What am I going to do with my coloured lad

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RunToEarth

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With any luck I should be going to uni at the end of the summer, a good 3hours south of home.
Now I've had a lot of horses, but I think you all gathered Oshk hoss is a little bit special to me, we have this spark, we're a fantastic team, and although he is a little (ok ok, a lot) quirky, I get such a buzz from riding him, I honestly feel like there is nothing this horse can't take on, to me, he is my perfect horse, and whilst I know (well, hope!) there will be more horses in my life, Oshk is one of those milestone horses, which all future horses will be the downfall of.
I've never done livery before, my mum is shocked with the prices at some places near the uni because we keep horses at home, and they are on haylage and straw we make.
I can't sell my horse, because he is such a special part of my life, and also because he would not make in money anywhere near what he means to myself.
My father has offered to pay my accomodation fees for the first year at uni to free up some cash for me to keep him down with me in the spring (no way am I taking a horse down for the first winter, I'm sure I would be busy enough) should I accept his offer?
I can leave my man up here full time, my mum would ride him a couple of times a week but thats not what he likes. Mum doesn't gel with his forwards going ways and he likes hard work, he is not one of those "work or no work, whatever" type of horses. Should I loan him out for the winter to a hunting buddy, or let him have a quiet winter?
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Well at least if you leave him with your mum you know he will be looked after as you would wish. Perhaps your mum would gel with him more if it were just her and him together.
 
I'd leave him with your mum, you might be surprised at how well he adapts to not being worked as much, or get a friend at home that you trust to ride him a few times a week to keep him fit. I manage to fit in uni and my horse, it is hard but worth it!
 
Thanks Lou, that really helps me
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Think I would enjoy hunting with you guys
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The thing is my mum is really busy, she does a lot to help me out and leaving her with a horse who IMO is quite needy compared to the hunters she is used to is quite unfair on her. Having him off of work would create a huge problem when it came to bringing him back into work, as I would have to start from scratch with him, leaving him a month is bad enough!
 
Leave him at home for the winter, you will need time to settle into your new life and no doubt will find more than enough to keep you occupied academically and socially without having to worry about Oshk.

If you then decide you have the time and money for him to be brought down, take up Weezy's offer. Sounds the best of both worlds.
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id take him to uni but depends how much of a party goer you are as most ppl spend there free time partying or would your rather spend it with your boy? you could leave him with your mum who you trust and get a friend to come and ride hunt him once a week do whats best for you but wouldnt loan to a stranger...
 
Ha, TGM- I don't want the quirks sorting, I love him this way, having a sane Oshk would take all the sparkle away!! I think I might just leave him up here for the first winter to chill whilst I settle in and then bring him down with me, I couldn't do without the riding really, I suppose I won't know how much spare time I have until I get down there!
 
We have another girl who is at your Uni and hunts who stables with us - she said she can do it in 18 mins LOL! I think you need to have a think about everything in the cool light of day - you may decide that you actually want to be commitment free once you start partying. Oshk will be welcome here and the charges are a lot cheaper than anywhere else - however, we don't have acres of pasture turn out like he is used to, very few places do round here. About 5 mins away is Ampney Downs, where they have the TC - they do livery and awesome hacking and I don't think they are TOO expensive. Their school sucks though I think they are having a new one put in at some point. Otherwise talk to mad_girl - her yard is 10 mins closer to Uni than I am and I think they have better turn out (and WOW it is going to be impressive when it is done). So yes, there are options, but you are going to think long and hard about whether you are going to want to get up and do your pony after a night out with the Rahs
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Which uni are you planning to go to?
I took my horse with me for the first two years of uni (on full livery), the third I did not. If your heart is in it, there is definately time for uni work, play & horses (I did a very academic degree too) but, although it is doable, it is at times hard and in the end I just wanted a break for a while. From your post, I can say I feel the way about my horse that you do yours.... there is no way I would sell her, so I put her on loan (she has been on loan for 2 years now - 1 of which I was at uni and this last one I have been working) and it is working out brilliantly! As I have just spent the year working, I got another horse but I am going back to uni in september for one more year so sort of face the dilemma again with him but I think I'm going to sell him over the summer.
 
haha, thanks Lou. You are right, he is very used to acres of space. TBH facilities do not bother me, I don't relish in schooling anyway, and without a school I would have an excuse not to- it is only my mum's influence that got me in there in the first place! At the moment I'd say I go out 4/5times a week until the early hours and am very good at getting up in time for horses and everything else, but again I won't have the opportunity to say "mum can you just turn horses out" or anything like that!! Will have to see how the first couple of monthes hold out, but can't see life without him being too fun. Do you lot all stable all year round??
 
