Best country to have horses? Just for fun!

SaddleUpSin said:
Is the East much better in the UK for weather? :) apparently seems to get more Sun and less rain!!
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Prevailing wind (south westerly) bring moisture in from the Atlantic. The UK is quite hilly/mountainous on the West so forces the air to rise and drop moisture as it condenses. It's ran out of rain by the time you get to the East.

I used to live in Macclesfield and it rained all the time. Now live on the Northumberland coast and it goes weeks without raining! It's colder, considerably, but drier.
 
Cortez said:
How many people have experienced horse life in other countries?
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Mine are more like short meet-ups than real experiences, but anyway:) Everywhere has its pros and cons.
Spain could be a real heaven, but what I've seen was far from that. Well it's a big country, so maybe it's just Andalusia and other parts are better, but I didn't like the wellfare one bit-overgrown hooves, scarred horses (bits, spurs, serretas...), limping horses on feria with bloody noses and spur marks... training which I'd often consider cruel.
South Africa I really liked the clima in winter and also the possibility to see wild animals from saddle is priceless:) But I'd say owning horses here has similar issues like mentioned Australia and horse culture didn't overall look that great. Also in these huge countries travelling to clinics, competitions etc. takes tens of hours.
Germany - I like a lot how organized it is there - from schooling beginner riders to competitions divided to many suitable cathegories, tack shops everywhere and services like saddle fitter etc. much more accesible than here in Czech). I'd say the horse culture is good (even if Germans often tend to drill horses a bit too much for my personal liking).
But when I was looking for a livery in Germany few years ago (my friend who loaned my horse at that time was studying in Dresden and we considered moving it there) all I found was yards with limited to none turnout, few hours a day in the best case, none in winter. That put us off completely since I want my horse to be out at pasture in a herd all day long.
UK has certainly all the pros of Germany and even more, only the hacking out seems to me quite miserable with all these fences everywhere and unavoidable road hacking.
 
Spain. Specifically northern Spain or 'green' Spain. Long summers but not unbearably hot. Lovely autumns that extend right into end of November. Winter can be wet. However it is very hilly and mountainous and drainage is generally very good. Winters are short. Was in the beach in T shirt over Christmas. Today is like spring. Horses are cheap. Hacking is excellent. Vet fees are comparably cheap. But there is a lack of specialist professionals, saddle fitter, chiropracter etc. Land is cheap. Most people have horses at home. Many people have horses. There are lots of organised rides but I have no idea about livery, competitions etc as I don't do that.
 
MDB said:
Spain. Specifically northern Spain or 'green' Spain. Long summers but not unbearably hot. Lovely autumns that extend right into end of November. Winter can be wet. However it is very hilly and mountainous and drainage is generally very good. Winters are short. Was in the beach in T shirt over Christmas. Today is like spring. Horses are cheap. Hacking is excellent. Vet fees are comparably cheap. But there is a lack of specialist professionals, saddle fitter, chiropracter etc. Land is cheap. Most people have horses at home. Many people have horses. There are lots of organised rides but I have no idea about livery, competitions etc as I don't do that.
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*Sigh* This is what I daydream about. Love Spain and their heritage of horsemanship, love, love, love the horses. One day.....



P.S. Yes, I know there are less than wonderful practises and downright cruelty, but that is also true here.
 
MDB said:
Spain. Specifically northern Spain or 'green' Spain. Long summers but not unbearably hot. Lovely autumns that extend right into end of November. Winter can be wet. However it is very hilly and mountainous and drainage is generally very good. Winters are short. Was in the beach in T shirt over Christmas. Today is like spring. Horses are cheap. Hacking is excellent. Vet fees are comparably cheap. But there is a lack of specialist professionals, saddle fitter, chiropracter etc. Land is cheap. Most people have horses at home. Many people have horses. There are lots of organised rides but I have no idea about livery, competitions etc as I don't do that.
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That sounds amazing oh my gosh
 
Cortez said:
P.S. Yes, I know there are less than wonderful practises and downright cruelty, but that is also true here.
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Yes ofcourse. There is a macho mentality amongst then men. This extends into how they 'dominate' their horses. They like spurs. They think the posture of a horse with being ridden it's chin on it's chest is nice. They tether a lot. etc etc. But it isn't everywhere. For the person who wants to have horses, land and enjoy riding with friends amongst lovely scenery and good weather it certainly isn't bad.
 
