When did you...?

I cant remember a time when I didn't ride. I have an early photo of me in my weekly riding gear which consisted of a pair of red wellies, cream jods, green and dark blue striped top and I was about 3. Dad reminded me of one of my early lessons. I rode a skewbald pony called yogi weekly and he was a monkey. Dad came to watch once and I was showing off making yogi trot a bit faster than usual!! He promptly stopped dead right in front of the gallery where my dad was watching, apparently I did a somersault and landed on my feet next to yogi!!
 
As far as I can remember - am from a total non horsey family, app when I was a toddler and grisly my mum used to push me up the road to see a donkey, I used to cheer up then - as I got older was banned from watching orginal black beauty series on TV as I used to cry my eyes out at theme tune - used to ride a school friends little pony 'silver' if I went for tea at her house but was never allowed riding lessons (horrible father) but when I was 19 and had my own money I started once a week lessons and at the age of 21 bought my first horse, My niece since being a toddler also loves horses too much to my sister disgust and dismay :) so the love of horses must be in the genes somewhere :)
 
My early memory of horses was the rag and bone man with his horse and cart. That's probably why I still have a soft spot for cobs and coloured horses. I used to go and take the horse a carrot, I must have been 5 or 6.
 
This is so interesting! So many similar stories, and it's made me wonder if it's a cultural thing? Do horsey folk from other countries/cultures (& ethic backgrounds?) have a similar tale to tell? Obviously there are plenty of people who grow up in a horsey family, surrounded by the real thing and have a pony of their own as a young child or even as a toddler, but it's striking that the majority of posts here are people from non-horsey families who cannot recall not loving equines! What research has been done? Genes or virus???!
 
7yrs old, read black beauty. No contact with horses at all before that point - just fell madly in love. riding lessons, posters on my wall etc. same thing happened with oxen a bit later on and they overtook horses <3
 
suffolkmare said:
This is so interesting! So many similar stories, and it's made me wonder if it's a cultural thing? Do horsey folk from other countries/cultures (& ethic backgrounds?) have a similar tale to tell? Obviously there are plenty of people who grow up in a horsey family, surrounded by the real thing and have a pony of their own as a young child or even as a toddler, but it's striking that the majority of posts here are people from non-horsey families who cannot recall not loving equines! What research has been done? Genes or virus???!
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Very true! I think its just a bug that bites!
 
I can't remember ever not being horse- mad. Not sure where it came from as neither parent is horsey and I grew up in London. So I never had a pony and riding was limited to what I could afford with the proceeds of my paper round.

I am compensating for their mistake though and making sure my kids have a thoroughly horsey upbringing ;)
 
I first fell in love when my best friend got her first pony when we were at first school, maybe about 6/7 years old? My family are completely un-horsey but my mum allowed me to have a loan horse from 8 to 12 then I had a riding accident and my mum forbade me to get on another horse ever again. Left horses alone for about 13 years then one day decided to book a lesson for no reason other than I missed the smell of horses (?). Well that was it for me, I slowly rebuilt my confidence and took on a share horse for a year then progressed to buying my own finally a couple of years later. Sadly my daughter doesn't share the same enthusiasm even though she's been around horses since day 1, she much prefers fishing (argh) with Daddy to riding with Mummy. Hopefully she'll grow out of that and join me at the stables when she's a bit older!
 
As lots have said, I can't remember ever not being "horse-mad". Mores the pity for my mum as she's terrified of them (my dad's wasn't very horsey either but I got him into it!) and I insisted I HAD to have riding lessons! Then there was the endless hours of playing horsey games, reading my horse books, watching horse films - until mum caved and got me the lessons. Then I practically moved in down at my riding school and spent every waking hour there when I wasn't at school! Those were the days!
 
godfreyy said:
As lots have said, I can't remember ever not being "horse-mad". Mores the pity for my mum as she's terrified of them (my dad's wasn't very horsey either but I got him into it!) and I insisted I HAD to have riding lessons! Then there was the endless hours of playing horsey games, reading my horse books, watching horse films - until mum caved and got me the lessons. Then I practically moved in down at my riding school and spent every waking hour there when I wasn't at school! Those were the days!
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This sounds just like me! I grew up in the centre of Leeds and it took years of obsession and constant nagging before my parents agreed to put me on the bus to Ilkley once a week for riding lessons aged 12. A year later I managed to nag them into buying me one! It was that or a dog and at least the pony didn't live at home or hold the risk of me leaving it with them when I left home, my parents aren't just un-horsey they are un-animally (if that is a word). My mum was terrified of them after a childhood incident and my dad just baffled at the attraction. Mum did get over her fear eventually and even got on one for a ride once when I was working at a trekking centre.
 
As far as I can remember I had an obsession with horses. We used have a paddock and my dad bought two sows to make some money. We were very poor. I would have been about four or five. Dad could not work out why the sows weren't putting on weight. It was probably because I used to ride them with a piece of string round their necks. Dad caught me one day and I was banned from the paddock. Spent years walking miles just to watch a horse grazing. 31 years later I bought my own horse and 59 years later still as obsessed as ever. I can't stand pigs though!!
 
OMG!!! How spooky that there are so many of us who cannot remember a time of not being obsessed with horses. I did have a break from age 17 to 42 (horse related broken heart) but before then I was 100% horse mad (and doing a reasonable job currently!). I have a picture of me aged 2 sitting on a horse that one of my older sisters was riding in a show, wish i still had that seat!! And I distinctly remember me at age 6 or 7 galloping round the garden (on foot) wearing my sisters' jods, hacking jacket and hat (my feet were bigger so had to wear my school shoes) pretending I was at HOYS. I owned my own horse for the first time at 43. He put me in hospital so it wasn't the fairytale ending I had imagined, but I think that now at 52 i have the horsy love of my life.

Genes wise, interesting! I was told that my paternal great-grandfather was one of General Kitchener's Rough Riders and broke his arm in one of their advances. My 2 sisters (9 and 11 years older than me) were mad horse children and I was told that my Mum had started having riding lessons&#8230; until she discovered she was pregnant with me!. So i do think there is a genetic thing there.
 
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