For those who have given up horses...would you go back?

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Personally I wouldn't. I gave up as I could not cope with the rain and mud any longer, plus everything is so expensive. I also think alot of the fun has gone out of horses, around my way livery yards are closing as land is being sold off for housing and decent hacking needs transport to get to.

Also gone are the days of the fun local show, it's all qualifiers now with people chasing tickets and getting too serious, and I will never ever ride on a public road again - too dangerous!!

Sometimes I look through the ads and a nice section D catches my eye, but my list of cons of horse owning far outweighs the pros!!

Just 10 years ago I couldn't imagine life without a horse....how things change!!
 
your experience of horse owning sounds so very different to mine!

And yes I have given up when circumstances have forced it, but I've always gone back as soon as I could.
 
No I wouldn't. I have access to lovely free horses to ride if I ever want to, but since the last time I got off my old boy I have not wanted to ride at all. If the hunt are here and I hear hounds I get a vague yearning, but never enough to act on it.
I am amazed though, I am still broke - howe does that work!?
 
Yes, how does that work :p! I only pay for some of Frank's boswellia these days and I've just stopped that (though have offered to pay for the bute instead :p)

I'm still at the pondering stage, not having one frees me up to do other stuff without worrying about who will look after it and I need to lose some weight for it to be viable it's been a 'maybe next year' for the last couple of years so ermm maybe next year?

Watching the Royal welsh is a problem, I'm very good at window shopping and then discovering it sold for a quite a lot as a yearling :D.
 
Gave up after uni for a bit. Went back, don’t tbink I could ever give it up now unless I was living in central London and it wasn’t feasible. Still lots of fun shows where I live, plenty of lush hacking, rain and mud well- totally worth it.

maisie06 said:
Personally I wouldn't. I gave up as I could not cope with the rain and mud any longer, plus everything is so expensive. I also think alot of the fun has gone out of horses, around my way livery yards are closing as land is being sold off for housing and decent hacking needs transport to get to.

Also gone are the days of the fun local show, it's all qualifiers now with people chasing tickets and getting too serious, and I will never ever ride on a public road again - too dangerous!!

Sometimes I look through the ads and a nice section D catches my eye, but my list of cons of horse owning far outweighs the pros!!

Just 10 years ago I couldn't imagine life without a horse....how things change!!
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Clodagh said:
No I wouldn't. I have access to lovely free horses to ride if I ever want to, but since the last time I got off my old boy I have not wanted to ride at all. If the hunt are here and I hear hounds I get a vague yearning, but never enough to act on it.
I am amazed though, I am still broke - howe does that work!?
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I seem to have discovered other drains on my resources :D oops.

I'm the same, if I want to ride I have access to some lovely smart beautifully schooled horses, but I don't. I went to a large county show yesterday, and found myself completely detached from all that was going on around me.

I think the revelation for me is having so much freedom to do other things. I'm not sure I could go back to all the restriction of having a horse/s.
 
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
 
Shay said:
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
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Er,mmmmmm ...nope! and it's nothing to do with you why I read this forum!!
 
Shay said:
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
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Good point ^

I've said now at least three times that I will give up horses for good and never lasted longer than 2 days before I needed to be around them again. Oops...:o
 
Leo Walker said:
your experience of horse owning sounds so very different to mine!
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And mine. There's no fun like being on the back of a good horse - whether you're chasing qualifiers, or ambling down the road. And there's nothing in the world I'd rather spend my money on either :D
 
I wasn't sure what I'd want to do when I lost my horse last year. I always had this notion that I'd either need another horse to feel OK, or not want to be anywhere near them. Rationally I knew that the sensible option was to give up for a time so I could pay for a wedding and save to buy a house. I started formulating a plan to be back in the saddle by 2025 with a view to buying a youngster, bought books to learn more about conformation, 'kept my hand in' by staying on here etc.

At some point though that's gone by the by. I'm not even sure I want to ride any more at all - not that I have spent any time around horses in the past year. I do sometimes get wistful for pony cuddles, and sometimes I wish I were hacking out on the moors or joining friends at a show. I surprised myself the other day by realising that horses aren't on my 'made it' list, which is the list holding what I want out of life.

