Why do we have horses? The good (or least crazy) reasons!

[Caol Ila]

With all the chat in the Club House about the very good reaons people want to or have gotten out of horses, I thought I'd kick off a wee thread for those of us who still have an addiction problem and are okay with that. Or would at least like to justify it.

I'd be climbing more mountains and travelling more, but those aren't things that get me out of the house every day. Running or cycling don't do it for me. I've looked after friends' dogs, and walking a dog doesn't do it, either. There's something different about going to the barn and taking care of/riding the horses. I can't tell you why it feels different and more worthwhile than walking a dog...it just does. Maybe if you are a dog person, you get that magic from your dog, but I don't.

I love seeing their little furry faces, bright eyes, and pricked ears. I love the intimacy (I know it sounds wrong!) of the ridden relationship, the complexity, heart, and the intricacy of the communication and connection. It doesn't always go well -- there will be glitches somewhere, sometime -- but when you're trying to sort out problems, you can eventually find even greater depths to it. And when you feel like you've got through something and found a whole new level of subtle undertstanding and connection and empathy, you are on the top of the world, a stronger high than heroin or any drug. I just can't think of anything else as exhilarating, other than climbing hard grades or skiing off cliffs, but I've never had the balls for that. If my youngster actually gives me a shoulder-in (I got one today), I'm properly buzzing, and it's (usually) a lot less scary than climbing. I was always chickensh1t about hucking cliffs and cornices, even though I learned to ski at 4.

The lows are crushing. They have minds of their own, they are delicate, they can destroy your soul and bank account, usually at the same time. They make no financial sense. You have to enjoy setting money on fire. But for me, the relationship I can have with this 1000lbs otherwordly creature is such a massive high -- something I can't find anywhere else -- that I do it anyway. It's like being on Pern and riding a telepathic dragon.

 

[anguscat]

I think it’s simple for me. They’re beautiful.

 

[HopOnTrot]

Because every time I stand to watch two ponies in the field, I think that 12 year old me would be proud. I don’t want flashy horses, just two aged native ponies

 

[Dave's Mam]

I's probably be sitting about, unfit, fat, drinking & eating too much, not challenging myself.
I'd also probably go on more holidays & have more time with my husband.
BUT
Dave is life. He's my ray of sunshine. He's the thing I am most proud of, that I have given so much time to. He makes my heart sing. He's a dramatic dweeb, but so lovable. I'm proud of our journey & there's more to happen, ups & downs.
Also, I love my yard friends, we're a community & I love it.

 

[planete]

With all the chat in the Club House about the very good reaons people want to or have gotten out of horses, I thought I'd kick off a wee thread for those of us who still have an addiction problem and are okay with that. Or would at least like to justify it.

I'd be climbing more mountains and travelling more, but those aren't things that get me out of the house every day. Running or cycling don't do it for me. I've looked after friends' dogs, and walking a dog doesn't do it, either. There's something different about going to the barn and taking care of/riding the horses. I can't tell you why it feels different and more worthwhile than walking a dog...it just does. Maybe if you are a dog person, you get that magic from your dog, but I don't.

I love seeing their little furry faces, bright eyes, and pricked ears. I love the intimacy (I know it sounds wrong!) of the ridden relationship, the complexity, heart, and the intricacy of the communication and connection. It doesn't always go well -- there will be glitches somewhere, sometime -- but when you're trying to sort out problems, you can eventually find even greater depths to it. And when you feel like you've got through something and found a whole new level of subtle undertstanding and connection and empathy, you are on the top of the world, a stronger high than heroin or any drug. I just can't think of anything else as exhilarating, other than climbing hard grades or skiing off cliffs, but I've never had the balls for that. If my youngster actually gives me a shoulder-in (I got one today), I'm properly buzzing, and it's (usually) a lot less scary than climbing. I was always chickensh1t about hucking cliffs and cornices, even though I learned to ski at 4.

