Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[paleosuchus]

I think I figured out how to show pictures ^^ ❤️

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Sensitive/upsetting image of when she first was saved (before and after)
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She's so cute!!!!!!!

[acronymm]

I think I figured out how to show pictures ^^ ❤️

xx
Sensitive/upsetting image of when she first was saved (before and after)
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She's so cute!!!!!!!

Thank you! ❤️

[Kestrell]

I just had my last ride on "my" boy today (he's only a lease so he isn't really mine). The weather was so perfect so we went on a nice ride down the road and messed around on a long rein in the outdoor. He was so perfect today... and of course I found out I qualified for AECs... oh well! I leave for university in two days so I wouldn't be able to go anyway, but it was a bit of a bummer to find out now!

Has anyone else gone to college without their horse? How did you stay in riding shape while away for so long?

[sunny*days*ahead]

I left both of my horses at home while I was at an out of state college. I rode on two equestrian teams and worked at the barn, so that's how I stayed in shape lol xD
but as for my horses, they both got very, very fat. :[ My mare went bat crap crazy, acting like she'd never been handled before, so that was really fun... but my gelding was the same ole' steady eddy he always is. Unless you have someone hired/someone you trust to do it for free, it's probably gonna be difficult to keep them in shape if you ride them often. But that doesn't necessarily mean they'll go crazy like my mare did! Every horse is different I guess.

[sforzando.]

I did other activities when I wasn't riding, usually I didn't ride during high school because of marching back, and that really keeps you in shape, but that's generally not something you can just join in college haha
otherwise I'd say get that gym workout, or get a yoga ball! I found that, while it's not exactly like a horse, it was ridiculously helpful in getting my core strength back a few years ago!

[Eternal_Blaze]

Random, but I'm excited and don't have many people that I can talk to about it so...I will be getting my first horse soon! I am over the moon excited to FINALLY being able to get a horse of my own. I'm still saving up, but I should be able to start looking around October at the earliest! I will be in the market for a good trail horse that may be able and willing to occasionally mess around on jumps or other sports that can be done casually every now and again, even though I will have to learn how to jump on a horse.

[Mothmanofficial]

Random, but I'm excited and don't have many people that I can talk to about it so...I will be getting my first horse soon! I am over the moon excited to FINALLY being able to get a horse of my own. I'm still saving up, but I should be able to start looking around October at the earliest! I will be in the market for a good trail horse that may be able and willing to occasionally mess around on jumps or other sports that can be done casually every now and again, even though I will have to learn how to jump on a horse.

Wow that is really exciting! I also will get a horse soon hopefully, since we just built the stalls for some horses in our goat barn. We still have to do a couple of things like putting cages over the lights and moving the lights to the middle of the barn before we are ready, but hopefully we will get a horse by next spring!

[OutFoxed]

@Kestrell - I am so sorry to hear that. The AECs, that's amazing. My heart goes out to you!
- I understand how hard it is to leave a horse behind when going to college, as well as how hard it is to take a horse with. Honestly, go in with an open mind. College can be overwhelming at first, but you'll settle in a rhythm as you get used to your schedule. Sometimes if you have a nice schedule (one that doesn't have you going every single day at all hours) you might be able to squeeze in a working student/internship at a local barn. Or as the others have said - if the school offers a riding team, try out for it. Fall semester can be nicer if you stay within traveling distance home as there are some convenient breaks. I would recommend maintaining some sort of hobby/job while in school - it'll give you something else to focus on/relax.

Congratulations @Eternal_Blaze & @Steve Rogers! That's awesome news and totally jealous worthy. Can't wait to see your posts when the time comes closer. The lurkers love reading even the smallest details about horses, haha! So share away!
@Steve Rogers - that must have been a fun project to build stalls. Is it a pipe-corral/mare-motel style or wooden boards - or are the stalls something else? Because you have goats - are the established stalls in the barn smaller or just not completely suited to housing horses? I don't think anyone would mind if you gushed about your goats for a minute either, XD

[Huggles]

Havent been on this thread in a while! Hi

Soo its the end of summer and I didnt get any trail riding in. Its been a bit of a mess, and Im also starting to get lonely. Its really hard for me to make friends, let alone the specifics of a horsey friend haha. So I was hoping someone had some tips to help me out? I was looking for facebook groups to put a post out but they have been kinda hard for me to find, and the ones I do are people in their 20s in up.. im 16, I guess people my age usually have friends XD

[valyri]

Havent been on this thread in a while! Hi

Soo its the end of summer and I didnt get any trail riding in. Its been a bit of a mess, and Im also starting to get lonely. Its really hard for me to make friends, let alone the specifics of a horsey friend haha. So I was hoping someone had some tips to help me out? I was looking for facebook groups to put a post out but they have been kinda hard for me to find, and the ones I do are people in their 20s in up.. im 16, I guess people my age usually have friends XD

Hello!
Don't worry, I've been in the same sort of situation and I'm the same age. Finding horsey friends can be really difficult but I've been round that block a few times. Moreso when I was younger and more social (I've lost my magic touch now oops and I'm waay too anti-social for that nowadays). But, anyway, I made some horsey friends by joining virtual horse games, forums and apps that have equine communities (think Howrse, Amino etc.). I've yet to find any friends on FB simply because it's a tad too intimidating for me. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't try it, of course. You might be able to find some friends there!

You've got to put yourself out there a bit and you can start a conversation and sometimes it turns into an actual friendship. Same thing goes for real-life, I suppose, but I have yet to find any good friends in the real world (let's just say that I don't have a good track record when it comes to that). As for the age thing, some of my most interesting "friends" have been older and I learnt a lot about the equestrian world from them. Sometimes older equestrians, even ones that seem a bit scary at first, have the most knowledge and wisdom. Learning from those before us helps us to become better equestrians

I would definitely say that my conversations with older equestrians was a looot different than with those my age of younger in terms of maturity and perspective but that is what makes it interesting. Don't feel restricted to one age group because some of the best friendships may come from strange places. And for those of us that are a bit of a mess and not great at making friends, anyone will do Just be safe, on the internet and in real life, and have fun with it! Good luck!