What Sacrifices Do You Make To Keep Your Horse?

Never have time to do anything else
Sleep
Clothes
Social life
Car always filthy
I always stink!!
No bloke as dont have time (and kicked long term boyfriend out as he moaned about horses and other things lol)

But besides all that, wouldnt change my 2 boys for anything, love them to death :D
And to be honest havent a clue what id do without them, id be a lot better off money wise but havent a clue what id spend it on??!! designer clothes, no thanks pah!! lol!!
 
The only lie in I get is if Im very ill
Hair done, only when I cann't see through my fringe
Car, luck will have it the OH can weld and fix engines, dogs make a mess like chewed seatbelts, plus the hay, mud and feed stuffs oh! and the nose and paw prints on windows.
Do feel tired all the time, but I put that down to my age.
Do house work early morning and fill the washing machine, before I go to see horses.
Clothes, jeans cords jodphurs, polo shirts,fleeses, did buy myself a pair of shoes £10 tesco's on offer last week, but it coming up our 41st wedding aniversary in July, so I'm getting sorted out.
Be with out my horses never and the OH agrees (makes his life easier):D:D:D
 
nickijem said:
Pretty much everthing everyone else has mentioned!
Plus I sacrificed having children - I knew I couldn't afford both and I chose horses! Thankfully OH was in agreement.
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Wow, thats some sacrifice, but can totally understand why. I have 2 children, but it just kinda happened, wouldnt give them back for love or money and they do come before the horses most of the time, although, they get the Penneys clothes rather than designer, but they dont care, yet!! But if things had been different, it would have been a close call.
I manage as best I can juggeling the two, but it does mean getting out of bed at 6am in the winter to go down and do horses before I get the children out of bed for school.
 
Spot_the_Risk said:
I don't think I've made any sacrifices - to me, a sacrifice is something that you'd rather not make, and I don't miss hairdressers, nice nails, expensive clothes - I was never into those things anyway! I've never wanted kids, have no interest in posh/new/clean cars - we run a Landy and two vans - and have a fab social life as all my friends are horsey, and thank God all our OHs get on too. We have our own field, and as well as the horses have dogs, sheep and poultry, so me and OH are often there together - he gave my new foal his first ever grooming and lead around the field last week, whilst I was riding, and I'd happily clean out the chicken pen whilst he was doing some dog training. There are no sacrifices - it all balances out just fine!
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I agree with you that I haven't made any sacrifices as I love my life the way it is. We don't have any holidays, lie ins, chosen not to have kids, no nice clothes etc. Me and my OH have a horse each and spend most of our spare time at the stables but wouldn't have it any other way.
 
I guess it's always been time - before I went to uni (thus putting the horse out on loan) you definitely couldn't say I led a 'normal' teenage life. Now, having just got back her back, I'm finding the balancing act of horse/work/friends a little challenging. That said, giving up time for her has never felt like 'giving up' time. Always a pleasure, never a chore. :p
 
kezimac said:
sleep!!!!!!!!!!
annoyed husband as i never home!!!!!!!!!!!!
never have a clean car
smell like a horse
no money to spend
no friends other than horsey friends!

yup that pretty much it! but still gotta love it!
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Same here, apart from the last one!
Particularly agreeing with the annoyed husband/fiance bit!!
 
Having to have nails and hair done, having to shop for clothes/shoes/accessories for me, being able to afford to smoke (yeuch) or drink (bleurgh) and any amount of wasted evenings out and holidays gone on.

Would I trade? Nah!
 
I would have said that I had to sacrifice my horse to go to uni!!

10 years on I was finally at a point where I could get another horse and luckily my OH was happy to go along with it.

This biggest change is the time I spend out of the house and so the house has suffered, less time for cleaning, organising, etc

Luckily because she is at grass livery I don't have to get to the stables at 6am to feed and muck out!! (I chose a horse that could live out as couldn't afford stabled livery).

Don't think my OH realised exactly how much time I would spend with a horse but he's doing a good job of putting up wth it, and comes to help out sometimes :-)
 
I had an 8 month break from selling my boy to getting my new girl. I found I had more time, loads more money and my nails were fantastic and clean! No stray hay or straw in the car and I had loads of sleep! Oh and I never had to worry if I'd put the right rug on when stuck at work and the heavens opened!

