Why do some people have horses?

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Stella I see your point...however could hacking not be done by someone else?

Please dont bite my head off! But maybe if she does not like being in the school as you say in line 4 having someone help you to hack out

[/ QUOTE ] Hi ChocolateLog, I think you misread me! I said that she doesn't really like hacking. but she is happy working in the school. I used to have her hacked out during previous periods of my time out from it, as I thought she needed to see the world a bit when she was younger. She has done plenty of hacking, both with me and with other trusted riders that have taken her out for me. However, she will be 10 in 2008 and I'll be pushing 50 and since we are happy doing what we do, I'm not going to push either of us to do the other stuff!

I was just hacked-off (pun intended) by the comment of the other poster deriding owners who only do flatwork (and don't jump or hack) in a school like its a bloody crime!
 
You are clearly very very lucky to have found such fantastic care for your horse. But I don't suspect all stories (where owners are very infrequently around on a yard) are the same.

For me, I know what I believe I should do for my horse. That is my judgement and my choice. Everyone is different. I am purely expressing my own view, as you have done yours. This is a forum for debating issues after all.

If I could hardly ever see my horse I would sell him. That again, is my choice and what I would see as the best solution for him. It also depends on the kind of horse you have, I guess, and my horse has been fairly difficult over the yrs. The livery YO likes to chat to me about how to overcome any issues/management queries, and I like to be on hand to work in partnership with the full livery staff.
 
Why do I have a duty to go and see it. That is what I pay the yard to do. The lady who ran the yard used to compete my horses for me when I was away. So it is like saying an owner of a racehorse has to go and see to that horse each week!
 
I think much depends on the yard and how much you known and trust the owners/managers. My father's horse is now retired and kept on full livery, but he rarely goes up to visit. The horse has been kept at that yard now for 15 years and I think by now he trusts the YO enough that he doesn't have to keep going up to check the horse is OK!
 
Well each of us does things in different ways. And I have expressed my opinion, you have expressed yours. People don't always agree - that's life. I believe that as an owner I should have regular contact with my horse. Some people do not. It's a matter of opinion.
 
I dont muck out stables but I have to poo pick my field, me and my boys dont bond through doing this, I usually end up screaming at them for knocking a full wheel barrow of sh1t over!!! its the brushing and cuddling and riding that makes a bond. I would love to spoil mine and have them in FT livery!! but i'd go and see them most days. I love having 'our time' cuddling and kissing!!!!!

Not in a pervy way BTW!!!!!
 
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You are clearly very very lucky to have found such fantastic care for your horse. But I don't suspect all stories (where owners are very infrequently around on a yard) are the same.

For me, I know what I believe I should do for my horse. That is my judgement and my choice. Everyone is different. I am purely expressing my own view, as you have done yours. This is a forum for debating issues after all.

If I could hardly ever see my horse I would sell him. That again, is my choice and what I would see as the best solution for him. It also depends on the kind of horse you have, I guess, and my horse has been fairly difficult over the yrs. The livery YO likes to chat to me about how to overcome any issues/management queries, and I like to be on hand to work in partnership with the full livery staff.

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No I am not 'very, very lucky' - Luck had nothing to do with it. I was very, very careful and very, very diligent in searching out the best possible yard for my precious horse. It took months. I was very, very fussy. And very, very picky. I am also in constant touch with the yard by phone, even when I can't visit, and I am very, very clear about what I want for my horse.

You are not just expressing your views about what's good for you and your horse - you quite explicitly said that owners have a responsibility to visit frequently. Never mind the fact that for some of us this simply isn't possible. When I am well enough, I visit as often as I can. When I am too ill, I trust my horse's carefully chosen, experienced and expert carers to look after him for me. I spend hours on the phone with the stud manager, discussing all his little quirks and foibles.

I would not wish this ghastly painful illness on anyone, but I strongly suspect that if you fell ill with something similarly debilitating, you would not in fact sell your horse. You would resign yourself to seeing him less often, find trustworthy people to care for him, and thoroughly enjoy and treasure the precious time you did get to spend with him. You might find that this was one of the main things that brightened your life and kept you going.

You might also feel rather upset if smug, self-satisfied healthy people implied that you were not a responsible, caring owner.

You are the one who is very, very lucky. You are very, very lucky to be healthy and able to see your horse as often as you wish. But try to remember that this is a matter of luck, and does not make you a more virtuous person or a more caring horse-owner.
 
