what would you do to keep them?

[RunToEarth]

Ok, so we all know this sport is expensive to say the least, we all know it is demanding, and most of us knew this from the start. I can pretty safely say that most of us have cancelled a friday night out to plait for competition, ditched cinema for showjumping and showed up to friends smelling of "eu de cheval" but seriously, what lengths would you go to to keep your horses?

 

[Haflinger]

I'm not sure - I tend to keep my 'horse life' away from my social life. They sometimes don't tend to go together.
They both stand on equal ground though

And yes I sometimes leave a trip out for horses and regularly appear infront of friends smelling of horse.

Horses really do mean a LOT to me...I suppose it would depend on the circumstance. I would never be able to give up horses though not matter what. They are too much a part of me.

 

[Christmas_Kate]

well, I failed my exams to keep a pony.
My OH hates horses, and if he made me choose between horses or him, horses would win.

 

[Clodagh]

I do nothing all winter except hunt and get ready to hunt and clean up after hunting.

I have to be a really good Mum from March - September to make up for it!

I pay for my horses myself, OH doesn't 'do' horses, so I clean B&Bs and groom for the local master in the winter to pay for them. It all has to be juggled around school run and I am always knackered, but what would I do without them?
I sold my car to buy my first hunter!!

 

[Oaksflight]

I'm secretly half hoping I don't get the grades for uni on Thursday so I can keep him another year, so I can do all the things I'd hoped to do this year, but never happened through misfortune of him injuring himself, and so on...

 

[Super_Kat]

Anything......

 

[pottamus]

My horse has a home for life with us and I would never sell him or give him up. If the worst happened I would have to give up all niceties, competing and luxury items in order to still keep my horse. I would sell my car and trailer to pay for his continual upkeep rather than loose him.
I am lucky because I rent a field and have already bought and paid for a mobile stable so outlay is minimal...I would only have to find money for jabs, wormers, hay in winter and field rent...I could do that with an extra job or two.

 

[riotgirl]

I stayed at home weh I went to uni so I could keep my horse. With 2 horses now, I still live at home (I'm 28

) and feel jealous of my friends and their new houses! Need to find a rich man to buy me a house and keep me and my girls in the style we've become accustomed to.

 

[riotgirl]

I stayed at home weh I went to uni so I could keep my horse. With 2 horses now, I still live at home (I'm 28

) and feel jealous of my friends and their new houses! Need to find a rich man to buy me a house and keep me and my girls in the style we've become accustomed to.

 

[Skhosu]

anything. Having bought back an old pony and lost two now to death, I will be hanging onto mine for as long as possible, and would give up all but necessities to keep them happy

 

[Nic]

I have no social life
no long lies,
No new clothes,
rare holidays,
no meals out,
no days off,
no chance of ever leaving home

,
no college/uni
no money
no new car
rare Friday nights in front of the telly
Never feeling like Iv'e had enough sleep.

And best of all no chance of ever beng bored

 

[miss_bird]

When i moved to ireland, i just about had enough money so i left all my belongings behind (3 years later still getting family to bring bits when they visit) and spent all the money on getting my horse transported over, and paying out for her new livery yard. She is still worth every penny of it and loads more. What price can you put on years of happy memories

 

[Claireg9]

Absolutely everything!
My OH also hates horses and again if made to choose id choose horses everytime.
I also play hockey to a fair standard and i would give that up if i had to to keep my girl! It is a massive passion of mine that i have been doing since i was 9 so that is pretty major!
I have no chance of moving out for a while and im almost 25 y/o

I am skint, but hopefully that will change when i have paid off my trailer in 6 months time, i have no A levels, i never went to uni, i hardly ever went on holiday and have only been abroad twice in the last 15 years, i can still afford Center Parcs once a year but would give that up for them, if the worst came to the worst id have to bring my girls back home and have more limited riding and less turnout, but at least it would be free.
That is whilst my parents choose to live in the same house.. lets hope they dont decide to downsize or i'll be living in my trailer down the yard!! Good job i brought one with a living!!
No shower could be interesting though!! lol,
But truely i wouldnt change a thing x

 

[rach1984horse]

Anything.

I've given up working with horses to have my own. As other peoples are nice, but it gets boring working hard for something, then somone else coming in and just taking it off you.

I'm 21 and can't even contemplate moving out of home at the mo because I have the ponies. Running a car and lorry are expensive, but if I had to give one up I'd be driving to work in a 30mph battered old lorry.

