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

[Molasses]

How lucky we are to share our lives with such extraordinary creatures
Seeing the heads pop up from the grass as the sun rises over the frost (and mud) the little calls of appreciation for the armloads of hay i'm carrying. The mugging for treats. The always walking up the ramp with no clue where they'll be going. The yes i can feeling when approaching a jump. The clip clop noise on the road. The cheeky pulling things down or tipping things up when they know you're looking. The first trust in you. The bright eyes when you open the ramp at a comp and they want to drink in the new sights. The silly spooks that make you laugh.

The goofy antics of twist buck fart and not a care in the world. That one precious moment when a new rug is clean and they look like a rug ad from a magazine.
The diving into a bucket with enthusiasm. The flicking of tails and that summer smell of a slightly sweaty salty coat. The feeling when they know you're just about to let them launch into a gallop, all that bunched up joy. The floppy lips when snoozing. The flick of an ear. The horror at something ridiculous like an umbrella. The joy when they meet a friend. The sound of a soft canter on turf, the sound of happy munching. The smell of warm supple tack. Having sticky feed on your fingers. The look of a bouncy bed of straw when you've finished mucking out. Getting nuzzled. That moment before you dismount and they turn and lip at your feet. That moment when you mount and their already marching off underneath you. A floaty trot, a jiggy walk, a drop of a back into a teary eyed gallop.....i could go on and on and on

 

[LynH]

I have a renewed sense of happiness doing the daily chores as I have my horses at home and since this summer I have my own stables. I leave my horses out 24/7 with the doors open to their stables. I love that they come over to the yard when they see me mucking out and hang around whilst I do all my chores. I feel an amazing sense of happiness and being so fortunate to be in the position to do this. When my horses (3 of them) are in their stables in the evening with the lights all on and the yard all swept it feels so fantastic to be living a life long dream of having my horses at home. I love that my horses have the freedom to come and go as they please and that my old girl is no longer stiff and sore from being stabled more than she was out when on livery.

All the chores that normally would get you down at this time of year just feel fun as there are no yard politics or bitching and I can do everything exactly how I want to. I love being able to see my horses out of the window at any time of day or night even if they are making the area of the field near the house into a mud pit, it gives them a nice messy patch to roll in!

Bad bits - struggling to do stuff on my bad days (long term health issues) and not being able to ride as much as I want or as well as I could.

 

[Greylegs]

Had a bad bit tonight ...at a non-horsey club I attend regularly as a way of getting some balance into my life, when my yard called to say pony was colicing badly. ARGH!! He had a mild bout on Monday but was fine yesterday and today. Drop everything, make dramatic exit, charge over to yard in heavy rain only to find boyo happy and relaxed in his stable and wondering why someone had confiscated his hay net. Complete false alarm. Pony absolutely fine. Phew!

After that, the mud, the foul weather, the restricted turn out, the cost of it all, the demands it puts on your time/relationships/patience/life, the yard politics, the constantly smelling of horse, the constant messy hair and finger nails, the filthy rugs .... All of it are good bits by comparison.

 

[daughter's groom]

Small pony, grass livery on a lovely nearby yard. Downside-walking through the rain and mud with feed and hay, no driving and paying a lot for no fun at this time of year. Nice bits- looking at that little sweetie and knowing she's mine and I will always look after her. She has known some rough treatment.

 

[now_loves_mares]

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.

Lolo - at the risk of losing any sympathy I might have had, I've just had 2 weeks in the glorious sunshine! The horse was on full livery whilst I was away. But it's much longer term and more complex than that, although of course winter makes it all so much harder.

 

[now_loves_mares]

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?

Not sure about the SAD - the weather gets me down very much, but it's more about what it does underfoot etc than daylight itself, and see above post about a recent holiday. I've felt this way for a long time, it's partly my circumstances at home and partly the horse itself. But I am absolutely loving reading all your comments, and it is really giving me serious food for thought. I remember feeling that way.

