Tell me about your journey with horses.

[TheOreoPony]

I would really like to hear your horses stories! How you got into horses, about your horses, how you got to own/loan them etc.

As a four year old I sat on a horse and from there I was smitten, unfortunately for my parents who are painfully unhorsey. From there I had regular lessons, learnt to jump and was raring to go further and further with these big amazing animals. At the age of eight I was riding on the beach and I had an allergic reaction. My airways were blocked and I was suffocating, I had to be rushed to hospital and from there I couldn't enter the yard without it happening again. I was heartbroken, and had to stay away for a couple of years. I went back after taken all the medication in the world and suffering through the allergic reactions I had. I tried to go to pony club and loan a pony during the summer holidays but I got bullied pretty badly as I didn't know as much as the other kids there. I withdrew into myself but still had my weekly lessons, but wouldn't talk to anyone for fear of them making fun of me.
I volunteered at stables in Shropshire and London, but still felt a part of me missing without a horse to call my own. My parents were used to me asking and I always got the same answer. at 17 I got into contact with a lady who owned a few and needed someone to hack out with her daughter. Even though I doubted myself a lot I believed in my abilities as a rider and practically snapped her arm off when she asked me to come down and ride her horses.
Her stallion jumped the fence and got in with her mare, accidentally getting her pregnant. The little piebald was born 1st of April, 2014.
Last September she wanted to downsize and put him up for sale. My partner told me repeatedly to go for it, take him off her and I refused, I'd never had my own horse before let alone a youngster! I gave it a lot of thought and visited him twice before I couldn't help but ask his owner if she thought it was a good idea and she gave me a big fat yes, even knocking £200 off of his asking price. I snapped him up and we started together in November. He had never been in a stable before, planted like no one's business and the first time I walked him out he panicked and smacked me in the face, giving me a bloody nose! I then found out he wouldn't pick his feet up after he booted me in the leg.
Now he has improved ten fold, lifts his feet for voice commands and an 8 year old handles him! He also walks down lanes, past cars and scary things with little fuss. He still has a few issues but we are both improving so much and I know that he is going to be a fabulous horse when he is older. I also have many horsey friends to talk to and it's all because of him.

I didn't expect this to be so long, whew! Well done if you read it all. Pictures of me and my boy here -
http://theoreopony.tumblr.com/tagged/Oreo

 

[dollymix]

What a gorgeous story! Well
Some you for not letting life and bullies stand in your way. And I'm so glad you followed your heart to buy your piebald baby

 

[Enfys]

Oh no, it would put you all to sleep.
48 years of new mistakes.
Over 130 horses owned, that I can remember the names of, several countries, 2 continents and have had to forget everything I knew about riding English and re-learn to ride - twice, Western and gaited are whole new ball games.

 

[Leo Walker]

It would be a very long story! But let me tell you my most recent story. I bought Frankie when he was 2.5yr old. I'd fractured my spine in a riding accident, was still in a full body brace and wasnt sure I'd ever walk properly again never mind ride. I'm not sure what sort of insanity took hold of me, but he was in the hands of a dodgy "rescue" operation that were buying horses from the meat man, rehoming them for a fee and then paying the meat man. He hadnt come through those channels, he was a private owner who couldnt afford to keep him and thought they were gifting him to a legit rescue.

I had loved his photos and went to see him. I saw his head over the door and knew if he was sound and moved straight he was mine. I couldnt have told if he only had 3 legs TBH as they dragged him out of the box, over the muck heap and walked him 20yds over rutted mud. I bought him anyway 10days later the "rescue" went bust and it all ended in a huge mess!

He was supposed to make 15 hands + as both mum and dad were, hes 14.1/2 at 6 so not going to happen :lol: I kept him through thick and thin when I really shouldnt have done! He didnt grow but I grew fatter When he was 4yr old I put him on loan to a "friend" and bought myself a bigger ploddy cob. I hated him! Frankie came back from loan in a horrible state! I got him right, and then I got ill.

