taking horses to uni

C

Clarebear*

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 April 2013
Messages
88
Visit site
hi im just wanting some advice about taking horses to uni with me in 2014, i live in north.yorks and am wanting to go to royal agricultural college ( about 4 hours away), i want to take my two horses with me, for hunting/competing purposes as well as the fact that none of my family know anything about horses. is it fair to travel horses back and forth for the longer holiday, every 10 weeks or so?
Do other people transport their horses back and forth from uni?
 
I bought a horse whilst I was at uni, and had to move him quite a lot whilst I decided whether to keep him at home or at uni with me. The journey in a box was about 3 hours, but because he's a fantastic loader and traveller I never worried. People who compete, travel horses more regularly and for longer distances so I wouldn't worry too much, but it does depend on the horses, if they are stressy travellers and take a while to settle on a yard it might not be fair to keep moving them, but as I said my boy travels brilliantly and settled right away at a new yard.
 
I'm at the RAC and quite a few of my fellow students do the same and take their horses home with them for the holidays. I guess it depends on how well yours travel, but with some prep to build them up to the journey I'm sure they'd be just fine.

Great riding country down here, I'm sure you'll love it!
 
Thankyou, can i ask which is the most popular livery yard for people to keep there horses at and how do people get there? :)
 
Most students seem to stable their horses at Coates farm which is part of the college - you can walk there from campus and takes about 15 mins or 5 min drive. Its DIY and they have just put in a manage this year, there's gallops etc. There's info on the college website about livery costs but from memory about £25 a week or something in that region. Other part/full yards in the area are v expensive - £100+/week and are usually full. I can ask around amongst the hunting crowd if you like, but am sure most guys on my course have their steeds at the college yard!
 
I brought my horse to uni, its an 8 hour lorry ride for him to get here, (never took him home for the holidays ie christmas and easter as was cheaper to put him on full livery for 2 weeks) however the journey to and from uni he finds no problem, so i wouldn't worry to much of four hours travelling, as long as they have enough food to keep them occupied i can't imagine they will mind. When I was at college an hours away from home my horse was with me and travelled him home for the holidays, and some long weekends too!
 
I've taken my horse to Hartpury College with me where there are people who have brought their horses with them from abroad, so I wouldn't worry unless you have a particularly fussy/stressy traveller. People here come and go to events, going home all the time, and you could always try somewhere to put them on full livery if you want to go home for a weekend or something without them. I love having my horse at uni with me it's great :D
 
Should be open for a nose I'm sure! Here's the link to the info on the college website - would suggest dropping them an email/call to discuss a visit but they're usually very amenable to such things. The stables will be operational anyway as they are used by the polo teams over the summer.

http://www.rau.ac.uk/the-rau/our-farms/fossehill-farm-stabling

Kate Grimsley is the main contact there - fossehill@rau.ac.uk
 
Thankyou everyone, you have backed up what i thought, the reason i questioned whether it was fair to take them to uni and back and things is some nosey horse people saying it was unfair on the horses and that i shouldent do it! My older boy is a happy traveller and my youngster should be able to manage long journeys by the time im going to uni, its great to also hear people being positive about taking there horses to uni with them, so thanks for the reassurance :)
 
I had horses at 6th form and then at Uni with me too. At 6th form I took them home for hunting late on a friday and then boxed back again from home on a sunday evening. Never any hassle and they became very efficient travellers!

When I was at RAC and kept mine at both coates and another local polo yard they travelled with me from North Yorkshire; and I did take mine home in the shorter hols but my friend left hers on full livery.

Hacking in Ciren park is lovely; and is both a wonderful hangover cure and a revision break!
 
I took my horse down to the RAC from Yorkshire whilst I was there and kept him on the polo yard at Coates. Lovely hacking, VWH local hunting is great, and lots of team chasing nearby. Yard was actually reasonably priced, lovely YM, plenty of other students and only 25min walk from campus.
 
I took mine I didn't do anything agricultural and went to a city university but took the horse home for longer holidays. Picked a yard that did livery in case it was a short break. As long as they travel and settle fine I don't think its a problem.
 
I took my horse to uni with me- she traveled the 200mls home with me in the holidays, and back for term time for 3 yrs.

She wasn't a great loader when I set off to uni- soon she had learned to put herself in!

Have fun at Uni... study more than I did! :p ( I spent too much time at the yard... and the pub!) I couldn't have gone away without my horse though.

ets: Uni was a 4 hr drive without the trailer! We always stopped 1/2 way for lunch (opened up the front ramp and sat there to eat)
xx
 
Thankyou everyone, full livery is a good idea for if i have the occasional weekend away! Im looking forward to lovely hackking, hunting, and perhaps having a go at team chasing!! :D
 
I took mine for my Undergrad to Nottingham and my MSc to Aberystwyth. Don't think the travel time is an issue at all. As others have said if you are competing you could regularly be making fairly long journeys. I think if a horse does have trouble adjusting it would be more because of the new environment than the moving back and forth. My horse is quite a laid chap so he was fine, some other peoples horses were a bot more stressy about being in a new place but once they were settled in the Uni yard were fine to go home and back again. The only potential issue would be if the yard didn't manage the grazing well. The yards I was at all had small turn out groups so it wasn't a big bun fight every time a new horse came.
 
Thanks everyone, i have so much horsey gear (as do we all!!), did you take it all back and forth in case you needed it, or just basic essentials, and at rac stables was there plenty of room for all horsey gear?
 
I have just finished first year. Am taking my horse up to Ciren with me in September and going to stable him at Coates - a lot of my friends have their horses there and love it and have not found it too difficult at all. Stables are lovely and lots of space, school, gallops, hay and straw on site. Kate the yard manager is lovely and a laugh but always try to stay on her good side (I am told) - though guess you have to do that for any YM! Any questions PM me!
 
Only realised you had replied Clarebear. Turnout is in individual fields with electric fencing. Yard owner/manager is lovely the times I have met her and how my friends deal with her. She asks you to poo pick your fields.

Equine and Business - I am doing REALM but the equine lot have such fun - building cross country courses, learning about the horse - would recommend it. Is quite sciency. Business you have to do a foreign language - we have a lot of lectures together - and they also do Human Resources. Quite good as well!
 
thankyou! i am really excited, im bored of 6th form! so none of the horses are out together? if i took 2 horses could i turn them out together or not? thabks again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top