 

[now_loves_mares]

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

What a lovely post!

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

Great news that your mare pulled through - I bet it was hell at the time.

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.

Therein lies the rub!

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.

The stuff that many people can only dream of.

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!

The joys of doing everything by torchlight!

 

[Jimmy260910]

Bad bits : my boys on working livery at a yard, they don't over work him but when they do choose to use him it always seems to clash with my timetable?! ( coincidence? I think not ). The frustration of trying to get my horse to work correctly in an outline and just when I think we've got it I'll get on him again later in the week and he'll be a stroppy teenager again!!! ( though I'm a stroppy teenager too so we clash ). My horse is forever losing his shoes, does he think I'm made of money?! ( as stated earlier, I'm a teenager, I have no money because of my beautiful beast! )

Good bits : the neigh and happy face I get too see whenever I call his name as I approach the stable. Ground work - love it! So rewarding for him and me! Jumping, big and bold! Hacking with friends and being totally non BHS bareback fun! Cuddle time ( either when he's stood up or lying down - he's a sleeper ) making his stable look nice. Just being around my boy makes me feel good because he's never nasty and never makes me regret paying the money I have for him!

Love my Jammy jimmy!

 

[now_loves_mares]

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

It's really both. My home set up is not ideal, but then the horse is a bit of a fruitloop (think autistic, doesn't really know what she wants out of life, can't just be a normal horse). There are some big discussions going on Chez NLM at the moment. Let's just say my horse doesn't give much back for the blood sweat and tears. But that's exactly why I needed these posts - to make that so obvious.

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 !

Loving the sound of your robin!

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.

Gorgeous pic!

How lucky we are to share our lives with such extraordinary creatures
Seeing the heads pop up from the grass as the sun rises over the frost (and mud) the little calls of appreciation for the armloads of hay i'm carrying. The mugging for treats. The always walking up the ramp with no clue where they'll be going. The yes i can feeling when approaching a jump. The clip clop noise on the road. The cheeky pulling things down or tipping things up when they know you're looking. The first trust in you. The bright eyes when you open the ramp at a comp and they want to drink in the new sights. The silly spooks that make you laugh.

The goofy antics of twist buck fart and not a care in the world. That one precious moment when a new rug is clean and they look like a rug ad from a magazine.
The diving into a bucket with enthusiasm. The flicking of tails and that summer smell of a slightly sweaty salty coat. The feeling when they know you're just about to let them launch into a gallop, all that bunched up joy. The floppy lips when snoozing. The flick of an ear. The horror at something ridiculous like an umbrella. The joy when they meet a friend. The sound of a soft canter on turf, the sound of happy munching. The smell of warm supple tack. Having sticky feed on your fingers. The look of a bouncy bed of straw when you've finished mucking out. Getting nuzzled. That moment before you dismount and they turn and lip at your feet. That moment when you mount and their already marching off underneath you. A floaty trot, a jiggy walk, a drop of a back into a teary eyed gallop.....i could go on and on and on

A beautiful post. Thank you for so many reminders!

I have a renewed sense of happiness doing the daily chores as I have my horses at home and since this summer I have my own stables. I leave my horses out 24/7 with the doors open to their stables. I love that they come over to the yard when they see me mucking out and hang around whilst I do all my chores. I feel an amazing sense of happiness and being so fortunate to be in the position to do this. When my horses (3 of them) are in their stables in the evening with the lights all on and the yard all swept it feels so fantastic to be living a life long dream of having my horses at home. I love that my horses have the freedom to come and go as they please and that my old girl is no longer stiff and sore from being stabled more than she was out when on livery.

All the chores that normally would get you down at this time of year just feel fun as there are no yard politics or bitching and I can do everything exactly how I want to. I love being able to see my horses out of the window at any time of day or night even if they are making the area of the field near the house into a mud pit, it gives them a nice messy patch to roll in!

Bad bits - struggling to do stuff on my bad days (long term health issues) and not being able to ride as much as I want or as well as I could.