I refused point blank to ride him as I was too heavy. It took 2 vets, 2 back people, 2 instructors and the dentist telling me I was being ridiculous for me to even sit on him. Funnily enough he didnt keel over :lol:

Last October I started riding him as a rising 6yr old. I rode him less than 10 times in walk for 20mins, then it turned out his saddle didnt fit and his shoulders were sore. So everything stopped again I moved yards at the end of January. The yard brought him back into work and for the last 6 weeks I've been riding him. Last weekend I hacked out for more than 2 hours and did 10k, then on the Sunday I went out on my own and cantered, TWICE! I actually have tears in my eyes typing this as I never in my wildest fantasies thought I'd be riding my lovely boy out on my own and hooleying along the bridle path.

He is amazing! Everything I would ever want and need in a horse and I am blessed to have him! I thank my lucky stars every single day that I bought him, and some sort of pig headed stubbornness made me keep him. I'm not supposed to ride at all due to my injuries, but Frankie is awesome! Hes forward, quick of the leg and light in the hand and a bit sharper than the average cob, but hes also fundamentally a very kind horse. He looks after me. When I get tired he doesnt spook or pull or be a knob, which would be very easy as he is a total powerhouse. I am so very grateful that I was bored enough and high enough (morphine not crack!) to go and look and then buy him that day. I was living on SSP and couldnt afford to feed myself never mind a horse, but I sold a load of stuff, had help from friends and just muddled through till I got back on my feet!

Its against everything I stand for to support that sort of dodgy rescue operation, and I only saw his photo as I was following them on Facebook waiting for the inevitable fall out! But I did, and I still cant explain the draw I had to him and had throughout all the ups and downs, but its never gone away and I still have it now. Just looking at his head over the door gives me the feels!

 

[Leo Walker]

Just after I bought him:

And now:

 

[Leo Walker]

Sorry for the horribly self indulgent post! But everyone I know is fed up to the back teeth of hearing about how much I love him and how totally awesome he is!

 

[Gift Horse]

That's a lovely story. Your horse looks and sounds great. I've been around horses since I was a tot so 30+ years. I don't do anything very noteworthy just look after, hack, school, jump and generally enjoy being around them. I am lost without a horse in my life.

 

[Meredith]

When the doctor suggested that I stop riding I said

"No way, horses are what I am"

( more than 55 years of riding and 50 years of owning and always learning ) )

 

[LHIS]

From unhorsey stock, my parents sent my sister and I riding at 7 years old to occupy us over the summer holidays. I was hooked. I kept my hand in as much as I could as I got older, asked for a pony every birthday and Christmas, it was met with a resounding 'no' every time. In hindsight now I'm an adult my parents probably couldn't afford to get one for me, and we moved around a lot so it wasn't terribly practical (military family).
At 20 and at university I befriended a local farmer and rode one of his horses, I had her for 3 years until I couldn't afford to ride anymore. I then had 4 years out of the saddle, during which time I met my husband, got married, and we moved from Lancs to his native Cheshire. I stipulated that I would leave my life, job and friends in Lancs on the condition I could have some riding lessons again and maybe buy a horse in the future. Four months after moving in April last year I took on a part loan, and then bought him in December with the money I had saved myself (I'm proud of this). This is where I'm up to now

 

[rachk89]

Lovely stories guys.

I don't know how I ever kept riding really. First riding school at the age of 4 until about 9 was run by a psychotic woman who shouted screamed and chased the ponies if you couldn't get them to move. Would sometimes hit them with whips too. I fell off more times than i stayed on. Was made to gallop before I could canter. Fell off jumping nearly every time. Eventually left as I couldn't take it anymore.

Tried a few other places. Finally found a place at around 14 who finally taught me how to ride. I got yelled at a lot it was again a military style of teaching but I worked well under it.

Then I went to uni and stopped for the 5 years and went up two sizes in clothes (it's amazing how much weight you can lose with horse riding). Came back got a job and found a livery yard that did lessons on schoolmasters and also loaned out horses. I took an ex racer who broke my leg. I tried to get over my confidence issues with him but he threw me off two more times then went lame so I called it a day.

