What are the benefits of having your own horse?

[norolim]

Probably sounds like a strange question, but I'm a natural pessimist and always worry about worst case scenario. It is my dream to own my own horse one day hopefully not too far away but I am under no illusion of the time and money required to do so. I would love to have my own to form a bond with, spend time with, have plans and goals together and have more control over what I do with my riding and how often I ride. However, I do worry about potential issues arising, health/soundness wise and the consequences of this i.e. huge vet bills, associated stress, the emotional side of it and even not being able to ride at all. At the moment I hire out horses from private yards for hacking, lessons, fun rides etc. and although it would be great for me to do things with a horse of my own, I have the security of being able to hand the horse back over at the end of the day with nothing to worry about.

I guess what I'm looking for is your views on what the benefits of horse ownership are and how these outweigh the flexibility of hiring horses/using riding schools etc.

Thank you!

 

[SpeedyPony]

Pros- you can do things your way, you can school as you wish, you don't have horses that have been dulled by inconsistent riding, you get to spend as much time as you like with them, you can ride as often as you like, just enjoy messing about with them on the ground, see them progress and build a relationship with them that you can't if you only see them for a hour or two a week.
Cons- the buck stops with you, so vets bills/saddle fittings/feed/livery etc are all things you have to fund and make all the decisions around. They tend to require big bills at times when you could do without it (vet bill/new saddle needed at the same time as your car fails an MOT for example).
That said, I wouldn't be without them and I suspect most horse people wouldn't either.

 

[Cowpony]

All of the above, plus the love for your own horse and just generally hanging out with them. We love them like our children. Yes it's hard at times, but it's so rewarding!

 

[Gloi]

Would you say the same about having a dog?

 

[ihatework]

What are the benefits of having your own horse?​

… you don’t have enough disposable income left at the end of the month to form a cocaine habit

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

It’s very much a way of life and it has its ups and downs just like any other lifestyle..it is a huge commitment of time and money and emotions too…I’m guessing most forum members wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

[nagblagger]

Wow @ihatework you have 'some' disposable income at the end of the month..
A pro is you get to build a bond, know their likes, dislikes and love their quirky character that makes them so individual to you.

 

[norolim]

Would you say the same about having a dog?

I do worry about them health wise sometimes and they cost me a fortune, but I have 2 dogs and wouldn't give them up for anything. In fact, I would get another tomorrow if the opportunity arose

 

[Tiddlypom]

Speaking recently to a medic who used to own horses, she said that she would rather remove her own spleen with a rusty spoon than own another horse .

Stress, vets bills, horse never fit to ride when wanted. She’s still a keen rider, but she now goes to good establishments with good horses to ride as and when.

I love my 3 horses, but I’m not replacing any of them. I’m done with the stress and the worry.

 

[Gloi]

I'd almost never want to ride if it meant riding other people's horses. It's not the same.

 

[tyner]

The benefit for me was saving him from the meat man. It was the most mental and spontaneous thing I've ever done and the happiest day of my life. Sorry husband.

It has also helped me get over a lot of trauma from my youth from my old competition horses and showing and so much pain I had repressed for a long time. I hope you don't have to deal with that but they are great healers.

To hear my dad say that he never thought he'd see me smile like that again put all the pieces together for me.

Those things have made the financial, emotional, professional and physical costs worth it despite them vastly outstripping what I could ever have expected.

It's shown me what I'm made of. Having a horse again has once again shown me how crap some people can be and also how incredible people can be. It has aged me. It has challenged me like I did not imagine. Even if you have it, money can't fix everything. You always have to depend on others, even if you have your own land. Giving them a great life can be hard. It's much easier if you have a great network of support and good people around you.

I'm thankful for the lessons and glad I did it. He has a home for life. Unless I won the Euromillions, he's the last one. Not sure I could go though it again.

 

[Elno]

Speaking recently to a medic who used to own horses, she said that she would rather remove her own spleen with a rusty spoon than own another horse .

Stress, vets bills, horse never fit to ride when wanted. She’s still a keen rider, but she now goes to good establishments with good horses to ride as and when.

I love my 3 horses, but I’m not replacing any of them. I’m done with the stress and the worry.

I'm an MD. I totally get that feeling. This horse I own now will be my absolutely last.

