horses and uni, what did you do?

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Cinders

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I'm hoping to go to uni next year and although I guess education should come first I can't help but wondering whats going to happen with the horses. I'm very reluctant to sell particularly as i've just got a new horse and i'm equally reluctant to leave them in the field only being ridden at weekends for the next 3 years!

I tend to compete most weekends throughout the summer and i'm guessing this won't be possible whilst at uni? I do know some people take their horses and put them on livery near their uni but i'm not sure how realistic this is also whether or not I could afford it (currently keep the horses at home)!

Would be really greatful for other peoples experiences!
 
I had one on loan and gave it back to the owner.
There is no way I would have wanted the committment of a horse at Uni for lots of reasons, I think that unless you can afford full livery you really would miss out on a large part of student life. Personally I would either sell or loan your horse while you are at Uni, if you find a uni with a good riding team you can get your horse fix that way!
 
well i kept my mare at livery near a local yard for the first two years of uni and then i loaned her out for the last year to the equine part of the university, she was ridden by students studying equine diplomas/degrees there, they looked after her very very well
 
I didn't have a horse when I was at uni but before then, fromthe ages of 16 - 18, I used to ride a couple of horses which belonged to girls who had gone to university. It was a great arrangement - I paid a small amount towards costs and was able to ride whenever I liked except when the girls were home from uni.
Could you find a reliable teenager who could take on a similar role for your horse?
 
I stayed at home, so keeping the horse wasn't a problem. I had plenty of time, apart from at exam time or when I had assignments due. I couldn't have afforded it without my parents help though.
 
i am trying to get around the problem by going to the local university, which is a good one so - im not sacrificing my education! , and i can stay at home and keep the horse. i couldnt face selling my boy
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but if the uni wont have me a major rethink will be needed, although i dont think taking him to uni would be possible due to the expense
 
I keep mine on DIY livery with someone to bring in and turnout. Works out well because I only have to spend about 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day at the yard usually even less than that.
Luckily my degree is paid for by the NHS so I do have some spare cash to pay for the horse, and yard is only 20mins from the Uni.
 
At the minute my instructor looks after my boy, I go home at weekends when I can and will hopefully event a bit as well. We pay him and it works out well, I couldn't have a horse here at the moment without a car!
 
i should have also said i went to uni in my home town too, had very cheap rent, had all other costs of living, bills etc myself but rent was dirt cheap as it was my parents student house i lived in
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If you are really committed to the horses you can do it, depending on the course your timetable will not be that full, and it could be quite possible to ride 4 days a week over the weekend i.e leave for home after friday lectures and ride, weekend then ride early monday morning and back for lectures (provided not at 9!) I did this albeit not every weekend for years 1 and 2 and remember you have great big long holidays! This term I took her with me to uni- harder work having to trek 1/2 hour each way for DIY livery and no more student lie ins till 11! great fun but a lot of sacrifices to be made and very expensive as need car as well. I do medicine so quite a full on course but have managed to enjoy my horse along the way.
 
I'm at uni at the moment (in 2nd year) and I made the decision long ago that, if I couldnt keep my horse, I wouldnt go to uni! I travel in each day on the train (2 hour journey each way). It isnt easy, but it's probably a lot cheaper than living in and pi$$ing the money up the wall! That way, I get to see my horse every day, ride pretty much every other day, and I havent had to leave anything I know and love behind. I have missed out on practically everything to do with Uni life, but this is by choice! I dont drink, I dont like parties, I already have a lovely OH and I'm not particularly sociable! So it works for me.
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I had to put mine out on loan as I thought I be too far away from home to keep her. I also thought I wouldn't have enough time for her with lectures and a social life. However, three years in I have to say I could easily have kept her here within budget & with time to spare. Looking in to bringing one back with me next term actually as my course doesn't have that many contact hours each week. I'd look into it- it could be doable even if you have to go further afield, but it really will depend on how willing you are to get down to studying when it counts and how many hours a week you will be in class.
 