Jem- I am planning on going to the royal ag college at Cirencester. Putting him out on loan might prove very tricky, I would only loan him to someone I know is capeable, because after 3years I have only just got the top hand, he is such a lively horse he wouldnt be a good hack loan, he needs to be hunting and xcing, which is of course a more risky type of loan!!
 
Lord no, we are already turning out - it is funny, we have people who say no WAY would their horses settle in our environment, but they all thrive
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We are out 24/7 in the summer if we want. I do think you need to come, settle in and see how you go before you make any decisions.
 
Oh yes, well I'm positive he will not come down until 24/7 turn out time, I was just worried that you southerners did things a little differently, I rely on summer grazing to slap the pounds back on my boy before winter time! I think if I found a decent yard a couple of monthes before I brought him I would feel happy travelling the extra few miles, the list the college gave me were all within 5mins of campus and seriously more expensive for him to live than myself!
 
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you may decide that you actually want to be commitment free once you start partying.

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This is the exact reason why I didn't take mine for third year and won't take the other one with me in Sept. Having had a horse.... forever(!) it is nice to just have yourself to look after and no real responsibility (except being up for lectures).... It is hard to explain and I guess depends on the person! I do know some people who kept their horse all through uni and wouldn't do it differently if they could.
I would go without him at first - I wish I had done because I didn't realise how much more I enjoyed the experience of university without a horse until I went without a horse and by that point I only had one year left!! I think you only do it once in your life (I know I am going back, but in theory!!) and so I think it is something to throw yourself into fully and I now look back and think my horse prevented that a little. I look at it that I have my whole life for horses but uni is just a one off experience for what believe me, is such a short time!!
 
We are circa £25 a week, straw included - you pay £3 a bale of hay (that is subject to change) and we work on half a bale per day. Horses are hayed 4 times per day, no charge for this service, so you only need to come up once a day. If you leave a feed, your horse will be fed. Private hacking around the farm (not going to blow your socks off but never mind), on the border of 2 hunts (OBH & VWH) with countless others less than an hours drive away. Full set of poly jumps in the school and jumping paddock in the summer.

CONS: We don't have tons of turn out, just paddocks, although they are all beautifully fenced.
 
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Jem- I am planning on going to the royal ag college at Cirencester. Putting him out on loan might prove very tricky, I would only loan him to someone I know is capeable, because after 3years I have only just got the top hand, he is such a lively horse he wouldnt be a good hack loan, he needs to be hunting and xcing, which is of course a more risky type of loan!!

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I totally see what you are saying and although not hunting and XCing, I only wanted my mare to go to a very competitive home and so I thought it would be difficult to find someone as I knew I would be mega fussy but in the end she was snapped up by the first people who came to see her (by word of mouth, ages before I planned to actively find a loaner and they had to wait months for September to come to actually get her!). Some things just work out I guess!!
 
I have had my horse with my at uni for the whole time ive been here! Mst admit that in my first years i lived on campus and so did pony, so just had to fall out of bed to feed him! However there were very strict rules as to when you had to be at the yard ie. VERY early! And i partied rather hard and only missed morning yards a couple of times!
I dont know about you but if i have a hangover the only place i want to be is with pony!
Weezys offer sounds the best! At the moment pony is 20 mins away but i kow i have someone who will help if im desperate, which is more important than him being close!
For my first week at uni i didnt have pony, but couldnt of coped much longer than that! I certainly couldnt of loaned him, or sold him, hes my special boy!
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QR. Rosie, If I were you I would defo take him with me! I went to Uni and did a four year degree and took my horse with me. I am a party girl but I managed it all fine. Work hard, play harder. You're still young and you will have a great anyway, but its nice to have your horse with you while you are away from home. I hope you have a great time whatever you decide to do!
 
I rode/competed horses for a good friend all through my teens. I didn't have my own horse though. When I went to uni I decided to have a break from horses. I must say I did enjoy the break, the lie-ins and the freedom to do other things.
I now own a horse, and I think I would struggle to leave him behind in the same circumstances - Like yours, he is very special to me and quite quirky. He also needs lots of varied work.
If I were you, I'd go on your own for the first term, settle in and make some horsey contacts. I am sure that you will be desperate to have him with you by the spring!
In the meantime could you pay a decent instructor/rider to come in and exercise your horse a couple of times a week? Either that or someone experienced who just wants the ride, not a payment.
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