Do you LOVE your horse ?

[NELSON11]

The famous jockey Ruby Walsh has recently said that doesn't actually like horses that much and that he just turns up to ride them - furthermore that they are actually incapable of much emotion beyond their feed bucket.

Brough Scott has a piece in his last week's column in H & H on roughly the same lines even though he reckons himself to be a "sentimentalist."

I'm sure that this will provoke a good reaction from this forum but let me start it off by saying that I am a big hairy bloke who's spent most of his life doing big hairy bloke things, yet I was besotted by my old mare putting her before everything else. I had the pleasure of her company for seventeen years till cradling her head when she died and nothing was ever a chore, I'd go to her like a kid let out of school and she'd whinney at the sound of my footsteps going to fetch her in.

I think that is really lovely what you have said about your old mare. I have adored all my horses with such immense passion. To my detriment at times. as social life/relationships etc have been second. And I am not a fluffy tree hugger. I am fully aware they are happy with whoever feeds/cares for them. But it makes me feel good I give them 150%.

 

[Jojo_Pea4]

I love my horse, he is my horse of a life time.No one has come close to him.
My sisters has had a few ponies shes grown out of but while we have them I really care for them but dont have that bond, untill this one now, she is the only one I will truly miss and want to keep in touch with (on loan). I have never met anyone to say a bad word about her.
We recently brought a youngster and instantly knew he was special and know in time he will be a huge love.

I have worked with many horses but there has only been a few that I miss and think about. I do have a few horses which I dislike.

I know you cant love a horse like a human but there is a special animal love. I feel the same about my dogs.

 

[eahotson]

Yes.Had him for about 18 months.Loved him at first sight really and he has been a superstar for me.

 

[Flame_]

The two I have now, yes, I think so. Flame definitely. I haven't loved all my horses though I don't think.

 

[Starbucks]

Yeah I guess so, in a similar way to how I love my doggies. I am much more emotionally attached to Badger than I have been any of my other horses/ponies.. think I’m going a bit soft in the head!! I do think though that the love is a bit of a one way street and Ruby’s probably right about the feed bucket!!

I’ve totally gone of Ruby – you’d think he could at least bring himself to like Kauto and Denman when they’ve won him so much money!!! Wouldn’t have won those races running round on his own two legs now would he!!

 

[Caz89]

Love my horse to bits! I would happily go without food so he could be fed. People always say to me "he's a horse why do you spend so much money and time on him" because I want to why not if you can! Yes he is a horse and he is my horse.. my baby

 

[lexibell]

i love my horses, they are equal to my kids in so many ways!
my husband says i'm cold hearted in many ways but the only time i show true emotion is when i'm with my kids or horses! lol

this!!!

just in my case replace the word 'kids' with 'everything/everyone' and you'll kind of get the drift!!!

My husband is my company when the animals are in bed!! He knows and jokes about how his place in my heart is behind the horses and the dog and if Im honest it is!! during rows about how much time and money has been spent on horses I have had to firmly tell him 'not to try me' because quite frankly, he can pack his things and go - then the horses can move in ... hmmm maybe I shouldnt be married???!!!!

 

[Caz89]

this!!!

just in my case replace the word 'kids' with 'everything/everyone' and you'll kind of get the drift!!!

My husband is my company when the animals are in bed!! and he knows he goes behind horses and the dog and I sincerely mean that...maybe I shouldnt be married??? hmmm!!!!

I bet hubby loves that It's true though. Your husband i am sure can look after himself where as your horse can't

 

[Bovril]

There is nothing else on this planet that could get me out off bed on a cold, wet, dark, dank, snowy or frosty morning other than her, she literaly is the reason I get up most mornings, when most non horsey people are still snuggled up in bed, how ever much I want to go back to sleep I could never do it knowing she is standing there waiting for her breakie. Don't forget how much they give back as well to the people who do love them, there is possibly no feeling on this earth like the one you get when you let your horse just go for it along the bridletrack or field, Pretending your just about to become the first lady to win the National!! That last bit may just be my over active imagination, although being on a 24 yo tbx who thinks she is a 5 yo race horse does help!! True love never judges and my horse has never judged me.

