Riding/horsey regrets...

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Sarah1

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Hi everyone

I'm just pondering something - what are your riding/horsey regrets, if you have any?
I'd love to be going round Osberton XC course tomorrow or be brave enough to tackle something even half the size - the facts that I'm not more competetive & not any good at eventing are huge regrets for me as at 30 yrs old, realistically I might never event even at low level...

Don't want to get all melancholy but does anyone have anything to add...?!

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NNA- get out there and start competing- why on earth is being 30 too late? I guarantee if you don't get out there now you will only regret it more at 40!!
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I regret buying my own cheap project horse last September instead of pinching my Mums hunter as she suggested- my cheap project has cost me thousands and Mums horse is still sat at home doing nothing
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I regret selling my little 15hh coloured Irish mare last year - she was a total and utter legend, complete doddle to do and would jump anything she was put at. I needed the money at the time. If only I'd known and waited then the money I needed would magically come my way!! Sod it. Still - she's gone to a good home!!
 
I haven't really got any, I am very lucky I have brought horses from very good people, hopefully sold to very good people and generally been very lucky with the oppurtunities I have had and the associations I have made/found being from a non horsey back ground!
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My only minor regret is not having an older horse to be a WP with when I was a WP, as I think my boss could have helped me climb the levels if I had had a suitable horse, but I still learnt alot
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I regret waiting until I was 45 to buy my first horse!!!!

So glad that I finally took the plunge and thank all the great people who gave me that last final push I needed to do it.
 
I probably should have explained further than just saying I'm too old!!!!! I suppose the biggest issue is that I'm no where near brave enough or experienced enough, we're thinking maybe we'd like to start a family so that will set me back a couple more years, I can't afford to not be at work thro injury etc and I have to work full time to pay for my boy so all the extra work required is an impossibility!
I think if I had my time again I'd do things differently so that I could accomplish these things but then maybe I'd regret something else?!
I'm the sort of person that wants to do everything but not just do it I want to do it really well! There are just too many things in life for me to learn & excel at in the short time we're here!!!!! If that makes any sense!!?! Probably not...!
I just don't seem to be able to get better as fast as I'd like & I don't have an endless pot of money to have millions of lessons etc. - this is turning into a moan so perhaps I'll leave it there...!
 
I regret giving up when I was 24 (until 40) and going sailing instead. Now I'm 45 and have done hardly any riding over the past 2 years due to a bad back (not related to sailing).

Yes, I drive and I enjoy it a lot, but I want to RIDE.
 
I regret not doing more with my old horse Endeavour - He took me to the British Novice finals in 2001, and I should have jumped more bigger tracks with him, but lost him to colic the next year - he was a wonderful horse, and I wish I could have him again now that I know more!
 
errrm well not really, I could of done with more pushy parents I think, although my mum was a horse woman she was a bit over protective and didnt push me to jump/compete etc, so I spent much of my younger years just showing and happy hacking, anything else was dangerous in her eyes! so I never had that kick the bum and had extra lessons which I feel you need to get you somewhere, if you want to ride as a proffessional or compete on a high level, I've had to some good ponies and some bad uns but nothing I regret, each one has tought me something, better understanding etc.

Only thing that holds me back is money I'm afriad, perhaps if I'd done better at school, I'd of got a better job, therefore now be able to afford a good horse, afford to by a lorry and take lessons so I could drive it, afford to compete and acheive my dream of eventing, afford to run my own yard etc.
So thats my only regret, other than than no doubt I'll just plod along getting know where fast but I'm happy enough.
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I regret not working harder at school to get a better paid job that would have meant I didn't have to sell my horse when I was 25. I regret waiting another 14 years to get another horse and most of all I regret having a really stupid fall and getting injured just after I got him which destroyed my confidence.

I don't regret persevering with him as we are now having great fun together
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I regret not wanting to do more flatwork and understand it better before embarking in the world of showjumping as a kid. I would be a much better rider, not suffered as many confidence-breaking crashes and would now be popping round foxhunter for fun...
Although my dressage is coming on in leaps and bounds and the ginger one has taken to it like a bee to hunny
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i regret not standing up to my YO when she made me to turn my brand new mare out in a field full of other mares when the seller had specifically told me to turn her out primarily with boys. 2 weeks later I had a horse with a broken splint bone from a kick off another mare and now fast forward 2 and a half years and I have a 7yo horse who won't be ridden again.

I regret every day not telling her that if I couldn't have the TO I needed I would be moving yards, but she was my first horse and I thought the YO knew better. Don't know who was more stupid, me or the YO!

Hmmm, have depressed myself now! **toddles off to make a cup of tea to cheer myself up**
 
That I didn't start riding as a child when I had the opportunity!! However in my defence I didn't know the first thing about horses or how much fun it could be, it was just our neighbour had them and offered I could if I wanted too. Had I have known what i was missing I would have leapt at the chance.

