Did your horses keep you out of trouble?

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hendrabonnie

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I have owned one of my ponies since i was 13yo. Alot of people ask me if i feel that i missed out on my teenage years but i think that it helped to keep me out of trouble and taught me many good qualities in life.

Whilst my friends were getting mixed up in the circle of boys, drugs and alcohol, i was out enjoying the fresh air and learning an important lesson of life in taking care of things that were important to you and learning how to stand on my own to feet!

I find my ponies very grounding and seeing them every morning makes me realise what is important in life!

Anyone else feel that their horses kept them out of trouble in their youth or even adult life?
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I love to see all the youngsters down at the yard, while they irritate the hell out of me sometimes with their shrieking and dance moves
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they are learning about the importance of hard work and responsibility and to the last, annoying, one, are really good kids and I love spending time in their company and I love to watch them evolve as competent little jockeys.
 
Definitely kept me on the straight and narrow! Even now they keep me out of mischief as I can't afford to do anything else...
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Seriously though, I think it is an excellent 'lifestyle' for youngsters and I know a lot of really nice kids through helping them with their ponies, or having them help out on the yard.

Even now, at work, I'm amazed at the number of people (adults) who just go home and watch tv all evening or spend all their money getting out of it. I suppose that's what they did when they were younger too. They all think I'm nuts for being up at the crack of dawn etc, but they don't know what they are missing.
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Yes definately - I''ve been lucky enough to have my own horses/ponies since aged about 5 so was always at PC, competitions etc. I also grew up without a TV (my parents still do not have a TV - and I now live with my first one - aged 24 - and only because it's my boyfriends'!) so horses, reading and everything else 'country' was all I spent my time doing when I was little!

The downside of the above though was because I didn't spend my life sat in front of TV I could not relate to any of this sort of conversations at school (which was pretty much all they talked about) and the fact I had a hobby in horses and was different - I was bullied badly and had to move school
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I then see kids hanging around in bus shelters smoking, (I was once approached by a 7yo kid for a lighter - I responded 'sorry I do not have one I don't smoke' and he responded 'my god how stupid are you?!') and getting in trouble and just think how lucky we've all been.

I wouldn't change anything though!

Sorry for the long long post!
 
Yes they did,for so long
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,i still had my 2yrs of clubbing fun
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even with my neddy
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,he was only a baby so i couldnt ride just pamper,so we both got what we needed at the right time in life
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It did me as i spent every weekend working at a riding school instead, but i know a lot of people who it didn't and it was their ponies that suffered when they found boys and under age drinking. Some of them were rough as well, do girls have an overly aggressive stage like males? I tell you some of the chavs i unfortunately used to know did! Ponies suffered for that too.

I think it either goes one way or another when it's make or break time.
 
When my daughter was 13 her father died unexpectedly. 6 months later, while she was still grieving, I bought her a pony, and I swear to god it was the best thing I ever did. Not only did it help her get over the loss of her Dad, it kept her focused and strong and commited all through her teens. She still went out and had fun with her mates but always with an eye on the clock, to be at at the yard to do feeds, turning out, bringing in etc. It kept us together as a mum and daughter too, we still had the typical mum and daughter type rows but the awful silences afterwards never lasted long as we had to discuss hay deliveries and farriers and worming and everything else connected with beloved pony.
My daughter is 29 now, still owns and loves her pony....
 
Kareef your post brought a tear to my eye! Full credit to you for handling such a sad situation and for sharing it with us in such a modest way
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Ponies and later horses kept me away from the silly teenage fads because I think horse riding and the responsibility of ownership gave me some good reality checks in terms of acceptable behaviour, finance appreciation and budgetting etc. It also gave me something to look forward to and to strive for (in a competitive way) meaning I never lacked the motivation or suffered the boredom that seems to underpin alot of teenage anxt and trouble causing...
 
I started riding 3 yrs ago (im now 25).

It was the result of doing a programme on my extreme eating habitsand they suggested doing a hobby that i found interesting and fun to overcome myillness.

I had my first riding lesson and a horse within a month (he was a saint and i know it wasnt the best thing to do now), but i was eager to learn and i bought the horse off a livery yard owner i knew anyway and she helped me learn the ropes.

They keep me out of the pub and give me something to live for, they are also the reason why i have recently lost 5 1/2 stone, i have much to thank them for.
 
I lost my Dad at 18, a long way from 13 i know but sitting here at 44 I'm crying at your post.
My horse that i had at the time saved me from myself, i still haven't got over him going.
We were not very well off and he bought me that horse on the promise i would pay him back from working part-time in a frozen food store, shortly before he died i was proud enough to have paid him every penny back, he didn't take it though, he gave me it back and said you keep it, you'll need it.
I was not the best person to know after he died but i was closest to him when i was with my horse.
 
My parents split up when I was 12 and although that was caused in a way because of my love of horses (long story, my mother alledgedly had an affair with the guy who owned the horses I rode
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) it was deffo the horses that helped me. Whilst my sister had no focus, I had my job at the yard and I was there every day before school, after school and throughout the hols. Yes I still went out and was a bit of a tearaway at times, but I never, ever let my job down and I was always clock watching.
 
