What are your "fun" bits of horse ownership. Remind me..

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now_loves_mares

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I'm not sure if it's my particular circumstances, the godawful weather, or just a major error in prioritisation. But I'm not having fun. Even the normally ok, not a chore but not galloping on a beach parts, are depressing me.

I'm re-evaluating.

So - what are the enjoyable parts of horse ownership for you? And to keep it balanced, what are the back-breakingly depressingly awful things that are needs-must.

I'm also curious of the circumstances. Eg full livery, at home, out 24/7 etc. I suspect I know where my issues really lie, but genuinely interested in hearing about everyone's barometer of fun!!
 
What a good post!

I am just - only just - getting my mojo back after a series of things, not that serious but all mounting up til I didnt have the heart to spend much time with my horses. Fortunately they are on full livery so they don't really mind!

The simple things I love are -

- those little shows of affection when you are grooming them
- the feeling you get when you teach them to do something - like picking up feet nicely, or standing nicely to be mounted
- the wonderful smell they have and how I only have to sniff my smelly yard coat to get a lift when work is getting me down (and yes I do take it with me sometimes for that reason!!)
- A sunny, cold, crisp morning with nobody else about but you and your horse and maybe the odd fox or deer
- the feeling when you get home after riding that you have done something worthwhile and good for you that day

I get the ultimate high if I pop over a 2 foot cross country fence from a canter and am still on at the other side! :)
 
Diy livery, daytime turnout (mudbath)... Two heavy mares and a pony.
Its normal to feel down this time of year, skint after Christmas,horrid weather... Never ending basket of muddy clothes. Remember that horses are a way of life and with
every negative there is a positive!
I love the way the girls whinny as I get out of the truck, the way they pause when headcollar is removed for me to scratch their ears. I love how I'm rarely ill because of all the freshair I get and how I burn off those extra calories mucking out.
Chin up... Xx
 
Bad bits:
Mud mud mud
Filling hay nets in the dark
Finding my two on the patio by my back door, waiting for breakfast, twice this week after breaking out of the paddock and trashing my lawn.
Good bits:
Riding on the beach on Sunday - boxed up and off we went - guaranteed mud free
Smell of their breath
My new electric fence!
 
Bad Bits
not riding enough due to weather lack of facilities and time
Good bits
snuffly good mornings, good nights
the improvements the oaf is making daily
the giggles in the yard every weekend with my kids and their ponies
dodging the lick covered muzzle that aims for the white shirt
 
Several years ago I had my horse on diy livery in a fabulous yard. But Dear God! it ruined being a horse owner for me. A full day at work, then down to him to muck out, ride and feed, regardless of weather, then home and do the same for my son. My ex and I had shared custody so when my son was with me I only mucked out and fed and felt torn between my duties and responsibilities to both. I began to really resent the yard and moved back to a full livery yard which took a lot of pressure off.

Then I found myself in a relationship with The One which lasted 5 years. He broke up with me and I was very depressed and lost interest in everything, including the horse. However, in the last few months I have finally got over Him (took a loooong time) and am falling back in love with my beautiful, wonderful little horsie. I have no plans to return to diy livery any time soon as I like being able to come and go as I like. I enjoy tipping around the stable, filling his hay net, skipping out, grooming, riding, all the usual stuff. It is all special again and I am enjoying it all soo much now.

During all that time, I never resented my horse even though I was reluctant and resented the work. So I am saying to you, hang in there, it will come back eventually. Being on full livery certainly helped me.
 
The feeling I get just being with my horse. I nearly lost him in the summer and have never been so heartbroken in my life. The sheer fact that he is still here with me makes my heart soar. On top of that, a cheeky canter has me smiling for days. A well made bed makes me feel proud. I am pregnant now and in the first three months mucking out was hard, but even that would not make me give up. I feel blessed every day.
 
At night when everyone in the barn is in their clean beds, night rugs on, contentedly munching their haylage and I walk down the aisle and give them all a treat and they each ask in their own way for theirs...

