A very surprising return to horses

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horsemadmummy

New Member
Aug 22, 2005
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Kimberley Nottingham
Well where to start?

I have been away from anything horsey now for about 20 years. How I have ached and longed to always smell like horse again. My daughter is 15, and I could not help myself but place an advert on a website offering my help to some needy owner. Was not bothered with the riding, but wanted to get my hand back in, spend a little quality horsey time.

Boy did I every fall lucky!!

Two weeks after said ad was placed a young lady called me, told me of her 3 horses and 1 pony and asked if I would like to go out the very next morning. It is fair to say that I bit her hand off.

The pony is a 12h welsh section c and as cute as they come but also quite the cheeky little mare and just knows which pocket treats are generally kept in, named Willow. :)
Then came the three year old mare at 16.2 going by the name of Angel, who I promise you does not live upto the name. She is a very large Irish Draught and believes she is the same size as Willow. :rolleyes:

Then came Labrett (look him up on the racing post), he was abused after being retired from the racing yard and rescued by the new owner. He is 16h, and a devilishly handsome boy with a glorious temprement. ;)

Finally (well almost) came Spirit, a 17.2 Irish Draught, Thoroughbred cross. Also abuse so deeply by the previous owners after 6 months he still has painful skin which twitches and makes him scrape his foot when he is groomed, :( but gentleman he could teach the male populace.

So we chatted and I agreed to be her help.

The next morning half an hour before I am due to run up to the yard for the daily routine, my telephone gets to ringing and it is the owner. Would I like to drive down to Newmarket. Yes says I, but why? She then carries on that the trainer of Labrett, impressed with his progres after finding out his state, has retired another racer, who ' will run four furlongs but then can`t be bothered, would she like him?

So off we go, from Nottingham to Newmarket. On the way there I grow curious as to why she is pondering another horse, to find the answer to be one which actually takes my breath away and stops me talking for a full ten minutes. For you to ride, says she.

So, Shadowfax (Again do look at the racing post) is 16.2 and the most beautiful boy I have ever seen, there is a light in his eyes that melts my eyes and opens my heart. He is delivered the next day to the yard. :D :cool:

So two weeks later...we have two ex race horses to reschool, a three year old who though lightly backed needs working from the ground up and something beyond a firm hand. A very tall boy who needs a great deal of love and care, plus a cheeky pony who needs some extra exercize. Then we move yards, and I find a 14.3 bay mare who needs a new mummy, on full free loan.

I go home and think long and hard...long...and hard. Then think some more.

I try her the next day. She is 20 or 22, unridden for about 6 months due to a mild heart attack by the owner, But absolutely NOT a novice ride and who is delighted to get to stretch her legs again.

Yup!! I know what you are thinking, and I did, Penny is now mine. So two weeks ago, I just wanted to get back in with horses, and here I am with 6 to fill the void, they have all settled into their new home. Predictably Angel has established herself as lead mare in the mares field. Shadow fax has been bullied and now has a few bites and a cut on his knee which is needing some careful attention but who loves Labrett and Spirit to death, so it has balanced out for him it seems.

The work in ernest starts tomorrow for Angel, Shadow, Labrett and Spirit in the school the latter to rebuild muscle now that his weight is increasing.

I will get you all some pictures and keep you posted. But as a 35 year old psychology student who just wanted to find some quality horsey time. I think I may have achieved my goal...and more besides.
:D
 
:D OMG you lucky thing ... you definitely fell on the right one there didn't you.. bet you look like a cheshire cat right now, mind you sounds like you going to have your hands right full.

Good luck with it all ... looking forward to hearing your progress and seeing some piccies.

xx
 
hi

good for you, i have just got back into horses aswell after a very long long break, we brought a welsh sec d palomino 4 year old, loads of bringing on to do :eek: have you done any riding yet? are you sore i was my legs need toughing up :)
 
Welcome to NR, in particular the "Mature" section..... at 42, I feel ancient compared to the slip of a 26 year old who posted in this section this morning!!!! haha

We are a friendly lot!

You lucky thing horsemadmummy!!!

I too, took a 20 year "break" raising a family and have just got back into it 6 weeks ago. I feel like the floodgates have opened and all this horsey-stuff and knowledge that had been locked away, with scarcely ever a thought, has come bursting out and I can't ever remember not being horse-mad now!!

Someone is REALLY smiling on you. But me too, in a way, I happened to post a "looking for share" and have ended up with one full loan potential (too expensive at this moment in time) and a choice of not one but TWO share options, so I too, have a guardian angel up there!!!

My youngest daughter (14) lives with me and my second husband and is finding it really strange to have her previously clean-freak of a mother coming home from the yard covered in horse hair, dungey boots, horse drool and slobber and a sick wide grin on her face!

I'm luvvin it, luvvin it, luvvin it!!!!!
 
Gosh!! Thank you all.

Bubblicious.
Thank you. Someone up there really must have heard my plea's for some horsey time and got sick of hearing it. As for updates, they will come. I get the distinct impression that Angel will relish the work I have planned for her but is going to be the proverbial moster each time we progress to something new. I feel hard won battles of will are on my cards for the forseeable future with her in particular. :rolleyes: Ooo and I am in NOtt's also. Just haven`t gotten around to doing my profile as yet. :)

Gill.
I am still counting my blessings but I am also already very proud to be able to work with not just one, but two rescued horses who now have the most loving home. Some people really should be shot for the way they 'keep' animals. As for fun...well thats already falling on me by the bucket load. But boy o boy do I sleep well at night now. :D My daughter too keeps looking at me with wide eyes when I come home in the same state as yourself but with a huge smile. It appears that grubby mummy is preferable though, which is probably just as well as I am not sure I can or even want to stop now I am back where I belong.
I am delighted that you too have such fabulous options avaliable. I believe we are blessed!!