Oh my, a lot of these posts have brought a tear to my eye! I don't have any such stories, I just know that I will always always owe my parents for getting my first horse on loan at about 14. They had very little money and really struggled so that I could have my horse. I never complain that I had a bad childhood cos I had the best thing my parents could have ever bought me. I stopped with horses when I started my GCSEs and didn't get back into it for quite a while, during that time I developed a bad temper and became very selfish and lazy, no reason for it, it's just me (in hindsight, parent's splitting up probably had a big influence on my behaviour att he time).

Over time my parent split up, I met a lovely man (who I'm marrying next year) and moved into my own home. We decided to get a horse, the same horse my parents had loaned for me so many years previously. I wasn't the same person and she showed me that, I had a lot of pent-up aggression and I didn't realise it until my horse turned into an aggressive horse, and I realised she was mirroring me, Sadly we couldn't afford her very long and about a year after I gave her up she was pts. I'll always owe her for showing me how I'd changed, and now I have a lovely arab mare and she shows me that I'm much calmer and much more hardworking, much like when I was a kid. I'm no longer lazy and me and my OH have a much better relationship as I'm always in a good mood, and I'm 100% positive it's because I have Belle.

Sorry, didn't mean for that to be an essay!
 
Yes, they helped me when my mum died of cancer - I was 8 years old. They have helped me through depression and divorce.

I have a lot to thank horses for.

There are times when horses have given me reason to carry on.
 
They have definately kept me out of trouble, every weekend and everyday in the holiday I was at the yard! It wasnt until I was about 15/16 that I went out with my friends on a saturday haha. Boys were no interest to me at all, nor smoking, drugs and the rest of it, my pony was all that mattered. Now I'm older, I still go out etc but my horse comes first, they understand now :/
We went on a one off girly holiday and one of my friends asked me if I ever resent getting a horse?!?! It's the best thing that has ever happened to me, I've learnt about responsibility from a very young age and I'm thoroughly committed to my horse and sport. She on the other hand has no serious hobbies, nor committments :/ she was shocked when she asked about having a BF and my reply was Sweep always comes first...
 
I had lessons at the weekend from the age of 8 years old, and "helped" at the riding school from the age of 11 working every saturday and sunday - and i loved it. I have a very close nit of friends as we grew up together at the stables, and even though we've all gone to Uni etc, everything is the same with us - it feels like we've never left each other! I worked with horses part time from the age of 14, and worked full time after I did my a levels, to find out after a year Uni was the next course for me. I definitely agree that working with horses has definitely kept me out of trouble and I am so thankful for that. I wouldn't have as many close friends as I have now if it wasn't for the horses!

I love how horses were always more favourable than boys!!!
 
Definitely! Started helping out at my local riding school aged 9 and got my first pony aged 11, and basically all my close friends were horsey so all extra curricular fun revolved around ponies, shows, trips to the local saddlery etc.

Never had a bf at school and have never smoked. Thought my friends were so stupid wasting their time, I mean, teenage boys, come on!!! Instead I divided time between riding and school work and it paid off so I could have a job that allowed me to... continue the riding obsession of course! Oh, I did do a lot of partying at uni but am now back on the straight and narrow
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Thanks guys for the lovely replies i have just spent the whole of the post in tears! I cant believe how much we owe to our horses for helping us out of difficult situations.

At times when i am feeling down they always do something that make me laugh out loud and smile, the best cure for the blues!

My mum has terminal cancer and something she said to me the other day will stay with me for the rest of my life. She is non horsey and has never really had an interest in them at all but she said to me that she has always been very proud of me in the way that i love and look after my horses and she was very sorry for not telling me sooner! That meant so much to me and will stay with me for ever!
 
DEfinatley - they still do - they give me focus and organisation and a reason to get through things.

I've been without a horse/riding twice in my life and both times I ended up in quite a state - first time having a nervous breakdown (though that was caused by other issues too) and the second just drinking WAY too much and going out too much.

In reality I like the quiet life the horses give me the excuse to have, and they help me moderate my stress levels (if I'm stressed around Luca boy do I know about it)!

People ask me how I can do it and my Dad is convinced I am missing out on life - that I shouldn't have this responsibility so young (not so young anymore 26)... what they don't understand is I'm getting all the best bits of life not missing out on them!

xxx
 
You know i had not given it much thought, but i often thought that living in the countryside helped.
I grew up in the middle of no where in wales on a small holding with lots of animals, which i adored, and i think, yes, they did help keep me out of trouble.
Like yourself i saw my friends getting into trouble a lot whereas i was in the middle of no where and generally could not get into trouble!

Horses are great things for so many reasons
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Definately kept me sane when I was younger (and now!). I think horses and an extremely healthy hobby to get into as a kid. I still went out and partied as a kid but never did drugs or smoked etc. And I never got drunk the night before a horse event! Nowadays my boyfriend is permanently bitching about them saying they've ruined my life as they are such a huge responsibility (financially and time wise), but I'd be lost without them!
 
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She is non horsey and has never really had an interest in them at all but she said to me that she has always been very proud of me in the way that i love and look after my horses and she was very sorry for not telling me sooner! That meant so much to me and will stay with me for ever!

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Omg, nearly crying at my desk
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. This really strikes chord with me and I wrote a big essay about it but decided it was too much and have now deleted it
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