More Money than Sense or Just Horse Lovers?

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mcnaughty

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I am continually amazed by how many people have sound, sane, old enough and young enough horses that they do not ride.

Out of the 13 or so horses at the yard I am at, 5 of them are sound and sane but never or hardly ever ridden.

Am I alone in thinking this is rather strange??
 
I am more amazed at the people who have unsound, unrideable horses that they keep at (costly) livery.

Yes, if you have land and can give them a good field based retirement, then great. BUT, in our part of the country, winter turnout is a rarity and keeping an animal in 23 hours a day for 6-7 months a year is just not right imo.
 
I keep two unrideable horses, mental issues rather than soundness and if i really wanted to i could back Honey, but shes so happy as she is and has been through enough. Fair enough they are at a cheap yard but get treated like princesses and i have to work to keep them in the way i do.
 
my horse is relatively young, mostly sane, sound and ridable but right now I'm managing once or twice a week at most to get him ridden, and even then we don't always do a lot, we both enjoy things just as much not riding as we do under saddle so it doesn't bother either of us! sometimes he'll go 2 weeks before we can get out riding, but we do a lot in the yard instead

I did used to know someone though who had a cob the same age as mine (6yro) who never, ever rode him as she was too scared, no one else rode him either so he sat in a field literally for weeks on end not leaving it, that made me pretty sad as he was a cracking, sane, healthy pony! He just wanted some attention and a change of scenery, even if it was the yard or a diff field!
 
I knwo quite a lot like that. I just think that some people have gone off riding for various reasons, some just love looking after a horse but would rather not ride. I don't suppose the horse cares that it is not being ridden as long as it is looked after properly. My horse would hate not having a job and loves to get out and about but if she couldn't be ridden for whatever reason, then she would be a pet for as long as she was happy to be so and not in any pain or discomfort.
 
As a relative newcomer to horses, this one puzzles the wottsits out of me. If the horses are well fed / watered, have company and are happy, then I guess there is no harm done, but I still struggle to understand why someone would own a good horse and not want to ride it.

That said, I have also come across many armchair / yard 'expert riders' who I have never once seen on horseback and who when watched carefully have neither the nerve nor the skill they profess to have, so maybe it's all down to BS!
 
I know a few people like this, some people just dont want to ride. they enjoy looking after their horses and the companionship side of it. I dont think that a lot of horses care whether they are ridden or not as long as they are well looked after and loved
 
I think as long as the owner is knowledgeable enough to look after the horse properly then I don't see a problem with it. Like NeilM said, it's the so-called experts who know everything but will get on nothing who worry me more :o
 
I do not ride as often as I would like due to having two small children and could really do with someone to help exercise my boy, but finding someone reliable, trustworthy and experienced enough is easier said than done.

And I wish I did have more money than sense!
 
There is another side to this.

Sometimes the horses that seem sane and sound to others in fact aren't. But when happily out of work don't show their issues so people wonder why they aren't ridden.

Funnily enough lots of people tell me my lad is perfectly easy to ride and I should ride more than I do, however when I offer for them to hop on then, they decline!

I also have a retired chap who often looks great galloping about the field and showing off his dressage moves. In reality if bought back into work he'd be crippled within a few days.
 
Theres a lot of people around me who have a horse or maybe 6 and they are scared of the horse(s). I can't understand why you'd keep a horse when you are quite clearly scared of it, surely they dont get any enjoyment out of it?

I once bought a horse that scared the crap out of me on the second day and again on the 3rd and everyday after that, i came home every nite crying about it and couldn't sleep at night for worrying about it, it was no fun so i sent it back. If i dont get on with a horse now, if its not enjoyable and fun then theres no point in having the horse for me.
 
mcnaughty said:
I am continually amazed by how many people have sound, sane, old enough and young enough horses that they do not ride.

Out of the 13 or so horses at the yard I am at, 5 of them are sound and sane but never or hardly ever ridden.

Am I alone in thinking this is rather strange??
Click to expand...

Do they practice "parelli" perchance?
 
