunday services difficult.

 

[PapaFrita]

The conflict is 'time' Horses occupy a huge percentage of our time, especially weekends, and, of course, anyone religious is meant to go to church on a Sunday. I have no doubt it can be done, especially for those not competitive, but I imagine it could be a difficult choice for many.

It's only an hour a week, there are usually several masses over the Sunday and Sat evening mass also counts. It's perfectly doable.

 

[benson21]

I am a Christian, and also have a horse. Just because I am a Christian does not mean I have to go to Church. I can pray at any time of the day, in any place. I dont need to go to Church to pray.
I dont tend to talk about my beliefs much, but I do know I would not of coped as well as I have over the last couple of years with out them.

 

[FionaM12]

I am a Christian, and also have a horse. Just because I am a Christian does not mean I have to go to Church. I can pray at any time of the day, in any place. I dont need to go to Church to pray.
I dont tend to talk about my beliefs much, but I do know I would not of coped as well as I have over the last couple of years with out them.

I used to work for a wonderful funeral director who was near retirement. He told me that he'd observed over his long career that people who have a faith cope with grief and loss much better than those who don't. He saw this as a good reason for having a faith.

While I don't doubt his observations, personally I don't feel I can "find" faith to help me cope with life's crises. In other words, I can't decide to believe in something, it has to happen spontaniously. I can't kid myself that I believe something when in my heart I don't.

As for finding time, if something really matters to us, we find the time. After all, people have kids and still take care of their horses. Pretty time consuming, kids.

 

[cptrayes]

Yes, I'm Catholic but think it compliments being involved with horses.
Who could see the magnificence, power and beauty of a horse in flight and not believe there is a God ?

Who could see the crazy design of the horse's/any mammal's eye, the arthritis-prone hock with completely unnecessary joints, and the paralysis prone vocal chord nerve that travels all the way down the neck, round the heart and back up to the throat again and believe in any kind of intelligent design?????


I envy people with a deep belief, it makes life so much less complicated

 

[SophieLouBee]

Thanks for all the replies guys, it's interesting to read! I'm not sure what I meant by conflict of interests to be honest, I guess time could be a factor, but that wasnt my first thought

My client goes to bible school two days a week and church Sunday's, but she doesn't work so it doesn't matter when she does the horse
I was mearly interested as apart from her i don't know anyone else who is

 

[FionaM12]

Thanks for all the replies guys, it's interesting to read! I'm not sure what I meant by conflict of interests to be honest, I guess time could be a factor, but that wasnt my first thought

My client goes to bible school two days a week and church Sunday's, but she doesn't work so it doesn't matter when she does the horse
I was mearly interested as apart from her i don't know anyone else who is

I suppose none of could see why being horsey has anything to do with whether you're religious, so it was suggested maybe it was the time issue.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I don't have any problem with "practising" as a Christian and being involved with horses; I think that horses have an innate sense of the spiritual - far more than we do, and are acutely conscious of the whole spiritual and psychic realm, as are other animals - dogs and cats also very sensitive to the supernatural I believe.

I'm Catholic; having converted to RC as an adult. Raised very "high" but to thoroughly P. our parents off we all traipsed off to the local Community Church to "find Jesus". It was very heavy, all about sin and judgement and stuff; and if you wanted to date someone you had to ask the Elders if it was OK!!! Yes, seriously, that was the way it was.

After a good few years of various eldership squabbles within the church (they had no proper ordained leadership); I just drifted for a few years; and due to my interest in folk dancing became interested in Israeli Folk Dance - and thus got involved with Messianic Judaism, basically Jewish believers in the Christian faith ("Jesus" being translated into the Hebrew as "Yeshua"). So that's been very interesting and I've met some fantastic people.

