Did anyone take their horse to uni with them?

C

Cruiseonamiro

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 March 2008
Messages
1,202
Visit site
Just wondering, we were thinking about me taking my lad to uni with me, having him in full livery at an event yard close to where I want to go, but with me still riding and (hopefully) competing him. Lots of people have told me that I won't have time to do it and I should just sell him but I can't bear the thought! Anyone going to uni soon and planning to take their horse or otherwise, or anyone who did/didn't take their horse for whatever reason? Is it selfish of me to want to have him there? Not 100% sure what I want to do yet, either physio or vetmed, and i'm looking into equine sports science degrees as well.
 
im doin an human & equine sports science degree at the mo & have taken my horse to uni (partly because my mum wouldnt have him at home
shocked.gif
) but its the best decision ive made all my friends who i live with wish they have bought there horses with them because we have quite alot of free time (only bout 20hrs of lectures a week
smirk.gif
) and as long as u manage ur time properly its no hassle.
grin.gif

i also still compete mine while im at college aswell!
p.s the hardest part is getting up in the morning after a nyt out
grin.gif
grin.gif
 
I took mine to Myerscough, and my friends were all on the degree and they had plenty of time for their horse. It helped a lot for us to have them on full livery so all we had to do was ride etc.

I think it depends what course you do. A friend I know is doing quantity surveying and shes in 3 days a week not even long hours either.
 
i am living at home, but at uni
the only thing i would say is that you will have to sort out your finances, and get a job (unless your parents will finacnce the horse
tongue.gif
) there is on way i could afford to live off a student loan, in rented student accomodation and pay for a horse- living at home is the only way i can afford it, and even then i work 25-30 hours a week
you would certainly have time to do the horse, i have plenty of time doing podiatry, which runs alaong side a physio course and the physios certainly have plently of time off)
so i wouldnt say time was a factor, just money
smile.gif
 
I took my boy to uni when I did a equine science degree as mentioned above the money is the hardest part! I had him on part livery so they turned him out every day, and then I just went up every eve to do the rest, it was lovely to be able to just get away and not think about studying!
 
I wish i'd had mine at uni, as time really would not have been a problem.

If you can afford to pay the livery then i'm sure you will have enough time. It really isn't that bad on most courses, even now that i'm in my final year i'd have time. It was the money factor that prevented me.
 
I took mine to Equine College when I started BSc Equine Science. He was on DIY and despite having quite a full timetable I had loads of time for him because there wasn't much to do there.

I dropped out and i'm now doing a BA English degree in London. Gov lives near my family home in Essex and he'd on full livery 6 days per week. I do 8 hours a week and have wednesdays, thursdays and weekends free but its a false economy for me to pay the train fare home to muck out etc. so I generally only see him once a week. In holidays he's DIY.

As has been said its more of a money than a time thing. My parents help me out a LOT but I worked full time over summer to bank up some money and i've applied for chirstmas work here.
 
I didn't take mine to uni, and i've just started, but he is only young and the time off won't matter. and i have such short terms its not really a problem. I wouldn't have time to do him if he was here because i'm doing vet med i have 26+ hours a week, and sat morning lectures, and not finishing some nights till 6 15 its far too late to do anything then. Also i don't know if i'd get the full uni experience if i had to go and look after and ride a horse everyday,would be very pricey too unless ur rents will fork out all th e money, u dont get much student loan left over
 
I have mine at uni with me, for the first two years he was on the DIY yard at uni so time was not a problem as I just went down in between lectures to do him etc however after a night out having to do him before 9am was awful, we had a rota between us of who was going to have to get up!! Now i'm in my 3rd year I have him on a different yard on part livery so he is turned out/mucked out I pretty much only have to ride which is much easier! The money is definately an issue though, I am lucky that my dad pays my livery but I have to pay all the other bills out of my student loan which is not always easy, clothes for me:rugs for the horse, food for me:food for the horse, shoes for me:shoes for the horse, the list goes on! I must admit I don't know if I would recommend having your horse with you at uni or not it is quite a personal decision and you need to think about your uni work as well as they are a pretty good distraction away from work and I must admit I struggle a bit even though i'm doing an equine sports science degree which is interesting I would still much rather go and ride my horse than write an essay on his fitness!!
 