Finally i bought harley. Wrong horse on paper but he is nothing like what he should be. I call him stupid at times but he isn't. While he may not understand how to walk backwards or how to behave in the stable he is very calm when being ridden and does not play off your nerves. He becomes more dead the more nervous you are and only thinks about doing ssomething silly if you are confident otherwise he won't. He has helped me a lot and honestly at times he seems frustrated with me when I don't trust him because of the ex racer putting doubts in my head. He actually sighs at me and looks at me like "are you kidding me?". Will never sell him he didnt come to me in the best condition and he respects me because i made him better and gave him the life he demands (yes he does demand a stable you should see the tantrums and sulking if he is denied one). I refuse to potentially send him to someone who won't understand him or take care of him properly.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

I was hooked on horses through my grandad, who used to be the farm hand at a big house looking after the shires, I used to be lifted onto a shire at age 4 and grandad walked it to the farrier shop to get shod, then the land owner offered me his grand daughters out grown black pony, he was a devil I tell you.. I learnt to fall off well!
When I was 7 I went to local riding school to be taught " proper" as my grandad said.
Through them I got my first pony a connie mare fresh from Ireland, we did lots till I went to college at age 17 , had a break till I was working, then started again at same school, who taught my then husband too.. When my son was 6 he wanted to ride, we found a new riding school..old one had closed, and I started him there, I helped at pony club and at weekends, then suddenly I was a widow, with a 9 year old son, I bought him one of the riding school horses, then got myself one, then another eventer for the YO to compete, then got my son his next younger horse to compete with, a lorry, riding school turned into a livery yard, ...fast forward after years of owning, last one sold at Easter, lorry gone, tack sold as son lost interest and is off to uni.. Who knows if grand kids come along one day the cycle will start all over I should imagine.. My life has been richer for horses in it, now I concentrate on my dogs..

 

[lindsay1993]

I came from a totally non-horsey family and accidentally ended up with a horsey obsession! At the age of 9 I went to see a lady along the road and asked if I could feed her pony. She had a number of hunters and one tiny little grey welshie, who was only on livery but the owners never came back for him. That was my first pony, Silver. Within 8 weeks I was out hunting lead-rein. The next year she loaned me a new feisty little welsh pony, Simba. He hadn't been gelded correctly and was a little sod! Silver unfortunately had undiagnosed Cushings and was PTS 3 months after getting Simba. He was buried in the field. Simba was my life, we hunted, pony-clubbed, did many rallies and ODE's in the 3 years we were together. No-one could do anything with him apart from me and I certainly had a special bond with him. Once I got to big for him I was allowed to ride the big hunters! At the age of 12/13 I thought I was pretty cool on the back of an 18.2hh Irish Draught when my friend had a fat little 12.2hh pony. Then the lady bought me a 14.2hh 5 year old freshly backed Welsh Mare. Unfortunately she had a field accident after a couple of years of having her and broke her leg. I was devastated!
By this point I was 16 and hated my mother, was horseless and ran away to start my own life about 30 miles away.
By 19 I had just had my beautiful daughter with my boyfriend and we decided to move back to where I was originally from. I chanced upon a job on the internet working in a café and got it. I then discovered my boss had 4 horses and never looked back. I have been riding them ever since and it's the best thing I ever did! I'm now 23 and my daughter is 4. The lady along the road who gave me so many amazing opportunities with the lovely ponies she got me all those years ago , has just loaned my daughter a 11.2hh welsh mare called Bonny! It feels like life repeating itself again. She even still has 2 of the big hunters I used to ride when I was little, and now my daughter is sitting on them having a plod about the fields. It's only now I realise how amazing this lady is and without her my childhood would have not been half as good as it was. She is a genuinely fantastic person and I'm so grateful to her and everything she did for me. I can only hope my daughter grows up with the fantastic opportunities that I did.

 

[Deltaflyer]

Interesting that many come from un-horsey backgrounds. I too had parents totally un-horsey. Lovely stories too.

As soon as I discovered what horses were I was totally smitten. My parents couldn't afford to pay for me to have lessons let alone buy me a pony, to make matters worse we had fields all around our house. I used to beg, borrow or steal rides whenever I could. There was an old horse turned out in the field next to our horse that I used to brush with a hairbrush every day.

