Do you NEED a horse to keep you sane?

Yes i do ,they are therapeutic. I have only had a break of 3 years whilst doing my nurse training but bought a horse again the minute i qualified. Had a brief break in between horses and was so lost and miserable hubby encouraged me to get another. I have a really stressful job and just love all the messing about involved in caring for mine as much as the riding and couldnt imagine life without them.
 
I need mine to keep me active - I am sure that with a very tiring full time job I would just glaze over in front of the tv every weekend if I didnt have the incentive to go and get filthy and exhausted spending the 4 hours it usually takes to ride for an hour! I would be morbidly obese and never wash my hair..... and then I would be depressed so yes, I do need them to keep sane after all! :)
 
I suppose in a way, yes.

I've had a few wobbles this week, but today being out in the sun doing my hosrey jobs made me remember why I have horses....It was lovely watching them graze as the sun set.
 
most horsey people that I know are insane so I don't think so haha!

I need a horse because I don't know what I'd do with my life without them! No getting up at 6am every day, no slashing about in mud on a daily basis! I'd have more money than I'd know what to do with! I'd probably end up an alcoholic or sumit or a really clingy annoying girlfriend haha
 
I always say to my OH my horses would cost less than a therapist or an expensive wardrobe or having my hair done every week and so on...... I absolutely get those totally at peace moments when I am out with my horses and therefore I think I would be a very different person without them and would miss those moments terribly.
 
Absolutely. I find work extremely stressful and overwhelming and at times gets me very down and my horse is my escape. He is an unbacked youngster so I can't even ride him at the moment but spending time with him and doing the chores is a real stress relief for me.

I have wondered if circumstances changed, be it I decide to have children, or finances or injury, would I consider selling him and I couldn't bear the thought of parting with him! If necessary, I would stick him on grass livery and he can enjoy being a field ornament until my circumstances changed.

I've loaned lots of horses in the past before my youngster, and never really bonded with them as much as my pony. Whatever happens, I would want to do my utmost to keep him.
 
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Yes, & I got very upset last week when physio didn't tell me to sell my horses, but said so in so many very blunt words. He said he understood there was 'emotional attachment' which complicated things. Well yes, just a little, I've had one 13 years & bred my other one from her! Selling is not an option.
 
I don't know what i would have done without my horses when i was at school. i had a horrendous school life, with no friends and i would very often come home from school, rush up to the stables and pour my heart out to them. When i had my daughter 13 years ago, i had post natal depression and have been diagnosed with clinical depression on and off since then. The only times i felt better were when i was with horses. I am in a much better place now, on medication etc, and am horse hunting atm for me and my daughter to share and i cannot wait to feel that bond you get with a horse of your own :)
 
I need a hobby that I can have goals and direction in. That for me is riding, so no, I wouldn't have a horse as a pet, and I would want to compete, or at least train with the prospect of competing. If I couldn't afford horses I'd throw myself into another sport, or maybe take up dog training or something.
 
Yes.

OH & I have both said that without horses we don't know what state we'd be in. He's very easily bored during the winter (he's a bookie and currently only working the racing in the summer) so having horses in to break/train/feed and handle keeps his mind and body active which directly impacts on other aspects of his life.

For me, I struggle to cope with certain things in my life - my coping mechanism has become being around horses. Riding helps, but even mucking out and grooming makes a difference. I'm lucky in that I work part time on a racing yard so after a bad day in the office I can head over to the yard and spend a couple of hours with 5/6 horses who enjoy being fussed over. When I was younger and having trouble in school, it was my horse that I turned to. I've continued to turn to my horses ever since; I find it almost impossible to discuss my problems with another human being but I can get things off my chest with the horses and know that it goes no further.
 
Horses definitely help my sanity, but then so do my friends. What I can say with certainty is that life without horses is less than half as meaningful.
 
Definitely!

When i'm home i spend every day at the yard with my horse and when i'm at uni i miss it so badly, always paying to get a train home!

Horses consume you, they're a pet, they're a hobby, they're a sport.. they involve training AND you involve training in order to do well.. so no time to slack off.

Can't remember what i did with all my spare time before.. or all my money! ;)
 
I definitely need them. Not so much riding but being around them. I'm only a sharer but go to the yard every day and love doing bits and bobs around the place.

I don't have much else other than horses in my life unfortunately! No friends really, only one other hobby really, and currently no job again. So I need them. They give me something to do, something to focus on and aim for.

Although today I'm not very pleased with him because he's off with lameness and he headbutted me in the face and split my lip as a thank you for everything I do!
 
Oh yes definitely, have loaned and shared and am now living the dream with 2 of my own. One was an ex loan who became mine after she became elderly and I wanted to secure our future together. Was the right thing to do and she owes me nothing.. The other is an ex racer who is hard work and infuriating, but rewarding and a real charmer!! I'm grateful for the both of them and they help me cope with the really crap job I do!! Which keeps them in the style to which they have become accustomed so I suppose it's a two way thing!!!
 
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