For sale due to GCSE/A levels/coursework

Michen

Michen

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Am I the only one who reads an advert that uses this as a reason for sale as slightly suspicious?

Maybe my memory is hazy but I cannot remember riding being an issue during my time at school, despite working hard. Is it really the case now that teenagers have to give up their hobbies because they are so over stretched at school? Or is this more a “valid” reason to sell an unsuitable horse or way of saying child has lost interest?

Would be interested to hear if any of you actually sold a horse due to schoolwork commitments? Obviously university is a different matter when moving away etc!

Just a musing :D
 
My kids work very hard but they still have plenty of time for riding and other sports. Most of their friends have part time jobs too that they fit in around schoolwork. I think there is enough time if there is the will to make time. I am team manager of the school's NSEA team and none of our Year 10/11 members have dropped out of the team. But on the other hand it is also an age where other things seem more important and kids can lose interest. That may not mean there is anything wrong with the horse.
 
Mine didn't give up anything she wanted to do for GCSE's or "A" levels, she played a lot of other sports too and had a social life but there were times that she was over loaded. Sadly, however, there are children (supported by parents) who work themselves very hard for these exams to get the grades they want. TBH I think young people are better off being rounded individuals with interests, hobbies and friends. So yes, I do think some horses get sold because of school work but I suspect that more get sold because of loss of interest/more interest in other things so wouldn't assume the horse is a monster or crocked!
 
It very easy to be judgemental on a forum. You don't know if the child has more restrictive parents, if the sale is a punishment, if there are particualr learninging needs or a family breakup. It might also be a more polite way of saying "for sale as got a boyfriend". Loads of kids give up at this point. The pressure of school is often part of it. Being an adolescent is part of it. From Pony Club expereince I do know 2 or 3 - and I accept not more than that - who sold at this time genuinely due to school. But probably 20 or so over the years who sold at this time where school might have been part of it but there were other reasons too. And 2 where the sale was threatened - and went as far as advert - to encourage a change in behaviour. Not sure I would have been that brave as a parent - and to my recollection it didn't work either.
 
I Did.
But it was pushed on me by my parents. I had a lot on my plate..

A levels(v pushy old fashioned family must get A's for medical degree)
2 part time jobs (every evening from 5-11pm & on the weekend both sat&sun 8-5) both minimum wage.. i think that was about £2.95 p/h. I HATED them both i was bullied by the manager in one job for being the only girl, totally singled out and made fun of. But had to work to pay for livery and hay.
Learning to drive, wanted my own car but parents would only help me to buy me a car if i sold the horse
Parents worked full time so I took care of my younger brother and sister every morning (wake them up, get them changed, breakfast, walk to school before i got the bus to school myself)

I had a lovely show horse that was absolutely being wasted and unhappy (didn't like getting his toes muddy) in a boggy field behind my house.. no stables, no riding facilities so i would hack during weekend evenings if light enough. I had tutoring straight after school then my dad dropped me off at my job so couldn't ride in the week.

A v miserable time of my life.. my parents pretty much used the fact that my horse was unhappy not doing anything and that i couldn't have a car whilst he was around as blackmail.
Made him out to be a burden.. i felt so sorry for him and felt i let him down and he needed to be out showing doing what he loved :(

So i sold him with a heavy heart.. i cried and cried for months/years.. never forgave my parents for it - even to this day.

Some people have non horsey pushy parents who make them believe they are letting the horse down/horse is holding them back.
And pressure the poor kids into giving up what they love and to make them slave over school work.

When I have kids, I will never make them give up what they love. My friends were out doing drugs and all sorts.. all i wanted was an hour a day with my horse and that was taken away from me.

Guess what.. I didn't make it to Uni to do medicine ..ahh breathe :oops:
 
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One of our friend's daughters (now 21) did give up when she got to 6th form age. She was very keen, on NSEA teams, PC etc. and had a succession of ponies up to that point. She was was very driven academically and also played other sports including hockey. For her it really was a matter of having to cut things out in order to focus on setting herself up for the rest of her life by getting good results. She can always go back to horses at some point in the future, but when I asked her recently if she missed it, she didn't particularly. So I think it can be genuine. I am a little more wary of the 'lost interest' adverts though - they can be genuine as well, but I tend to be a little more cynical and think that if the pony was fab, maybe the child wouldn't have lost interest. ;) x
 
BenvardenRach2 said:
I Did.
But it was pushed on me by my parents. I had a lot on my plate..