As sson as I was old enough I started helping at the local RS. I sytarted getting paid £1 for a weekend (this was in the early 70s) that meant I could pay for a proper lesson once a week at the RS which had a school near where I lived. At the other RS I got 'promoted' to assisting an group hacks and then to teaching and escorting hacks. I also helped a lady who lived round the corner from with her Show jumpers and groomed for her at shows. So I was getting a lot of experience and horsey action.

Finally, when I was 25 I bought my first horse, a rising 3 unbroken registered PBA chestnut mare who I broke in my self. She was awesome. Jumped BN (she was small 14.3) Fantastic at gymkhanas and successful at showing. (Crap at dressage though LOL)

I had my own horses until 2006 when I suddenly needed a break. I put the chap I had at the time on loan and it was my PBA's time to cross the rainbow bridge.

Six horseless years later the desire suddenly returned. I started riding once a week (after having lost some of the vast amount of weight I'd put on) but, having had horses of my own once a week at an RS just wasn't going to cut it. I lasted six months before buying Sam, the first horse I looked at, having taken no-one for advice or second opinion.

At the grand old age of 56 I'm having as much fun as ever. I compete regularly, dressage, show jumping and cross country. I ride as often as I can and and known at the yard as the 'mad, gung-ho hacker' I adore Sam who has a fanatsci nature and loads of character and who, despite having been green as grass when I got him has given me back all the confidence I lost with my previous horse.

I'm intending to enjoy riding and competing for as long as I can

 

[TheOreoPony]

Really nice to hear all your stories and how you got into horses, it's a bug and when you've bit you're usually a horsey person for life. All the hardships we've faced with these amazingly intuitive animals at our sides.
Keep them coming!

 

[rascal]

Horses are a bug, and once caught I'm afraid there is nothing anyone can do.
I am also from a totally un-horsey background. I was horse mad from a very young age, but didn't start riding until I was 10. I had a lesson every week and would help a the stables. When I left school I spent 18 months working with horses, that's how I met Hubby, I married the boss!
I was nearly 18 when I bought my first pony, a chestnut welsh x called Star. He was a youngster and I backed him before selling him, and getting a bay cob called honey, who I had for 10 years, until we sadly found her dead in the field.
While I had Honey, Hubby bought an appaloosa x called Jimmy, who later on became our daughters horse. We bought him in poor condition from Bodmin moor, but was a really special horse, and taught our daughters a lot. We had to have him pts two months before he would have been 30.
Now I have a black welsh sec d called Nico, who was bought in appalling condition from someone who takes horses to the Royal Welsh show, but neglected this one. Like yours he decided to use his head as a lethal weapon and whacked me on my nose one day when I took him for a walk. Luckily Hubby was with us. He was only 18 months old when we bought him, now he is 7 its gone so fast.
My youngest daughter has a cob x called Sunny, hes a real character, spooky in the field to ride, but good on the road.
Hubby has two of his own, a Shire x Dutch warmblood who I bought for him when she was just a foal, she has a lovely nature but can be a complete idiot at times. A typical moody mare. Some days you could put your grad mother on her, other days it might be best to just leave her in the field! His other one is a pretty grey Welsh sec A mare, she is called Winny and he plans to drive her.
Our other pony is another Welsh (well they are pretty!) this time a black sec c called Gemini, she was out on loan for many years, but is now back home.
We have the full set of Welsh ponies, we have a sec b out on loan as a companion.
The girls had a Shetland when they were little, he is also out on loan.

 

[katiebaba06]

I am adopted by but always knew I loved horses the smell there movements and traits just everything. I was lucky enough to be brought up need to fields and often go for walks and shout sugar lumps to get any horse or pony to come over. I use to go and fees Shetlands near us then be able to ride them bare back. The I went to horse rangers as it was cheaper option then lessons. I loved it but wanted more as I've always loved jumping. I moved to a new yard which I worked for rides and helped out spent a few years b ago making school and was there 7 days a weeks at went to shows during the week and just let bed it. I had my first loan there brandy and to this day I miss him. I've never loved an animal that much. My mum then informed me would I like to go to a rusty gate on the weekend i then met tiff a coloured mare. Didn't even ride her was desperate to get a pony after brandy had been sold and mum refused to buy him. Little did I know or understand at the time but I couldn't keep her at my current yard so moved to a diy yard then we found out she was unbroken and although I'm a good rider as a teen it was to much and I lost interest and ended up finding. Boyfriends and having a baby........fastword 12 years later we moved house 5 mins from a riding school I started having lessons once a week but it wasn't enough and just under a week ago brough belle. Here's to many more happy times I also recently found out my birth mum and dad is a jockey and a show jumper my life now makes sense http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/album.php?albumid=7465&attachmentid=28934

 

[ponyparty]

Really enjoying reading everyone's stories! Just lovely. Mine is quite long, sorry, got carried away!