The lows are crushing. They have minds of their own, they are delicate, they can destroy your soul and bank account, usually at the same time. They make no financial sense. You have to enjoy setting money on fire. But for me, the relationship I can have with this 1000lbs otherwordly creature is such a massive high -- something I can't find anywhere else -- that I do it anyway. It's like being on Pern and riding a telepathic dragon.

I can see why you are a writer. You have put it into words far better than I could. I still get the same thrill that I got as a teenager when my pony canters over on seeing me and am buzzing for hours after a successful bit of training.

 

[Michen]

You put it all in to words very well. I am still my 10 year old self at heart, wasting weekends at the barn, happiest when filthy and tired and smelling of horses.

It's an addiction and whilst it isn't entirely who I am as I enjoy (or enjoyed) other things, it's a big part. My entire motivation for climbing up the career ladder was so I could afford to live my horsey dream, I was lucky to have ponies when I was younger but I worked at weekends to help fund, and never had a trailer or whatnot.

It's devastated me more than anything else, and bought more joy than anything else too.

 

[Peglo]

My OH told me I could be a ‘kept wife’ if I didn’t have horses. My reply was “could you imagine how insufferable I’d be though?” and it’s true.

I wanted to be a farmer when I was young but decided I was too soft to send the cattle away and so I went onto horses who I could keep for ever.

I really enjoy riding and my heart is set on fire having a canter or gallop on the beach but it’s definitely the ownership that I enjoy most. The getting up every morning to see them, muck them out and dragging yourself out in the rain and wind to see them again in the evening.
Horses make me much less selfish, more self aware, I think about how I’m feeling and how I behave and react when I’m with them. They make me try to always be better. These sort of lessons are then dripped into other aspects of life and I find myself thinking before acting or speaking now and much more accepting of other ideas or different opinions. I stop and think a lot more

I love the commitment to horses. I don’t get excited at the prospect of travelling. I hate shopping and have no interest in spending money on getting my hair and nails done. I enjoy working hard (although not ambitious job wise) and I need to spend my money on something and horses just makes more sense than anything else I can think of. They are so pure and beautiful

Of course there’s stress and heartbreak and a bit more stress but there’s even more smiles and love and that warm fuzzy feeling inside your chest when your with them.

I love my little very unexciting life. I play with ponies and cats. I exercise to stay slim and fit for riding. I occasionally enjoy a prosseco or 2 and might treat myself to chocolate. I say daily that I have way too many chickens. And mostly seeing those beautiful big faces just makes me smile, everyday.

And now I really need to go get outside and see to them.

 

[SEL]

I am so happy you started this thread because I was feeling sad reading the other one.

My primary school friend was in the area on Tuesday. We were the two pony mad 7/8 year olds and I can't believe we've managed to stay in touch for so many decades. Obviously she wanted to catch up with me but really she wanted to see the horses - I've gained two and sadly lost one since she last met them. Neither of us has grown out of the pony obsession yet and we were saying it's just an addiction. Not even the riding, just being around them.

I've had breaks where work / life has meant horses had to come down the list but it's never felt right. When I was doing my accounting exams it was all consuming (they're done alongside a full time job) and as soon as the last exam was out of the way I phoned a local riding school and booked myself in. Just walking onto the yard and smelling horses, seeing horses, being able to run my hands down their necks felt like a missing piece of me was slotting back into place. I decided that they were needed for my mental health and did the rest of my studying alongside at least a weekly lesson. I haven't really had much of a break since. But finance paid for me to buy my yard so that year off was worth it down the line!!

Sure they bring heartbreak. But I bring horses into my life because I like them as individuals so if they can't be ridden they're still nice to be around. It devastated me all the issues that just kept coming with my unfixable Appt but she's given me lessons I didn't know I needed to learn and I would never have qualified as a therapist without her. She can live her luxurious field pet life for as long as she's happy.

Every morning no matter the weather they make me smile when I see them and I can't think of anything else that gives me the same feeling.

 

[scats]

Those hacks on a sunny winter morning, with just me and my horse out in the fields. Its those moments that i wonder how normal people live without that in their life.