I do agree that there are a great many horses out there that aren't ridden. There is a big yard just down the road from where I keep my (retired) mare and given that there are more than 60 animals there, you would think there would be people using the arenas and hacking out in droves but I hardly ever seen anyone riding either on or off-site. I suspect the novelty wears off with some people, teenagers lose interest etc but the horse doesn't get sold so they just do nothing. I used to ride mine every day except Thursdays (I had a regular night out and didn't have time), up to a couple of hours on Saturdays and Sundays and about 45 minutes to an hour in the evenings after work. I don't think there was another horse on that yard which got even a fraction of that.
 
these are my excuses for not riding.
im a fair weather rider.
giving the horse a break from shoeing over the winter
gave up smoking and my arse is bigger than his... this issue will take time to resolve.
I work full time and i spend my time just looking after him on the dark nights.
My personal feelings are if people want to keep a sound horse to look at then its their choice..... If some one else wants to pay exspensive livery to retire a horse then thats their choice too. if everything goes according to plan i will be back out again in the spring but if not my horse wont take any harm stood in the field..... its my money my life and why would anyone else be interested anyways
 
Most people think Im insane not to ride Mels as she is 'perfectly fine' and Im being a scardy cat, however she is crippled with bone spavin, and has a habit of bolting when she's hacked alone, so although I technically should work her for the spavins, I keep her out, work her in hand (no, not pirelli, long reinging or just a nice walk round the sheep) and pet her. I bought another pony, a 12.2 show pony, and put her in foal, hoping to get a nice driving pair. I love my horses, and as a groom I love looking after other peoples horses, but Im really really not bothered about riding, if I couldnt ever ride again that would be fine. I have minus money in the bank, and work all hours god sends to make ends meet, less 'more money' and more 'less sense'!
 
There's about 30 horses at my yard now and only about 5 ridden. Nothing wrong with the majority of them, it just seems like most of the owners have had a change in circumstances or lost their confidence.

It is a shame to see them stood there. I'd love to have some extra riding buddies :)
 
whats wrong with a horse not being ridden??? sorry but surely there would be a real worry if a horse was being abused/neglected etc..

by the way ..yes I do ride mine!
 
I think that there will always be those that don't ride their horses, as long as they are well looked after I suppose it doesn't matter. Some people just prefer the looking after side. If they can afford it it's their business I suppose. For me if I wasn't able to ride I probably couldn't justify keeping a horse on livery. Thankfully I have yet to be in that position maybe I will change my mind if I ever am.
 
As others have said, if the horses are healthy, happy and looked after, who cares? Although I guess it's yet another reason to look down on someone else...:rolleyes:
 
It really irritates me when people think you *must* ride. Some people enjoy the looking after a horse and companionship it can bring aside from riding. Some people have had horrendous accidents and cannot bring themselves to ride but do not want to stop having the other benefits you can have from owning a horse.

At an old yard, when people weren't aware of my confidence issues, different people would ask 3/4 times a day "are you riding...why not?" and then go and talk about it within earshot and not in the nicest way. Frankly, it was none of their business whether I chose to ride or not; my horses were happy and healthy.

Some horses may have issues under saddle that you are not aware of, or similarly it may be the rider. I think a lot of people in that position can be mistaken for being lazy. Riding isn't the be all and end all - in fact I love the looking after and preparing my baby for the groundwork we've done and are now doing :D

I guess it just depends what someone wants from the relationship you get with a horse :) :D
 
Although these people love their horses I think that riding is a huge aspect of having them; whether people ride once a week or once a day, providing the horse is sound I don't understand why you wouldn't.

And as for retiring 'older' horses, then yes I think that its much better to offer them a happy home for life instead of selling them on, but many horses are retired way before their time. i know the mare I'm talking about is way over the average age - 32 and just retired, but she's been happily galloping with me until recently, when we thought it was only fair to let her spend the rest of her days just eating and sleeping. But retiring a perfectly sound horse at about 16 is just silly to me :confused::rolleyes:
 
mcnaughty said:
I am continually amazed by how many people have sound, sane, old enough and young enough horses that they do not ride.

