Non horsey parents and having horses when you were younger

Mine were supportive. Dad paid for everything, and would drive me to and from yard at the weekends, mum would drive me every eve after school. My mum sold her car to buy one which she could tow a trailer with and bought a trailer to take me to shows. Getting up at rotten oclock to take me (at the time I wanted to go every weekend, but she said no, I understand why now!)

Drove me miles to view ponies, put themselves out and I looking back I was a very lucky girl. :)
 
Non horsey parents, don't have a horse (due to time and money) but my parents would fully back me, I believe that. They've always said we'd have a horse or two if we could afford it. Almost every holiday since I was about 12 they have encouraged me to go riding, often coming with me to have a go! I could imagine my parents - mom buying it treats and new bits and bobs all the time, and dad (who tries to act all "hard" and unemotional (is that a word?!) becoming a big softy like he does with our dog and my friend's horses :D Its a shame about the time and money because I think I would be able to get them in the saddle ;)
 
Totally non horsey,but they allowed me to have horses on loan(when mum was earning a good wage,I was 16 when I had my 1st,never forgotten girl on loan,sadly the girl that owned the mare wanted to sell,and mum&dad couldnt afford the cash up front :( miss her still)...They were very supportive,admittedly I wasnt competeing or anything,but they took me down the yard twice a day,and helped on days I couldnt do her!
And,this is how good my TB yearling was,I moved to Essex and couldnt take him with me straight away,I came home every wkend,for 6 months...Mum,complete novice,under my military orders,lol,looked after him and did an amazing job,he was a perfect little baby for her,however my cocky sister did him now and again,and he took great pleasure in grabbing her hood on the way down the field and stopping her in her tracks :D lmao
OMG so many memories flooding back :D
 
My parents were not horsey at all. After I lost my mum when I was 18, my dad made the decision to buy a horse for me.

He always makes the effort to see the horse when he visits and has a real soft spot for his 'grandson'. He's still not remotely horsey but adores T and understands how much he means to me.

:)
 
My dad used to spend ages talking to the horses on the yard (embarrassing at the time, espcially when he used to ask them for a kiss!) :D It was actually a shame that my second pony was head shy as he couldn;t get near him and I think he thought the pony didn't like him. I remember one time at a show in the middle of nowhere in a field. My pony was tied to the trailer and my dad went to stroke his head, pony freaked out and broke free and took off down the fields! I was fuming at my poor dad. But now I see he didn;t even have to be there at all. If you can read this dad, thanks for all the times you spent running me around, and for all the wonderful memories. I miss you xxx :(
 
You are a bunch of very lucky girlies!
My parents supported me financially but my dad in paticular has always made it very clear he resents the money he spent and the time he spent taking me to the horse.
 
i didn't really own a pony me and two friends who used to have riding lessons together loaned a pony that our RI recommened between us so three horses girls 3 sets of non horses parents and 1 pony bless her
my parents where great driving me to the stables after school,even though my mum is quite nervous around horses she even took to tidying the muck heap. my dad would get up early to take me to shows or to turn out on a saturday and even helped me with a cast mare turns out he's a natural with horses :)
 
My parents are completely non-horsey but they did, after a lot of persuading on my part, let me have riding lessons starting when I was 9. To start off with I had to do chores to 'earn' my lessons but when they realised I was serious about it they paid for me to have weekly lessons up until I was 18 when I went to uni. In the later years I had a loan horse and paid for that and petrol etc myself. It was an hours drive to my riding school so I really appreciate how much time she spent driving me to and from riding lessons every week. I did also once get my Dad to ride whilst on holiday - he mostly got the idea I think!
 
mine were both non-horsey until I got my first horse. due to school commitments, my dad had to start lessons so echo got enough exercise.
now my dads more horsey than me :p
mums still pretty scared of them but she will take jerry for a short walk in hand
 
Aww, dont worry, I got the fuzzy end of the lollipop in terms of parental support!

As parents I can't fault 'em, but Mum was terrified and Dad not interested. Apparently as a toddler I screamed when they tried to remove me from the beach donkey, I went pont trekking without them at five, spent weekends working at the local riding school (a jolly 5 mile bike ride away) after finally persuading Mum to let me go, and then the last almighty 'discussion' when I went to be a working pupil.

I always tell 'em its their fault I spent 20 years working with horses! If they'd let me do it more when I was younger I might have got it out of my system.

I think if your parents really arent that keen, you just have to find your own way- they might come round, you never know!
 
Aw SS one your parents sound adorable.

