University and horses...

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mpicton

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Hello people, just wondering if anyone has/is/plans to take their horse to uni with them. Is it workable!?

Just interested since having sold my horse a few months ago for the reason of going to university, I desperately miss having my own. I have the money from him sitting in the bank but if i was to I wouldn't really any financial support from my family just student loans and the prospect of getting a job there. How can you juggle it financially/ timewise/ workload??

Would love to hear your own experiences and opinions, good and bad
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it really depends how demanding ur course is, and where ur goin 2 uni, as in some areas it costs a bomb to keep horses on livery. i'm in liverpool, but i'm doin vet sci and as much as i'd have loved to take murph with me i would never have had the time, plus on reflection i think i would have missed out on a lot, especially on first year, if i'd been dashing off to do the horse all the time. saying that, i have a friend in sheffield doing genetics, which is no means an easy course and she has taken her horse with her. she has to work 2 jobs to pay for him, but i she enjoys having him with her! oh, you could consider trying to find a horse to share/loan in your uni area, just to see how you cope before commiting to getting a new horse then finding it was the wrong decision.
hope this helps. Hayley:)
 
Can you join the riding club? they can be quite good (depending on uni!) and you get to go riding at least once a week. cheaper and less committment than running your own.
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Thanks for responding guys, I'm going to Nottingham doing Pyschology. Haven't heard anything about the riding club but sounds like a really good idea and I'll definetly join it. What are the standards generally like?
 
Im taking Charlie with me this year. I've worked out I can just about manage it on my student loan and with a part time job (Tesco here I come
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I was coming home almost every weekend last year to see him and that cost me about £30 in fuel so DIY livery wont be much more than what I would be spending anyway.

But I am quite lucky in that I only have 12 hrs a week of lectures and the workload isn't too bad.

Which uni are you going to?
 
Psychology won't have as many contact hours as other courses you could be doing, but many students nowadays spend a lot of their spare time working just to make ends meet and with a bit of socialising and little bit of homework there is no time left.
Uni riding clubs usually arrange group lessons for people of all abilities. The 'advanced' group could be doing quite challenging stuff and there are championships to get involved in if you like competing.
 
Hi Charliesmyangel, where abouts are you in the country? Not too sure of livery prices as I'm just outside of London and going to Nottingham. What do you do about holidays and stuff? I don't have a clue about my hours lol, so very prepared me!
 
Thanks booboos, yeah that was what I was thinking. Ooo I would love to get out competing, can't imagine that I'll make it into the Advanced group if theres lots of people trying!
 
I kept riding throughout University - and I did both a BA and a PhD. It IS possible, if you really want it.

I guess riding club standards do vary a lot - where I went (Hull) they were *really* low. Maybe they've improved since
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I've just finished my first year and royal holloway doing physics I've managed to keep my pony during the year because I live close enough to home that the livery yard that I keep him at normally is close enough to uni for me to get to and yet I'm far enough from home for it to be ok. I tried the riding club but wasn't too impressed so guess that it depends. I found that I had plenty of time for my horse and doing physics I think I had more hours than most in lectures/labs. Definitely do-able.
 
Im in Swansea.

The YO has said he will keep an eye on him if I go home for a few days. plus he is a newfie so he will be quite happy out in the field for a day or two. Obviously I wont be going home for the whole 4 weeks at christmas and easter tho! just a few days here and there.

I know its going to be hard work and I will have to sacrifice a lot of my beer money but having him with me will be worth it. I missed him so much last year I actually walked out of a lecture once and drove home to see him! Soppy cow!
Plus there is all those lovely beaches on the Gower to tear up!!
 
As you don't have your horse now, why not think about finding a horse to share/exercise near to your Uni? I have had a local Uni student helping me out for the last year, she lives in the west country but she has been brilliant so I don't mind when she's not around for holidays. In return she gets a lovely, well-schooled TBxTrak that she couldn't keep right now and some opportunity to have lessons, compete etc.
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I started an Equine Science degree last September and took G with me. That worked out fine - I loved having access to so many facilities (and there wasn't too much problem sharing the arenas outside of lesson time) but some of the rules were a little irritating (everything had to be mucked out by 8am and you did feel like you were always scrutinised by the staff - I came from a very small livery so probably wasn't used to it). Seeing as the whole course revolved around horses it was pretty easy to check on your own horse throughout the day.

I left though because I wasn't getting enough from the degree and i'm starting an English degree this September.

One of the beauties of it is I have 9hrs of lectures per week (on 3 days) and the rest of the week i'm expected to do a hell of a lot of reading/coursework. I'm at uni in London and Gov will be staying in Essex for economy and his welfare. I'm very lucky that my parents will still help me with my livery bill if I can't pay it all through work and that I can rely on my YO in my absence.

I'm confident i'm going to be able to get back once a week minimum (and I have a weekend which starts mid-day friday and ends mid-day monday!) and get most of my reading done on the train! I don't think its going to effect my 'uni experience' because of the nature of my degree and Governor still being in reasonable proximity to me.
 