A day when it's not pissing with rain and howling with wind and the ground is not too bad and we have time to do a ride that's not too fast and furious and we have a canter and I keep my balance and remember heels down and shoulders back and don't feel like I am interfering with my lovely horse

When my horse seems happy to be out on a ride with me, forward going ears pricked, etc

Other than that, I admit I am finding it hard, I am very tired and feel I am failing in every area of my life. My daughter is out of action, as is a woman at the yard with a larger amount of horses than any sensible person needs, everyone is doing their bit, and mine is only a bit, but I work full time, plus caring for my daughter's horse, and our horse who lives on a different yard (though my friend does the bulk of it), I find it is sucking the life out of me and the fun out of it
 
I hate mud but today I turned my
Mud monster into a show pony - 4 hours of hard work but oh so worth it! (I then turned the beggar out and he rolled) such is life.

Tucking them up in a clean bed with a thick warm rug and if it's really cold blankets (I really love using old fashioned blankets)

That moment when things that have been such a struggle for so long suddenly click and it feels amazing.

Making the feeds with hot water and pretending I'm nigella Lawson mixing a cake ( yes but I bet I'm not the only one that does this)

And being so so cold and climbing into a hot bath and getting all warm and toasty again ...

I could go on and on...
 
The smell of them. I also keep my yard coat in my car so I have the smell with me when I'm at work (I drive all day). "Talking" with them nostril to nostril. Their warmth. The smell of haylage. Weirdly, the smell of hoss poo. Their eyes.... It just makes me feel tingly thinking about it all. The down side - my lack of confidence but I can't think of any other down side :)
 
Lots of good responses so far but would love more!

What strikes me is that many of you are finding sheer joy in simple things. Right now I can barely look at mine with anything other than mild hatred. Not very healthy, for a hobby that takes all my time, my money and my energy. SKint - sucking the life out of me sounds about right. And it's not just winter, although that does make it way way harder, of course.

Full livery, huh? Mine are at home. Only time I tried proper full livery I hated it, as they were a bit rubbish, I ended up re mucking out every day, they never gave him enough hay etc.
 
blitznbobs said:
I hate mud but today I turned my
Mud monster into a show pony - 4 hours of hard work but oh so worth it! (I then turned the beggar out and he rolled) such is life.

Tucking them up in a clean bed with a thick warm rug and if it's really cold blankets (I really love using old fashioned blankets)

That moment when things that have been such a struggle for so long suddenly click and it feels amazing.

Making the feeds with hot water and pretending I'm nigella Lawson mixing a cake ( yes but I bet I'm not the only one that does this)

And being so so cold and climbing into a hot bath and getting all warm and toasty again ...

I could go on and on...
Click to expand...

Hahaha the Nigella Lawson bit made me really laugh!!! I haven't thought that way about feeds since I was about 10, and used to make mahoosive feeds full of bran and oats and hot water. Oh the smell of a bran mash is making me smile! Thank you :)
 
Something to look forwards to. I hate January after the Christmas stuff is over, but I'm already obsessively looking at all the EGB groups' websites for pleasure and endurance rides to get over-excited about.

My little horse's face when he knows he's been dead good and I'm pleased with him. It means a lot to him and its really sweet.

People at the yard to hang round with/ moan to when work and or OH are doing your head in.

Going out in the horse box to the forest - simple and low key, but just a joyful thing to do.

Not so much right now as skint, but normally going to the tackshop and buying something shiny and new and pretty for your horse. I'm so sad i just bought a new spacey shavings fork, yay!

When your horse has been off or not right and gets better, that's fabulous!

Going for a plod with somebody nice and just chatting about horses.

Loads of stuff, I love having a horse, I'd never cope without one.
 
when he nickers at me when i go up to him and give him a fuss whilst pooh-picking his field, when he calls to me in the morning when I arrive, the mutual grooming when I do his itchy bits, when he gets excited & acts silly when he knows I'm feeling rubbish, when I lock up at night he puts his head out from eating his dinner & whuffles for his good night mint. Mine is on a private rented yard with him & 2 other ponies with 2 stables & tackroom. we are so much more happier than being on DIY at a bigger yard as we all help each other out.
 
