Feeling grateful for what I've got, not just want want want

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LittleTero

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I'm sure I'm not the only one who has their grumbles about how 'unfair' things can be at times.

Eg, urgh why can I not afford a trailer whatever way I look at my finances?

Why does it take so long to iron out certain riding habits/pony habits?

Why am I so neurotic? Lol

Well today I was at the yard, the sun was shining, the dog was rolling in the field and going wild playing with me and the pony, who was following me around as I went about setting out jumps in the paddock, and I had one of those overwhelmed with love moments.

If someone had told twelve year old me that I would have a dog and a pony I would have thought I'd have died and gone to heaven with happiness. It wouldn't have mattered to me at 12 what the pony was like, how many times id fallen off, how early I had to get up, or how many rosettes id won. Just to have my very own pony and dog was more than I could ever have dreamed of...

When I'm having an off day I'm determined to remember tonight and what the twelve year old me had hoped dreamed and prayed for. She's now got it, time to be grateful not greedy.

Anyone else managed to fulfil their childhood pony dreams and often forget it? I hope I'm not the only one prone to bouts of being spoilt and ungrateful!!!
 
For sure... be grateful for all you have everyday. Goodness knows, we horsey folk are the luckiest on the planet. But... life has a way of giving you what you want... don't ever stop dreaming ;)
 
I try and remind myself of this as much as I can.

My 12 year old self has everything she ever wanted and some. And yes sometimes at 5 am I am knackered and equally at 7pm when I've just got in from work and still have to go outside and do evening stables. But leading in my 18 year old mare last night that I've owned for 18'years. More than made it all worthwhile.

I actually said to my husband this evening that I don't want any more from my life apart from perhaps a better muck heap!


Hmmmm... On that note
 
I had a lovely in hand walk with my old boy today. I wish he was sound enough at the moment to ride, but I love him dearly and if he is destined to stay as an oversized pet, then so be it cos he is just lovely! And everything I could ever want in a horse (except for the lameness issues!). If you'd told me when I was a kid that I would have such a horse one day, I'd never have believed you.
 
One of my customers gave me a big smile recently whilst stood in her stable yard, with her new pony and with her dog running around happily. She then said 'what more could a girl ask for, I have a pony and a dog'. She is 78!
 
Very nice thought and a good reminder. I'm hugely grateful for everything I have and def try to appreciate it. It can get lost in the every day frustration as I'm impatient and want to improve!
 
what a LOVELY thread.


I was absolutely nuts about horses from the age of 2 to 18. I don't spend enough time connecting with that love and longing now that I have my perfect horse (I am 52). I find myself feeling grumpy that I have to drive my own lorry for goodness sake!

Thank you so much for the reminder, all you posters - yes if my 15 YO self could have seen me today she would have wept with joy. (I'd be entering bigger hunter trial classes too!) :)
 
Last year I became the proud owner of the actual same pony my 12 year old self longed for. I'm now 29 and he's 27, so it's taken a while to fulfil my childhood dream but he's here and he's brilliant and I'm grateful to the owner of the riding school where I met him for letting me have him on loan in 2012 then selling him so he could be my 28th birthday present from my mum!
 
I definitely try and remember this. I often think about it when I'm driving the horsebox, i wish I could go and tell that 13 year old me slogging it out at a riding school watching the livery girls with their own ponies that one day she'll have a pony, a horsebox, go to shows, go to pony camp and win rosettes. I should pause more often to think how I have far exceeded the dreams that that 13 year old me had (mainly because I didn't really know much about the horse world outside of a riding school!) and getting cross at my pony because we don't trot the perfect circle is not the be all and end all!
 
Tobiano said:
what a LOVELY thread.


I was absolutely nuts about horses from the age of 2 to 18. I don't spend enough time connecting with that love and longing now that I have my perfect horse (I am 52). I find myself feeling grumpy that I have to drive my own lorry for goodness sake!

Thank you so much for the reminder, all you posters - yes if my 15 YO self could have seen me today she would have wept with joy. (I'd be entering bigger hunter trial classes too!) :)
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Haha def this! I was so much braver as a kid. wish I could get a bit of that back now !
 
I had a moment like this today too. Trotting up the road with my friend, our horses stride for stride and we were both laughing out loud loving it!!! Both of our horses are with us for life (my little Lottie and her homebred warm blood out of her lovely mare I used to share)!! We were both saying how it doesn't matter how big we jump it what we win, we love our ponies (hers is 17.1 but defo a ponio!!)!!
 
Last year in pc camp i was awarded a certain trophy. The year I joined pc I had seen a girl who was(is!) my role model in the horse world and who is now one of my instructors being awarded with this cup. It was a massive moment for me (sounds silly but still...) and one where I could really see how lucky I was to have made it this far. :)
 
Felt similar today when my pony and dog were standing together quite happily. Wish I had had a camera. You need to take pleasure in these small happy moments in life.
 
I had one of those moments today :) Had taken the day off to have the horses feet done, all were good and the young Appy has finally got over her phobia of men handling her feet. Farrier had just gone and I was playing with the dogs in the sun in the yard, when the new roller was delivered and I just had one of those 'life doesn't get much better than this' :D
 
I definitely need to keep reminding myself of this - I keep feeling down because I don't have a box and have to rely on other people for transport but this time five years ago I still rode at a riding school, now I have two horses on loan. This thread has really reminded me how much I have to be happy about, an awesome jumping pony and a lovely ex racer who does a nice dressage test. Even if I can't get out to every competition I want to at least I have the opportunity to ride and be around horses every day.
 