 

[issyking]

i love all of my horses and i love all the horses i ride and train for people, and do get attached easily, but tell myself that one day i must let go to a few otherwise i will end up with a very large collection!

 

[RolyPolyPony]

More than anything! He puts a smile on my face no matter how rubbish i'm feeling. As someone has already said, he's one of the reasons i get up in the morning.

 

[janei]

this!!!

just in my case replace the word 'kids' with 'everything/everyone' and you'll kind of get the drift!!!

My husband is my company when the animals are in bed!! He knows and jokes about how his place in my heart is behind the horses and the dog and if Im honest it is!! during rows about how much time and money has been spent on horses I have had to firmly tell him 'not to try me' because quite frankly, he can pack his things and go - then the horses can move in ... hmmm maybe I shouldnt be married???!!!!

LOL! This is so true but again dont tell my other half, although as he reminds me every now and then he knows it!

Yes I absolutely love my boy, wouldnt have put up will all the problems if I didnt but then maybe thats why I love him??? We will grow old together!

 

[NeedNewHorse]

I love mine too!!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Yes, I love my horses and pretty much any horse I have dealings with. It was because of them that my OH fell in love with me. He liked the person I am when I'm working with them, it apparently gave him an insight into my personality. You can't lie to horses.

 

[peanut]

Yes, I love my horse.

 

[minkymoo]

Yes, he is the only man in my life who can dump me and get away with it. He is allowed to be just the way he is because he is mine. I would never put up with his kind of behaviour in my OH for example!

However, he has a big heart he is really special to me and I love him very much.

 

[poops]

Yes I love my girl

 

[peanut]

Yes, I love my horses and pretty much any horse I have dealings with.

I couldn't go so far as saying I love all horses. I care about all animals and treat them well, but I certainly don't love other people's horses.

 

[lucyc]

Im not lucky enough to own my own horse but my best friend has a horse and i treat her like my own i dont love the horse as much as her owner does but i extremely like her. You can also tell the horse loves her mum because if someone else has brought her in shel stick her head out the door til her mum comes and tooks her in at night, which i thinks really sweet
I have loved horses even though theyve never been my own and at my old riding school everytime i would go say hello to my favourite whether i was riding him or not and on my last day he was the only horse i said good bye to and i do think i loved him

 

[micramadam]

My OH says that my daughter comes first, then the horses, then the dogs and that he's last in the queue. Not true, he comes before the dogs

I love my 3 but not equally. 1 more than the other 2 and can't bear the thought of anything happening to them.

When I was younger I had to make the decision to have my beloved pony put to sleep because she'd broken her hind leg. I grew up with this pony and she was my best friend. I cried for months. I can still cry now when I think about her.

I do believe that horses do have emotion but not the way we have emotions.
Anyone who can prove me to me that me 3 do not show emotions is welcome to come and try! I am positive that they will prove otherwise.

 

[cobgirlie]

I'm not sure my lad has emotional attachement to me. He trusts me for sure because we spent alot of time working on it together, he will follow me whereever I ask, and absolutely relies on me to tell him something is safe. BUT I doubt he'd be hugely bothered if I wasn't around, as long as someone fed him he'd be happy as larry out in his field 24/7 with no interferrance.

Of course it's nice to think him hanging his head out the stable and shouting at me is because 'mummy's home' but I think we all know it's because the bucket provider has arrived.

My dogs I've no doubt love me and see me as important but the horse not so much. Doesn't stop me loving them all to distraction and having no life other than them though!!

 

[Arabelle]

I love my little mare, she is a part of our family and acknowledged as such. She kept me alive when I needed her and the family know I could continue to be their wife and mother thanks to her. She is special.

My two geldings I am very fond of and sort of love, but not like my family or my mare. It is far more pragmatic and straightforward - they are just animals, albeit loved ones.

 

[Flummoxed]

I can understand that a jockey would be detached from the horses he rides as there are so many of them. I am damn sure that there are some that Ruby (Get well soon, by the way) absolutely hates. They are his livelihood, but he must have at least a quiet liking for the species, whatever he thinks of them as individuals.

My horse (and my daughter's too) is part of the family and I love him to bits, just as I have loved family dogs in the past. Yes, his first thought is for his stomach and that whinny is probably for his tea not for me, but that doesn't matter. He gives me so much pleasure and he cannot be replaced. I waited over 50 years to have them and dread the day that I lose either of them.