I never meant to cause you upset by my words. Genuinely sorry if I have.

However, first of all I am not very, very lucky and I am certainly not healthy. So I would rather you did not make that assumption. I actually have a serious condition that will be lifelong and limits what I can do in all number of ways. Like yourself, I gain enormous pleasure from my horse and it has been a big struggle for me to get to the point where I can afford a horse.

You may suspect that I would rather have my horse and visit him a few times a yr than not have him at all. You would be wrong. I would not want that arrangement - for the reasons I have stated in this thread.

If you knew me you would know that I am in no way smug or self-satisfied, and as I have said I am far from healthy.

I know you feel passionately about this but I don't really like being labelled as such, given that you know so little about me.
 
So shall we have a competition about who loves their horse more, who is more ill, who is the more caring owner, who has the most high-powered job and who has more money?

The above is tongue in cheek for anyone not familiar with me.
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I think there are a lot of assumptions made on this thread, by lots of people; probably me included if I am 100% truthful.....but it doesn't really matter in the grand scale of things. Situations for each of us are very unique and we all manage our horses in different ways.....and that's okay.
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i am on DIY, I did recently get a sharer who does two days a week due to my evening study but i am the main caregiver for my horse because i can do it, its tiring but i am able, if i could afford part livery i would.

I agree with many others when they have said that as long as the horse is happy and well cared for it does not matter one bit, horses have simpler needs in life than us and i really dont think they care as much as us owners do about them, as long as they have all they need they are generally happy i dont see a problem.

Its those owners who neglect that are the problem, such as those mentioned here in this thread, like the clueless girl dressed like a hooker whose horse had ringworm and she did not care, and the other horse who had been neglected and its feet left and poo/wee etc stuck on its legs and causing soreness, now that is wrong and very sad and people like that should NOT have horses
 
I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to make assumptions about you or your life. I only meant that you were clearly well/healthy enough to visit your horse regularly - and I have to admit I envy you this.
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And I do get to see my horse much more than just a few times a year, so I should be thankful for that - and indeed for having a horse at all, especially such a fabulous one! In that sense, I am indeed very, very lucky!
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But Tia is absolutely right - this isn't a competition.
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I'm sure you are not really smug or self-satisfied, but it just comes across that way when you say that owners have a 'responsibility' to visit their horse regularly. Please understand that for some of us this just isn't possible, and this doesn't make us any less 'responsible'.
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Thank you Tia, exactly the right words! And Htobago - I agreee, we should have live and let live! I wish you well with your horse.
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I am so disappointed.
We don't want apologising - we want punch ups!
S
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[/ QUOTE ] People are being annoyingly nice tonight! I thought there was going to be a lovely punch-up in the 'Fainting' thread in the Vet section, but that seems to have fizzled out as well.
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Sorry TGM and Shilasdair - but I never normally lose my temper even to that extent. I am rather shocked at myself, to be honest!

Actually, this has raised an interesting question. At what point would it become 'not worthwhile' for you to have a horse? If you could only visit/spend time with your horse, say, once a week? Once a fortnight? Once a month?

(Let's assume for the sake of argument that your horse is being beautifully cared for at livery, far better than you could ever do yourself, by people you trust completely, and he/she is having a lovely, fun, fulfilling, happy life.)
 
I can't actually imagine my horses at livery to be honest. They've lived at home for over 20 years now and it was too long ago for me to be objective.

For me, if I didn't see my horses every few days (preferably every day) and at a very minimum of once a week, I wouldn't have them I'm afraid. I like being with my horses and some of them I even love
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, and I would miss those ones dreadfully if I didn't see them every single day.
 
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Htobago - how much a month do you pay for your full livery? It is relevant and not just being nosy, by the way.

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Sorry Tia - I somehow missed this question - only just spotted it!

I pay £150 per week for full livery - and at this stud/training yard it really does mean full livery: including any special feeds the horse needs; full grooming every day (finishing with hot cloths, strapping if needed, etc.); exercise/schooling/groundwork (in my boy's case backing and starting under saddle); year-round turn-out in beautiful post and rail paddocks; preparation for shows if needed; tack cleaned daily...and so on. 5-star care and total peace of mind - I think it's a bargain!
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Oh that is a bargain! It was just when people were talking about full livery stables and commenting on how much or little they do, it occurred to me that it might be a difference between a cheap place or an expensive place....was definitely heading down the wrong road in your (and my) case though.
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