University and Horses?

jcberry

jcberry

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there has probably been a few of these before but heyho.
have any of you been to uni and come home to ride? as in kept your horse at home/livery with someone else looking after it. has anyone ever done it?

only asking because next year i might be going to university and my mum will look after peps full time [usually we share 3 days a week] i just wondered how easy it was for people to come home and ride, i think i will miss it way too much if i don't!
thanks
 
I took mine with me and had him on DIY livery. It was hard work, but worth it.

He was a great escape from Uni when things got stressfull, although I did do quite a lot of getting to bed at 3am and getting up at 5am to do him before a 9am lecture!

I'm still really close to the people who own the farm where I kept him. We meet up every year at Badminton to catch up.

I think that what ever you choose will work out if you are committed, but don't forget that Uni is about more than just getting a degree, and if you are going home every weekend you will miss out on lots of things. It might also cost you more to do this much travelling than to just take him with you.
 
I did exactly that.

All my uni choices were a maximum of 45 mins away from home. I lived at uni, as I didn't want to miss on the uni life, but I came home every weekend to ride (and get washing done!!
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) I didn't feel I missed out too much, as most of my friends came home weekends, and most of the nights we went out were weeknights anyway.

It worked well when I had Mondays off uni, as it meant he got exercised 4 days over the weekend, but at busier times there would be periods of times when he wouldn't get ridden at all. However, I did get over 6 months holiday a year from uni, which does make things easier!!

I'm definately pleased I did it, but it does keep you very busy! I had my mum looking after him during the week, but I'm from a non-horsey family so he wouldn't get exercised whilst I was at uni (which wasn't a problem for him but I guess could be for some horses)

I guess it depends what unis you are looking at to how often you will come home, but out of rush hour, I was only 35 mins away so it really wasn't too difficult for me to do it, and it was definately worth it!!
 
I sort of have. My horse was left on Full Livery at a yard close to my family home with mum visiting him every day but the staff at the yard riding him (my mum isn't a very experience rider).

For the first 4 years while I was an undegraduate it was difficult to come home (partly because there was no public transport home meaning I had to rely on my parents to pick me up and also because my workload was too great - but then I went to Oxford, at other unis it's far more manageable!). For the first two terms I'd come home every month, but as the terms went on that became less and less. Once a term (so once every 8 weeks) was all I could manage. However, I got very long holidays - 6 weeks every Xmas & Easter and 4 months for the summer, so I still rode my boy for half of the year. I don't compete him at any great level and he's old enough that I didn't need a great deal of preparation to compete him - I would sometimes not ride him before the day of the dressage competition.

I've just now completed a futher year at a London Uni doing an MSc (taught course). This has allowed me to come home to ride much more easily! I only had courses on two days each week and could have come home even more were it not for the fact that I spent every Wed riding with my university! Except for when I was revising for my exams/trying to finish my dissertation I would go home every 3 weeks and as often as every 2 weeks. I would go home Friday lunchtime, ride him that afternoon, school him on Saturday and then do a dressage competition on Sunday morning before getting train back to London. Now, I'm currently looking for a job and popping home one day each week to ride him in the meantime. Once I have a job and I can afford to pay livery myself, he'll move down to be with me.

In all honesty, yes the first 4 years were hard, but I would never have sold him/loaned him out. We rescued him from a riding school as a 4 year old (only just!) and he is my soul mate. He is the ultimate all-rounder and is the safest but most enjoyable horse I've ever ridden. If I'd had the time (and confidence) he could have jumped to Foxhunters and done dressage to about medium level. But for me, he's so much more than that. He loves his hacking lifestyle and I felt he was comfortable doing that for a few years that I wasn't "ruining his life" by not being there. But not all horses can cope with that. I'm also very lucky that he is treated so well at the yard I keep him at and I trust their judgement and ability.

One other thing to bear in mind, is that it certainly is possible to visit your horse more, but that your time at Uni is supposed to be a great opportunity. For me, those first 4 years were about trying new things (sports/drama etc) and making friends and having fun - if you're always popping off home then you will miss out on some opportunities, but if you're willing to make that sacrifice good for you! I admit, I've found it much easier this year doing my PG course because I'm involved in the riding club and lots of them understand if I can't make dinner/drinks because I'm heading home to ride as they do that too!

Final comment, is that it is expensive to keep travelling back home to ride. I couldn't keep a car at Uni at all during my years so like I said had to rely on parents, and now have to rely on train tickets - and at £15 return each time (with a railcard) that soon adds up!

Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
all the uni's im looking at are max 1hour away so i dont think it would be too much of a problem.
thanks for all the replies, i just wanted to get an idea of what people did
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I bought my horse when i was at uni, was tough 'going' to uni, working and doing the horse but was the best thing iv ever done and i met loads of people at uni that i can go back and visit now iv moved back home!

take your horse with you! get a sharer if you must....maybe have you first year at uni alone....just think your only at uni 6 months of the year!
 
I took my horse with me too, perfectly managable and I would have gone insane without something to concentrate on outside of uni
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