My mum actually bought me my first ponies and basically did eveerything for them ( I was 6) once I hit 16 and I started buying my own she actually oddly startd to really resent them and now, well I don't even bother trying to speak to her about them because all she does is huff and puff and moan - so we don't talk about them.

Tis her own fault - she started me off :D
 
Funnily enough, i was chatting to my dad about this the other day. We had ponies from ages 10 onwards and they have always been part of our lives. In fact it was Dad that insisted that we brought one back so he could retire with us.

Both were non-horsey but they realised the importance for me and my sister to have a hobby and to learn how to be responsible. Dad credits a lot to the horses for both mine and my sisters growth and development into mature adults. There were rules and scarafices to be made but overall he believes having the horses was the best thing they could have done for us. I still vividly remember the "talk" we got shortly before they brought our first pony.

Even now, despite my sis not really riding anymore, they love to be involved with the veteran and my new boy. Doing odd jobs at our stables, helping out etc. It's become a family bonding thing. I'm a very very lucky girl (woman hehe) and I make sure that they know how grateful i am.
 
My Mum was non-horsey whilst i was growing up but i was never without a horse to ride (due to friends of the family) and was out competing every other weekend, up at 4am on day of show, walk to field with friend (just over 2 miles) with all associated stuff (tack grooming kit etc) bath horses if needed and hack to shows.
It was hard but hell it made winning at the shows all the more worth while.
Every evening after school had to walk to the horses and home again with tack if wanted to ride, and hell did i appreciate the horses.
I would not change any part of the way i was brought up around the horses, i wanted horse i done everything for them
Now i have to say my mum is the most supportive person in the world she is up the yard now doing all my horses and holding for farrier.
 
Totally non-horsey parents, who thought they're dangerous (I wonder if it's a passed down the family thing, as we more recently found out my Dad's grandad was a carter and got run over and killed by his own cart, resulting in complete loss of the family livelihood)
As a result, when my 2 friends at school started to ride, I wasn't allowed, so I saved up my pocket money and walked 2 miles each way to school and savee the bus fare to buy the odd lesson here and there. Later, at weekends I got up at 5 and walked 5 miles to a RS and did whatever chores I could in the hope I'd be given a free lesson and really that was where/how I learnt to ride, but lack of practise meant I was never very competent or experienced although I'm told I can clean tack lovely!
As a result daughter has never been discouraged from lessons, and we have got her ponies as we have room at home. However she has to (and does ) take responsibility for looking after them almost without grumble, she knows just how lucky she is otherwise I say 'When I was your age...!'
 
Was 9 when my dad died, had always wanted a pony, dad wasn't so keen on pets but mum would give into anything, mums friend had had horses all her life and I used to go with her most weekends, muck out etc and get a ride on the lovely Shetland pony who used to bronk you around the paddock :) loved it. Mum bought me my first pony not long after dad died, she would be at the yard with me 24/7, helped take our minds off things for the time being and kept a 9 year old focused with something to do. Mum wasn't horsey at all but put everything and more into backing me 100% with our new horsey lifestyle. She would come and 'support' me at shows, pony would be flying round the jumping course and she would be screaming from the side line "SLOW DOWN, WHOA, OMG I CANT WATCH!" - which was very embarrassing! 11 years down the line (with the same ponies and horses) I still don't think she has the hang of it when she turn up at the yard and says "excuse me love but could you tell me which horse is ours?". But I cant thank her enough, she didn't have a clue what she was getting herself into them many years ago when I got the 'horsey bug' but without a doubt she has been brilliant being not only a mum but a dad to me as well and I will be forever grateful to her for that :)
 
Mine are exellent, even tho my mum is scared of horses she tries herr best i even got her taking lessons. They come and support me at shows, pay for my equipment and drive me to my loan pony and back they are amazing! x:D:D
 
Totally non-horsey, and not very interested either. I could only start riding at 14 and even then it was my beloved, late Auntie who was doing most of the driving to the yard, waiting for my lessons to be over, and so forth, bless her.

I am 100% sure that if only my parents had bought me a pony then, I wouldn't have ended up with four now :p
 
My parents weren't supportive. Both are non-horsey and, as a teen, the only time I was allowed to ride was when I worked at the yard and was 'paid' in lessons. When it came to my GCSEs, my parents said I was too busy to work there at weekends and wouldn't pay for lessons. Sadly that was the end of that 80( They did let me ride when I was 5ish though. All seemed fine when I was on a lead rein, or something less than 13hh! lol.