As a Catholic, I go to Saturday night Mass, which is considerably quieter and less razzmatazz than the Sunday morning which is very family orientated - as a single I feel quite lost at "family" services unfortunately. Plus the Saturday night Mass is ideal as it means I can ride/do horsey stuff on Sunday mornings without having to be tied to going to a church service - and if you hack out on a Sunday morning you get a lot of pious people glowering at you coz they think you're a heathen and you should be in church and not riding!!! If only they could see beyond their bigoted noses they ought to stop and think that some people worship on a Saturday anyway (Jewish & Messianic believers, plus Seventh Day Adventists etc); plus those of us Catholics who choose to go to a Saturday evening Mass, which is counted as the First Mass of Sunday in any case, as the day begins the night before (like the Jewish, their "day" also starts the evening before).

I respect other branches of Christianity, but can't stomach the Evangelicals who can't see beyond their interpretation of the bible and won't listen to anyone elses opinion, all they seem to be interested in is telling you you're wrong!!!

I am also very interested in other people's faiths; I've got a friend who's into psychic stuff, animal healing etc; and we've had some very deep discussions late into the night. Also have Jewish/Messianic friends. Its good to talk ...........

 

[FionaM12]

I respect other branches of Christianity, but can't stomach the Evangelicals who can't see beyond their interpretation of the bible and won't listen to anyone elses opinion, all they seem to be interested in is telling you you're wrong!!!

I respect all faiths, Christian or not, although I have none myself. As for Evengelicals, I respect the fact that they genuinely believe they're trying to help us, to offer us a better life etc. They put in a lot of time and effort to do this, and endure rudeness and being laughed at.

I personally think they're wrong or misguided, but I respect what they're trying to do.

I do tend to (very politely) avoid discussing religion with them though.

 

[SophieLouBee]

Fiona- being horsey has nothing to do with being religious, although at times I do end up feeling like equestrianism in itself is a religion it was merely something that crossed my mind
whilst chatting with my client. I'm interested in faith and others beliefs even though I'm not religious as such myself, just being nosey really

 

[Rose Folly]

I'm Catholic, and horsy. Many of my riding friends are both religious and horsy. I never ask, nor am I bothered. If they are good people and nice to their horses they can believe in the Tooth Fairy so far as I'm concerned - or not!

But I must admit to asking the Saints for intervention quite often in my horsy life:

St Francis of Assisi and St Clare - both 'animal' saints, and Saint Jude, the patron sint of lost causes, who works quite hard for his living!!

 

[Enfys]

The religious sects of the Amish in The States, and the Mennonites here in Canada could be called 'horsey' in that the horse (in the stricter communities) is their only means of transport on and off the farms.

Horses to them (on the whole) are like vehicles to most normal people, a means to an end rather than a career, hobby or expensive pet.

As an atheist I have no problem whatsoever with any religion, I find them all fascinating and respect anyone's wish to believe and worship how, where, and what they please.

I once worked as an NNEB at a Catholic Nursery in Devon, the Nuns there were quite delightful and one of the Sisters once said something to me that has always stayed, "It doesn't matter where you are, if there is a roof over your head or not, the whole world is a church, God sees and hears you wherever you choose to spend time with him"

So, as far as the original question goes, yes, you can be both, at anytime, anywhere.

 

[charleysummer]

Im actually athiest (which seems to get me a lot of dirty looks when I say it as the religious people seem to think i am the devil or something :/ ) I keep myself to myself and don't get involved in other people's beliefs, but i did know a girl who was from a jehovas witness family who's family bought her a pony- they promptly got kicked out the religious circle as they were distracting themselves from god :O i was shocked! I then found out my grandma was one for a while, she started seeing a new man a few years after she was widowed and she got kicked out and a hate group formed she did suffer some social torment - thats off topic as non horsey but just reinforcing my point that horses do appear to clash with some religions

 

[PucciNPoni]

I always wonder if people who use the term Atheist when they actually mean Agnostic?

Anyway, back to the OP

I don't see why there should be a conflict (other than time) to be a practicing devout AND a horse person. I'm one, but not the other but not because of any conflicts on that front. However, I do know plenty of folk who do practice both.