And daft things like driving home from a farm ride- just me and Millie in the wagon- after a great day out. Thats often when i think that my life is pretty amazing.

 

[Cloball]

Being new to the ownership your second paragraph is definitely me walking, climbing, yoga just doesn't get me out of the house the same way it doesn't motivate me.

 

[Ahrena]

They give my life colour.

 

[Goldenstar]

With me it’s so visceral so part of me it’s hard to break down why I love it so much .

 

[DabDab]

Because of that feeling when you gallop or jump - that flying sensation as this amazing animal allows you to travel as they travel, to experience their athleticism and freedom.

Because of that feeling when you train them - that meeting of minds, as this beautiful, sensitive, large animal agrees to work with you and play your silly human games.

Because of their beautiful faces in the barn in the morning - always keen to see you, a constant. No day ever starts with an empty space ahead of you, there is always something that can be done with horses in the day, from handwalking to grooming to grand prix showjump training, always a wholesome way to fill some time and escape the expectations of the world.

Because of the routine - having horses reliant on you limits the level of dysfunction that you can sink to, and that is reassuring somehow.

Because of the lifestyle - I may moan about the mud and every February want to sell everything and run away to a city, but the truth is I love the life. I was a suburban kid who yearned for the fields, for the trees, for the country. And not for the sort of countryside that exists in Country Life magazine either, but the ramshakled, rough and ready, homebuilt, highly utilitarian version of countryside life, and the place that I found that as a kid was on horse yards. I remember still so clearly that feeling of finding a place where my restless soul suddenly found peace. It was magic when I was 8 years old, and it is magic still. The horsey lifestyle is my peace and my sanctury from a world that I do not belong in.

 

[canteron]

Because I would know what to dream
about if I didn’t have horses !
As an aside, I do find it slightly rude to be on a horse forum and always post about how much you enjoy not having horses?
Great happy post, thanks Carol Ila .

 

[tda]

All of the above it's a love affair pure and simple

 

[Trouper]

I think you have said it all @Caol Ila. It's just soul to soul.

 

[Emilieu]

Horses make me a much, much better person - kinder, gentler, more patient and thoughtful. Being with them calms my soul and clears my head. I love taking care of things and it’s such a privilege to take care of something so huge and powerful but so careful and kind. A quiet hack on a beautiful day is my version of meditation and a gallop in a field makes me feel the pure joy of childhood all over again. I don’t ever want to be without them.

 

[southerncomfort]

Inside I'm still the silly, soppy little girl that would shout 'HORSES!!!' if we passed a field of them on a car journey. Still do it now to be fair!

It's not just how beautiful they are to look at, it's the smell of them, it's their intelligent, soulful eyes. It's sitting in the field on an upturned bucket watching them graze. It's giggling as they hoon about when turned out on to fresh snow or new grazing.

In a world where everyone expects something of you, they expect nothing (except food!). They are never disappointed by you or wish you were different to how you are.

However awful the rest of the world is, they will always be there in the field happily grazing when I come home. They are calm and quiet and make me want to be calm and quiet, even if I felt like screaming just moments before.

I genuinely don't like to think what would happen to me if I had to give them up.

 

[humblepie]

What a lovely thread and echo all the above. I love the line they bring colour to my life. How very true.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Because I’m not fully myself if I don’t have a horse to pour myself into. I spent 6mo without one when I was 20 and my parents said it was like watching me go around with a missing limb.

I was still riding other horses, and intermittently helping at a yard. And studying a degree which was all about animals (including horses). But when I didn’t have one of my own to love and work with, I was completely lost. I have other hobbies I enjoy, but none of them bring me quite the same peace and happiness.

 

[nagblagger]

Because nothing else would put up with my moaning and singing without telling me to shut up.
Be pleased to see me, no matter what I look like or mood I'm in.
(As you can tell I'm not a sociable person)
Edited to add - makes me get out of bed into the fresh air daily.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Because in a world that won't stop turning, with things that won't stop changing and events surrounding me that I cannot control, he is my peace.