i took one at a time to local livery. i was doing English Lit though so didn't have a very onerous schedule (10 compulsory hours a week!), if i'd been doing a Science degree with 40-odd hours a week, i wouldn't have been able to manage it.
the only term i didn't take a horse was my Finals term, and i'm very glad i didn't, as it was stressful enough! it wasn't cheap though... i had to have them on full (but not ridden) livery as the yard was 30 mins drive away and i was in central-ish Birmingham. i would have gone nuts with no riding though, and the Uni Riding Club was full of stuck-up idiots who put me right off in the first 2 minutes...
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I dragged mine from Surrey to Wales (7 hours) .... he loved it... all that space, hacking etc. I dont know where you are going but my livery costs DRASTICALLY reduced. In my final year i also got a sharer who helped ease the time thing, so I could concentrate on my exams.

wouldnt of done it any other way!
 
Bit of a mixed bag of opinions, nice to hear some positive ones though! Like MizElzJingleBelz I wouldn't go to uni if I had to sell my horse, ideally I'd love to go to the local uni and stay at home as things are brilliant how they are at the moment. College is really flexible and can ride everyday around lessons, would be lovely to carry on like this for uni but unfortunately my local uni isn't particularly good for the course i want to do. The uni's i've applied to are 2 hours max away from me so it should be realistic to travel back on fridays.
I don't think I could afford livery so i'm thinking it might be cheaper to find someone who could exercise my horse a few times a week just to keep her fit?

thanks for all your replies!
 
Mines on loan with view to buy so should be gone by xmas
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I don't think I could cope with a horsr tbh, I struggle enough keeping up with work and having a social life! I miss it a lot but I ride twice a week with uni riding club, and go to shows at weekends with a fellow HHO
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so I still get my horsey fix! Plus we arn't allowed cars as we live on campus so even if I had wanted to keep mine it would have been pretty much impossible!
 
I am incredibly lucky with mine in that I live at home only 1/2hrs drive from uni, she's kept on my neighbours private yard and was only backed this summer so I was limited with what I could do with her prior to that and I have a fabulous mum and sister who make sure she is really well looked after on the days that I have other commitments, have deadlines to meet so become a hermit in my room or when I don't get back till late. That said she will probably get booted out in a field after xmas until the summer as being in my final year I cannot afford to break myself - my priorities have changed, I come first and at the moment she is way down the list but as I said I am fortunate in that I have a fantastic mum!

I'd say turn the horse out on grass livery for atleast your first term and then review it after xmas.
 
I kept my horses throughout uni. Like you, I kept them at home. I managed to find a uni I really liked that was only an hour on the train away from my home. I went to uni three days a week (full time student
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) and did work while travelling down on the train. It was much cheaper than living in halls or renting a room / house. I did get a part time job though to pay for the horses and uni and I only had two horses at the time.

I think, if you really want to make uni and horses work you can but it takes a lot of hard work and commitment. Good luck!
 
For some stupid reason best know to myself, I bought my horse during the summer. I've left her at home on loan as I'm in my final year, and I know I'd be sacrificing my education massively by having her down here.

I'm in the lucky position where I'm living just now that I could have her here if I wanted. I managed to find somewhere to live with some one who has her horse at home. She's offered me the other stable for a price I could afford. I seriously considered taking Chess down here, but I didn't think it'd be that fair to her as she's just getting settled in where she is. There's no way I want to go back through the initial battles I had with her, especially as here the only hacking is on the road and we'd both end up in hospital if she took a notion to trotting off while there was a lorry coming.
 