Cortez said:
How many people have experienced horse life in other countries?
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only in the US-Pennsylvania. 100C, 95% humidity in the summer-horse flies the size of bats and the charmingly named sweat bees. I was hosing horses down so much I got what looked like trench foot. Once I acclimatised (which meant everything I ate going straight through me for two months) it was bearable. Then feet of snow in the winter-which was more fun.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
only in the US-Pennsylvania. 100C, 95% humidity in the summer-horse flies the size of bats and the charmingly named sweat bees. I was hosing horses down so much I got what looked like trench foot. Once I acclimatised (which meant everything I ate going straight through me for two months) it was bearable. Then feet of snow in the winter-which was more fun.
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Ha ha! Yes, I lived and worked (with horses) in the US for 13 years, I know all about the "lovely" hot and humid summer vs unbelievable cold in winter.
 
Cortez said:
Ha ha! Yes, I lived and worked (with horses) in the US for 13 years, I know all about the "lovely" hot and humid summer vs unbelievable cold in winter.
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I literally prayed for rain it was so hot, then prayed it wouldnt rain again as it just increased humidity. I only felt clean for about 10s after a shower-it really was very draining and I was very young then!
 
I've been a groom in the UK, France, Italy, Portugal, and now New Zealand. From my experience these places all had their pros and cons so I don't really think there can be a "best" amongst them. I just think that different places would suit different people better according to what you do with your horses and how you like to keep them etc.
Just for example, if you're massively into your showjumping and want a large choice of shows and easy access to excellent facilities, then northern France would be great for you... but not so much if you like having lots of off-load hacking on your doorstep, or if you'd like to keep your horse on DIY livery, because it doesn't really exist there, and although full livery is so much cheaper than the UK, finding a yard with turnout can be quite a challenge.
 
Abi90 said:
Prevailing wind (south westerly) bring moisture in from the Atlantic. The UK is quite hilly/mountainous on the West so forces the air to rise and drop moisture as it condenses. It's ran out of rain by the time you get to the East.

I used to live in Macclesfield and it rained all the time. Now live on the Northumberland coast and it goes weeks without raining! It's colder, considerably, but drier.
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I'm in the Peak District, not far from Buxton - pretty much year round rain, fog and mud! On the rare fine day though hacking out is amazing and makes me appreciate the natural beauty on my doorstep :) I am very lucky really, born and raised in a Peak National Park - strangely it's the stuff of dreams for some (waterproof?) people!
 
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U.K.! Holland in 2nd place. I don't think I would enjoy the culture change of most of the rest of the world. I'm conservative :p
 
I'm in South Africa.

Pros:
- Absolutely amazing weather 99% of the year. Coldest I have to deal with in winter is about -4C on early morning rides. In the summer it can get to about 40C on really hot days, but we have loads of thunderstorms that deal with the humidity pretty well, and on those days you just ride in the morning.
- If you're in a dense horsey area (like I am), there are great yards, and loads of pretty good instructors.
- Very big concentration of excellent show venues (both dressage and jumping) in my area, and our show season is pretty much year-round. I don't travel more than 20 minutes to graded (rated) shows, and in that radius from my yard there are about 8 venues.
- We've got some really excellent natural horsemanship-type instructors, if you're into that kind of thing.

Cons:
- Very tough to make a living here if you're a pro rider. No real sponsorship, and too far away from Europe to really be plugged into the international scene. Our currency is very weak against the Euro, US Dollar and Pound, so campaigning overseas is ludicrously pricey.
- We hardly ever get international clinicians this side of the world.
 
Interesting question! From my own experience:

Spain (very remote part of Andalusia): beautiful weather but quite a hard life in terms of resources. Struggled to get vets out or find a good farrier, transport was hairy, grazing was difficult. Welfare standards iffy.