He is always the same, he expects nothing from me other than to care for him and he tries to hard to work with me which I love. He brings me endless joy and the smallest achievement has me grinning from ear to ear every time. Plus I like the purpose it gives me when sometimes I would otherwise probably rot in bed on a bad day.

I have referred to Dex here, but it applies to all the horses I have had - even the ones I pity bought broken and spent years trying to fix.

 

[Tarragon]

For me, nothing beats that feeling you get when you connect with your horse, whether it is a magic ridden moment or a quiet moment in the stable or the field. And it keeps me grounded and fit and happy. I can feel ridiculously happy just standing in the field, watching my ponies, or riding down a quiet lane in the early morning, or the sense of achievement when I sat on my pony for the first time when backing, or asking for a leg yield with the slightest of aids and it just happens, as though he can read my mind. Or that funny expression you get when you scratch that spot, or the soft look in their eye when all is well with the world.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I think everyone above has articulated my thoughts very well.

There is nothing better than leaning on the gate, maybe cuppa in hand, after a pleasant hack or maybe after a busy day in the office, just watching the fuzzies browsing in a field. Birds singing, not too hot, not too cold, maybe sun out, bliss.

 

[Upthecreek]

It’s good for my soul and makes me feel alive. The relationship between us is different to my relationships with other animals and people in my life. Sometimes I sit in the stable and close my eyes and listen to him eating his hay and it’s like there is nothing else in the world for those moments. When we’re out on a hack or doing a dressage test or cantering up to a jump we’re a team, just me and him, and he’s doing it because I’m asking him to. I’ve made so many friends through horses and I can’t ever imagine them not being a big part of my life. Yes there are tough times and you can be sure there will be heartache, but the good stuff still outweighs that for me.

 

[m.l.c coloured]

I don't think I could imagine never having horses I don't know what else I would do,I don't have any other interests. There's just something about them that instantly make me feel happy.
Like up thecreek said I can listen to mine eating chewing and slopping like a bunch of pigs in a trough and it's peaceful but give me a person that eats like that and I'd punch them in the face

 

[paddy555]

I am so happy you started this thread because I was feeling sad reading the other one.

me too

With me it’s so visceral so part of me it’s hard to break down why I love it so much .

I too have no idea I just know it would be almost impossible to give it up.

I couldn't give up anyway as OH expects his horse to be presented, saddled and bridled, for his morning ride.

- even the ones I pity bought broken and spent years trying to fix.

and this as well. I have taken on many who were broken and would never be fixable to be able to ride but I got a lot of pleasure in seeing them live their lives peacefully and happily. I got a lot of satisfaction when they were finally PTS at home knowing they had had as good a life as I could give them, often for another 20 years. Some of them joined the 'early retirement scheme' at only 4 or 5 yo.

 

[saalsk]

Don't get me wrong, I love the people in my life.

But...when I go outside, and (yes I am very lucky, my horses live at home with me) spot the horses in the field - that moment, before they see me, and I give the Special Whistle to let them know I am around and about to sort breakfast/lunch/dinner/random carrot time/hairdo etc etc, and he snaps his head up from grazing, ears pricked, snickering and shouting, trying to spot where I might be hiding, cantering over to the gate, tail in the *aaaggghhh I AM an ARAB !!!* position, mane being flicked like some sort of 1980's Timotei advert, and he stands there dancing with his front feet in anticipation. Those who know will know the Nala Stomps, and the Queen Uniek dance for her newly adopted Rising Star - you'll get what I mean. Nothing like it. I am so very lucky.

 

[GypsGal1718]

They keep your head up high when everything is pulling it down

 

[TheHairyOne]

The yard feels like a sancutary in this crazy world we live in, where the smells, sounds, atmosphere etc is just soothing to the soul.

For the times I cant leave my troubles at the gate the horses offer comfort and stabilty.

For all the heartache they can bring, they also give back so much joy and contentment and peace.

They give me the drive to do better, be better, be more 'in the moment' and I honestly dont know what sort of person I would be if I hadnt been able to have them.

My favorite times are often autumn evenings with the sun setting behind my little herds field just being.