Owning a horse, and riding horses are two entirely different, separate hobbies it seems

 

[Time for Tea]

It’s an interesting question, and difficult to answer because it’s so personal in terms of what they come to mean. I just love animals, and although as I grow older I don’t want to ride them so much as I used to, I just like having them around and looking after them. It seems to be part of who I am, my identity if you like. I think life would be empty and dull without them, it would lack a whole dimension. It’s that communication with another species that carries you on its back and can lift your day into something sublime, it’s very addictive and the feeling much enhanced if it is your own horse.
Challenging? Yes.

 

[Esmae]

Never having to worry about what to do with any spare money.

 

[tyner]

Owning a horse, and riding horses are two entirely different, separate hobbies it seems

If I wanted a horse to ride and compete all of the pain and difficulty would have been so much worse.

Or it would have been negligible because if you're looking for a horse to ride and compete it would be nonsensical to go through that and instead get another horse.

 

[Skib]

If you ride other people's horses, there is an advantage.They are fed and exercised and looked after if one is on holiday or away ill.
My experience is that in the last 20 years, I have had 3 special relationships hacking three different RS share hacks. The present one is only 14 or so and will probably see me out.
These horses have all been ridden by multiple riders. None the less if one rides a horse once or twice a week, it is my feeling that the horse does get to know one. I even remind my current share that it is me riding her today and she seems to become softer and more forward. I tell her I am too old to kick her on every stride and she seems to understand that too which is wierd.

 

[norolim]

Speaking recently to a medic who used to own horses, she said that she would rather remove her own spleen with a rusty spoon than own another horse .

Stress, vets bills, horse never fit to ride when wanted. She’s still a keen rider, but she now goes to good establishments with good horses to ride as and when.

I love my 3 horses, but I’m not replacing any of them. I’m done with the stress and the worry.

I think this is what worries me (worrying about worrying!!). I have this ideal in my head of how I would wish for it to pan out but it could be far from that in reality.

The benefit for me was saving him from the meat man. It was the most mental and spontaneous thing I've ever done and the happiest day of my life. Sorry husband.

It has also helped me get over a lot of trauma from my youth from my old competition horses and showing and so much pain I had repressed for a long time. I hope you don't have to deal with that but they are great healers.

I'm glad to hear how horse ownership has helped you and I can imagine that they are great healers. I know it's not the same but I feel similarly about owning dogs and I think that is part of the attraction to me. To have a horse to take care of and spend time with would mean a lot to me.

It’s an interesting question, and difficult to answer because it’s so personal in terms of what they come to mean. I just love animals, and although as I grow older I don’t want to ride them so much as I used to, I just like having them around and looking after them. It seems to be part of who I am, my identity if you like. I think life would be empty and dull without them, it would lack a whole dimension. It’s that communication with another species that carries you on its back and can lift your day into something sublime, it’s very addictive and the feeling much enhanced if it is your own horse.
Challenging? Yes.

I can completely see where you are coming from with this and I feel very much the same about animals but particularly dogs and horses. It's never been a question about having animals in my life but rather which ones, when and how many!

 

[FlyingCircus]

If I had none I'd never by another. As it is, I have 2. The retired 8 year old will probably be going until I'm 50 atleast So if you have a retired one...may aswell have a ridden one. And when that one breaks you collect another... And the cycle never ends.

 

[Jenko109]

I have one, although he is now out on loan.

I would never get another.

A part loan is all I would consider, especially as if you can ride to a nice enough standard and manage something a bit more spirited, you can usually find something to ride for free or for very little.

 

[Kunoichi73]

For me, the benefit of getting my own horse would be the ability to train in the horse sports I'd like - archery, tent pegging, quintain/jousting/skills at arms and maybe endurance. I've no chance of this with riding school horses. Also bonding with your own horse would be better than random RS horses.

The disadvantages are listed above plus I'd never be able to afford to travel

 

[Jinx94]

I know this one is a bit morbid, but a friend if mine was in an awful situation a little while back where her loan horse had a freak accident in the field.

It was a horrific ordeal for both of them, made worse by the fact that she couldn't get hold of the owner to make the final decision and when she eventually did, the owner wanted to check with another family member first.

One of the good things about owning mine, imo, is that I am solely responsible for any medical decisions.

