horse going to uni .... what about summer

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BillyBobs

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Hi - so my DD is off to uni probably next year. It will be around 4 hour drive from home and she does have the option to take our 13yo TB with her. All sounds perfectly fine and that is what she would like to do. However, what do people in this situation do in the holidays , Xmas, easter and summer. I know someone who brings their horse home for the summer and he is out in a field with a load of cows - mad as it sounds he is perfectly happy/

My question is - if he is worked all year round , would it be plausible to just let him have a chilled summer with a few nice hacks ? Also, do people just rent a field for short periods like this ? He isnt great living out , although he has done it so would need a shelter but happy to sort that. Would the lack of routine be unfair on him? He is quite highly strung .. and likes routine. He is currently in a yard with a great routine and he thrives in that environment . know every horse is different and its probably impossible to ask this question on a forum but I would just like some ideas and perhaps other peoples experience on what may work for both him and my DD.
Thanks
 
If horse is thriving on current yard and routine, I would be inclined to leave him be and potentially find a sharer/rider/loan arrangement. Daughter can dip in and ride etc when she’s home during holidays.

Many moons ago when I had liveries I had a girl take her mare to Uni. It was back with me by Christmas.

Daughter will want to get stuck in to her studies, make friends, go out. Having the horse with her may well be a restriction she doesn’t want. At least to start with. There’s nothing to say she can’t go and the horse follow at a later date when she’s got herself sorted.
 
Keep the horse at home and allow daughter freedom to get into uni life, unless the course is agricultural or equine based of course. If horse goes to Uni then it comes home when she does or she stays at Uni over summer to care for horse. My daughter went 6 hours away and I kept her horse with mine and she wasn’t burdened with horse care when meeting deadlines ( or nursing hangovers!).
 
I took my horse to uni a lot further than four hours away, and just accepted that I had to find summer jobs/internships where the horse was and not go home for more than a couple weeks.

 
its equine physio, hence her wanting the horse to be with her. That part I think is manageable, if it was too much I would happily bring it home. My dilemma is if she comes home for summer / hols and bring him with her , what to do with him. I cant pay for the stable I have now to only use it for the summer, and equally that would be paying 2 sets of livery costs. How easy is it to find just summer livery / grass livery with shelter? Thats the part I am concerned about ...
 
Caol Ila said:
I took my horse to uni a lot further than four hours away, and just accepted that I had to find summer jobs/internships where the horse was and not go home for more than a couple weeks.
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I want her to come home LOL .... I will miss her !! Seriously tho, she will want to come back for summer to see family etc so I dont think thats feasible. Or maybe she will feel differently
 
BillyBobs said:
I want her to come home LOL .... I will miss her !! Seriously tho, she will want to come back for summer to see family etc so I dont think thats feasible. Or maybe she will feel differently
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I’m sure my parents *wanted* me to come home too, but they recognised that it was impractical to ship horse back and forth 2000 miles or keep a stable for the 9 months of the year we weren’t there.

There isn’t a nice way to do it unless the uni isn’t that far or you have your own land. Either the horse has to schlep back and forth, the kid stays at uni location with horse except for short journeys home, horse stays in one place and you loan/turn away for months kid isn’t with it.
 
I've been on livery with a girl who took hers to Hartpury. YO squeezed her back in on grass livery over one summer but the horse stayed down at college in winter. I think the mum then found a local farm for turnout with other horses the following year.
 
If they don't have to have a horse as part of her studies then I'd leave it where it is.

Also she's old enough to start making these decisions for herself. If it is impossible to find anywhere for the summer then she can't do it.
 
I would find summer livery nearby for the months that he's home.

I would want the horse to come back into structure rather than a field, if he's a sensitive sort of horse.
 
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