Catching that bug....

[Findlbybrown91]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading the various posts in the H&H forums for quite a while now, but decided it was time for me to join all of you lovely people of the horsey world.

By way of background, I used to ride when I was young (approx. age 10-16) and help out down the stables/attend the pony camps etc. I absolutely loved it. For one reason or another (parents divorcing, lack of finances, preparing for Uni etc.) I stopped riding.

I am now 28 and a solicitor after having worked my a*se off career wise for the last 10 years. My job is stressful and can be extremely draining - not to mention I suffer badly with anxiety (generalised) - so, when I qualified, about six months ago, I decided that I would reward myself by doing something for me! I therefore picked up riding again and have been having private lessons (riding and stable management) ever since.

I can confidently W/T/C and pop a small course of jobs - but mainly I love hacking and just being with the horse.

I find that horses are the only thing that I am truly passionate about - when I am at the stables (riding or caring for horses) I completely switch off and it really is a form of therapy to me. It is the only thing that takes my mind off work/stress/anxiety etc.

I have decided to start saving up to buy my own horse (one day!). I know what you are thinking ….. make sure you share/loan a horse first! However, this seems to be easier said than done. I've scoured the internet looking for shares/loans and none of them seem to be appropriate and/or ask for very confident, experienced riders. It seems that there are no "safe/novice" horses for loan - has anyone else found this?

My question to you guys is.... at what stage is someone ready to buy a horse? How knowledgeable do you have to be? Can you jump in and learn "on the job"? What are your experiences of doing this? What are the main things you need to know/be able to do before buying?

I am newly married and do want children at some stage? Is it possible to manage a horse and children? How do you lovely lot manage to balance everything?

It is my lifelong dream to have my own horse and I am not in a rush (although, of course, the longer spent with said horse the better!).

Thanks all for your thoughts and comments!!

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I'm also returning to riding at 28 (literally returning to my first lesson tomorrow morning!), and will be thinking about sharing when I'm ready. I have found lots of ads saying no novices but there does seem to be the odd one here and there that doesn't.

From my reading on this forum I think owners offering shares have bad experiences and understandably don't want their time wasted or to be teaching people the very basics (not suggesting you would, I can just see why people would be cautious). Can your instructor support you in your search at all or vouch for your ability level?

I've not owned a horse before but would think the fact you're able to think to ask these questions puts you in good stead - I've seen quite a few things on Facebook where people have very clearly not asked themselves 'am I ready to buy a horse?' and have got in a mess.

 

[oldie48]

I am totally the wrong person to answer this as I did everything the wrong way but survived. Looking back I realise that when I bought my first horse, a) I couldn't really ride (still not that great) and b) I didn't really have a clue about horse care but if I am honest I look around me and many of the people I see with horses who have ridden all their life don't ride very well and are pretty negligent/ignorant about horse care too. If you have the right attitude, surround yourself with good knowledgeable people and are lucky enough to buy a first horse that doesn't try to kill you, you'll be fine as long as you can afford lessons and accept that sometimes things don't always go according to plan. I've owned horses for 20 years now but still call myself a novice and make sure I have more experienced people to turn to when I get out of my depth. Buying your first horse isn't a goal in itself, it's just the start of a very long journey. I've never shared or loaned a horse so I can't really comment on that. Good luck, if you can find that first paragon of virtue, loaned ,shared or bought, you will be well away.

 

[Upthecreek]

You’ve got experience with horses from childhood and been having riding and stable management lessons which is a great start. If you are planning on starting a family in the near future and you have a relatively new career as a solicitor you need to seriously consider if you will have time for it all. When you have a horse there is no such thing as “just going to spend a couple of hours at the yard”. Before you know it you’ve looked at your watch and it’s 3pm and you arrived at 10am (or is that just me ?).

You need to find a really good livery yard where you could keep your future horse. One that has a supportive yard owner where you can continue to have lessons. Keeping the horse on full livery would mean the staff are involved in it’s daily care, which helps until you learn the ropes and means it will be properly taken care of if you can’t be there. It also means that if you have children so have less time you will have help on hand.