Obviously the immediate con is the bills

I'm also extremely glad for the fact that no matter how I'm feeling, I have to get out of bed for them. They drive me demented but I can't imagine life without them!

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Speaking recently to a medic who used to own horses, she said that she would rather remove her own spleen with a rusty spoon than own another horse .

Stress, vets bills, horse never fit to ride when wanted. She’s still a keen rider, but she now goes to good establishments with good horses to ride as and when.

I love my 3 horses, but I’m not replacing any of them. I’m done with the stress and the worry.

As someone who's come out the other side of horse ownership I echo her thoughts and would go as far as removing my eyes with a rusty spoon rather than own another! I don't miss the horrendous costs associated with having your own and each time you think you were doing "well" financially in a month bam there would be another horse related cost come up

I don't even ride anymore, the closest I get is pixel horses on the game I play much cheaper and I can do from the comfort of my home I'll stick to the cats

I'd like bunnies too as the bunnies are a*******s FB page is hilarious but they like to try and die, are destructive and expensive little creatures so to borrow a phrase from one of the posts it would be just another form of expensive "hay engine"

The only way I'd have my own again would be if I could have them at home and was a multi millionaire

 

[Mari]

If I had none I'd never by another. As it is, I have 2. The retired 8 year old will probably be going until I'm 50 atleast So if you have a retired one...may aswell have a ridden one. And when that one breaks you collect another... And the cycle never ends.

Ha ha. I’m 76. Have 2 retired, 24 yrs homebred & 12 yrs rescue & 1 ridden 10 yrs rescue. Keep them at home but when they “go” there won’t be any more.

 

[SEL]

It's really sad the people who would never have another. I hope I'm still messing about (even the poo picking) for many decades to come.

I love the 1:1 relationship and working with both their talents and their quirks. I love the whinnies I get when I turn up (cupboard love I'm sure). I love the microcob setting out with a spring in her step hacking and I especially love not having to answer to anyone else!

 

[McFluff]

For me it was important to be financially secure before I owned a horse.

Before then I happily rode at riding schools and trekking centres. It worked well for me, most are happy for you to groom and tack up and have non-riding contact. You always get to ride, and you aren’t liable for large bills and/or difficult decisions.

I‘m now lucky enough to have my own, and it is different. It is, for me, worth the additional emotional investment. I think it helps that I waited until I could afford it, as there are enough worries without money fears to add to it. I like being able to make decisions about care, fitness, competition, training. Being able to get kit that fits me and the horse. You can change your mind, and just groom or go for a hack if you are tired. But you also have to accept that you can’t ride if your horse is lame. And it can feel like they break at the most inconvenient time.

I love my horse and genuinely don’t want to be without him. It is about more than just riding, for me.

 

[DabDab]

Because they're splendid.

 

[Caol Ila]

Owning horses is useful for making sure you don’t have enough spare cash for cocaine, gambling, or prostitutes.

I was going to say booze as well but that’s not true. Horses increase alcohol consumption whether you can afford it or not.

 

[nagblagger]

Friends you can make..they understand the emotional rollercoaster, lack of money and don't mind you arriving for brunch with hay in your hair.

 

[blitznbobs]

Speaking recently to a medic who used to own horses, she said that she would rather remove her own spleen with a rusty spoon than own another horse .

Stress, vets bills, horse never fit to ride when wanted. She’s still a keen rider, but she now goes to good establishments with good horses to ride as and when.

I love my 3 horses, but I’m not replacing any of them. I’m done with the stress and the worry.

I gave up being a medic (sort of) to have more horses… at last count I had 8 (+1 I care for) + 1 on the way…. I’d rather remove my spleen with a rusty spoon than face the nhs again tbh…

ADVANTAGES. They are Beautiful. They are tactile. They can Dance, they challenge me, I am never ever bored and I never worry about what to do with any spare cash…

disadvantages - there are always more to buy and if you have too many your husband threatens divorce…

eta I was once given the advice that if you only buy bays , hubby won’t notice the extra one in the field… but I bought a chestnut and he didn’t notice that either - so all good there… I will prob steer clear of greys tho.

 

[GinaGeo]

I don’t particularly enjoy other peoples horses. I enjoy mine. I enjoy improving a horse and the journey they take you on. I enjoy the relationship.

I enjoy having them around, and I appreciate the routine they bring to life.