I left mine at home and went home at weekends to ride, but a friend has taken both of her horses to uni with her in Bristol (doing a masters). They are on full livery but she manages to ride both of them.

Really depends on the course. There was no way I could have ridden as I had uni 9-5 every day and then some! But I'm glad I cut down riding for a while and had fun as a student also, can still do horses now but not half the staff I did as a student
tongue.gif
 
When I was at uni, time was never a problem!!!!!!!!!! I had tons of time to ride etc, only when exams or deadlines were due did horse take the back seat slightly. I've spent 2 years working F/T and now am doing a post-grad PGCE, time Seriously is a problem now, and horse is DIY and in f/t work. I think you will be fine
smile.gif
 
I'm at uni in Brighton and live in SW London (with parents) so that I can keep my horse in Surrey on DIY. I only got him at the beginning of the second year and I'm in my 3rd year now studying Psychology and Sociology BA. It really depends on the course you're doing, I'm only in classes for max 9 hours a week with 2 days off so in that sense time isn't really an issue however the travelling is for me, it takes exactly an hour for me to drive from the yard to uni.
I lived in halls for my first year and loved it, that was the time when I had the 'university experience' before I got my horse, but now I wouldn't change a thing. My friends (not horsey) don't really understand the comittment, and I still manage a night out in London or Brighton when I can afford it, which is rare! The money is the hardest thing, I work a few hours a week at the yard where I keep my horse and most of my money goes on things he needs rather than myself, as well as petrol etc. My parents pay livery which is a huge help. I love having a horse it provides a real balance and distraction. As long as you manage your time and money properly you'll be fine.
 
I've just started my first year at uni and have left the horse at home. Mum is keeping him fit and is taking him to trainers fortnightly to be schooled a bit more.
I really don't think i would have the money to fund a livery, and the fact there is no livery anywhere near my uni!!!!
Timewise i could easily manage it, am doing less hours then i was at 6th form
If you can get your finances sorted before you levae then its easily do-able
Where abouts are you planning on going??????
 
I'm looking to do vetmed, love the look of nottingham and the person we bought the horse from is quite near by, so we could probably have him full livery there. Dad has already said he would be prepared to support that it's just the time aspect that worries me as he loves to be doing stuff and providing i get the grades i'll be at uni for about six years! Thanks for your advice... Kingmill, what uni are you at do you mind me asking? Might PM you actually!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm looking to do vetmed, love the look of nottingham and the person we bought the horse from is quite near by, so we could probably have him full livery there. Dad has already said he would be prepared to support that it's just the time aspect that worries me as he loves to be doing stuff and providing i get the grades i'll be at uni for about six years! Thanks for your advice... Kingmill, what uni are you at do you mind me asking? Might PM you actually!

[/ QUOTE ]

You would be a Sutton Bonington then?
There is a few yards close by there, I can't think of the name of the place that does full livery now, but it is just out towards East Leake. My friend is also setting up a yard at East Leake, not sure what packages she is offering though.

Lots of good hunting roundabouts if you can get transport
grin.gif


And Hen is in the next village when we go visting home!
grin.gif


I had Hen at uni, but on campus doing Equine Science, which is very different from doing Vet Med. As someone has already said, the morning after the night before is a hard one, Hen got very used to the sight of me, in my PJs, no glasses or contact lenses, still p!ssed! Going for a nice hack in the sunshine always helps though!
grin.gif
 
Haha! My lad is used to morning after the night before visits, although probably not quite as often as would be the case! Yeah, Sutton Bonington, and one of it's major attractions for me is the countryside for keeping boyo!
 
I'm at edinburgh so there would be places to keep him but i just wouldn't have the time, and i've come here to start my career and i'm paying a lot of money and i don't want riding to jepordise my chances cus its bloody hard as it is, i live local to nottingham so its a long way from hom but my mum is going to keep the babe ticking over when i bring him back into work at xmas and i have my eventing diary planned for easter and the summer
 
I do medicine at Nottingham and had my horse on DIY at the vet livery on SB campus so was a 2x 12mile trek out of nottingham everyday and I managed fine with a full on timetable and rode practically every day.
 