Out of the 13 or so horses at the yard I am at, 5 of them are sound and sane but never or hardly ever ridden.

Am I alone in thinking this is rather strange??
Click to expand...

i cant believe i actually posted on here justifying my relationship with my own horse. What i think is strange is that you cant just go and ride your own horse.... and let other people do what they want with theirs. This type of judgemental crap is why so many of us move away from livery yards to small holdings or farms.
 
If the horses are looked after why does it matter that they are not ridden. It's not about money it's about doing something you love doing...we don't all have the erge to ride at hickstead...some of us just want to enjoy owning a horse.
There are horses that only ever get ridden, no real time spent on them. They are taken out of their field or stable, ridden and then put back...what's the point in that some would say?
 
Personally I am a very fair weather rider, I work full time and find it hard to summon the energy to ride after mucking out etc two horses. That said, they get at least 8 hours in the fields during the winter, if they were stuck in during the day then I would MAKE myself ride/lunge/free school. However, I cannot STAND seeing a fat horse not being ridden (or indeed exercised). I guess this comes down to the horse not being healthy though....if the horse is healthy and happy i'm fine with it not being ridden! Do sometimes think 'what a waste' but hey ho!!
 
I've been on 3 DIY livery yards in the last 10 years, and I would say 60-70% of sound, rideable horses on these yards were never ridden.

I don't see why it matters? Most owners work, have kids and other commitments. As long as the horses are properly provided for, who cares if they are only hacked once in a while? Or never ridden at all? :confused:

There is more to horsemanship than riding :)
 
Weeks can go by without me riding, (though I try to ride every weekend) because of small children/work and general lack of time. Also my DIY livery yard has no lights, and no school and I dont see my horses in the light in winter Monday-Friday. But my horses are both well looked after and happy. I would love to ride everyday... would anyone like to babysit for me?
 
we have 35 ponies at the moment nothing ridden, apart for backing the odd youngster thats run on till 3yo, i dont ride. i dont have time to ride, between work, my daughter and the ponies. but we still have lots of fun with them.

been told lots of times, to sell up and have one horse to ride and save myself money.
 
First of all - I do ride 3 of my 4 (the 4th being a 29yo retired brood mare who has never been backed). I don't ride much at this time of year as a) I like to let them wind down a little after a busy endurance season and b) I too have no lights to ride by, so am restricted to weekend riding only. However, mine do live out 24/7/365 so have every opportunity to move about and exercise themselves.

A few years ago I broke my collar bone really badly, had to have operations etc. which meant that it was 5 months before I was able to ride again. In that time, although admittedly I missed riding, I learned one most valuable lesson. What I learned was that even if I were for some reason or other permanently unable to ride - I learned that I would still love my horses, still want to be around them, to keep them etc. Riding is fun. It's great to be physically able to do it. But it's not the be all and end all to keeping horses.

There are many more pleasures to be had then just riding - for me, just the pleasure of watching a horse get down and have a good old roll in the mud makes horse keeping worthwhile!
 
I bought my girl 18 years ago when I was a young girl of 14 and in a nutshell it turned out she had been drugged and was a rearer and bolter. I mean full gallop out of control down dual carriage ways in oncoming traffic lanes, dumping me and others and galloping blindly back to yard through busy town on more than one occasion etc, how we never got killed is a bloody miracle it really is.

After having her back and teeth checked and work done in both area’s, saddles on two occasions made to measure I persevered with her, spent a substantial amount of money over the period of a 18 months having her professionally schooled and lessons for us both. She improved but never really came right and proved to be unpredictable and at times downright dangerous. So at the age of 17 and Sadie was 8 or 9 I decided to retire her.