South Africa (Cape Town, rural Eastern Cape and Johannesburg): the best year round weather with the exception of the high summer heat, and the best hacking. But then you have African Horse Sickness. And West Nile virus. And equine encephalitis. And every kind of poisonous thing. And droughts. And lions.

Denmark (north of Aarhus): absolutely brilliant for four months of the year and then either a bog or frozen. Super horses- I saw far fewer backyard-breeding type affairs that anywhere else. Welfare standards high. Vets excellent.

UK (Oxfordshire): really tough when the rain is relentless and the mud is heavy but the good days make it seem worth it. Best access to vets/farriers/feed/instructors or basically any equine resource. Generally good welfare standards and lots of support if things go wrong.

New Zealand (Auckland): lovely riding, quite a lot of fun rides and competitions, good vets/farriers/physios/instructors. Winter a bit sticky and muddy. Lots of backyard breeders and poor horses. Welfare standards lower than I expected but better than Spain and Africa, though the latter really goes without saying.

New Zealand is my choice, I think. I've just got to keep off the New Zealand version of "preloved" otherwise I will end up collecting every sad, weirdly bred, recently broken yearling with a pillock standing on its back.

It has also occurred to me that most places could be paradise or hell to keep horses, and it all really hinges on your budget.
 
Great thread to read. It helps put the uk in context as I do think there are some great things horse wise here, just a shame about the rain. I'm in the SE though and it def rains less. I did look into moving to Hong Kong once, and it wasn't great horse wise.
 
LadyGascoyne said:
Interesting question! From my own experience:

Spain (very remote part of Andalusia): beautiful weather but quite a hard life in terms of resources. Struggled to get vets out or find a good farrier, transport was hairy, grazing was difficult. Welfare standards iffy.

South Africa (Cape Town, rural Eastern Cape and Johannesburg): the best year round weather with the exception of the high summer heat, and the best hacking. But then you have African Horse Sickness. And West Nile virus. And equine encephalitis. And every kind of poisonous thing. And droughts. And lions.

Denmark (north of Aarhus): absolutely brilliant for four months of the year and then either a bog or frozen. Super horses- I saw far fewer backyard-breeding type affairs that anywhere else. Welfare standards high. Vets excellent.

UK (Oxfordshire): really tough when the rain is relentless and the mud is heavy but the good days make it seem worth it. Best access to vets/farriers/feed/instructors or basically any equine resource. Generally good welfare standards and lots of support if things go wrong.

New Zealand (Auckland): lovely riding, quite a lot of fun rides and competitions, good vets/farriers/physios/instructors. Winter a bit sticky and muddy. Lots of backyard breeders and poor horses. Welfare standards lower than I expected but better than Spain and Africa, though the latter really goes without saying.

New Zealand is my choice, I think. I've just got to keep off the New Zealand version of "preloved" otherwise I will end up collecting every sad, weirdly bred, recently broken yearling with a pillock standing on its back.

It has also occurred to me that most places could be paradise or hell to keep horses, and it all really hinges on your budget.
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Wow this was a great read! Would love a horsey hol. in SA, Ants nest/hill looks fantastic!

Are you in NZ atm? :)
 
I have to say UK seems quite a good deal.
Random question but does anyone know much about the hacking in Portugal? OH is Portuguese and in all the times we've been never seen anyone hacking out, unless in national park type areas. There doesn't seem to be any marked bridleways from what I have seen. I get the impression hacking is not really the thing. I've had conflicting info from everyone I've asked re where you can actually ride lol
 
LadySam said:
Cortez, where else in the world have you done the horsey life? You sound like you've been lots of places. How did they compare?
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I have worked with horses all my life, from Ireland to America - all over, including north and south America, South Korea, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, N. Africa, Czech Republic, Germany and Romania. The one place I havn't worked is the UK, funnily enough, although I do come over to competitions on occasion. How do they compare? Hmm, for access to facilities, vets, horsey shopping and just generally developed horse culture I would say Germany or the UK have the most available, but for training, tradition and the best horses it has to be Spain for me, but that is because I use Spanish horses almost exclusively in the work I do now. When I was a dressage rider it would have been Germany or Denmark.