I've given up nights out and being drunk every weekend to pay for my horses. A lot of friends have written me off as boring. I don't mind. I feel more proud taking Fiadh to a show than I do waking up feeling sick with a thumping head ache every weekend.

OH is not particularly horsey but understands the passion involved. He knows that it's kind of a package deal, and that some times I can't spend money on something or go out because I need to be here to check the horses.

There's not anything I can think of I wouldn't do to keep my two and keep them safe.

 

[AmyMay]

Quite simply - anything, even if it meant selling my house.

No contest!!

 

[Munchie]

Pretty much anything. My horse has a home for life and I love him to bits!! Infact if I thought OH wouldn't notice I'd keep him in the garden!! ("No dear, I have no idea how he got here. He must have just followed us home *ahem*....well as he's here now we might as well just let him stay.....")

Thankfully though I have a fantastic OH who is very supportive and I know he'd be behind me 100% and help me out if I risked losing him for whatever reason. (Also helps that he's quite fond of the lil orange monster) I also know he'd keep him if anything happened to me. (Not that that should be an issue given that I plan to be the first person to live to 200)

 

[RunToEarth]

Ah they were all really good answers. Just stemed from a conversation I have had with Dad. Now dad's arnt meant to be sentimental, not ever, and in my life on the hunting field *most* of the guys go for a bloody good jump and a social outing and not much else. Today I brought bertha in from field to tidy up. Now this was my dads hunter "back in the day" and for the first time...well ever, I saw a side to him I have never seen before. He gave her a hug and she nuzzled his arm and he said " I would give my farm for this lady to be 7 again, I cant imagine life without her " *cue rosiie welling up* shot me a look and said "I could never bear to part with her now" come to think of it, neither can i

 

[Parkranger]

I'm afraid that after only 4 weeks my boy runs my life! I've got alot of committments normally (gigging, running a house like most of us and working full time) but my boy always comes first!

x

 

[AmyMay]

Ahh Rosie, aren't dads wonderful.....................

 

[RunToEarth]

Yes they are

 

[TGM]

Ah - that's lovely about your dad, Rosie!

I gave up an awful lot to keep my old mare. We sold our house purely to move somewhere with land to keep her - it involved moving a long way from my family when I had a very young baby and the house itself was dire and needed a lot of work done on it. Plus we had absolutely no money and lived on economy baked beans for ages and I was unable to buy new clothes for a long time. Was definitely worth it though

 

[Vey]

Pretty much anything - anything that did not involve the kids - but as they are now grown up ....

Certainly baked beans, cold house ...

 

[katelarge]

I would never have sacrificed things like passing exams, moving away from home to Uni, living in other places, etc, for horses. There are still some things I'd never give up for horses now - husband always has and always will come first, and I would never ever risk the roof over our heads, my/our health or my/our happiness. If horses were ever making myself or him miserable and ill, I'd get out.

Having said that, our horse has a home for life and we have already gone to pretty good lengths to give him a great life. Our house is not decorated, I have no new clothes, haircuts and highlights are a thing of the past, I work and and husband works too at a tough job and gets as much overtime as he can. Put it this way, if we didn't have the horse we'd have a beautiful house and garden, I'd look great and we could afford more than a week in Dorset for our hols.

 

[PapaFrita]

Pretty much anything as long as it's not illegal or immoral

Mostly though, I work really hard, and haggle and barter like mad!
No bloke would stand a chance if i had to make a choice between him and horses

 

[fizz-tally]

my friend just rented a 1 bed flat for her & her oh/2 kids,has warrents out because she hasnt paid bills & struggles to buy food as she has no money.
she has 4 horses!!!!!

 

[Caritas]

Re mortgage my house, please bear in mind that the only loan i have ever had is my mortgage, hence the fact i am normally very practical with money. My horse is my life and my best friend.

 

[Fransurrey]

A few years ago I moved to Surrey and severely underestimated the living costs!!! I was eating the crappiest diet to keep the horses!! I hardly ever bought new clothes and took on extra jobs (silver service). After a while of that I was starting to get really cheesed off, so simply got a higher paid job, nearer to home and started house-sharing!! Much better! I think if it got beyond that, I'd loan out. The stress, looking back, was simply not worth it!

 

[Malibu]

horses all the way, couldnt live without them and i have my mothers credit cards and cheques to thanks for that! seriously though i love them and woudl do anything and do anything for them!