I'm sorry you have health issues. But the rest certainly does sound life changing

Had a bad bit tonight ...at a non-horsey club I attend regularly as a way of getting some balance into my life, when my yard called to say pony was colicing badly. ARGH!! He had a mild bout on Monday but was fine yesterday and today. Drop everything, make dramatic exit, charge over to yard in heavy rain only to find boyo happy and relaxed in his stable and wondering why someone had confiscated his hay net. Complete false alarm. Pony absolutely fine. Phew!

After that, the mud, the foul weather, the restricted turn out, the cost of it all, the demands it puts on your time/relationships/patience/life, the yard politics, the constantly smelling of horse, the constant messy hair and finger nails, the filthy rugs .... All of it are good bits by comparison.

Good perspective, and I'm so glad your boy was fine!

Small pony, grass livery on a lovely nearby yard. Downside-walking through the rain and mud with feed and hay, no driving and paying a lot for no fun at this time of year. Nice bits- looking at that little sweetie and knowing she's mine and I will always look after her. She has known some rough treatment.

She sounds like she has found her forever home, and a pretty good one too

Thank you everyone for such lovely words, images and the memories they evoke. It certainly is allowing me to see that I'm not getting any enjoyment out of my horse. That has too change.

 

[lynsey1808]

I have no good bits at this time of year. I hate the winter, always have, have always suspected I have SAD and do have regular holidays. At the same time every year I say I'm giving up and every year I don't, horses are part of who I am and I just get through the winter as best I can. Sometimes it's easier to accept that it makes you miserable and know that by March you'll feel better

 

[mudmudmud]

My mojo has gone for the first time in my life, combination of new yard and no school I think. I don't want to ride hardly, but i do find myself grooming him and having cuddles more. But I do need to get my backside in gear and start getting him fit again for next season and start back with some lessons. We've done nothing but hack for over 4 months

 

[Marmite Sandwich]

I felt a sense of duty yet more so a sense of dread a few moths ago. I was convinced my mare hated me and every time i had to move my youngster i was actually becoming fearful for my life. I felt guilty for how much time and money they took up too. Then i took a step back and took the time to look at the bond between my mare and me and realised that my daughters had been doing so much with her that she'd attached from me. So i groomed and led her out be did some free schooling which turned out more like join up and the bond returned and now she gives of cuddled and is always willing to listen to my troubles and even though i still can't ride her - we're now much happier together. Ar for the baby just by doing what had to be done, he settled down and learnt to lead without attempts on my life now when people on the yard tell me how well he's coming on or how good if looks it fills me with pride. He's a pleasure to be around now even tho we still have a way to go yet, the way he pulls a face like a camel when i scratch his bum makes it worth it. The mud,lack of turn out cold and wet are horrid but I've reached a point where i accept that they happen every winter and worrying isn't going to make that change - and thinking like that has really helped me to stay positive

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Horrid bits: wondering (at the mo) where the heck I'm going to turn them out without mud being up to their backsides! Poor horses

Feeling totally unmotivated to ride in the soaking rain........ yet again.

Finding a coat to put on that isn't sopping wet

Dealing with two mucky, wet, miserable dogs (sorry not "horse" related, but sort of)

Dealing with two mucky, wet, miserable horses who're just as sick of the weather as the rest of us and all they want to do is stand in and chomp hay!

Slightly more optimistic: i.e. getting lukewarm now........ is counting the days before I finally (Oh Please God) get saddle-sorted and my two are hopefully both in synthetic saddles so I'm not always cleaning off mucky saddles at the end of a ride!!!

Good bits: coming home and they're standing at the gate waiting for their suppers - SO nice to feel welcomed home!

A nice bright day in a wet week when everything, but everything else had to be put aside, just to get out.