I'm 25 now and they're a bit better. I still don't talk about jumping or the specifics with them, but most weekends Dad texts to say he hopes I'm enjoying the weekend and have a good time at the yard. They’re still not exactly pro-riding, but now that it’s my own choice and I’m wise enough to evaluate the risks they’re happier. I think it all boils down to my dad being a paramedic – the only time he sees riders is when he’s scraping them off a floor somewhere! My sister used to ride with me, so I think when I get my own neddy both of them will come and see it. I’m looking forward to that point 80)
 
my parents are completely non-horsey. I started riding have lessons with my friend when we were 9. We both became interested after a friend payed for us all to go riding for her birthday (mum still blames her now :rolleyes:). I think they thought it was a phase i would grow out of, even when i went to uni they would be saying 'well you'll never have the time or the money to go horse riding anymore' i was like 'just watch me!'
They wouldn't let me have my own or even a loan because they said they could never afford it. In reality i think they could have afforded it but didn't want to make sacrifices on holidays etc and they knew getting me a pony would have meant they had to be a lot more involved and would have been taking me to see the pony constantly.
Mum doesn't mind horses, but enjoys talking to them like she talks to our cats when she sees me ride (very embaressing) and always gets confused between the horses i ride (obviously chestnut and bay look very similar :rolleyes: ;) Shes terrified of me hurting myself though which has become worse recently with me being at uni and the fact that i enjoy jumping now. She has quite a bad back and shes always worried i'll fall of and break my back. Didn't help that when she was watching me jump in the summer i fell off and landed on my back. Ever since shes pleaded with me to use my body protector :rolleyes:
Dads always been the one driving me around to have lessons. He totally non-horsey but i reckon if i had my own he would have liked them more and been more of a softy (like he is with our cat :p ) I have now trained him to hold the horse while i walk jumping courses, although i usually find him being dragged around so the horse can eat grass :p He also likes to think hes an expert and tells me what to do when i jump, and gets annoyed when i mess it up, at which point i tell him to have a go and he shuts up :D
I am grateful they've let me have lessons though, and still drive me around (until i finally get a car this summer :) ) although i have to pay now :rolleyes:
But i do wish they would have let me have my own or at least a lone pony :(
 
mine were totally unhorsey, ended up getting me -who was 7 and tiny - a 3yr old 15hh connie hunter who was a maniac!

they drove me up to yard all the time, bought horsebox, turned up for shows, but never knew how to handle or ride horses. we took our pony on holiday with us one time, and they got very fond of him. my mum would be out constantly feeding it, and eventually it learnt to stick its head through their bedroom window and wake them up!
 
My parents have never shaken off the belief that riding is for posh and rich people. They did pay for me to have lessons at a local riding school for a few years but were convinced that 'people like us' never actually bought ponies.

A combination of their total lack of enthusiasm and exams / university made me stop riding and, although they never said so, I think they were really glad.

I haven't dared tell them that I'm planning to start riding again. Which is ridiculous at my age. :o
 
I feel your pain Rosy. If I told my dad I was giving up riding and was going to sell my horse and never have one again.. he would be a vary happy man.
But as far as I am concerned he can stay being a miserable old git because I'm happy! Its not like he even pays for the horse either!
 
Both my parents were born and raised on farms back in ye olden days when they had a pony and trap and plough horses. However neither of them has the slightest interest in horses whatsoever, and I have always been "obsessed" with them...

It led to arguments, screaming matches and threats [on their part] of grievous bodily harm if I mentioned that word in front of them ever again.

I saved up every spare penny I had, and when I was 18 I had enough to buy a pony, so I asked if I could have a pony for my 18th birthday and I was sworn at...

I went ahead and bought a pony anyways, and had no support from my parents whatsoever during the two years that I had her - thankfully she never needed anything more than a snaffle bridle and a cheap saddle!

My mother spent all her time bitching at me to sell the pony, and complaining about horse hair and the smell, and Dad just gave me the silent treatment. :rolleyes:

I was offered a job as a live-in groom which meant leaving home and was forced [by my parents] into selling the pony...

And the real kick in the teeth was I lost the job before I'd even started it as some other git wandered into the yard and asked if they'd any jobs and they hired him on the spot!

:mad:
 
My parents were tolerant but a bit bemused by my obssesion with horses :D
I always had loans as they couldn't afford to buy outright but despite me being the eldest of a large family they paid the livery, farrier and vet but not a penny more - any tack, show entries etc I had to earn the money for that.

My father agreed to take me and a friend to a show in a borrowed trailer once - towed us there, parked up and unhitched and left us for the day:eek:showed up about an hour after everyone else had left to collect us - I think I was about 12......:eek: Funnily enough, he was never asked to supply transport again!
 