I'm well aware that my feelings might change, and maybe the heartache, worry and cost are still all too fresh? The reality is that my boy spent more time out of work than in it, and I ultimately lost my confidence in the saddle entirely. Horse ownership frequently felt like a chore rather than pleasurable.

Of course, if I won the lottery then no problemo, give me a field full ;)
 
Shay said:
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
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I think there is a place on this forum for whoever wants to join in, provided they at least try to be civil when they post.

I haven't ridden since I broke 2 vertebrae and took the decision to give up after a lifetime of working with horses. My choice. I still own a retired pony, does that mean that under your rules I am allowed to post, or should I just back away and join a knitting circle instead?
 
I kind of agreed/smiled at the first line of Shay's post. Not in a nasty way but in the way that my first though when reading this thread was, do horsey people ever REALLY give up? I think horses are always there in your heart if nothing else. Hence the reason people who give up still hold interest and visit sites like this.
You cant get away from them ;)
 
I've been considering it lately. I have a share horse who I can ride pretty much whenever I want, without having to do any chores, but I find myself putting off going up to ride. Part of it is because he's moved to a yard that's further away from both my home and my office. Part of it is that he's not great hacking, which is what I've always loved. Part of it is that I want to get out and compete but don't have transport. Part of it is the weather. I've just got back from a six-week sailing trip, and didn't miss riding at all while I was away (although I did sneak in a quick beach ride/swim with horses in Antigua).

Then again, when I do haul myself up to the yard and clamber on board, I fall in love with riding all over again.

I'm kind of at the point where I need to make the choice between going 100% into either sailing (my own boat) or horses (my own horse). But it's very difficult to decide when my share horse comes cantering over as soon as he sees me, and I'm reminded all over again of how much I love him.
 
I've been thinking a lot recently about giving up, I pay literally hundreds of pounds a month running two ponies for other people's children to ride and i spend a lot of free time shunting ponies here there and everywhere to lessons, clinics and shows and I do wonder why I do it.


.....but then I will never get fed up of the thrill I feel when I pull my horsebox up at a show
 
I used to say that a love of horses was like malaria. You always have it, but it can lie dormant for months or years before coming back with a vengeance. I gave up for over 10 years - just couldn’t fit horses in (financially or time). But then I had a lesson as a gift and boom it was back. Now have my own and have realised my childhood dream of competing.
During my non horse time I still read lots of horsey stuff so I can see why the forum appeals. I’d have used it if it had been around back then!
 
I gave up for 20 years. Just situation. Then one day my husband asked if I would be interested in helping his mate's Mrs help out with hers.

2 years later, he ended up buying me my own.....
 
Rowreach said:
I think there is a place on this forum for whoever wants to join in, provided they at least try to be civil when they post.
?
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Agree with this. I too still own a horse out on loan and enjoy watching Burghley and so on. Also I have 'hounds' so surely am equally qualified to be on here?
 
Rowreach said:
I think the revelation for me is having so much freedom to do other things. I'm not sure I could go back to all the restriction of having a horse/s.
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*makes note to never show husband this thread*

I was getting used to thinking of a horse free future, with the freedom to which you refer, as I have two Cushing's ladies (age 12 and 17) who may not make old age. Then the homebred 7yo unexpectedly bounces back here from loan...

I don't think I could stay in this house looking out at empty fields, though. If my horses were at livery, then the decision would be easier.
 
JFTD said:
And mine. There's no fun like being on the back of a good horse - whether you're chasing qualifiers, or ambling down the road. And there's nothing in the world I'd rather spend my money on either :D
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^^ this!

I can see the appeal of a horse-free life, but it's just not one for me :)
 
milliepops said:
^^ this!

I can see the appeal of a horse-free life, but it's just not one for me :)
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Tried it and was miserable I have owned a horse for 50 years on and off. OH is sometimes envious of our peers that have holiday houses in southern europe but I personally would hate it. I am retired now and standing watching my ponies graze is a much more relaxing way to spend time than any holiday I have ever been on. We dont go away much but when we do after 3 days I want to go home
 
I umm and ahh constantly about whether i'd get another one after my current boy. Always making jokes about 'never bloody again' when i get stood on, or D bogs off down the field, or I lose a boot to the bottomless pit of mud in the winter. I genuinely considered selling D when my previous share horse of nearly 7 years died a horrible painful death to colic, and packing it all in - but then we have a good lesson and he starts to feel like a horse instead of bambi, or I plan a hack with friends and he's a little bit braver than he was last time.