Bad bits:
Pony pulling all rugs down in the night and peeing on them (current favourite!)
Pony outgrowing the 3rd saddle since November (medium Jeffries -> wintec (wide to xxwide) -> wide Albion) and having no money for another one :(.
Moving round bales every day - my back hurts.
Being up at stupid o'clock to do horse, not being able to ride (see no saddle above!), and then getting home at stupid o'clock after uni.
Massive skintness.

Good bits:
Our first jump on Saturday!
Hooning around the gallops on the yard.
Slowly getting somewhere with our schooling.
Quiet hacks on sunny mornings when we're the only ones around.

Pony (not a pony) is on DIY livery and fields are a mudbath, so they're probably only out 3/7 days 10am - 2pm. I am struggling a lot at the moment and actually came home and had a good cry because it's all getting me down so much and the saddle fitter had given me yet another saddle to try that didn't fit, and I couldn't really afford it if it did. I am thinking about putting my girl up for sale - she's amazing, but I have no business having a horse if I can't even afford a saddle for her (budget up to £250, but local fitter has nothing in that price range and I can't risk taking a punt on something online again)!
 
Spent 10 years saving and plotting to own a horse again after a pony-filled childhood curtailed by uni and getting a job. Can honestly say I love every minute with mine. I even enjoy just being on the livery yard and seeing other people's horses. Love the smell of wet hay and hoof oil and shoeing, arriving in the half light and listening to contented munching, sound of hooves hollow clopping on the road in the rain. I guess an enforced break from horses means I'm still in the honeymoon period and being on part livery helps too :-) Peolpe sacrifice a lot to own a horse, but it's a big privilege. And it will stop raining. Sometime.
 
now_loves_mares said:
Gotta go out for a bit but really loving the responses (and they are making me a bit sad too, I miss feeling that way!)
Click to expand...

Can you afford to go on holiday, take a total break for a week?

My sister's job is looking after horses, and she lives and breathes the beggars and is one of those awful people who genuinely loves every second of her work. But even she needed a week holiday this year- she saved and saved, and then chucked the horses out for a week with a friend checking they all had the correct number of legs each day and feeding and went to Corfu for a week. It was fairly budget, but it did really kick her back into action just getting away from the daily slog.
 
I think my personal horse owning highlight is cleaning my mares water and feed bucket at least once a week after she has decided to 'drop a log' in them. Disgusting.


*Posted too early*

It sounds to me like you're really fed up with horses. Could you perhaps get a part loaner or full time loaners to relieve you off what seems to have become a burden to you? There's no point forcing yourself with something that seems to be getting you down. Could it also be possible that you have SAD? How long have you been feeling like this with the horse?
 
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Tbh op it sounds like you need a break - horses should not fill you with 'mild hatred' and as you said yourself they are too expensive and time consuming if they do not even give you a few moments of happiness......
 
I work with animals so I'm outside all day, hard work etc, at the end of the day I go do my horses on the way home. Generally I love it, hate being stuck indoors, one of those annoying people that can't sit still and needs to be busy doing things.
However, sometimes its been really busy, raining all day, I'm soaked, cold, tired, hungry, just dreaming of having a nice hot shower and it gets to the end of the day at work and I've still gotta do all the horses I have a moment of 'WHY do I do this?!' then I get to the yard, see my mares little face as she seems my car pull up, and I go and have a big cuddle and remember why I do it all!!

When it's wet and muddy and horrible and I'm feeling miserable I just think that I would be even more miserable without my animals.
 
Bad bits....mud,rain,dark nights and no time!!

