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

Yes I mostly do remember how lucky I am. The highlights recently have been buying a tipping skip for muck heap removal (and it fitting in an existing trailer perfectly so I can take it away to dump at the farm!) and getting the "hunter" horse box I always wanted as a kid (to go with the palomino I also wanted!). I do have a palomino although she is really for my daughter but one day I will have one for me again I am sure. Anything is possible you just have to stick in.

I was riding my horse in my field thinking this is my life. I've done it.
 
There's a place on the road on my way home where I can look down and see my house, stables, field and the horses in my field. I often pretend I don't live there and let myself envy the lucky, lucky person who does. It does pick you up when you are feeling low :)
 
One of the best threads I have ever read on here! It is good to remember what you already have is in fact a gift and not a foregone certainly in life.
 
Very true. I'm very thankful for what I have. 4 years ago I had never ridden (let alone had a horse!) was in an awful relationship and a crap job and my Dad was being diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer.

I now have an awesome pony that teaches me new things all of the time (OK, and sometimes tests my patience!). I'll never be a top eventer but right now am a Happy hacker occasionally jumping in the field. Maybe when I've paid some debts I'll think about traveling him a little. I have a wonderful OH and a job that I (mostly) love - with prospects!- and OK, Dad is still ill, but he is here.

I think sometimes people need to realise that its not what you have, its what you make of what you have.

Ax
 
Patchworkpony said:
One of the best threads I have ever read on here! It is good to remember what you already have is in fact a gift and not a foregone certainly in life.
Click to expand...

This! Well done OP for reminding us all what lovely things we have in life and that we have to remind ourselves about the good things and not dwell on the bad.
Thank you! :)
 
I am very grateful for all I have, but I think I must be the only one on here who never dreamed of owning a pony as a kid. I started riding at 9 becuase my sister wanted to and the only lesson suitable was when Dad was playing rugby. Mum said i'd have to come along so I could either watch or join in. 2 years later she gave up and I carried on.

I never thought about getting my own, but someone wanted a rider for a rescue pony she had. A year later I'd outgrown him and moved onto her Section D and he was still with me when he died 14 years later. The adult me can't contemplate a life without horses but I nvere dreamed of it as a kid!
 
I still can't believe I own my own place...and its just like the toy one I had in my room as a kid. No one was allowed to touch it and I knew if anything was out of place. Look out anyone who moved anything while I was at school. I have my horse of a lifetime with me, although I don't ride her anymore as I'm too big for her, and the sweetest clydesdale mare that I kind of rescued. I still get frustrated, exhausted with the work and a little sad, as my health isn't brilliant at present, but I can honestly say pulling into my own yard, seeing my two neddies and how peaceful they look makes my heart sing.
 
That sounds amazing. I still stop to be that envious person when I spot certain set ups. I can't imagine ever taking that for granted, but like everything I'm sure it gets quite easy, I said that about having a pony! But I will have a cottage and land in the countryside when I 'grow up' lol. A lot of people tell me I'm in cloud cuckoo land, but the wise people who know me say they know I will too. If you believe something so entirely that you don't even bother to worry about the how, it usually comes true. Not yet but I've got a lot of life yet to live :)
 
I had the same realisation the other day!

I don't have my own horse, and it's very unlikely I ever will.

But I do get to share an absolute sweetheart of a horse, who's taught me so much and given me so much more confidence in my riding. Both our attempts at hacking out have ended with me walking home (voluntary dismount, not unplanned!) but in the school he's amazing. Twelve-year-old me would never have dreamed I'd ever be so lucky!

(I'll still keep staring wistfully at latest horses for sale in the sidebar, though. *g*)
 
12 year old me wanted to train a stallion that only I could ride.
I'm older and wiser now. There's much more pleasure if you've trained it so that ANYONE can ride it :D

Great thread OP. We should all count our blessings, and take one little step at a time towards our dreams.
 
I love this thread. I too am living the dream of owning my own horse. As a previous poster said it is making the best of what you have. I wanted to be an eventer but lack of money prevented that. I have only done one event and on a borrowed horse. I have had so much fun with my ordinary horses and continue to do so. Horses make my life complete and I am so lucky to be able to have them. Though I suppose it is not really luck it is about what you are prepared to give up to make it happen. We are a dedicated lot all us horsey people.
 
My 12yo self worked hard just for the chance of a ride on a pony - never would I have imagined at that age that not only would I have my own horse but that I would have my own mini herd of 4 :)

Yes sometimes it's hard slog but I wouldn't swap for the world.
 