This is a nice thread.

I remember as a child I wanted a pony that would canter and I found a four leaf clover and wished for it.

Now in my 40's I have pony who I love hacking out and having a good canter with friends. At the beginning of last year I thought he might have to be retired as vets thought he might have a heart condition - thankfully he did not and it was was something else very easily curable. Even then when I thought he might have to be retired I thought well at least he is a lovely friendly pony who loves being brushed and made a fuss of so even I could not ride him I could enjoy grooming and spending time with him.

It is not always the person with the big horses box and all the facilities and money that come with it who is the happiest.

Having a healthy happy pony is a great thing to have and not to be taken for granted.
 
Im glad I found this thread, its lovely. I have everything the 10 year old me would have wished for, a lovely pony, 3 fantastic dogs, a pick up truck, a horsebox, oh, and a lovely hubby. Its taken me a long time to get here, Im in my 50s and never had a pony as a child and was so envious of a couple of girls at school who did have and who didnt seem to appreciate them. I still find myself wanting to upgrade the horsebox for a bigger, flashier one, totally unnecessary for my 1 pony. I think its time I reminded myself to shut up and be extremely grateful for what I do have.
 
Walrus said:
I definitely try and remember this. I often think about it when I'm driving the horsebox, i wish I could go and tell that 13 year old me slogging it out at a riding school watching the livery girls with their own ponies that one day she'll have a pony, a horsebox, go to shows, go to pony camp and win rosettes. I should pause more often to think how I have far exceeded the dreams that that 13 year old me had!
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^^^^^
This!! I do what I do now for the ponymad but ponyless child I once was!
 
I have these moments sometimes. Particularly when I share a lesson with my friend and her lovely young horse. Then I remind myself her horse is lovely but the one I'm sitting on, my Pie, he means the absolute world to me. He might be an older gent, not the easiest ride but he has the biggest heart and he's mine.

Although I have lived through a very sad and difficult time in the past - now life is fantastic I do appreciate every day and the wonderful people and animals I share it with.
 
When I was 9 years old (pony mad but pony less) I wrote a letter to the BHS horse trials group (as BE was known back then) begging them for help & information on how to become an eventer!
I wish I still had the lovely hand written letter I was sent back. However i read it so much even after all this time I can pretty much recite it 😊 I remember it basically told me to work hard, take every opportunity offered to me & always think about the horse first. They also sent me the actual entry forms used for Badminton & Burghley so I could practise filling them in :D
I'd love to know who that lovely person was that took the time to write such a kind letter & how much their actions inspired me.

So much so that pony mad, but pony less girl has now got 4 horses, trains with an 4* Olympic medallist eventer & competes BE eventing.....although that practise filling in the entry forms Badminton & Burghley was a bit wasted :D
 
glamourpuss said:
When I was 9 years old (pony mad but pony less) I wrote a letter to the BHS horse trials group (as BE was known back then) begging them for help & information on how to become an eventer!
I wish I still had the lovely hand written letter I was sent back. However i read it so much even after all this time I can pretty much recite it �� I remember it basically told me to work hard, take every opportunity offered to me & always think about the horse first. They also sent me the actual entry forms used for Badminton & Burghley so I could practise filling them in :D
I'd love to know who that lovely person was that took the time to write such a kind letter & how much their actions inspired me.

So much so that pony mad, but pony less girl has now got 4 horses, trains with an 4* Olympic medallist eventer & competes BE eventing.....although that practise filling in the entry forms Badminton & Burghley was a bit wasted :D
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What a lovely story!

Sadly back in approx 1977 I visited Chatsworth event as a 10 year old pony mad girl and visited the BHS stand as I LOVED everything about eventing and wanted to know how to do it. The nice posh lady asked me if I could ride (well, I have started and can do rising trot), if my parents were rich (I only have my mum and she does not have much money), if I had a pony (no, bt I am on the 11 O'clock ride at the riding school on Saturdays...) and she advised me that she did not think I could event.

I know she meant well, I was not an ideal candidate, non horse background, single parent family, not much money... but it taught me not to limit people just because I cannot see how I would succeed in a similar position.

It took many years, blood, sweat and tears, turning up at dealer yards and volunteering to ride ... anything... buying a 3yo just backed TB, working up...

I DID event. What's more competing at Chatsworth itself on my own horse was like life turning full circle.

The lady meant well, was kind, and did not put me off at all. If anything it made me more determined to succeed.
 
I know just where you are coming from, OP.

I don't get to ride these days, but just being around daughters' ponies, and caring for them, is (even in the depths of winter) something I treasure. I too am that 12 year old (several times over) who never dreamed she would actually have a horse one day.

I try to convey to my daughters how lucky they are, but I don't think they realise it.
 
Such a lovely thread.

When I was a kid in the 60's early 70's it wasn't so easy to have your own pony, I used to beg or borrow carthorses from a man who did driving. Never had the chance to do gymkhanas etc. I too have succeeded all expectations of what I wanted when I was 12.

Driving my own horse to shows from his own stable, doing well and coming home to my lovely property and husband/dogs. I was at a show recently and someone who is only a passing aquaintance said to me that she notices that I always look so happy riding my horse my reply was "what is there not to be happy about?" I think nowadays horse ownership is much more accessable and not always appreciated.
 
I am loving this thread too. I've had some really boring stressful stuff to deal over the last year and only just kept the pony-boys going during this tough period...(hopefully coming to an end now) but it is a great reminder that my pony-mad girl self could never have believed she'd ever have her own horses. So I really must remember that more often.
Thanks!
 
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