Good bits.....i almost lost my mare in summer so just seeing her look so well and healthy after almost dying 5 months ago makes me burst with pride! Hearing hear nicker when i arrive at the yard on weekend mornings, a nice hack out on our own on a quiet crisp morning, the smell of her, seeing a nice clean bed and big tasty nets of hay, chatting with the girls on the yard on a friday afternoon with coffee and cakes and best of all,spring is just around the corner :) x
 
I took my pony for a walk earlier, for no reason really, I just quite fancied it. The look on his face has made my week, he was just so happy to be out and about, everything was so new and exciting, (you 'd think he'd never left the yard!) sheer joy is the only way I can describe it! We said hello to a little dog, stopped while some pony eating cows crossed the road, ate some of the grass verge while waiting for a car, and decided a man in a red coat was far to fierce a foe, so we planted our feet, made ourselves all tall and stood staring and snorting like a dragon in the hope he'd get scared and leave ;)
Oh and we had a lovely extended trot up the hill, tail in the air, head held high, ears pricked! ...or rather he did, I just ran telling him he needs to slowdown, mum can't keep up!
Well makes for all the mud, and anything else.
Everything he does makes me smile, the faces he pulls, the whinnies, the way he just holds he leg up a feeing time as if to paw at the ground, but it's just, "mum! I will bang a stamp my feet if you don't hurry up!" I have a endless list but I won't bore you with it! They make me smile, but what we did today, that was so much fun! I haven't laughed so hard in ages<3
 
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Bad bits, bad bits.... No, none for me apart from the usual lack of money! I absolutely adore every second spent at the yard with my 2, first pony is on loan to a lovely 10 year old and both are doing great and my horse is an 18 year old nutcase who I love to bits! Best bit at the moment is a nice hack on a frosty morning, although a couple of weeks ago we went out at about half 2 and were coming back down the path towards home just as the sun was going down, the sky was beautiful.
 
Bad bits - short daylight hours! No electric at our yard so checking the boys in the dark day and night (they live out 24/7), not riding for weeks on end due to a mix of work and bad weather - stripping rugs off the very young and very old for an amble around the block for the sake of it is not mine or their idea of fun. The plus sides though, healthy glossy horses under all the mud, three happy faces waiting to say hello in the evening darkness, the occasional jump onto the old boy bareback for a ten minute leg stretch, he's so pleased to be out without nannying the youngster!
 
Oh I love these they are giving warm fuzzies, which I need as I'm about to go and do my final checks in the yard but will have a think about what love and come back.
 
That wonderful sense of relaxation when you realise you arrived at the yard all stressed from work and now, within five minutes of giving your horse a stroke, you've forgotten all about work.
 
Good
- a hug whenever you want one
- an ear that always listerns and rarely answers back
- the smell of fresh hay and warm horse
- the noise of quiet munching
- a scratch on the very soft bit between his front legs that makes his top lip wobble
- that little nicker noise he makes in the morning

Bad
- minor details like all my time and money, mud

I keep mine at home and love it - but it can be lonely and I go through phases of motivation to actually ride, OP is it your horse that you aren't clicking with or your circumstances that aren't working for you. Either can be changed, if you can pop him on livery for a bit and give yourself a break
 
Good bits.....Getting to yard ( own place 15 mins from home) and thinking how lucky I am to have it all. Seeing their funny faces waiting for me, hearing my mare snicker hello, giving them a cuddle, their smell, getting kisses from the idiot horse, watching them tuck into their grub, watching my little robin who stalks me, standing in field on dark clear night seeing all the sparkly stars, chatting to friends down the lane who have yards, going for a blast with the dog and the horse together, jumping things we maybe shouldn't, naughty horse taking the mickey and bogging off with me.

Bad bits, worrying about them if they r unwell, ripped rugs, watching fields fill with water, mud !
 
Plenty of bad bits - mud, rain, being broken into, dark mornings, dark evenings but the evenings are starting to stretch out ;)

The good bits - Seeing Roberto progress with his schooling, slowly but its still progress and feeling proud now we've been on some solo hacks :), watching the kids grow up with the ponies and their freedom and fresh air.

Then the bits that just one moment is enough enjoyment to last you all year..... Here he is heavily resting his head in the palms of my hands as I'm kissing his velvet soft muzzle, his warm breath circling my face. :o

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