A levels(v pushy old fashioned family must get A's for medical degree)
2 part time jobs (every evening from 5-11pm & on the weekend both sat&sun 8-5) both minimum wage.. i think that was about £2.95 p/h. I HATED them both i was bullied by the manager in one job for being the only girl, totally singled out and made fun of.
Learning to drive, wanted my own car but parents would only help me to buy me a car if i sold the horse
Parents worked full time so I took care of my younger brother and sister every morning (wake them up, get them changed, breakfast, walk to school before i got the bus to school myself)

I had a lovely show horse that was absolutely being wasted and unhappy (didn't like getting his toes muddy) in a boggy field behind my house.. no stables, no riding facilities so i would hack during weekend evenings if light enough. I had tutoring straight after school then my dad dropped me off at my job so couldn't ride in the week.

A v miserable time of my life.. my parents pretty much used the fact that my horse was unhappy not doing anything and that i couldn't have a car whilst he was around as blackmail.
Made him out to be a burden.. i felt so sorry for him and felt i let him down and he needed to be out showing doing what he loved :(

So i sold him with a heavy heart.. i cried and cried for months/years.. never forgave my parents for it - even to this day.

Some people have non horsey pushy parents who make them believe they are letting the horse down/horse is holding them back.
And pressure the poor kids into giving up what they love and to make them slave over school work.

When I have kids, I will never make them give up what they love. My friends were out doing drugs and all sorts.. all i wanted was an hour a day with my horse and that was taken away from me.
Guess what.. I didn't make it to Uni to do medicine
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Really sad/sorry to read this. I guess I was lucky in that my parents had zero expectations of me, I worked part time whilst at school as well to pay for most of the horse and I think they felt the horse kept me out of trouble!
nikicb said:
One of our friend's doughters (now 21) did give up when she got to 6th form age. She was very keen, on NSEA teams, PC etc. and had a succession of ponies up to that point. She was was very driven academically and also played other sports including hockey. For her it really was a matter of having to cut things out in order to focus on setting herself up for the rest of her life by getting good results. She can always go back to horses at some point in the future, but when I asked her recently if she missed it, she didn't particularly. So I think it can be genuine. I am a little more wary of the 'lost interest' adverts though - they can be genuine as well, but I tend to be a little more cynical and think that if the pony was fab, maybe the child wouldn't have lost interest. ;) x
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Yes I think that is my feeling too, even if not a justified one! My childhood pony (Michen!) was a total s*** but I'd never have lost interest ;)
 
Yep, I did. This was many moons ago mind you, but I gave up horses when the school work got too much.

I had a lot of other stuff on though - job in a pub, I played music in a regional orchestra, I swam for my county, A-levels were the least of my worries. Then I got an E in a school report (usually an A grade student), and my parents said that something had to give. Rightly so! At the time I hated them for it, but in hindsight it was the best move.

I didn't get back into horses until nearly 20 years later. In those 20 years I got a degree, travelled the world, lived in 3 other countries, met my husband, bought a company, had kids... I don't think life would have happened for me the same way if I had been 'tied' to a horse.

No regrets, that's just life! Sometimes chapters start and end for strange reasons, and I can see schoolwork as a very reasonable one!
 
My horse had to be sold when I did my A levels. Although supportive my parents were not horsey, but they did finance my hobby, so ultimately it was their decision. They wanted me to concentrate on my studies, and I can see exactly where there thinking came from.
Don't forget, that at that age many teenagers will also be making the change from ponies to horses, or onto a bigger/ more specialist horse for a particular discipline so it makes sense to take a 4-6 month break and restart when the exams are over. Not everyone is in a position to turn away for a few months.
From another point of view, as a teacher, things have changed. The job market is much tougher and this has filtered down into schools. Exams are now harder then they have recently been, more is expected of exam classes. There are a large number of students that are opting to staying behind at school for an hour every day to do extra targeted revision.
Seeing a horse advertised in that way wouldn't put me off.
 
Last year one of the A-level students I know was forced to give up her pony by her parents. She managed to keep him on a sort of working livery arrangement for her 1st year of 6th form but they refused to support her for another year. She's managed to find a 1 year loan home and is hoping to take him to Uni with her - but I have heard her parents talk about this and I can't see it happening.

My parents were very, very focused on exams and point blank refused to let me do more than have a couple of lessons a week from GCSEs onwards. I ended up doing some riding for a dealer because it was free and tbh I'm surprised I'm still intact. She was definitely one of those dealer types who buys nice looking nutters and hopes to turn them around - I fell off practically every week!
 
I kept my horses during GCSEs and carried on riding and training, but wasn't allowed to compete during the actual exam season and missed a couple of championships etc but did more over the summer. I totally intend to carry on with horses during my A-levels too. However, some of my friends have stopped riding/sold their horses due to learning to drive, loosing interest and exam pressure, so I guess it just depends on the person
 
I couldn't have had a horse whilst doing GCSE's or A Levels.

I'm one of three children (six years between all three of us) with two full time working parents, one of whom worked shifts. My brother played football, my sister played in two orchestra's and I rode. There just wasn't the time or the money to support us all doing everything.

