Is it wrong to have a purely leisure horse?

You need better friends. I haven't competed in more than a decade, but I school, hack, jump, usually riding about five days a wee for the fun of it.
 
I am quite old but in my time a lot of people did degrees because they had an interest in that subject rather than because it would lead to a certain type of job. I know things have changed now but some people may study a subject out of personal interest. For example one of my friends is a business analyst specializing in IT architecture, her degree was geography.

I was out with work colleagues not that long ago and we were discussing our degree choices and how most of us have degrees we do not use and our not relevant to our jobs.

Jango said:
Of course it doesn't matter, your horse doesn't mind :-) but I do wonder why you are doing an equine degree if you have no interest in the business side of horses. If you just want to enjoy your own horse imho you are wasting a lot of money to do an equine degree!!! Have you thought about what career you want?
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Theres nothing wrong with not competing your horse. I use my boy purely for hacking, popping the odd jump in the school, and horsey cuddle time and will hopefully be hunting him this season. Im looking to buy a second horse to use for all of the above to. I just dont enjoy competing. Its never appealled to me.

As long as your horse is well cared for and you enjoy having them thats all that matters imo.
 
Well, I've got two that are purely leisure horses. I doubt I'll ever take either to any sort of competition, it's just not the sort of thing I'd enjoy. It's the peace that comes with horses that I love them for. Nowt wrong with that imho
 
Not at all. Though I do think there are some (albiet it few) that really do need riding and work and genuinely wouldn't be happy sat in a bog standard field mooching around.
 
of course it isnt wrong, I have 2 only do a bit of hacking once twice or 3 times a week. we are all well chilled and happy.
 
Jango said:
Of course it doesn't matter, your horse doesn't mind :-) but I do wonder why you are doing an equine degree if you have no interest in the business side of horses. If you just want to enjoy your own horse imho you are wasting a lot of money to do an equine degree!!! Have you thought about what career you want?
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Sorry I worded myself badly. I am interested in Equine business and industry but it's not something that I currently want for myself. I'm looking to go into behaviour, research or veterinary atm if I get good enough grades! My favorite subjects are Behaviour and Welfare & Anatomy and physiology. Even though competition and such isn't something I want to take part in, I still feel it's important to learn about if I want to be part of the Equine world professionally.
 
Lillybob said:
Even though competition and such isn't something I want to take part in, I still feel it's important to learn about if I want to be part of the Equine world professionally.
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I agree Lilybob. Why don't you groom for someone and get a few shows under your belt that way. If you feel you have to compete to further yourself professionally, why not go to some small local shows and then you can say you have competed but it wasn't for you. You never know, you might get bitten by the bug. ;-)
 
I'd be hopeless at competing, am one of these people that can do a thing perfectly OK when no-one's watching, but get a crowd of more than three and I go to pieces!!

Having said that, I did have a go at TREC and Horse Agility with my trad a few years ago. I'd had quite a lot of difficulties & challenges with this particular horse, and it was so good to "have a go" at something different and actually do much better than we expected! Which was nice as it gave me a lot of confidence as well as being a good marker of our progress - also it was a real accolade for the lovely trainer and personal friend who'd worked so hard with us and put in so much effort.

I don't feel the need to "compete" again...... we did what we did, enjoyed it, and it was good. If I had transport, which I don't, I'd really like to have a go at Endurance though........ better play the lottery I think!!
 
Competition is my thing, as far as that horse is capable of and I don't think it's wrong to have a horse purely for leisure.

My dog is a Rottie but I don't use him for droving cattle, he's a pet and he's a very happy one. The vast majority of horses are happy to eat, gaze into distance, eat, drink, eat, sleep, eat, poo, eat and pootle around when asked. I can see nothing wrong with that.
 
Of course it's not wrong to have a horse for leisure. Some like nothing more than to hack out, go for pleasure rides & sometimes go to a local show & do some low level competitions, or not, it doesn't matter. I do however think that a horse should be schooled so the rider has control over the animal & can ride out competently & safely.

I knew someone years ago that schooled her horse really well & could have competed in novice/elementary dressage tests & scored really well but she had no interest in it, she just enjoyed her horse in her way.

There are many riders though who cannot be bothered to school & come up with various reasons why they don't i.e. "My horse doesn't like it in the school", "He gets bored & performs", "I don't have the time to do it".

I have been looking for a teenager to buy for a while now & have tried several & to be honest the horses know nothing, not even the basics. I hear so many 'reasons' why this is so & also hear so many owners who are in denial about their horse's ability. They brandish the word 'Potential' around to try & impress. I just want a middle aged horse that has had some basic schooling but when the horse is ridden you know that the seller has been well economical with the truth of the advert. Does anyone want to start a horses education when they are 15 years of age? I find it all exasperating.
 
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