HGG Community Forums

Yes to more conversation!

I've been a horsey-person since I was a toddler, so everyone knows I can talk about horses for literally hours. I went to college to learn more about them, for goodness sake! XD My dad loves to talk about it and we go to expos and shows because we're more farm-y than my mum. She legit forgot that I owned a horse until I mentioned it in casual conversation!

My mom was a horse girl, and we were very close through my childhood because of it. My dad isn't part of the horse family, but he's learned a lot in the last few decades and he loves to try to talk shop with me.
I do have my own horse, a gift from when I was little (a mustang mare, given to me by my parents when I was 12. I still have her, now all the way across the country.)
My new partner tries very, very hard to be supportive of my horse addiction, but doesn't understand the love and mostly thinks horses are just TOO BIG. We're working on petting my mare's face through a fence lol.

silverborn, I had a chip fracture in my 5th lumbar vertebrae when I was 17 from a fall off my horse, and had to spend 6 months in a back brace. It was one of those cascading kind of fractures. I landed JUST wrong on my tailbone and the force traveled up my spine and stopped at the biggest vertebrae. 40 years later, I am feeling the arthritis. My injury didn't stop me from riding though, that must have been heartbreaking.

I can't afford to be involved with horses in real life nowadays in any way, this game is my outlet for it - I guess my loved ones are relieved I have somewhere to turn to as my wistful horse talk tends to fall on fallow ground - much like Seaswell's sons and their video games I guess!

In theory my husband would support me getting a horse to help me in my work, as I literally walk many kilometres each day to check on our sheep in an extensive farming system. The horse I want probably would be unobtainable though, as it needs to be absolutely bombproof.

It might help, but i think it would make me sad. I could jump before and was doing hunter shows and all that, so going back for therapeutic riding would feel very consolation prize like to me now.

There's nothing physically stopping me from riding, except the risk that if i fall off I'll break my neck and become a quad or die. But that's a bad mental load to go into riding with. So it's that state where my body can, but it has to go right, which is enough pressure to make it go wrong....

Hugs @Silverborn.

I managed to get Hunny to touch a horse for the time last year in Texas while we were visiting family. I've come a long way from having my own gelding in the back yard.

@DreamyMeadows I hope the perfect little 5 year old falls in your lap.

I have loved horses since I was very little. My family has always been supportive but we were too poor for me to get a horse and there was nobody we could pay for riding lessons. But I made friends with people who had horses so got a lot of exposure at a young age. I as able to help a breeder out for a summer 4 years ago and she gifted me a little mare in exchange for my work. So I got to train the long 2yr old filly the following summer. I also got married to a farm/ranching man.

So my little mare moved out to the ranch with me that fall. And I got to learn how to be a ranch rider (different than cowgirl) on my mare. I have kept learning the past three years but ranch work hasn’t really been challenging enough for us. Not when they only ride 20-30 times a year working cows. So I decided a month ago to focus on dressage, figured it would cross over enough that working cows a couple times a year wouldn’t hurt anything.

My husband is a bit less supportive of my horse craziness than the rest of my family. He prefers his hondaloosa (four wheeler) I can’t really blame him. Horses have always meant work for him, when you have to ride for 1-6 hours straight it’s not very fun. It didn’t help that the ranch horses are like trying to ride a board. No personality, hard to get going, hard to turn, rough gaits, they do what they have to and nothing more.

But otherwise my whole family is behind me 100% I could decide to do or try anything and they would be behind me. And it’s the same with every other aspect of life. Well as long as I wouldn’t get hurt or hurt anybody else. They might not understand it but they are behind me.

My family is pretty supportive- unless I spend a few too many hours on it :-D =))