My 12yo self did have a pont, but had to get up at 5:30am every morning to ride my bike a 4 miles round trip to see to him before and after work and work weekends at the yard to pay for his keep...and I loved every second of it.

This time last year, I was just about to move, which was forced upon us and meant I had to sell Molly and find a yard to keep Fly on once we had moved. Less than a month later, had to have Fly put to sleep in the field.

Now, I live in a lovely little bungalow, surrounded by wildlife of all sorts, my garden leads up to the 5 big rest/retirement liveries on one side and into the field with my new horse and the other 5 liveries through a gate on the other side. I have 99 acres of higher level stewardship land, lovely orchards to pick as much fruit as I can at harvest time, 250acres of common ground to hack on, direct from the fields, a great local and lovely neighbours.

Life is good, I am going to marry the man of my dreams later this year and I am grateful for my lot in life every single day. Yes, there has been immense heartbreak in that time, but life has been very good to me.
 
Just loving this thread too. i was a pony mad girl from year dot but parents couldnt afford a pony. When i was 12 after longingly hanging around a ponys field the owner said i could help with her 3 childrens ponies whilst they were at boarding school. I was besotted with them and practically lived there. She was so kind and even paid for me to have lessons on them . I have to admit feeling upset when they came home but ive always felt grateful to her and remember buying my second hand jods and boots. I am now 51 have 2 horses that live at home ,stables paddocks a trailer and soon to get a new one to compete before i get too old. I still feel like that pony mad girl and live and breathe horses. I am grateful to have such a passion and its really nice to be reminded of how lucky i am.
 
debsflo said:
Just loving this thread too. i was a pony mad girl from year dot but parents couldnt afford a pony. When i was 12 after longingly hanging around a ponys field the owner said i could help with her 3 childrens ponies whilst they were at boarding school. I was besotted with them and practically lived there. She was so kind and even paid for me to have lessons on them . I have to admit feeling upset when they came home but ive always felt grateful to her and remember buying my second hand jods and boots. I am now 51 have 2 horses that live at home ,stables paddocks a trailer and soon to get a new one to compete before i get too old. I still feel like that pony mad girl and live and breathe horses. I am grateful to have such a passion and its really nice to be reminded of how lucky i am.
Click to expand...

People like that are real life, living angels. Bless her for giving you such a wonderful opportunity :) xxx
 
my 12 year old self only got to draw ponies as we were too poor for lessons, but i drew them really well :) and every now and then i would catch a bus to a yard outside of Bristol and muck out in exchange for a ride, i used to look at all the kids there with their own ponies and vowed that one day it would be me, it took a long time but now i wake in the morning in my valley, i can see my horses from my kitchen window and although i will never be a great rider i feel i am a good horse woman and that's enough for me.
 
Pony obsessed since age 8...was allowed to have lessons from then, my dad was a vet and my eldest sister had had a horse when my other sister and I were smaller but he was sold when eldest sister left home to go to college as my other sister and I were too small for him. I was desperate for my own pony and my wonderful dad bless him gave me this book - called The New Pony - which was the simplest but clever little story for a child about how you have to put your pony's needs first - last page below which may give you the gist, hope pic is not too big. Dad died when I was 11 and other very kind friends of my parents ensured my sister and I were given lifts to our riding lessons still so they could continue. I still bought a headcollar for the pony I didn't have and spent endless time in the local tiny tack shop and bought the Pony Club book, Keeping a Pony at Grass and tried to work on my mother..I would have settled for a donkey if I couldn't have had a horse so did lots of background reading on those too! But it didn't work! Stopped having lessons age 15 and didn't ride again between the ages of 16 and 40...but then started having weekly lessons again and I was immediately hooked again and couldn't understand why I'd not kept riding. I tried to buy the pony I had lessons on at the riding school but they wouldn't sell him so 2 years of lessons later I bought my first pony. I've had him 11 years last Saturday :) The sun shone and the swallows arrived back on the yard and flew straight into my stable. I'll never be a great rider and we've not been able to do much the last few years due to finances and a lack of energy on my behalf so its mainly hacking and the odd schooling session but he has a good life and a home for life.
DSCF1468_zpsbpymkfwn.jpg
 
Last edited:
What a lovely thread! Horse obsessed from an early age, I finally realised that dream 12 years ago and still pinch myself regularly.