Riding in the rain; not a soul about & somehow we did manage a sort-of warm fuzzy feeling to it (dunno how tho' )

Having them at home with us and going down to the yard last-thing and hearing the steady chomp, chomp of happy, satisfied horses

Yes, so know its mega hard at the moment to stay motivated, and the "fun" bits seem few and far between, and happy bright summer days just seem to be a dream away.......... but the way I see it is that one day where there's a head looking over a stable door; one day, hopefully a long way away, but one day there will be nothing, an empty space where a lovely equine person once was - and that, for me, somehow makes it all worthwhile and makes me want to savour ALL of it, even the tough times, and somehow store it away for when they aren't there anymore. Sorry, that sounds a bit morbid now............ but you'll know what I mean.

 

[pansy]

A few people have said its great turning up at the yard & having a lovely welcome from your horse - all I hear is mine booting the stable door as he is grumpy git & thinks he is being starved

 

[EffyCorsten]

I don't need to type them out as everyone has said them all.

One thing I live for is burying my face in their shoulder nook. Soft warm horse smell...

No bad points I'll take the mud, floods, time and money it's so worth it.

 

[Shantara]

Downside - Two bored, grumpy, muddy ponies.

Upside - Big cuddles! Cookie dashing up to see me every morning Lots of grooming and fussing!

 

[Elsbells]

I hadn't been around horses for 20 years and one very dark early, frozen cold morning, I walked onto a yard for the first time. I could hear them moving, pulling at nets, snuffling as they turned their black heads towards my slowed approach. Thick was the chilled air with their breath and the smell of hay and straw as it moved beneath their feet........and I knew I was lost.

That is what I love about horses. All of it.

 

[AmieeT]

For me this is all new so most things that I feel other people may find tedious are still a little exciting for me.
For example I love the mucking out and all of the yucky stuff, but the best bit for me is hacking out and galloping up the bridle path back to the yard. Am starting to jump and the adrenaline is something else lol!
But for me the killer is the bus journey there and back as I don't drive yet. Its horrible having to rush like crazy every day to get everything done and get back to the bus stop as there is only one bus per hour.
And the number of times I've missed it and been in tears over the idea of giving him up because I worry that someone else would be better for him (I'm a total novice and he's a seasoned cross country/hunting/show jumping star) because I can't do the stuff he loves really gets me down!

 

[Eggshells]

One horse on DIY but with turn out/bring in available. Only had him 7 months so still in the honeymoon period - seriously, I still enjoy mucking out/pulling manes/cleaning tack because for the first time I am doing it for mine! But that said..

Bad:

- Hay, everywhere. I know it is a silly little thing, but it really irks me when I am sat on the sofa of an evening having showered and changed since leaving the horse and I am somehow STILL shedding hay everywhere!
- The sod is a weaver - not a terrible one and usually only does it when wanting feed or to go out which I can understand, but I find it irritating/upsetting/frustrating when he weaves for no apparent reason, especially when he has moved away from a scratch to do so. Makes one feel hideously inadequate.
- A specific one for this time of year: realising that of the x hours spent at the yard only a fraction of it was 'down time' with the horse. When it is all a race to get things done before work/before the light goes and after you've fought the mud, ice, rain and wind to do all the necessary jobs and you have neither the time nor the energy to simply enjoy the horse.

Good:

- Doing something for the first time in ages (in this case running through an old dressage test) and realising that actually you HAVE progressed in the last couple of months!
- Turning the lights out on the horse all wrapped up for the night, munching contentedly on his hay in the corner of a clean stable with a deep bed.
- Having a not very demonstrative horse (he tolerates pesky humans because they provide his food) the rare occasion when he rests his head against me, breaths me in and lets me scratch him are just wonderful.

I hope you rediscover the pleasures of horses, but try not to let the fact you can't at the moment make you feel any worse. xx

ETA - eek, sorry it is so long!

 

[now_loves_mares]

Thank you all for the replies. So much food for thought. I either need to find a way to make it all work better, or make some very tough decisions. Resenting my horse for the work, yet getting nothing back is not a sensible life plan.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Thank you all for the replies. So much food for thought. I either need to find a way to make it all work better, or make some very tough decisions. Resenting my horse for the work, yet getting nothing back is not a sensible life plan.