Had to loan mine out and make do with uni riding club! Was rubbish not being able to ride them for 3 years but there's no other way I could have afforded it and better that than having to sell them.
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I'm in my first year at uni and I have a horse with me on DIY livery but someone turns him out in the evening. I pay for everything myself and find I have enough money left over for anything I need. I work 5-9pm in a call centre on campus and I worked over the summer to save enough money to oay for everything. On the evenings I don't ride I'm at the yard 15mins max and it's only 5mins from uni so time is not a problem. I find it really easy having a horse at uni both time and money-wise and I'm really glad I ignored all the people who tried to put me off.
 
I went to college at 16 and took my mare with me, I then sold her (due to writing off a BMW and having to fork out to pay the damage etc as I wasn't insured - I've learnt my lesson!...) when I was 18. I then had a horse on loan as part of my course who I used to take home with me in the holidays.

Then when i went back to uni to do my top up I took Boston with me, and he was on DIY, and he didnt spoil me experience, I still went out got incredibly drunk and managed to get up every morning, put him in the field, muck out then drag myself back to bed!!

It helps if you have a car... then getting feed and stuff is easy, I also have my own lorry, so I was competing most weekends too.
 
I took mine with me, full livery the first winter then diy after that. My mum informed me that the chance of having a social life, horses and passing my course was practically nil. Bought a second one during my final year. Had a great time and glad I didn't give it up! Yes it meant a few earlier mornings than many of my friends had, and a bit less cash to go drinking, but I was happy enough to have a couple of drinks then swap to water! I was busy during my 3rd year especially, but managed to balance friends, horses and work, and came out with a first (my mum was wrong, then... lol). I went back to do a postgrad course for a year, and kept both horses, although this was harder as the course was full time lectures, unlike my degree course which had a smallish number of lectures per week. If you can afford it and think you're willing to do then work then give it a go. If it doesn't work out you can always re-evaluate and loan/sell/get a sharer. Also, by that point, you may well know people who will offer you rides if you sell yours. Good luck with your course.
 
I am doing an equine degree, so everyone on my course ( I think..) has a horse. Most either live at home or keep their horses at home and rent near the uni. I keep mine on very cheap grass livery (dont worry, good grass, huge fields, they are VERY happy!) and luckily they have both flourished in this environment. I work the three days a week I am not at uni to keep them, and have weekends off. Dont have a lot of time to ride though!
 
I took mine as I couldn't bear to sell him. Had him on DIY near to one of campuses where I had lessons. Was fortunate enough to make friends quickly so had an arrangement where someone fed, changed his rugs and turned him out in the morning and I got their horse in and changed its rugs in the evening. I competed one or two times a week and it did not affect my social life at all. I rode out for a trainer to pay for Murphy's livery and competitions which was easy money for me and also meant it left my evening free to ride or go out.
 
i didn't have the option of riding at a weekend as i went 300 miles to uni, so i had to decided whether to sell him, let him have 3 years off (not sensible as he didn't cope with 3 days off!) or get my little sister to ride him.

in the end i sold him, as my sister didn't think she could cope with him. the couple who bought him still have him now, and i still see them out competeing every now and again. i'm still heartbroken from selling him, but i think it was the only fair thing from his welfare point of view.

and besides, when i graduated, i bought another horse, who if i'm honest is much more suitable anyway!

good luck and enjoy Uni - its great!
 
First year she went onto full livery near my parents and I saw her once a month during term time (I was 3.5 hours' drive away from home when at uni) and every day during holidays. For the two subsequent years we kept her at home (luckily my parents learnt how to look after her), and then in my final year she was on assisted DIY livery (but at a different yard as parents moved from east norfolk to northants) with my parents mucking out/doing her in the evenings (very kindly, as they weren't horsey people until I got Cass). I then saw her much more often as she was only an hour away from uni.

I would have loved to have had her closer but TBH I loved uni so much and she would have really hampered my a) studies and b) social life. That sounds terrible but it's totally true. Looking back actually I can't believe I left her like that, but she was in capable hands at the yards and my parents were brilliant with her. Plus she was retired (through injury) and hardly ever ridden.
 
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