I had full loaned when younger, but then dropped to a share x 2 or 3 times a week with a fortnightly lesson and worked part time to help fund this and then through A Levels, a car and a share horse.

I bought my first horse after university and don't feel at all hard done by I had to give up full loaning and owning wasn't an option through GCSE or A level school years.
 
I suspect it depends on your school set up too, we were at the bus stop by 7am and back about 6.20pm. I’d never have fitted a horse in in the week unless it was at home (the friends that did have them did this) or full livery. I did horses Saturday pm and Sunday (and sheep and milking) I had more time during a levels but did spend a lot of that at the vets.
 
I think it is a genuine reason, but often also because of the many other things in teenagers life, not just the exams.
My horse was vital to get me through the stress of exams!
I wasn’t as social as other friends and would much rather be up early in the weekend then out partying the night before.
 
My step daughter wanted to become a vet from the age of 12 years old. She had her ponies to ride and I kept them fit for her. When she got to A level stage though she just stopped riding and concentrated on her exams to get the required results. Now fully qualified for some years and, although working under quite a lot of stress, she takes every opportunity to ride. We did not sell the ponies because of my own interest but had that not been the case I suppose they would have gone on to another home. So, I do feel some of these adverts could be genuine.
 
I kept mine through O and A levels, but when I started a proper job I sold. Some things are more important. I needed to make the job a success and training involved 2 long stays away from home (10 weeks and 5 weeks) along with shift work and long shifts.

I have never regretted it. In the time between selling 1 and buying another I was transformed from a person living at home/surviving, to a person who had a decent wage, own home, steady relationship. Once we sold our respective houses and moved in together the time was right.
 
I stayed riding during my GCSES and a levels (although pony was lame in my second year of a level from a suspensory ligament tear), competing endurance. But only 40km, so pony didn't need to be doing anything specific for fitness. She was also out 24/7 so only needed hay and hard feed in the depths of winter
We sold her when I went to uni as the girl who had her on loan adored her. I then had a horse my final year of uni as she helped to keep me sane, but I then moved to Germany so gave her up.
Been in germany for 3 years and recently moved back to the UK for a few months for health reasons, and taken my sisters ex fei endurance horse on and now considering taking him back to Germany whilst I finish off my MSc there
I have known several people who just have other priorities in life around that age, be it school, partners, work, other hobbies who sold on wonderful horses... so I wouldn't take it to mean the horse is not good automatically, just consider it with a grain of salt as such
 
Not quite the same, but I had to give my horse up in my final year of uni as I had to drop my working hours to accommodate study and my parents refused to help financially as they knew I would be off to London once I graduated and didn't want me held back by a horse in the early part of my career.

I was absolutely devastated, but looking back it was probably the right decision at the time as it allowed me to focus solely on establishing my career (not to mention I barely broke even on my starting London wage after rent and bills!). It was probably about 4 years before I had another of my own, but I rode friend's horses occasionally in between. We now have a house of our own and two amazing ginger beasties so the sacrifice was definitely worth it in the long run even if I did hate it at the time!
 
If you have to work to finance your pony, I can see this as being a perfectly valid reason to sell when studies + paid work + pony can't all be fitted in to the time available.
 
I should have sold daughters horse really. Her amount of coursework was astronomical, nothing like I had to do. She appeared to be constantly working and got quite stressed about it all.
Pony fell by the wayside. Had I advertised him back then he’d have made someone a cracking little horse. I didn’t and now he’s still here still not doing much but is a lovely boy do
It’s fine.
It would have been a genuine excuse but I suppose truthfully with a hint of lost interest.
 
Interesting points/discussion. I worked Saturdays and sundays pot washing to finance my pony, plus did two years worth of Scottish highers in one year but never felt pushed for time/commitment. I think there is more pressure on teenagers now, and also to be doing other things to bulk out their UCAS application. My only extra activities were horses but had I had music/sport etc things probably would have been different.
 
I hardly did any work if I’m honest- my parents put no expectations on me because I had been so ill a few years earlier. I got pretty good grades but probably could have got super grades if I’d been bothered. I had my own ponies and competed regularly through GCSEs and A-Levels. Parents actively encouraged me. While at uni I had three horses and carried on competing, plus I worked weekends.
 
My son is in his first GCSE year, I’m a little concerned about how next year will pan out if I’m honest.

He’s at a grammar school and the pressure from the school is on, with v high expectations. He is naturally rather lazy at school (as was I so I can’t really blame him!) and it is a worry that he should put more effort into his schoolwork. Would he put more effort into his work if he didn’t have his cob, I couldn’t say. He might just lounge about at home more, faffing about on social media/PS4 or he might have more energy to work a bit harder.

We live 30 min from our yard (it’s major minus point amongst a lot of pluses) so next winter when he has multiple after school classes/revision sessions it will be hard. We wouldn’t be getting to the yard till 530/6 depending on traffic and he has two younger siblings I have to take along too.