I must add one thing -- horses keep me sane. I could never stop riding for 4 years just because of a PhD (or, say, a new job). Horses are part of my life, I just can't live my life without them. It's not a hobby, it's a way of life. I don't know how to explain this -- but once you accept horses as the priority they are (
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Do not misunderstand, I firmly believe in education -- I am an academic now (at a very early stage of my career, but still an academic!). I have always loved studying/researching, finished my doctorate in 4 years, got a 1st for my first degree, will have my first book out soon, etc.etc. ... BUT riding is as necessary a part of my life as eating, breathing, or sleeping. I'd simply go crazy without horses. Which is probably why I've never thought of horses in terms of dichotomies (i.e. either horses or University/job), of being mutually exclusive -- I just sort of took it for granted that I HAD to continue riding, and worked everything around that one mainstay of my life
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If I had to give up riding, I wouldn't be myself. I would be a different person altogether.
It's almost like the old issue of horses and money... OF COURSE without horses I would have some money in the bank! It goes without saying that I could afford a better car, a better house, better holidays (edit: just holidays would be awesome!). But I would be somebody else. What's the point?
 
I am going into my 4th and final year of uni, I havent had a horse with me the past 3 years but have finally persuaded parents to let me bring Honey to uni.

Thankfully the yard where she is going is used to having students and there are several other uni students there too and other people on the yard are more than happy to help out during exams etc.

I am lucky in that mum will pay for my horses livery, if she wasnt there would be no way I could afford her. My uni is very expensive for living where my loan doesnt cover my accomodation so I worked last year and will be working next year too.

Providing you are good at time management and finances then I dont see a problem. However as you dont own a horse yet, make use of the riding club and get in contact with local yards where you may be able to ride/help out
 
I go to Lincoln university and take my horse with me, for the last 2 years I had him on DIY and it fitted in fine as I am doing Equine Sports Science so am always horsey lol! Must admit I hated the early mornings after a night out, had 2 rely on sum gd mates lol! Hence this year he is going onto part livery at a yard just down the road from uni, woohoo loads drinkin then hours to sleep the next day!!!
 
It sounds like I did everything the wrong way around...I wasn't going to get my first horse until I graduated but ended up getting him in the Christmas holidays of the my second year (going into my 3rd year at the end of September). The reason for this is I shared a horse last summer, I felt ready for my own after 10 years of riding lessons and working at various yards. I loved sharing him and decided to commute to uni in Brighton from London to keep looking after him (was more like a full loan) until it ended badly in the November. I was devastated and worked out that with my parents paying livery, which they still do, I would be able to have my own horse on full permanent loan. I got him in January and it was the best decision I've ever made and I love having that balance in my life that he provides, its great to get away from uni and go to see my horse. I love having the responsibility, the stereotypical carefree student life wouldn't have suited me for too long.
It can work well but it is hard work, I did well in the second year and am on course for a first, hopefully, but to have time for everything I had to sacrifice some socialising time and money, and some friends did get jealous! I wouldn't have had a horse in my first year, that is for enjoying uni before your course gets too tough. I rode in the advanced lessons for the uni riding club and they were really good, you should find more people in your situation, I remember most of the girls in my lessons had their own horses before uni. See how it goes, maybe get a share horse and then think about getting your own again if you feel its the right thing to do and you have support from your parents.
Also I study applied psychology and sociology, and I'm only in uni for 9 hours a week, but be prepared to put in the hours independantly, its all coursework!
 
At Nottingham uni your best option is prob the riding club. I dont know what its like because I went to a different uni but had lots of fun in that club. Nottm uni is quite close to city centre so there are not many stables near by. If you had a horse you would prob be looking at 20 mins drive. When you get settled in, if you want any info or contacts in the area feel free to get in touch !
 
I agree riding club is prob the best idea. Thats what I've done throughout Uni and its great on the social side too! We have two teams that compete in the BUSA league (yay go Pompey uni equestrian team haha!). The dressage is a novice test and the showjumping is around 3ft. The difficult bit is that you only have 5 mins to warm up and go on a strange horse. Riding club hasn't been enough riding for me (only once a week) so I part loan a pony nearby uni, maybe thats something you could consider?
 
Riding club at Nottingham is absolutely rubbish- full of "all the gear and no idea" people. I went once to the advanced class and admiteedly the instructor was good and asked us to evaluate our mounts- I gave a B test answer and everyone kind of looked at me strangely, next person says "his trot was bumpy!" Spent the whole lesson dong leg yielding. In the end I took my own horse and kept her on DIY livery nearby- I must be crazy I am doing medicine! It was hard but I loved it.
 
hee hee, i was just about to say that i thought nottingham would be good as it has vet students there. at liverpool, our riding club seems quite competent and most of the members are vet students who don't have time to bring their own horses. on the plus side, if the level at nott is low, you'l prob have a good chance of getting on teams!
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http://www.su-web.nottingham.ac.uk/~riding/welcome.php
Thats Nottingham Riding Clubs website - just googled it!! And they really can't be that bad - they came 4th at BUSA champs last year...

I did BUSA teams this year for Soton and there is a big difference in standard between advanced lessons for club members and team training where we go. I'm really glad I did it, loved my team and we had a really good time together
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I'm going into my second year of uni, having just bought a horse this summer, after sellin ganother a couple of years ago. So far it's workable, but only because I get a ridiculous amount of financial support from the government and companies (being classed as disabled and estranged) and also my OH is very very helpful!
 
Forgot to mention - I'm at Durham uni, though my campus is based near middlesbrough, so I have a half hour commute a day, plus 15 mins from Durham to stables!
 
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