I've had the horse bug since I was a tiny tot; there's a photo of me about 2 or 3, sat on a black Shetland at my great-uncle's old riding school.

He had the riding school for most of my childhood, so in school holidays I would go up and do pony days, and when I got a bit older, helped out. But I lived in the city and they lived about an hour or so away, so I couldn't really go up at weekends. I was horse mad, read every book, magazine, even catalogue I could get my hands on, learned everything in theory - but struggled to put it into practice. My un-horsey mum and stepdad bought me riding lessons periodically throughout my childhood, at difference places (one shut down - they were probably hoping I'd forget about it and stop pestering them for lessons haha I never did though!). They couldn't afford for me to go every week, so every other week it was. I dreamed of owning a pony, asked every birthday and Christmas. Was desperate to work with horses, though this wasn't approved of by my family - I had to go the academic route.

Then when I was 14, my gran said those magical words to me "I'm buying you a horse". The horse was found for me by my great-uncle, and she was to be kept at their riding school as a working livery. She was a 6 year old bay cob, I think a Welsh X. She was apparently fine the first couple of days, then suddenly wouldn't let anybody near her legs and kicked one of the girls working there.

I went up to ride her for the first time a week later, a hack out with a bit of trotting and 2 short canters; after the first canter she started sweating profusely. After the second she was foaming up and had her head down and was in obvious discomfort. Being a (still really rather novice) 14 year old, I asked the yard manager what was wrong with her, and was told it was just because she hadn't been exercised in a while. But I KNEW something was seriously wrong.
Got her back to the yard and she went down on bare concrete in her stable, tack still on. Got her up and was told to walk her around with a sweat rug on. Vet was phoned and told them to give electrolytes. (I don't remember the vet being there... Presume they were phoned. It was a Saturday... Maybe they were trying to avoid call-out fees, who knows). My last memory of her is me sitting in her stable cross legged in the straw, with her lying down - she lifted her head up and put it in my lap; looking up at me with those big brown eyes as I stroked her.

After school on Monday I came home and my mum told me she'd had to be put down, she had azoturea. I had no idea what this was at the time (though have done tons of research since, to my horror discovering that pretty much everything we did was the wrong thing to do. Poor Baby, she must have been in agony ). I was devastated and didn't so much as look at a horse for 5 years. Went off the rails, discovered booze, boys and worse; messed up Uni, put my family through hell... And came out the other side, thankfully.

Eventually, a friend convinced me to go on a hack with her. Then in my early/mid twenties I started having riding lessons, fairly sparsely, and the odd hack here and there.
At 27 I left my job of the last 5 years to go back to college. I took a part time bar job to keep some money rolling in; there I met a girl who got me a job at a local riding school. This gave me the opportunity to be back around horses, and I started riding some of their liveries. I started looking for a part loan, and helped a lady out with one of her 3 horses for a while. That petered out, but I started having weekly lessons at my work. Then found another horse to part loan last year - although this didn't end well, I felt the owner was neglecting her horses, withholding veterinary treatment "because she was going on holiday next month" and generally just being irresponsible, so I walked away.
And now I have found a lovely part loan, a big coloured cob, not my usual "type" of horse at all.. But then he's not a usual cob! Spooky and sharp, my trainer says he's like a thoroughbred in a cob's body. He's a great big barrel on hairy legs, but I like him.

So, aged nearly 30, I'm back to dreaming about owning my own horse. It'll happen one day, when I've got the financial security I feel a horse deserves

 

[oldie48]

But wow, he's lovely and it's a good story!

Sorry for the horribly self indulgent post! But everyone I know is fed up to the back teeth of hearing about how much I love him and how totally awesome he is!