University and your horse, what would you do?

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sian_x101

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Well I'm off to university next year (i'm trying to prepare myself!)

I've been thinking of a few options to do with what to do with my boy, but would like to hear some of your experiences/ opinions
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My boy will be 3 and half next year when i go to university. i will be breaking him in next summer, he's a complete mummy's boy
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! And he stand at about 13.1 now.

My options are....
1. Get a sharer/ part loaner for him and keep him on my present yard. Good because i love my yard, bad because of his age.
2. Take him with me to university and put him on a livery yard close by.
3. Put him on full livery and come back from university as often as i can.
Ooo and i'll point out im going to a local university.

Sorry for the lengthy message, i've been wondering all day what im going to do next year!

Thanks
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What course are you doing? My course was very flexible in the hours so I could fit my study around riding, if you're doing something with lots of taught hours like chemistry or medicine you'd really stuggle to fit a horse in.

Whatever you decide don't go home every weekend, its much better to settle in and make uni friends if you stay there. people that go home lots seem to drop out.
 
I bought my boy in my first year at uni and took him with me for the last term and had him with me all last year however I was at an equine college so we had a livery yard and my hours were flexible so it would depend on your course if it allowed you to have enough time to look after him.
Personally I would take him it will mean you will make friends down at the yard also if the work gets tough you will love that you have him with you to take your mind off it and get a hug from!
 
Put him on full livery and come back as often as you can. Or keep him nearer your Uni so you can ride him. I wouldnt go for sharers with a very young horse.
 
Id turn him away for your first term. Then bring him in when he is four and take him to a livery yard near you. then the following year if necessary consider a part share or loan.
 
How local is local? The other option would be to stay at home, keep him where he is and travel to uni every day. Not ideal for the social life but you'd have more money to spend on him.
If you kept him at full livery would you be able to afford it as a student?
The sharer sounds the best option to me as long as you find a competent rider who will be able to cope with a young horse and not damage him. That won't be easy but it's doable. I think it's good for them to experience more than one rider right from the start so that they don't get too attached to one person and they don't pick up anything from a rider's potential bad habits.
 
Well i took my old mare with me. I was lucky that my university had a livery yard on campus, which meant there was a large group of us students who would all help out.

Lets face it, at university you always do have time for a horse - there are always free periods, and i would be suprised if you ever had a lecture start much before 9am or finish much later the 5pm. dont get me wrong you will be busy, especially around exams, but if you could find a sharer this would take the pressure off. and if you're planning on starting him next year then at least your sharer is going to have something to ride and not just 'look after'. I couldnt have imagined being at uni without my horse (although i was 350 miles away from home so was like having a best friend from home around when i was having a bad day!).

The only warning i would give is:
a night out at uni (most nights for me) + horses and mucking out + a 9am lecture = one very tired student!!
 
What course are you doing? Some courses demand more hours per week in university, whilst with others you spend more time studying individually than in formal lectures/seminars. I'm lucky with my course (human geography) in that in my 2nd year we had around 4-6hrs lectures a week, and the rest was left to us for private study etc.

During my first year whilst I didn't have a horse, I was always going off campus to visit parents (lived down the road), my then boyfriend, riding lessons and I worked... I spent more time off campus than I did on, and whilst I had a fab first year, didn't quite gel with students like others did who had no transport and couldn't get off campus so were stuck with eachother!

2nd year I shared a horse 4 days/week and it worked well, although I found it hard fitting in group work, as it seemed nobody was awake at 9am and surfaced into uni at about 12, I was up at the stables from 2pm onwards until it was dark and they were out drinking again! So groupwork was a nightmare but it is doable.

3rd year I have new horses and am choosing modules to suit my lifestyle- trying to pick the ones with no exams, and am doing a self directed module with no lectures
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I would say turn your youngster away for the first term, go to uni, bond with people as if you don't make friends in your first semester it's often too late! Maybe bring him to uni in Feb/march time on livery but check out the transport policy on having a car at uni whilst you're in halls- many universities don't allow first years to have a car on site.
 
I was in a similar situation to you when i went to uni although my pony was 2.5yrs. I left him at home in the field for my first year and then when he was ready to break in my 2nd year i took him with me. For my 3rd year i left him at home and came back when i could to ride him and got a sharer who did a bit of hacking to keep him ticking over. I did have a lot of help from my mum who made it all possible! I would leave him at home until after christmas so you really get in to uni and then if you miss him loads bring him back in January!
 
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How local is local? The other option would be to stay at home, keep him where he is and travel to uni every day. Not ideal for the social life but you'd have more money to spend on him.

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This is what I did, and what I would advise
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100% agree with those that says it depends on the course! My DipLP sometimes started at 9am and finished at 9pm!!!! Just an hour for lunch and no day less than 5 taught hours. On the other hand you may have hardly any hours - in which case I'd take him with you!
 
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