With horses the highs are sky high and the lows really do hit you in the gut.
 
JFTD said:
And mine. There's no fun like being on the back of a good horse - whether you're chasing qualifiers, or ambling down the road. And there's nothing in the world I'd rather spend my money on either :D
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This is why i have them.
I have no interest in competing but i love the feel if schooling a horse up.
They keep me sane and if i didnt have them or my dogs i doubt i would be mentally as well as i am.
 
A couple of times over the last few years I have gone down to one horse (or at least just one on the yard). I didn’t know what to do with myself, it took about ten minutes to do everything and then I just sat around with a coffee feeling like a spare part. I’m happiest with 2 or 3.

I’ve not had a break in over 25 years and I honestly don’t think I’d cope well without them!
 
There's certainly been times when I've considered giving it all up - quite recently too, mostly due to lack of time now that I'm in a job that demands very long hours. I sometimes find myself making excuses not to ride and being such a nervous wibbler I do ask myself if it's all worth it.
But those gees are part of the family and I do love having them around. Also - and this is a big thing - if I think about the most memorable days of my life, the majority involve the horses. There were a couple of days out hunting where the euphoria lasted well into the following week. Just thinking about it now makes me smile. That particular pack doesn't exist any more but the thought that there could even be one or two more days like that in the future does excite me.
 
This has been on my mind a lot this year, since losing my horse of a lifetime in January.

Today I walked outside to find that the fat Welsh had destroyed about £1000's worth of new fencing to get out of the laminitis patch, along with the doors to the hen shed and another piece of fencing that still had my old boy's teeth marks in it. My OH and father - the heroes of all my DIY adventures - are out of the country, my back is in agony and I only paid for that fencing last week. As I sat in the drive crying and debating whether I could get away with releasing the demon back to the wild, my beautiful big Arab came ambling up, sniffed my face and rested his nose on my shoulder. He's been here for less than 2 months and he reminds me everyday why I did this for so many years with my old boy, even at the end and the most painful parts.

I don't think I could ever willingly be without horses. The four months in between my old boy and my new one were soulless. I could, however, see myself taking the Welsh to a taxidermist and seeing if the result would bring me less frustration - all the joy of seeing a pretty pony in my field with none of the hassle. For now, c'est la vie
 
Shay said:
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
Click to expand...

I will admit that I don't really understand this view? There are lots of reasons that people have to give up horses, that doesn't mean they don't retain any interest?
 
Shay said:
If you had really given up on horses - why are you on the forum?

Yes there are loads of better things we could be doing. If you want to do them then great. But don't hang around this forum saying how great your life would have been without horses.

Can you think how miserable and self serving posts like this might seem to someone who has lost their horse for whatever reason?
Click to expand...

Why do you think you have any authority over who posts on this forum and for what reason?

In response to the original post, I gave up once for a few years and I had a great time. I had just turned 18 and didn't have the time or motivation for owning. I don't/didn't regret it at all.

I've returned to owning now and even though it's hard work I feel like I need a horse in my life.

I've just had two months off due to a break (bone, not time!) and I was absolutely bored stiff.
 
I gave up for about 8 years when I stopped working with horses and went to uni. the only way I coped was by not taking any interest in horses at all (all or nothing type of gal :D) and by accumulating many pairs of boots and several dogs. With losing a much loved horse and others not turning out how I hoped, I can't lie and say I havent considered giving it up since-for about a second. even if I were to give up riding, I'd still have them as I just like hanging out with them. That would of course probably be quite different if I had to put up with livery yards but I've had my own (rented then owned) space for over 10 years now. I don't pressure myself into doing this that and t'other -noone has to compete. I don't ride if I dont feel like it, I don't ride much if at all in the depths of winter and they are kept in the lowest maintenance way possible for me and the most natural way I can for them for most of the year.
if I couldnt hack then I wouldnt ride these days-I've heard how bad the traffic is down in the SE these days so I dont blame people for choosing to not hack on the roads down there.

some of my favourite posters on this forum don't ride anymore-don't see how that is relevant. the OP's most positive posts are always about her lovely cocker.
 
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