I've just started uni and keeping the horses was one of my major worries, wish i could have them with me but having kept them at home i just can't afford the livery costs although time wouldn't be an issue as i have very few hours of lectures. I've still got my two but their staying at home and at the moment i'm travelling back at weekends to ride them, not too bad as i'm only just over an hour away, plus it's nice to be able to lay in after late nights.

Oh and having just moved to nottingham i highly reccommend the night life/ city it's great
tongue.gif
 
I sold my horse before I went to uni - having said that he was a bit of an ar*e so would have probably been selling him anyway! Having said that I am glad I had a few years off without the hassle of having anyone to look after except myself - and be able to have my summers off uni to go away travelling with friends, and generally having a very good time!
smile.gif
 
I did medicine and didn't have my horse as an undergraduate as the terms were so short and so crammed full, I didn't have time, plus we weren't allowed to have cars at university
mad.gif
so travelling to a yard wasn't possible. I'm now doing a PhD and keep my horse where I live but I don't have a great deal of time to do anything else. If you decide to do vet medicine, you'll be fine for the first 3 years but once you start the last 3 years when you're in practice, you might find it harder to find the time to ride as you work weekends and on call etc. Don't forget you'll have exams every year as well so that rules out 2 months of your competition season! That said, I love having my horse at uni, it's a real break from work and nice to get out of the town and into the countryside.
 
I took my horse to Uni and had him on a DIY yard close to campus. I had loads of time!! Some of my friends took part time jobs as there was so much spare time! It was probably meant for studying but I got my honors degree anyway, I only had about 5/6 2 hour lectures a week.
The only thing I sometimes found hard was being out all night partying and then having to stagger to the yard at 7am to turn out but if yours is on full livery you wont have that problem.
Uni is no excuse not to have a horse and actually when your assignments are due in and your stressed going for a relaxing ride is perfect and some of my best work was thought up out riding!
 
I was going to agree with you Firewell. I'd say those that feel riding would jeopardise their careers should think about why their leaving a baby at home, and not progressing it...I'd say it's not fair on the neddy tbf
frown.gif
There's plenty of ways to take your horse with you, all it takes is planning. I think your post has been the best so far
grin.gif
 
Mine stayed at home in my 1st and 2nd year- my sister runs a livery yard at home so the girls rode him during the week and I went back every weekend. Worked well and I evented at intermediate/2* like this. During the week I earnt money by schooling ponies for local people and that funded my trips home
In the 3rd year I took my horse to uni and kept it about 10miles away on part livery. That worked really well because I had tonnes of time. I carried on riding for other people to pay for my horse.

During my postgrad I had 2 horses and I kept them on grass livery and managed to ride most days.

It is do-able but dont under-estimate the costs!
 
I didn't have a horse while I was at Uni but it would have been impossible for me. I was in the middle of a big city (Glasgow), didn't have a car (very few students did back then - I graduated in 2000) and you would have had to go a fair way out to keep a horse. I was captain of the Uni riding team and it took a huge amount of time travelling to train and that was only once a fortnight, not every day.

I had lectures/practicals pretty much 9-5 every day and spent a lot of time, especially round exams, studying. Don't think I didn't party too, but I can't see that I would have had time to do a horse.

Oh and I was completely broke all the time (plus ca change) without having a horse.

Sorry for being pessimistic. I think it depends on courses and if you're at an agricultural college or the likes it's probably emininently do-able.
 
I totally agree, theres a slight difference in the time commitment to an equine science degree and doing full on vet med, and can i jus suggest elf_ that just because i don't want horses to jepordise my career doesn't mean i won't be able to compete my baby to a high level and doesn't mean keeping him at home won't mean i can't ride him or give him enough time
 
I didn't mention anything about you not competing him to a high level, and if he's at home whether you can ride him or give him enough time or not.
Altho, tbf, can't see how you can ride him if you're based Notts but up at E'burgh?
confused.gif
All I said was I agreed with RachelFerd about if you think it through Uni is no excuse not to have a horse - altho completely agree with L [Gamebird] about depends on the course.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top