 

[skychick]

Iv loved all of my horses to bits, my first horse was the soppiest horse ever, he loved to be cuddled, groomed, etc etc and wanted to be with me all of the time. He was a star and i miss him terribly. My next horse although i only had him just short of 6 months i loved to pieces. He was a really difficult horse as he would napp for england, buck, rear, leap, plunge, reinsnatch etc. You couldnt take him to an event as he just went dolally. But he was such a charachter and it broke my heart when i put him out on loan. I refused to sell him as he is the sort of horse that would get passed from pilar to post and prob beaten senseless. So i found him a lovely loan home so i know he is safe.
My horse i have now is my horse of a life time. She is great fun to ride and has got such a personality. She is very lady of the mannor! If she doesnt like something she snorts in a really hilarious way. She is not the most affectionate of horses but sometimes forgets this and you find her nuzzling you....then she remembers she is allof and looks at you as if to say....dont tell any one i did that! She is a fussy git...i offered her an apple the otherday and she refused to eat it and yesterday i offered her a piece of swede and she snorted at it and turned to face the opposite way!! fussy little madam!! But she is so gentle and well mannered and sparky but safe and fun to ride....i enjoy every second i spend with her and love every little snort and food snobby bone in her body.

 

[Ted's mum]

Yes I do love my horses but they are there to make me money also....as I buy and sell a few..

 

[Doormouse]

Someone once said to me "you don't have to like someone to respect them" and maybe that is how Ruby feels. He I'm sure respects everyone of the horses he rides, some more than others depending. He may well respect a horse who hasn't got much ability but has managed to win a race against all odds out of courage and determination more than one that goes a wins a big race. I think that to be a top jockey, where you barely know most of the horses you ride, the emotional detachment is necessary. Lets face it, with the horses we love would we be prepared to ask for that extra bit that might push them over the edge, no we wouldn't.

Like many others have said, I do love my horses, but some have touched my heart more than others, some I still miss, some I just remember with a smile.

 

[Crazy Friesian]

If you have 2 legs, go to the back of the queue. Nothing comes between me and my animals.

Currently my old boy(27yrs young) has a tree trunk for a leg. I have to inject him twice a day. I am needle phobic! But for him... the world. My heart breaks every time I have to find another spot to inject him. I know he is getting sore now.

I have a £400 vet bill never mind what I paid out for him yesterday! Ok, so Christmas might not happen this year. Folks will have to put up with a fab piccy of him in all his glory. "This is what Christmas looks like this year"

My OH puts up with it because he knows I am half the person I am without them than with them.

 

[freckles22uk]

Yes I love some of mine..and are very fond of the others,
Freckles and her son Harley I adore and love them lots, probably as ive Freckles since she was 5 months old, shes 12 now and her son Harley is now 4, he was the first horse I saw being born and we are very bonded, both of these I could never sell...

Champ, Kimera, Moonshine (who is off to the UK next week to my daughter) and Ticky, and the 3 foals, im very fond of, but I just dont have the bond and love for them.

 

[Dizzydancer]

I truly love my horse, he is treated like a king he is retired now and enjoys grooming me and nuzzling which on these cold days is lovely. He is a true gent and very human-like, my arab x is also very loving to me only! however my first pony will never be seen dead having any kind of love from a human unless it involves food, my other loan Tbx is also an unloving lump but i still love them all loads!!

 

[catdragon]

I love my horse. I think we all do to some greater or lesser degree, why else would we willingly go into muddy fields in all weathers to get them in. Or muck out their beds when they've pee'd and poo'd in it... you have to be a little insane to go collecting yet more poo from their fields. To pay more for their shoes than you do your own. To ensure they are wormed, vaccinated, teeth done, back done, supplemented as needed, fed best veg and fruit, groomed to perfection, rugged as necessary, basically we are their slaves!

But I for one am a willing slave who loves her horse and I know my horse is attached to me, I won't say love as that gives human traits, and she IS a horse, but she will gladly follow me, and there's nothing nicer than her cuddling up to me and demanding I give her scratches whilst she nuzzles me back