Wednesday 29 March 2017

Life Lessons From Owning A Horse


When I tell people I own a horse, there is generally a mixed reaction. Some think I'm just a rich, stuck up b****h (I'm really, honestly not at all!) or they want to know when they can come and see her - two complete opposite reactions. What a lot of people don't realise are the life lessons you gain from owning and being around horses - things which stay with you forever and you can put into other areas of your life.

Life-lessons-from-owning-a-horse

Responsibility

This is by far the biggest lesson having a horse has taught me and while I've always been quite responsible anyway, it's really stepped it up! Bonnie (that's my horse's name if you didn't know!) or any horse for that matter, relies on me for everything from food to making sure her stable is clean - you can't just suddenly deicide you want to stay over somewhere or do spontaneous trips because they don't care where you are/what you're doing, they know when their food should be there. I guess it's similar to having a child that just doesn't live in the house it probably the best way to describe it.


Time Management

Linking with responsibility, horses like to stick to a routine so expect you to bring them in/out, feed, ride etc at the same time every day, so you have to know how to manage your time effectively. This definitely applies to competition days when you have to be at the showground at a certain time to get both yourself and your horse ready to go into the ring and also make sure you have enough time to do all the preparation beforehand.


Tidiness

This is ultimately a safety thing. Things have to be kept neat otherwise accidents can happen, or cheeky horses pick things up that they should - ever had a bucket thrown at you?! It kind of painful if you don't duck in time and certainly teaches you to pick things up after yourself. This translates into my room and anything I own/any space I'm in as I generally keep things pretty tidy and put things away - I honestly can't stand a mess anywhere!

Life-lessons-from-owning-a-horse

Patience

Let's face facts, you can't make a horse do anything it doesn't want to do, but you can ask - sometimes many times - but it gets you a lot further than telling! Sometimes you can be stood for a good hour (normally in the rain) being patient waiting for your horse to decide it wants to walk into its own stable - yep, I've been there many times! This has definitely taught me to be patient, not only with animals, but with other people and also myself. This is something that can be used throughout life, no matter what I do or where I go, it is without a doubt a huge life lesson.


Money Management

We all know horses are expensive to buy and keep, so you have to be pretty savvy with money. So much so, I actually have a separate account for my horse in case of emergencies or when we need something more expensive, as things can happen from needing a vet to buying a new rug when ones gets ripped - especially the case with Bonnie who has a skin condition which means she needs specialist creams and rugs. While I could go out right now and buy designer bags or high end makeup, I'd much rather spend/save the money for my horse!



Have you ever owned or rode a horse - or owned any other animal for that matter and what have they taught you? Also, let me know if you liked this post and if you would be interested in more about my horse or even my dog?
Love Laura x




5 comments:

  1. Great post - I think patience, time management and responsibility are the top 3 for me! Nice to find a new fellow equestrian blogger to follow :)

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  2. Loved this post! I used to ride horses YEARS ago and did my high school work experience in a stable. It really brought home the responsibility and hard work of owning a horse and made me realise how glamorised it is! Definitely put me off owning a horse; it's hard work!

    Rachel || http://wordofrachel.com

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  3. I can totally second all of this and I too get fed up with people making assumptions about you. I can only afford to have a horse because my parents blew all their savings when they were younger on buying a 1 acre bit of field.
    People who don't have horses have little idea what hard work it is. A personal favourite of mine is picking feet out in the winter when your nose and eyes are streaming, its pissing it down and your horse is covered in mud 😂
    Ps. Glad to find another horsey blogger

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    1. My parents did the same thing and I'm lucky that I keep her at a friends house.
      There's so much hard work that's goes with horses! Not to forget all the heavy lifting for f hay bales in the poring rain!

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  4. Wow, that's so cool that you own a horse! I've been on a couple different horses in my life but only amateur style, and I had one really cheeky horse that almost threw me off a cliff (long story) so since then I've been too scared to get back on one again. This is going to sound so lame but I've been watching a lot of Heartland lately and now it's making me want to get back on a horse again...

    Julia // The Sunday Mode

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