Mmmmm....... yep, think maybe you need to sit down and think things through a bit: but January is a bit of a bummer month, and it always is......February too - but then things WILL look up again, I reckon

So yes, do your thinking, organise your horsey/work-life balance if needs be. But don't give up yet????? You'll be glad you didn't.

 

[now_loves_mares]

One horse on DIY but with turn out/bring in available. Only had him 7 months so still in the honeymoon period - seriously, I still enjoy mucking out/pulling manes/cleaning tack because for the first time I am doing it for mine! But that said..

Bad:

- Hay, everywhere. I know it is a silly little thing, but it really irks me when I am sat on the sofa of an evening having showered and changed since leaving the horse and I am somehow STILL shedding hay everywhere!
- The sod is a weaver - not a terrible one and usually only does it when wanting feed or to go out which I can understand, but I find it irritating/upsetting/frustrating when he weaves for no apparent reason, especially when he has moved away from a scratch to do so. Makes one feel hideously inadequate.
- A specific one for this time of year: realising that of the x hours spent at the yard only a fraction of it was 'down time' with the horse. When it is all a race to get things done before work/before the light goes and after you've fought the mud, ice, rain and wind to do all the necessary jobs and you have neither the time nor the energy to simply enjoy the horse.

Good:

- Doing something for the first time in ages (in this case running through an old dressage test) and realising that actually you HAVE progressed in the last couple of months!
- Turning the lights out on the horse all wrapped up for the night, munching contentedly on his hay in the corner of a clean stable with a deep bed.
- Having a not very demonstrative horse (he tolerates pesky humans because they provide his food) the rare occasion when he rests his head against me, breaths me in and lets me scratch him are just wonderful.

I hope you rediscover the pleasures of horses, but try not to let the fact you can't at the moment make you feel any worse. xx

ETA - eek, sorry it is so long!

Actually your last para under "bad" is certainly part of why it feels so much worse right now. The chores are so much harder;aesthetically the horse, yard and field all look like ****tt; the poo picking is wet and heavy; I'm tired, and just want to get them done and get inside. My mare is very quirky and frankly riding her isn't much fun. So it's ok in summer when the work is bearable but a nightmare now when it's so disproportionate.

Thank you also for the last sentence. I am feeling very guilty.

 

[Pigeon]

The worst part is driving to and from the yard. (traffic is dire at certain times of the day and it can take an hour) Also getting them in from a field where the puddle at the gate comes over your wellies is never fun.

Apart from that I love most of it My favourite is just hanging in the stable and cuddles and grooming. I love schooling when it goes well, when it doesn't I get a horribly black mood

 

[PaddyMonty]

I dont own a horse, just ride one for an owner.
Good bits
Super horse
Sole rider
No yard duties
No cost
Having one night a week I just groom /fuss horse so its not all work from me.
Great facilities and nice hacking
Only visit once a day.

Bad bits
I could lose the ride at any time through no fault of my own
Getting attached to a horse subject to point above.

 

[cob&onion]

Well, down times fpr me ATM are:
2 Horses out 24/7 - on heavy clay - mud bath, everything is swimming in mud all my tack boots etc tack as gone green as so damp despite me cleaning it all once per week or finding the time with 2 jobs (one being nights which i hate) a baby who is 12 months old and 2 other children under the age of 10!
A possible lame horse AGAIN and now not horsey related but the clutch went on the car yesterday and someone pulled out unexpectedly of a 10k sale on a chalet we own
Good times - looking forward onto summer, shows late hacks in setting sun dry fields hay making fly repellent smell plus started riding my 4 yr old so hoping to get him out this summer - was meant to be working my girl this year and pushing her on but thats on hold for now.......until i know whats happeneing.
\i know one thing though - am moving onto a livery yard next winter as looks like stables and houses will be built together this year sometime and cant see it being finished in time for next winter!
Doing a few hours back at the livery yard in my *spare time* between working nights as i get every other week off so baby at nursery, just further demonstrates how i need to change my current job!