Having said that I may not have enjoyed it as a child so who knows
 
I regret selling the horse I had previous to my current one.

Don't get me wrong- I adore him, would not be without him now......but I feel I could have done more, gone more places and competed more on the previous one, I just over-horsed myself at that moment in time and lost my confidence.
I do feel my current horse was sent for me, IYKWIM...he has given me back my confidence, taught me a hell of a lot too.....

I do just wonder though......what if......I hadn't sold Badger, I could be going around Bramham next year (not!)
 
I regret selling one of my horses just after my son was born and I thought I would struggle to keep two going. Jack was a complete superstar who would jump anything you put him at and although i know he went to a good home and I kept in touch with him throughout his life i have never had another horse that gave me the same confidence over jumps and I effectively stopped showjumping when he went.
 
I regret the first pony my parents bought me at 11. I hadn't a clue about buying a horse since I was a tot and only rode school ponies before, and my parents hadn't a clue either. I loved getting the compliments when I took him on trial for a weekend about how pretty he was. So when he refused fences and bolted with me during the trial, I told no one cos everyone had said how pretty he was and I was in a rush to get my first pony. Cut to a year later and I was in a hospital bed with injured back.
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Lucky no permanent damage.
I was a very silly kid, but boy did I learn my lesson!
 
I regret that I didn't do enough to regain my confidence on Monty. I love Zoomy and she has got me jumping things I wouldn't have dreamed of jumping before.........but now Monty is too old for it, I wish he had been the one.

He was too much for me and, in reality, I never could have acheived the same things with him as I was overhorsed. I just know that I haven't got long with him and wish I'd made more of the short time we've had together.
 
I regret not doing everything I wanted to do with horses as a kid. I wanted to have a job with horses and own my own livery yard but I don't have the nerve to go for it, I know I will regret it even more in later life. And I wish I could have a horse I could compete on and do some eventing with. I adore my current horse and wouldn't change her for the world but she's nervous and old and I probably won't have enough time before she retires to bring her on and be confident enough to take her away to shows. I might be able to do some small local showjumping comps next summer and if I can then I'll be a happy woman. And if I'm honest with myself, even if I had a horse who would jump anything I don't think I'd have the confidence to do many shows anyway so really I'm kidding myself. And now I feel really guilty for saying that about my current horse!
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We're thinking of starting a family too so that's a few years gone for me too, but I'm hoping once they're old enough I will still be young enough to do some competing again, even if it is just tiny level
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The morale of this thread is, take every opportunity you have and if something isn't right, change it. We'll see that when we're older, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
 
I wish I hadn't stopped riding when I was 13! OK, so I'd had a total confidence meltdown, but if I'd just pushed through and not given up so easily I could be SO much more advanced now, perhaps competing and stuff (which I can't wait to do) rather than learning it all from scratch again.

In fact, I just wish I had more confidence in general and wasn't such a wimp about everything to do with riding... but I suppose there's not really much I can do about that.
 
I regret not being at a more ambitious riding school when I was a child, I stopped making progress from about age 11 and was just hacking and jumping. My parents were totally un horsey so they just carried on taking me along week in week out. The progress I made when I started at a new yard aged 22 was phenominal!

I regret not being at a uni with a riding club/team as I virtually stopped riding for three years, and it would have been a great opportunity to compete seriously without the expense of owning a horse and transporting it. I watch the local uni train after my riding lesson and wish I had been able to do that.
 
I picked my uni's based on whether they had riding clubs! lol.

I regret being impatient, I was 10 had only been riding a year and a half, i was offered a pony on summer loan and instead of waiting for my RI to be able to come I pestered my un-horsey mum to take me that day. I had no idea about finding out about a horses history, cue getting on a crazy pony who hadnt been ridden in 6 months and had ill fitting tack and ending up in hospital with a badly broken arm!

Role on 12 years and i would never get on a horse without the owner riding first - at least i learnt my lesson!
 
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I picked my uni's based on whether they had riding clubs! lol.


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It said in the prospectus that they had a riding club - I checked!
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Unfortunately when I got to the club sign up day there was no sign of a riding club and when I asked they said they'd stopped doing it because of difficulty finding suitable places to ride and difficulty with transport. Gutted
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I regret having a 2 yr break when I took on a new job, then jumping straight back into it with a new chesnut mare who tested me to the limit and shattered all my confidence. I should have gone back into lessons, learnt to ride properly again s I could have felt confident and strong on her rather than letting her drag me around - literally sometimes! Also regret giving up on her too easily - I am much better now though
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Glad Im not the only one with a regret on here!
 
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