Damnation said:
But as far as I am concerned he can stay being a miserable old git because I'm happy! Its not like he even pays for the horse either!
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That seriously made me lol.

To be fair to my parents, I think they just felt that it was an alien world and they felt really uncomfortable about the whole thing.

On the other hand, they could have kept their feelings to themselves. Thing is, my mother, in particular, has never been very good at minding her own business. :(
 
Lobelia_Overhill said:
Both my parents were born and raised on farms back in ye olden days when they had a pony and trap and plough horses. However neither of them has the slightest interest in horses whatsoever, and I have always been "obsessed" with them...

It led to arguments, screaming matches and threats [on their part] of grievous bodily harm if I mentioned that word in front of them ever again.

I saved up every spare penny I had, and when I was 18 I had enough to buy a pony, so I asked if I could have a pony for my 18th birthday and I was sworn at...

I went ahead and bought a pony anyways, and had no support from my parents whatsoever during the two years that I had her - thankfully she never needed anything more than a snaffle bridle and a cheap saddle!

My mother spent all her time bitching at me to sell the pony, and complaining about horse hair and the smell, and Dad just gave me the silent treatment. :rolleyes:

I was offered a job as a live-in groom which meant leaving home and was forced [by my parents] into selling the pony...

And the real kick in the teeth was I lost the job before I'd even started it as some other git wandered into the yard and asked if they'd any jobs and they hired him on the spot!

:mad:
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Wow, that's just....I don't know quite what to say. How absolutely horrible all that must have been to deal with.

I feel a bit pathetic for moaning about my parents after reading all that. :o
 
It's taken us a long time, but me and my sister have managed to convert both our parents :p
I started riding lessons at the age of 6, as did my sister nearly 4 years later, and got a pony on loan when I was 10. He was retired a year later and my parents agreed to buy me one because I'd proved how dedicated and responsible was. That's when everything started to change :D. My dad, who was very impressed with my "proper horse" (a 14.3hh Arab mare was a big step up from a 12.2hh pony at the time!) started riding lessons to see what the fuss was about. He took to it like a duck to water and before we knew it was sharing jumping lessons with my sister and going galloping up the RI's fields! Sadly he had to give up due to problems with his back, but after that he never begrudged us our horse obsession! He used to walk up to the farm to put the night hay nets in at about 9pm in the winter, and even sang my girl happy birthday when she turned 16 :p. My ma has taken longer to bring around, but she now quite happily handles my mare and my sister's gelding (who is nearly 16hh so not a titch like my girl!), mucks out like a pro and talks "horse" a LOT (she's worse than me!). She is also very knowledgeable about all sorts of things, from feet problems to saddle issues. Her current project is learning to ride, which she is doing very slowly, partly due to nerves and partly because my mare (who is as safe as houses) has been having a few saddle problems over the last few months). Hopefully she'll get going properly over the summer though. I love my parents :)
 
Both my parents wree non horsey when i bought my first pony at the age of 13 with a lot of support and back up from my riding school. Both initially came to all shows and helped with the ponies (if a little warily!) but after we had moved away mum was less confident when i moved onto horses at the age of 19 but she still happily drove me to the shows in the lorry, cheered me on and took a genuine interest. Even now i am married and she has very little involvement with my current horse (bar coming up the yard very infrequently to see her) she still proudly tells people of my achievements.

My dad on the other hand is a different matter. He always seemed a bit forced into it but no surpise as a year later my parents were divorced and my dad shacked up with a horsey lady who's daughter (now my step-sister) had learned to ride at my riding school where i kept my pony so i knew of her. This cerated some involvement intially as my step-mum liked taking me to shows as i always did well and i am sure it gave her good cred amongst the PC mums.

When we moved away in 2000 dad rarely took any interest whereas my step sister is still effecively a novice with horses they throw thousands at (which they do not by any means have) and she is apparently the bees knees of the horse world. As soon as i mention anything about my horses he changes the subject. Problem i feel that as soon as we moved away he had no reason to take part in my horsey silliness and was only re-forced into it begrudgingly when my step-sister bought a ridiculous priced horses a few years later.

I astoundingly found out he had even paid for half of my step-sisters £8k horse and 'sponsored' her £500 last summer to compete at local BN whereas i have alwasy been offered bugger all and competed to national level... hence a bit miffed.

He told me last week my sister had got a bargain for two saddles at £1200- when i told him i bought my mares lovely english leather saddle second hand and had it re-flocked all for under £100 he told me that my sister was 'doing it properly now' ... hence my narky comment just because you throw money at something doesn't mean you are doing it properly...GRRRRRrrrrrrr

Overall a good experience though :)
 
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