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Bad bits:

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)!

Can you ride bareback for a while? Sell your other saddles but wait for a buyer who will pay a reasonable price. The lack of decent turnout is getting me down at the moment too.

OP have you considered full livery for a month? Not long enough to cause any real harm to your horse from insufficient hay/bedding etc but long enough to give you a break.

My favourites are laying beds and grooming. I also really like walking whether in the arena or hacking and just relaxing while taking in the scenery.

 

[Annagain]

Good bits - friends both horsey and human! I have lovely friends at the yard and in my riding club and I love nothing more than a good hack with them. We sometimes box over to a friend's place with much better hacking, spend a good few hours there and then turn the horses out in the school while we go in for a cuppa and a homemade cake. I love it! It's very much a social thing for me, I could never keep horses at home on my own.

I do a bit of competing and have done the teams for my Riding Club for the first time this year. I'm not very competitive and as long as I beat my last performance and go well I'm happy. However I've just found out my team has qualified for the Winter Dressage Championship (we finished 2nd out of 20 so weren't expecting to qualify as you need 21 for 2 to qualify, but somehow we've been invited!) and I'm stupidly excited - working towards perfecting Prelim 7 is making the winter go a bit quicker. 11 weeks to go to the championships and counting, it's actually approaching way too fast judging by how many practice competitions and lessons I can fit in!

The bad is mud as everyone says. Or more specifically removing it (and stable stains) from my two. Some people love all the preening but I'm really not suited to owning two greys!

ETA - 1 horse and 1 share horse on DIY. A bit complicated but 3 of us look afer the 2 between us. I have Mondays off entirely, do evenings Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and mornings Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Only having to go once a day unless I want to do more is a godsend, especially as my job is quite demanding and unpredictable.

 

[rowan666]

2 horses on own yard now shared with a friend. My 2 live out 24/7.

Good: seeing their beautiful grubby little faces over the gate waiting for me when i arrive.
My mare always whinnies at me when i walk past her even if ive been down for hours and shes so pretty i can stare at her all day long. she always knows when i need a hug!
My boy follows me around "helping" with poo picking, haynets, grooming, eating my dinner and my hair, stealing/mugging my drink (especially fizzy pop!) and hes an absolute doll to ride, he always looks after me and did wonders for regaining my confidence after baby.
They both love cuddles, which is great when im having a bad day, they always make everything ok!

Bad: i dont care about the bad bits.. They are worth being broke and freezing in winter for! We have no lights, running water or anywhere to ride in winter but who cares, come summer its all good.

TBH I can find more down sides to having kids, but dont regret them either!

 

[Suby2]

Pony on DIY - out 24/7 in rented field. No stable. No running water. No electricity.
Said pony has had in succession for the first time for each over the past 18 months - RAO, Cushings, mild Laminitis

Due to the aboveI have been going to the field twice or three times a day instead of my usual once.

Field has steadily turned into a quagmire.

Downsides - rain, mud, lack of daylight, lack of stable, having to go to field before breakfast, vet bills, trying to push wheelbarrow through the mud! Defrosting the padlock with my hands on cold mornings

Upsides - beautiful sunrises (when it isn't raining), bonding time with pony, buzzards flying overhead at dawn, didn't put weight on over Christmas, fitness improved a bit, appreciation of dry days!

 

[Copperpot]

2 horses living out 24/7. Do have stables, hard standing water and electricity thou.

Bad points - rain and mud at the moment! Plus my friend who I share with is skiing and I've got 5 horses to look after this week. Too much poo picking!

Good points - despite the rain and mud the horses are happy. They have plenty of good bits of field left. Went for a lovely canter up a sandy track which made me smile. Then watched my boys playing in the field, rearing up and chasing each other about. Always makes me smile.

Winter will soon be over