has anyone given up horses then regretted it?

[impresario08]

Question in the title really I'm currently on a break from horses, I thought it was what was right for me at the time but I am starting to get really down about it. Wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation?

 

[Art Nouveau]

I don't have the money for my own horse yet so I share, but I always get cranky when I'm looking for a new share horse and really miss just being around them. Have had to remind myself of that when it's cold and wet though! My husband has only had to put up with horseless me a couple of times, each for about eight weeks. He knows now that horses are worth the effort and cost!

When I was between shares I tried out a few local riding schools and that kept me a bit sweeter

 

[kal40]

Yes - I gave up years ago when I got married the first time. Ex didn't want me to have the horses so stupidly I gave up. Regretted it every since especially as I got divorced. Missed the horse so much that I started again a few years later.

Now remarried and this husband is a great help. He isnt horsey but is great at mucking in, rugs, picking feet out, all sorts.

I have warned him though, if he gives me an ultimatum then I am not giving horses up again!

 

[crabbymare]

No but I do have a friend who before Christmas sold her horses and said she was giving up. she now comes round a lot in the mornings when she knows that its the busiest time for work. she always wants to help so I suspect that she did not really want to give up but needed a short break. I will not be suprised if she gets another quite soon and enjoys having just the one and perhaps has part livery instead of DIY

 

[twobearsarthur]

Yes and my husband threatened to divorce me 6 months later as I turned into a miserable so and so. Looking back he was right and I would never do it again!!!!

 

[impresario08]

Thanks all I thought I'd enjoy the extra time money sleep and having a clean car but I am just so miserable!

 

[risky business]

I sold up 2 years ago now to concentrate on getting my career.

Loved it at first and didn't miss it, after a while though every now and then id fancy a ride but didn't want my own again.

Then this Jan a friend said she was struggling to exercise her pony and I put my hand up to help! Horse is on full livery so I just literally ride but I'm glad to be riding again.

I won't lie though if my loan included stable chores I wouldnt have took it up so willingly..Lucky for my loan ponies owner has always done full livery!

 

[noodle_]

yes

hated it... was miserable and had more money...


was happy for about a month - then wondered wtf was i meant to do.......


she went out on loan and circumstances as they were meant i got her back anyhow [i was plannign to buy another the following year and leave her there but didnt work like that]

so yes - i actually gave my horse away

that would have been the biggest mistake of my life.

 

[NZJenny]

Did years ago, and managed for about 18 months. I was miserable!

Have been happy and broke ever since.

 

[Firefly9410]

I gave up for a while but missed it too much there was always something not right. I would like full livery on a really good yard though for the worst of the winter.

 

[Illusion100]

The horse bug is a lifetime affliction.

 

[impresario08]

Thanks all glad I'm not alone!

 

[littlen]

I gave up, sold horse and decided I didn't want to do it any more.
It was great for a few (winter) months but then i got bored of sitting around all day with not much to do!

I had one riding lesson then bought new pony weeks later. I didn't even last a year!

 

[Cherrydan]

I often dabble with the idea of giving mine a new home, then the ten year old girl who lives inside of me,who was desperately desperate for a horse, the girl who would stare longingly at horses in fields, grabs my 34 year old heart and says Noooo! You waited so long and struggled to get one, keep him.
I struggle with this thought every winter, when its too cold and wet to loiter around fields, then the sun comes out and I realise why I love it.

 

[impresario08]

I think that's what I'm struggling with too; the adult inside me is very 'save money for the future' the child in me is 'i want to play with ponies'

 

[MS123]

I sold up 2 years ago now to concentrate on getting my career.

Loved it at first and didn't miss it, after a while though every now and then id fancy a ride but didn't want my own again.

Then this Jan a friend said she was struggling to exercise her pony and I put my hand up to help! Horse is on full livery so I just literally ride but I'm glad to be riding again.

I won't lie though if my loan included stable chores I wouldnt have took it up so willingly..Lucky for my loan ponies owner has always done full livery!