Luckily for him the youngest will then be at nursery so I can go up during the morning and ride, keep him in work etc so that he won’t need to go up every evening.

But if I wasn’t horsey myself I can see how it would be a big struggle.

Really he has outgrown our lovely cob, thankfully heightwise, not weightwise. So he looks rather leggy and we’re toying with the idea of another (elephant sized!) horse but one of the reasons I’m hesitant is the idea that taking on a new horse 6m before the work ramps up is probably not a good idea. I don’t know if I can manage to keep two in work over winter plus chores etc.

From what I’ve seen of other teens it seems to be that those that keep everything the same with the horse work/competing wise seem to drop a grade or two unless they have a lot of help and support from parents/full livery etc.
 
Michen said:
Interesting points/discussion. I worked Saturdays and sundays pot washing to finance my pony, plus did two years worth of Scottish highers in one year but never felt pushed for time/commitment. I think there is more pressure on teenagers now, and also to be doing other things to bulk out their UCAS application. My only extra activities were horses but had I had music/sport etc things probably would have been different.
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It's also clear from the way you post on here, and from your high achievement at work that you've written a little bit about from time to time, that you are very bright, and school work comes easier and quicker to bright people as long as they aren't total perfectionists.
 
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ycbm said:
It's also perfectly clear from the way you post on here, and from your high achievement at work that you've written a little bit about from time to time, that you are very bright, and school work comes easier and quicker to bright people as long as they aren't total perfectionists.
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Actually, that’s not the case at all. I am a crammer and can remember processes if I study hard the day or night before so I chose subjects carefully (Geography!) in order to just be able to regurgitate. But my numeracy skills, verbal reasoning, logical thinking etc are all on the lower side of average as shown by testing done during training at one of my roles. I have got by at work due to having the right personality attributes for sales, but not because of a high IQ. My brother most definitely got the brains!
 
Julia0803 said:
My son is in his first GCSE year, I’m a little concerned about how next year will pan out if I’m honest.

He’s at a grammar school and the pressure from the school is on, with v high expectations. He is naturally rather lazy at school (as was I so I can’t really blame him!) and it is a worry that he should put more effort into his schoolwork. Would he put more effort into his work if he didn’t have his cob, I couldn’t say. He might just lounge about at home more, faffing about on social media/PS4 or he might have more energy to work a bit harder.

We live 30 min from our yard (it’s major minus point amongst a lot of pluses) so next winter when he has multiple after school classes/revision sessions it will be hard. We wouldn’t be getting to the yard till 530/6 depending on traffic and he has two younger siblings I have to take along too.

Luckily for him the youngest will then be at nursery so I can go up during the morning and ride, keep him in work etc so that he won’t need to go up every evening.

But if I wasn’t horsey myself I can see how it would be a big struggle.

Really he has outgrown our lovely cob, thankfully heightwise, not weightwise. So he looks rather leggy and we’re toying with the idea of another (elephant sized!) horse but one of the reasons I’m hesitant is the idea that taking on a new horse 6m before the work ramps up is probably not a good idea. I don’t know if I can manage to keep two in work over winter plus chores etc.

From what I’ve seen of other teens it seems to be that those that keep everything the same with the horse work/competing wise seem to drop a grade or two unless they have a lot of help and support from parents/full livery etc.
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Yes, I wonder how many of the children whose horses etc are sold actually use the free time for studying, or like you say whether it’s simply filled with something else eg more time on Facebook or play stations. There has to be a mental consideration for it as well, with pressure on young people to achieve so much a healthy, outdoorsy hobby has surely got to play a role in reducing stress and thus improving work output....hmmmm!
 
poiuytrewq said:
I should have sold daughters horse really. Her amount of coursework was astronomical, nothing like I had to do. She appeared to be constantly working and got quite stressed about it all.
Pony fell by the wayside. Had I advertised him back then he’d have made someone a cracking little horse. I didn’t and now he’s still here still not doing much but is a lovely boy do
It’s fine.
It would have been a genuine excuse but I suppose truthfully with a hint of lost interest.
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Probably a key difference here as well, what sort of exams you sit. With highers it all rested on a single exam so it was a short period of intense work. I haven’t done A or As levels but they sound like a totally different system to the Scottish Highers (with the exception of advanced highers)
 
I got all A’s at school and was at a ‘stay away’competition the day before my physics a level - it totally depends on the person I guess but I found horses a break from my work and helped rather than hindered my results
 
Michen said:
my numeracy skills, verbal reasoning, logical thinking etc are all on the lower side of average as shown by testing done during training at one of my roles. I have got by at work due to having the right personality attributes for sales, but not because of a high IQ. My brother most definitely got the brains!
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You hide it well 👍
 
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