People who are in the UK and have perhaps not experienced other places naturally assume that they are the "best", but other places have their own advantages :-)
 
huskydamage said:
I have to say UK seems quite a good deal.
Random question but does anyone know much about the hacking in Portugal? OH is Portuguese and in all the times we've been never seen anyone hacking out, unless in national park type areas. There doesn't seem to be any marked bridleways from what I have seen. I get the impression hacking is not really the thing. I've had conflicting info from everyone I've asked re where you can actually ride lol
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People do ride out in Portugal, but hacking and organised bridleways, etc. is very much a UK "thing"
 
We're happy keeping ours in SW France. Lots of sun, some rain but not excessive. Rarely get extreme winds, snow etc. Heat of the summer is 32 or slightly more, but loads of daylight to ride in. Morning temps often much lower than p.m. Today's temp is -1° to 8°, so chilly. Only old horse has a rug on.

Hay is cheap at approx £2 a small bale, larger ones work out cheaper. Maintenance feeds £10 a 20kg sack. Decathlon and Intersport just down the road. Other tack shops not too inspiring. Not seen Aldi here do anything equestrian.
Not many fields are fenced so you can try a track aand see where it goes, or take a marked path (yellow for pedestrians, green for cycle routes). Too few hackers for people to get upset about. Competitions do exist and there are 3 centres within 3/4 hour.
Livery is from £50 a month for grass/water/shelter to £270 for full livery.
Have a good vet and farrier in the area.
 
sunnyone said:
We're happy keeping ours in SW France. Lots of sun, some rain but not excessive. Rarely get extreme winds, snow etc. Heat of the summer is 32 or slightly more, but loads of daylight to ride in. Morning temps often much lower than p.m. Today's temp is -1° to 8°, so chilly. Only old horse has a rug on.

Hay is cheap at approx £2 a small bale, larger ones work out cheaper. Maintenance feeds £10 a 20kg sack. Decathlon and Intersport just down the road. Other tack shops not too inspiring. Not seen Aldi here do anything equestrian.
Not many fields are fenced so you can try a track aand see where it goes, or take a marked path (yellow for pedestrians, green for cycle routes). Too few hackers for people to get upset about. Competitions do exist and there are 3 centres within 3/4 hour.
Livery is from £50 a month for grass/water/shelter to £270 for full livery.
Have a good vet and farrier in the area.
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Thats crazy cheap! Many english speakers? :)
 
MDB said:
Spain. Specifically northern Spain or 'green' Spain. Long summers but not unbearably hot. Lovely autumns that extend right into end of November. Winter can be wet. However it is very hilly and mountainous and drainage is generally very good. Winters are short. Was in the beach in T shirt over Christmas. Today is like spring. Horses are cheap. Hacking is excellent. Vet fees are comparably cheap. But there is a lack of specialist professionals, saddle fitter, chiropracter etc. Land is cheap. Most people have horses at home. Many people have horses. There are lots of organised rides but I have no idea about livery, competitions etc as I don't do that.
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Ditto Portugal - central and Alentejo as opposed to the Algarve - but people are less shouty and more laid back. 17c and wall to wall sunshine today :)
 
huskydamage said:
I have to say UK seems quite a good deal.
Random question but does anyone know much about the hacking in Portugal? OH is Portuguese and in all the times we've been never seen anyone hacking out, unless in national park type areas. There doesn't seem to be any marked bridleways from what I have seen. I get the impression hacking is not really the thing. I've had conflicting info from everyone I've asked re where you can actually ride lol
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I'm near Tomar - about 150km north of Lisbon - and you can ride pretty much anywhere as long as you don't go over crops (although as the main industry is vines and olives it's not an issue). No fences but not that many places to canter which is the downside. Lots of endurance riding in some areas, others concentrate on dressage, working equitation and bull fighting (boo :( )
 
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