I am owned by 2 fabulous ginger ninjas, one part-bred arab, one pure-bred arab. I have fulfilled so many ambitions with the pair of them. From galloping along the beach, to long distance holidays, to FEI endurance, to beer-fuelled pub rides where the pony has had to steer us home, to moonlit, star-lit crisp night hacks on the common in the week before Christmas, singing carols at full belt.

I am in a job that is well paid enough to allow me to run a 4x4 and trailer and own two horses (though the elder one is now on permanent loan to my mother, giving her a lot of comfort following the breakdown of her relationship with my stepfather and the death of her beloved arab gelding). I live in East Devon, which feels like my spiritual home. I am comfortable and content living here in a way I never was in the 34 years I spent living in Kent! I am supported by a loving, kind, handsome, smart man who is everything I thought I ever wanted, plus a whole lot more besides. And I am healthily 26 weeks pregnant with our first child who whilst unexpected, presents a new adventure in our lives which we are both grasping with great gusto. So yes, whilst there are a few things I would like to change, all in all, it's pretty bloody good!
 
I just remembered somethign else - I did the WHS Win A Pony competition in the late 60s/early 70s...I'm sure I wasn't the only one?! :) I think all you had to do was answer some horse related questions and send in a till receipt - bit dodgy as to your skills/ability for horse ownership but hopefully WHS did keep an eye on the winner to ensure it was a suitable pony and went to a good home!
 
MochaDun said:
I just remembered somethign else - I did the WHS Win A Pony competition in the late 60s/early 70s...I'm sure I wasn't the only one?! :) I think all you had to do was answer some horse related questions and send in a till receipt - bit dodgy as to your skills/ability for horse ownership but hopefully WHS did keep an eye on the winner to ensure it was a suitable pony and went to a good home!
Click to expand...

Me too. I did win a runner - up of tickets to HOYS back in the days when it was at Wembley.
 
My 12 year old self worked at the local riding school every available opportunity in exchange for rides. My parents were too poor to afford more than one paid lesson every other week.
I used to be jealous of my friends who could ride weekly in addition to the free lesson for helping.
When I was 13, though, I chanced upon an advert in a paper wanting help with some ponies locally to me. I replied and from that, I had opportunities beyond my dreams, but I had to get a paper round and work in a shop to pay towards the mare I shared. The owners took me to shows, and I joined pony club. I was frowned upon there, because I didn't have my own pony, but I ignored it and benefited from the lessons!
Fast forward almost 40 years, and I have my own land, horsebox and my daughter and I have 5 horses between us. After 30 or so years of owning the land, we are just applying for planning for a school. I never ever expected to be In a financial position to do that.
I am very lucky, and there is rarely a day when I am fed up, although the incredibly testing wet winter 2 years ago, did push me to my limits!
I am incredibly grateful, too, that the fact I had to work so hard for my share mare,when I 13 years old, has instilled in my the fact that if you work hard enough, dreams can come true. You do need a bit of luck too- to find the right horse, and land in my case too. Took years of looking to find the land, and was financed by my father following the loss of his parents. ��
 
Yes I think about it almost everyday (when the suns out!!)

If you had told me at 12 that I would have my own yard rent free, run a business producing young horses, have gotten a very talented horse onto the world class pathway, jumped many regional and National finals with success, and be able to ride some of the top jumpers in the world in my other job I wouldn't have believed it


Although I still don't have a dog ;)
 
I ha d ponies as a teenager though they had to be sold when I went to college. I believed the grownups when they said I was more likely to own my own horse if I became an architect than if I worked with horses, so duly studied for seven years and worked in London, got married and had kids -no horse in sight. DD had riding lessons, of course, and then when she was old enough friends whose kids had grown up and left home said we could keep a pony at their place, stable, field and turnout. :D
We ended up buying their cottage and I now have two horses and some chickens, ......and a dog. I can't believe how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. :D :D
 
Lovely stories it makes me a bit sad though that the pony mad little girls are in short supply now. I was the old pony lady that gave kids the breaks of riding on my ponies just as I was when a child the one that hung over the fence just watching the hunt horses in the fields now I still let any child ride but there are very few around now
 
This is a lovely thread! I was desperate for a pony when I was younger but my parents just didn't get it, so I spent as much time reading and learning 'just in case' (I think I memorized Lucinda Green's 'Young Rider' book!) I so wish I could go back and tell my younger self that in time she will have a wonderful husband (who is a horse vet - bonus!), a Labrador and a horse of her own. When I'm feeling a bit down or hard on myself because I'm not the best rider, I remind myself how far I've come and how lucky I am :) it certainly helps lessen the pain of the 5am get-ups!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top