Clear as mud? Which is why religion escapes me! LOL

 

[Ladyinred]

Reading these answers reminded me of something I was told many years ago. There is a big difference between 'religion' and 'faith' . Religion, to be pedantic, is a word that describes something done as a force of habit ie. 'she swept the yard religiously every day' So it can be used to describe people who go to Church as a habit (not saying they don't still believe) Faith, OTOH, goes a lot deeper and describes the way people live their lives by putting their faith in a higher being and living according to their belief.

I, too, am a Christian and agree that horses are a wonderful example of all that is good in Creation, they ground me and since they mirror so much of us they are a good indication of how we are acting on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, for me, I don't like conventional churches, for various reasons, and prefer to attend community churches which are freer in their attitudes to worship and a whole lot more friendly. This thread has actually made me determined to try a bit harder to make the time to attend a little more frequently.. and actually because of the distance it is closer to three hours than an hour.

In an nutshell, horses and faith work very well together. Horses and religion might be a different matter!

And I bet this reply is about to be torn to shreds!!

 

[stencilface]

Hmm, well we used to go to church and sunday school every week when I was a kid. Then we got ponies and that all stopped.

I haven't looked back

I am an atheist, not an agnostic and I know the difference.

I do have a 'friend' (friend's wife really, I try, but we don't/can't get along not for religious differences, just because she is v difficult ) who is a proper born again and does the whole wailing/talking in tongues stuff. She offered (when I mentioned alternative therapies like magnets etc) to come and lay her hands on my horse and pray for him (has PSD). She is not a healer!! I nearly fell off my chair! But politely said that it would be nice, knowing that it will never actually happen

 

[Tinkerbee]

I am the vast majority of horse people I know (back home) are. Not sure why there is a conflict, I'm fact I still find it weird when horse/country folk aren't religious, but then I am from a backwater! I suppose the constant swearing when being trampled could be a problem

 

[Tinkerbee]

Crikey there are way too many spelling mistakes in that post, stupid phone!

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Yes, I'm Catholic but think it compliments being involved with horses.
Who could see the magnificence, power and beauty of a horse in flight and not believe there is a God ?

This. Not sure how the two are linked though OP.
FDC

 

[5horses2dogsandacat]

I think there is a conflict, I have faith in there being a 'god' and we all have soles, our body is merely a home for the sole. The same goes for an animal.

I haven't read many different types of religious texts, but I can't think of many that include animals when they talk about kindness and compassion or that they have a sole.

I think my point is religion is very focused it has started

 

[Spotsrock]

My mother is a priest, I am not into formal religion or 'fluffy' spiritualism but I do like the thought of there being something more than just what we see.

Pony on the other hand, LOVES hymes, even sung badly out of tune, calms him when I ride him. Have asked my mother to come and bless him incase he is a bit spiritual and have a work mate into yoga and communication who I am trying to get to come and chat to him! Not sure I beleive in it but willing to try anything to help him out.

 

[misterjinglejay]

I'm a pagan/wiccan, so I would say I'm religious/have faith. I find it mixes perfectly with horses - no conflict of interests.
What better form of worship is there, than a lovely hack in the country?

 

[5horses2dogsandacat]

I think there is a conflict, I have faith in there being a 'god' and we all have soles, our body is merely a home for the sole. The same goes for an animal.

I haven't read many different types of religious texts, but I can't think of many that include animals when they talk about kindness and compassion or that they have a sole.

I think my point is religion is very focused it has started many wars and has killed a lot of people. If you have faith that somewhere inside you have a sole that can only grow with doing the right thing and not harming others, then why do you need to go to a church which really is just an ornate building, surely god is all around.

 

[Fellewell]

In foxhunting it's customary to 'Bless the Hounds' on the opening meet of the season.
The blessing includes the masters, staff, horses, riders, landowners and, of course, The Fox