Similar to me. I gave up in September 14 as I plan to go travelling later this year. I'm loving the freedom and I don't think I will ever get my own again, but the thought of half loaning is becoming more appealing. I'm not sure I can have horses out of my life completely.

 

[impresario08]

thankyou

 

[supsup]

I took a break from horses when I went abroad. This wasn't exactly planned, but it took me a couple of years to find an opportunity to ride regularly again (~2x week). I did miss it some, or else I wouldn't have started up again, but I never regretted the decision. I think the key is to go out and do/enjoy all the non-horsey things you can do with the extra time and money that a horse-free life provides. I did loads of long-weekend travelling, back packing and exploring the country.
Eventually, I moved to the UK and made the conscious decision that I wanted more horse-time in my life again, and bought a horse. I thoroughly enjoy it and I think it is worth the sacrifices.
I think we tend to do the same thing horses do - always think the grass is greener on the other side. I would try to focus on the things you enjoy about not having a horse, and make the most of them. If you still feel like you need a horsey fix in your life, then think about how you can get involved again - at a level that suits you. Could be riding holidays, could be regular lessons, could be a share/loan, could be volunteering. It doesn't always have to be full-on horse ownership.

 

[Firefly9410]

It is the inner child that gets me too. In theory a share horse would suit me better, giving me more freedom with my time, but the inner child loves to play dress-up with horses and I cannot go trimming, hogging or putting new tack and rugs on someone else's horse.

 

[Pippity]

I gave up about fifteen years ago, after a bad fall left me with a fractured spine and even more fractured confidence. About four years ago, I decided I was going to have enough lessons to get over my utter terror at the thought of getting on a horse again, and MAYBE go as far as trotting.

I now share a 17hh AndalusianX who jumps out of his skin at the slightest thing and is teaching me all kinds of fancy manouevres. (Shoulder-in! Pirouettes! It's all very exciting!)

Those ten years away were a good idea for me. I came back to horses as healed physically as I'm going to get, and knowing that I didn't know that much. (It was cockiness that led to me getting hurt.)

 

[impresario08]

I gave up about fifteen years ago, after a bad fall left me with a fractured spine and even more fractured confidence. About four years ago, I decided I was going to have enough lessons to get over my utter terror at the thought of getting on a horse again, and MAYBE go as far as trotting.

I now share a 17hh AndalusianX who jumps out of his skin at the slightest thing and is teaching me all kinds of fancy manouevres. (Shoulder-in! Pirouettes! It's all very exciting!)

Those ten years away were a good idea for me. I came back to horses as healed physically as I'm going to get, and knowing that I didn't know that much. (It was cockiness that led to me getting hurt.)

sorry to hear about your fall! Hope all is ok now.

 

[Wagtail]

I gave up horses when I gave up being a groom and went to uni and didn't get back into them properly until after my youngest child was two. I did have a horse on loan in my twenties and did some competing until I got pregnant with my first child when I gave up the loan. Loaned again for a year before buying my own and taking in horses for schooling and retraining ex racehorses. Then got the livery yard ten years ago. I had no regrets during my breaks from horses as had other things to occupy me.

 

[impresario08]

thanks

 

[forelegs]

I gave up for my A levels and sold my pony, thinking I needed to concentrate on school, then uni (and i was more interested in going to parties at the time!)
I missed it so much I'm now in my third year of uni and juggling a horse and dissertation - wouldn't have it any other way, but people thought I was mad when I was buying a horse going into my second year of uni.
Once you've got the bug thats it!

 

[impresario08]

I gave up for my A levels and sold my pony, thinking I needed to concentrate on school, then uni (and i was more interested in going to parties at the time!)
I missed it so much I'm now in my third year of uni and juggling a horse and dissertation - wouldn't have it any other way, but people thought I was mad when I was buying a horse going into my second year of uni.
Once you've got the bug thats it!

yep this is me! I study part-time as well as work full-time, one of the reasons I packed it all in was because of my studies...ironically I'm getting the same marks as when I did have a horse...

 

[impresario08]

shameful bump