And moving on to the very exciting/truly terrifying experience of actually buying a horse...... please, please, please buy a schoolmaster type horse that is already doing the things you want to do and matches your ability as a rider (actual ability, not what you aspire to). Make sure it already lives in a similar way to how you want to keep it. Take someone experienced with you to any viewings and when you find ‘the one’ have it 5 stage vetted by a vet unknown to the horse’s owner. Good luck!

 

[Leo Walker]

I've got a bombproof safe mare and would have no problem with someone novicey riding and hacking her out. I wouldnt advertise though, but would probably respond to a wanted ad if it caught my eye, so maybe try that?

 

[Red-1]

You sound as ready as 99% of the population was when they got their first horse. Getting the right horse and decent back up from a trainer and good livery yard is next. Maybe your instructor would have some ideas as to sourcing a horse and also where to keep one? Maybe they could teach you on your new horse?

 

[claret09]

go for it, but find the right yard to support you - i would suggest you need full or part livery. have regular lessons and look for a horse who has "done a bit". please don't get pushed into buying a green horse - you need something that you don;t have to work everyday - there is no way your career choice will allow you to do that. good luck

 

[Findlbybrown91]

Thanks all for your brill replies so far! I intend on saving up a sizeable amount of money to purchase, as it seems that the "bombproof" horses that also have a bit of something about them are very expensive...…

I would definitely want to keep my horse on full livery (at least to start with anyway) as I will 100% need as much help and guidance as I could get...…

This might be a stupid question but, what do you buy first, the horse or the livery yard? Do you put a "holder" on a livery yard and then start looking for a horse? Or the other way round? Its a bit like which came first the chicken or the egg

 

[Starzaan]

You’ll want to find a good yard first, and put a deposit down on a box when you start your search. Good yards have waiting lists - when I had my yard I had over 20 people on the waiting list, and only one person left in all the time I had the yard.
Would be awful if you found the right horse but had to miss out because you didn’t have anywhere to keep it!

 

[Findlbybrown91]

You’ll want to find a good yard first, and put a deposit down on a box when you start your search. Good yards have waiting lists - when I had my yard I had over 20 people on the waiting list, and only one person left in all the time I had the yard.
Would be awful if you found the right horse but had to miss out because you didn’t have anywhere to keep it!

I know, many of the good livery yards that I have contacted have a waiting list, which is frustrating as it shows what a good yard they are (and I want to be a part of it!! haha).

 

[rainni_day]

I could have written this myself. I rode and had horses all through my childhood and teenage years and early twenties. I then got into my career and it tailed off, I probably rode every 6 months or so but only hacking our. My career progressed and I felt like all I did was work . In the summer, I went to Devon and randomly went on a countryside tourist hack, which lead to a beach ride, and I had the bug. I started riding again regularly, having lessons and in October, 3 months after I started riding again, I decided I wanted my own horse. My job allowed me to buy a horse, but not the time to look after it, and I knew I needed a lot of support, so the first thing I did before I even started looking was find a full livery yard that I loved. Once I secured a place, I searched for my horse. I viewed about 10 and then luckily found my mare most unexpectedly. On December 13th, Rainni arrived, and it's the best thing I ever did. I whole heartedly agree that you need to be ready, but I think you can help accelerate that. I have the support of full livery, an on site instructor who I have lessons with twice a week and fantastic horse friends. In the horse world, I am probably not 'ready' to have a horse, but she's happy and so am I and my stressful job is so much easier to handle now...I spend so much time cuddling her and being with her, it makes me so happy. Good luck with what you choose x

 

[rainni_day]

Oh and also, I got an absolute bargain with my mare as the home was more important to the owner than the price. She is a 12 year old, 16.3HH irish sports horse, and such a sweetheart. Here she and we are x

 

[Findlbybrown91]

