Getting involved in horses again ?

[RagazzoSam]

Bought an Ideal pony saddle at a boot fair in E Sussex for £15 last weekend, absolute bargain and the money went to a donkey sanctuary too

All it needed was a thorough clean and it looks great. Bought a saddle rack from Robinsons and it's going up in my study next to the coat rack and shooting stick in a 'cloakroom' alcove.

My mother and husband both quipped..all you need now is the pony.. I miss horses (still have my first show number, last rosette and all my Pullein-Thompson pony story paperbacks)but have diabetes now and doing XC on a 17.2hh monster isn't a feasible idea. We live in a town now too.

Any ideas that involve horses/ponies but not me riding them, would be great !!!

 

[xnaughtybutnicex]

Offering to help the closest riding school or stables with yard work just doing grooming ect.

 

[Baileyhoss]

get involved with your local club, they are always screaming for helpers.

F x

 

[Flicker]

Where do you live? Do you have a Riding for the Disabled near you anywhere? I'm sure they are always on the look out for people to help with leading etc. Or try volunteering at a local sanctuary somewhere, or just visiting one of the rest homes.
You could also volunteer at local shows to do time keeping etc - if they are anything like the ones here, they are always desperate for volunteers, even to sell the drinks or hamburgers!
When I lived in London I would go to the riding schools in Hyde Park for a gentle hack on a Saturday afternoon, or out to Windsor Park for a blast every couple of months. I'm sure something like that would be possible?

 

[chickeninabun]

What about helping out at your local riding club? Being a show steward, helping set up, etc? You can join most for a very small fee each year. Or being a volunteer for your local branch of the BHS?

 

[Lyndz]

You don't have to do XC on a 17.2hh monster if you don't want to! Can you not go for a nice quiet hack with your local riding school? I know my local school has some lovely rides for people who just want to be on a horse without all of the effort! Good Luck though, hope you come up with some kind of solution!

 

[cariad]

Try dressage writing if you haven't already. Start as if you were riding dressage, at lower levels which can be great fun and a good laugh if you get a nice judge ( you get to hear the REAL comments behind "a little tense today"!) and you do learn a lot by listening and watching. Some judges are really helpful and explain a lot to you.

Then progress up to higher levels and get to watch some good horses, or well known riders bringing on their future stars. You don't get so much time to watch there though as the movements come much more quickly after each other and you have to write fast. You also don't get so much chance to talk to the judges either, as they are concentrating all the time and of course it can be much more serious stuff. But you can always stay and watch classes you're not writing for before and afterwards.

No pay, but usually a bottle of wine or chocolates and usually a ticket for the cafe for bacon sandwiches and lunch. Horses, food, wine, chocolate -what more could you want?

 

[RagazzoSam]

Thanks for all the suggestions

Helping in a yard.. not really, I served my time as a kid helping in a yard and worked in Newmarket so shovelled manure already

Also been a steward and was a governor of Kent County for three yrs.

I'm originally from Norfolk but now spend my time divided between Kent, E Sussex and London. Like the RDA and RC ideas very much also the dressage writing although I know little about dressage which could be a handicap !

I am also wondering about in-hand showing, but any pony/horse I bought would have to be in a show yard presumably ? Would I be allowed to puff up and down the field in a class with animal myself then ??

 

[cariad]

Well, we all have to start somewhere. Admittedly it probably helps if you have a basic idea of dressage and you'd probably get more out of it if you are actually interested in dressage, but I don't think it's essential. What you will be doing is making sure the test forms are filled in, horse and rider name and number, date etc, check it's the right horse doing the test, then listening intently to the judge and then writing down their exact comment and the mark in the spaces on the test forms provided and handing the form to the judge at the end for the collective marks to be added. It's not all technical terms; at lower levels it's usually just comments like "Lost balance at E" or "Lacking bend on circle" or "Forward and straight on entry", that sort of thing. The movements often have some time between, so you have time to scribble down what is said. Legible writing at speed is a real asset! And good hearing.

I'm sorry if I'm teaching grandmother to suck eggs; you may have been riding at Grand Prix level for all I know, but I do know that writers are always wanted. Sometimes it's for a Prelim at 8.a.m. on a rainy November morning, but hey, a bacon sandwich will cheer you up! Unless you're a veggie in which case you'll have to have a fried egg or cheese sandwich instead.

If you take up in hand showing, comfy shoes/boots for running in is my top tip.......