Now I have a horse again I have forgone all of that and I wouldn't change it for the world, I have the biggest smile back on my face!

Horses are a way of life, once it is in your blood you just can't shake off the four legged expensive time wasting and money wasting beasties. I love it!!!! :)
 
I don't miss any of the things that I now can't do due to having a horse but my stress levels are higher as I try and do the work life balance.

I can't always commit to staying late at work at short notice and this may end up being my downfall as we are being restructured at my work and I may struggle to keep my job as I get more demands at short notice but I guess people with kids might also have the same problem but they can't be discriminated against.

I need a better paid job than I would need if I did not have my pony as the costs of keeping him are more and therefore I feel more stressed about my work situation than I would feel if I did not have a horse.

However at the end of a stressful days work when I go to the yard and give my pony a cuddle and then chat to my yard friends I finally feel happy.



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I have sacrificed just about everything to keep my horses!!!!! I've had to move back in with my parents (they have a farm) as livery and rent became too expensive. I can't keep any form of boyfriend as I don't have time, and also my parents have a slightly victorian attitude in that respect :(. I had to sell my car, so have to borrow my Mums, but only can do this when she isn't using it. I hardly ever see my friends as I live in the country where there is no public transport, and also don't have time, or money to see them. If I do go out I have the inquisition when I get home from the 'rents, ie "where have you been, what have you been doing, who with, you should have been in at x time" You would have thought I was 13 not 23 :eek:! I havn't had my haircut for years :o, nor have I bought any clothes for years. All my food is from the "value" range, whilst my horses are fed Blue Chip!!!!!!!!

on the other hand I have 4 horses which live in the lap of luxury. They each get new shoes every 5 weeks, eat the finest of feeds, have physio at least every 6 months, seem to get new rugs every other week, and have tack for every occasion. They have their own lorry, which they can go out in whenever they want, and compete from Intro to Intermediate at BE. :rolleyes:

Would I give up my horses????? I could not live without my horses. They are the reason I get up in the morning!!!!! More to the point they are the only thing i'm good at :o. People often say to me how lucky I am to be able to event as it is so expensive, then they see how frugally I live and realise how I can afford to event. People generally tell me I am mad. I really think I must be ;), but I wouldn't change it for the world :D:D:D.
 
charlimouse said:
I have sacrificed just about everything to keep my horses!!!!! I've had to move back in with my parents (they have a farm) as livery and rent became too expensive. I can't keep any form of boyfriend as I don't have time, and also my parents have a slightly victorian attitude in that respect :(. I had to sell my car, so have to borrow my Mums, but only can do this when she isn't using it. I hardly ever see my friends as I live in the country where there is no public transport, and also don't have time, or money to see them. If I do go out I have the inquisition when I get home from the 'rents, ie "where have you been, what have you been doing, who with, you should have been in at x time" You would have thought I was 13 not 23 :eek:! I havn't had my haircut for years :o, nor have I bought any clothes for years. All my food is from the "value" range, whilst my horses are fed Blue Chip!!!!!!!!

on the other hand I have 4 horses which live in the lap of luxury. They each get new shoes every 5 weeks, eat the finest of feeds, have physio at least every 6 months, seem to get new rugs every other week, and have tack for every occasion. They have their own lorry, which they can go out in whenever they want, and compete from Intro to Intermediate at BE. :rolleyes:

Would I give up my horses????? I could not live without my horses. They are the reason I get up in the morning!!!!! More to the point they are the only thing i'm good at :o. People often say to me how lucky I am to be able to event as it is so expensive, then they see how frugally I live and realise how I can afford to event. People generally tell me I am mad. I really think I must be ;), but I wouldn't change it for the world :D:D:D.
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You are dead right!! You sound like my sister, she doesn't event, but show jumps, has dressage lessons to bring her dressage up to scratch, so that she can event, etc, she also lives at home, had to move back, and she's 28. And the whole boyfriend thing is the same, if they dont like horses, then they are gone, and if they do, they are into their own horses, so never see each other. I wouldn't mind being one of your horses though, they have it good!!!!
What i wouldn't do to have someone feed me, clean up after me and generally love me, instead of having to do that for the kiddies and the horses, with very little thanks. (OK, I get some thanks from the horses!!!, and it makes it all worthwhile). When will the kiddies figure it out????
 
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