People told me to get rid of her, put her down, she was a liability, waste of money to keep etc…BUT and for me a big BUT, she was an absolute angel to handle on the ground and completely viceless when not being ridden. More importantly I had bonded with her and her me. I have always enjoyed the companionship of horses more than the riding so it wasn’t a difficult decision to make. By then I was working full time and able to pay all her livery fees and other costs myself so despite my parents protests to get rid and stop wasting my hard earned cash, I was able to make my own decision to keep her thankfully. There was no way I would ever have sold or loaned her as a companion as I couldn’t take the risk she would be ridden, she was a stunning looking pony in her youth and had extraordinary paces for her size, as well as a wonderful temperament when not being ridden, I am sure someone would have chanced getting on her back at some point. And PTS was not an option even for a second.

The day I bought her (from a well known horse market…..she was bought on a whim I will admit, but I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her) As a very naive 14 year old girl I promised her she would never have to worry about her future and ending up in a place like this again, that I would give her a safe home for life. I still keep that promise nearly 20 years later whether she can be ridden or not, it doesn’t matter, where I can’t ride her I found other ways to enjoy her, like in hand showing, long reining, walking out in hand.

As for the “more money than sense aspect” I cannot deny I had a bit of a shock when I sat down about a year ago and worked out just how much Sadie had cost me in the last 18 years and I was staggered, I mean really shocked. Suffice to say I could have paid off the mortgage on my first home by now or very nearly so. Mostly because for the last 15 years I have had to keep her on livery due to work commitments, although I try to see her every evening and also spend a lot of time with her of a weekend, the cost of her upkeep is around 100GBP a week not including shoeing, insurance, vets bills, medication, worming, supplements etc.. and the cost will no doubt continue to increase as she needs more veterinary care and medication as she continues to age. But you know what I don’t begrudge it at all and would do it all again in a heartbeat. She is my bestest buddy and very much one of the family. She even has my husband wrapped around her hoof as well as my friends and family, as they can over the years see beyond the huge cost of her upkeep and see the happiness and contentment she brings me, which is dare I say it as much as someone who enjoys riding their horse.

Having said that it has been very much tainted over the years as people bitched and gossiped about why I spend so much on a “useless” horse, might as well get a dog…..blah blah…….I must be crazy and more money than sense to keep her the way I do BUT there are reasons why I haven’t been able to turn her away 24/7 to be a field ornament and those are based on her best interests health wise and also based on how well I know her. I don’t judge others about how they keep their horses and I don’t interfere so why people haven’t been able to pay the same courtesy back I don’t know, riding is not the be all and end all of owning a horse, look a little deeper and you will see they have so much more to offer than riding and in any case haven’t we all got enough in our own lives to worry about rather than worrying about whether someone else’s is horse is ridden or not or whether one chooses to keep a non ridden horse in livery rather than chucking it out in a field.

I never thought I would get another horse once Sadie passes but its something I have pondered about quite a lot lately and I think I probably would eventually but rather surprisingly not to ride but indeed a companion animal from a rescue place or sanctuary and hopefully by then we will have our own small holding but if not I will have to keep them on livery just as I have Sadie. Why would I get a horse that can’t be ridden given the choice? Truth is I have ridden other peoples horses and even loaned one for a while since I retired Sadie but the truth is I can take or leave the riding these days, I just enjoy being around them the most :)

Anyways thought I would share my own experience and my thoughts on this topic as I am sure you can imagine its one quite close to my heart.

Sadiemay
 
luckyoldme said:
i cant believe i actually posted on here justifying my relationship with my own horse. What i think is strange is that you cant just go and ride your own horse.... and let other people do what they want with theirs. This type of judgemental crap is why so many of us move away from livery yards to small holdings or farms.
Click to expand...

I think it's like people who have nothing better to do than to sit twitching their net curtains and watching and commenting on what their neighbours are doing...you know "Ooooh - Mrs Bloggs at number 27 seems to be getting up very late in the morning these days; saw her still in her dressing gown at 10am the other day! Probably out partying half the night; can't say I approve of that...."

Horses do not care if they are not ridden. Being ridden is not their aim in life. As long as horses are well cared-for, it is nobody else's business whether their owners ride them or not.
 
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