I could have written this myself. I rode and had horses all through my childhood and teenage years and early twenties. I then got into my career and it tailed off, I probably rode every 6 months or so but only hacking our. My career progressed and I felt like all I did was work . In the summer, I went to Devon and randomly went on a countryside tourist hack, which lead to a beach ride, and I had the bug. I started riding again regularly, having lessons and in October, 3 months after I started riding again, I decided I wanted my own horse. My job allowed me to buy a horse, but not the time to look after it, and I knew I needed a lot of support, so the first thing I did before I even started looking was find a full livery yard that I loved. Once I secured a place, I searched for my horse. I viewed about 10 and then luckily found my mare most unexpectedly. On December 13th, Rainni arrived, and it's the best thing I ever did. I whole heartedly agree that you need to be ready, but I think you can help accelerate that. I have the support of full livery, an on site instructor who I have lessons with twice a week and fantastic horse friends. In the horse world, I am probably not 'ready' to have a horse, but she's happy and so am I and my stressful job is so much easier to handle now...I spend so much time cuddling her and being with her, it makes me so happy. Good luck with what you choose x

Hi Ranni_day

Thanks so much for your reply. Sounds like you were in the same boat that I am in! it appears that you took the plunge and it paid off in buckets.... I really do admire that as it's a brave thing to do, but you're right, it adds so much value to your life (especially when you feel like all you do is work/stress about work). I've just taken a look at the pics you uploaded - she is absolutely gorgeous; very pretty!! I hope you don't mind me asking but how many times a week do you manage to get to your yard to see Ranni? Do you live close to your yard?

 

[rainni_day]

Hi Ranni_day

Thanks so much for your reply. Sounds like you were in the same boat that I am in! it appears that you took the plunge and it paid off in buckets.... I really do admire that as it's a brave thing to do, but you're right, it adds so much value to your life (especially when you feel like all you do is work/stress about work). I've just taken a look at the pics you uploaded - she is absolutely gorgeous; very pretty!! I hope you don't mind me asking but how many times a week do you manage to get to your yard to see Ranni? Do you live close to your yard?

I think there is an element of slight insanity coupled with a sensible approach about it - I just decided it was what I was going to do, and once I decided I made sure I had all the tools in place to make it a success.
I am lucky that I live 15 mins from the yard. However, my job is very full on and at least two nights a week I am at work until 8pm. I set myself realistic expectations for getting up the ytard - I go Tuesdays and Thursdays and then the weekends. I have a lesson a Tuesday, I lunge on a Thursday and Saturdays I school for 20 mins and hack, and Sunday's we have a lovely fun hack. If I get up more (which I will in the summer as the nights are lighter and you can go later) then I do, but if I don't, I don't beat myself up. I also travel a lot, so I made sure my yard has exercise options...they will hack, school or lunge her on my request which is fab. The key is not expecting it to be everything if you have a full time job that is very demanding and a life at home i.e. a husband. I don't have children, nor do I plan to, so that element isn't factored, but I do have an active social life, a dog who is my world and a renovation project on the go, so I put the correct support in place that Rainni is absolutely fine if I don't get up - find a yard you love and trust, with floodlit all weather arena and you're sorted. I also got her just before Christmas so I had nearly two weeks where I was there nearly all day every day, grooming, hacking, cuddling which i think helped. If you can, when you buy one, try and book some holiday so you have that time x

 

[S.AAnderson]

My situation is similar to you. I grew up around horses (sharing/loaning but never officially owned) and absolutely adore it.

Sadly a combination of uni, work and having children has meant I am now 33yrs old and still horseless. Like you I am finally in a position to treat myself to private riding lessons, and the time away from my kids is bliss

Although I am financially able to buy and cover upkeep of a horse, having a young family (2 & 4yrs old) is too time-consuming right now. It's obviously different if you are fortunate enough to stable them at home, but for me it would be the case of paying full livery, and only getting to ride 1/2 a week. For now I plan on continuing my lessons and have asked my instructor to keep an eye out for potential share horses that might be suitable. My husband and I agree that once our girls are older then we can look at buying a horse (and pony), but that will not be for another 4/5yrs.

Obviously there are many owners/parents who make it work, so my example isn't gospel! x

 

[ponyparty]

Enjoy your horse as much as possible before you have children, is my advice! Unless you have lots of people who can look after the child/ren for you so you can still spend time with your horse, of course.