Claire Louise U.
Have I ever. Whilst waiting for the horsey gods to bless me with my current situation I had persuaded by partner that it was time he learned to ride (our long term goal after my masters degree is to move to southern ireland to buy some land and have our horses), so we had arranged lessons. That week in between my first and second felt awful. Though it wasn`t so much the muscle pain itself, but that I knew where I was going wrong because opf the muscles. Poor Scott (my partner) slid off the first time he tried a trot and now has a personal mantra of 'heels down toes in heels down toes in'.
My second lesson however was a storm, I found my seat, happily, far less sore. But since taking on Penny I have been able to ride every day, so now just have the happy ache of excersizing.
:D

Domane.
Thank you so very much for the welcome. As a 35 year old I am not far behind you, mind at the moment I feel like a 16 year old again. You know it is rather funny, I have read a few messages now, well alot really and found that 20 years away from horses appears to be a bit of a bench march with us mature pony mad teenagers, as a student of psychology I find that quite interesting and cannot help but wonder why. Like you I am Soooooo happy. Daren`t tell my partner I am mentally toying with the idea of an educational/career change. Not sure how he would feel about that :eek:
:D
 
Welcome and very best of luck :D

I too am a returner, having bought my much longed for first horse at age 40. My daughters are 19 and 21 now, so don't do so much, and several years later I have Sennie (third horse, long story!) a 15hh section d who is just the best thing.

Looking forward to hearing more from your horsey life :)
 
Ooooooo I'm as green as a cucumber right now :p You lucky, lucky woman. It does sound like you must have ridden to a good standard in your "youth" - have you ridden Shadowfax yet? :)

As for me, the gap wasn't 20 years (not had kids to contend with!) but I am possibly more obsessed than I was as a teenager. My OH is finally accepting that my number 1 priority in life is no longer him.... ;)
 
return to the saddle

I am so green with envy at some of the stories here.
I was your typical pony mad child/teenager/young adult with no hope of ever getting my own pony. Then, when i could afford one i bought a car instead! Two children later and it was years since i had been in the saddle. I dallied now and again with both my girls watching, desperate to ride but being told no becaause it was too dangerous!!! I didn't want them growing up, as i had done, clinging onto the hope of your own pony, one day.
However, with a holiday in a converted coach house on a stud farm in Ireland looming last year (guess who booked that one!) i decided to let the girls have some riding lessons - just in case we had the chance to ride on holiday!
Of course they loved it - it's in their genes - and with the sons of the house knocking on the cottage door in Ireland asking if we wanted to ride AM or PM we had a dream holiday and our riding came on in leaps and bounds in that one week.
One year on the girls are now jumping, i'm back riding regularly too and we all want our own pony!!! (I'm 42 and have the bug as much as when i was 12).
My husband is quite agreeable to this turn of events but i keep holding off because of the time involved and i feel we don't really know enough about looking after a horse - i suppose a share would be ideal.
Hopefully maybe next year when we're all a bit more confident i'll make that dream come true - i've waited long enough! And it would be cheaper than paying for riding lessons for us all!
 
A slight update

First of all thank you all so much for making me feel so very welcome.

I suppose I will start this slight update with my loan pony Penny. She is a rather feisty 21 year old 14.2 New Forest type pony, who has been unridden recently due to her elderly owners no longer having the time, though they are not wanting to give her up as she has taught their grand daughters to ride and have been in the family for about 15 years. This all said the Lady is not a novice ride by any stretch of the imagination. ;)

Though it is very fair to say that she is far happier now that she can stretch her legs, though it will take some time for her to manage much more than a light hours hack. Mind she fights for more relishes a gallop and insists on jumping puddles, which I have to say is better than mud splatter. :p

She is one of those horses that adores human contact and is for ever chattering at anyone who will listen. She is prone to laminitis, so has restricted grazing, thogh mostly she trundles into her paddock has a good roll then waits for a couple of hours to get back into her stable so she can chatter to anyone and everything, even the yard chickens.

Shadowfax is currently stabled due to the cut on the inside of his near side front knee, a welcome gift from another horses we suspect, but he is a very good lad and patiently awaits it to be cleaned and redressed, thankfully the ankle swelling has vastly reduced today and the cut is no longer of the puss variety. Mind he was a cheeky boy with the farrier today and almost broke my little pinky in a very sudden and unsuspected rearing incident which appeared to surprise him most of all. I currently have one of his racing plates which is going on my shoe board. :D

Angel has been in the school for her half an hour a day for the last couple of days, just on basic ground work, walking, halting backing up and working on those stretches as she is rather stiff for a three year old. As I suspected she is adoring the attention and the work and has turned from the over large monster she was but a few short days ago to a lovely girl. She is happily working on a long rein, so the lunge line is coming in tomorrow for the last ten minutes proving I can get her settled into a trot, I need my nikes on to get enough speed up to make it worth her while really as she has incredibly lengthy paces.

Labrett is also having his schooling session tomorrow as the owners informed me this afternoon that he has a slight napping issue during transition to trot, so I shall be attempting to nip this in the bud as soon as is humanly possible, mind I am possibly thinking it is just an ex racer issue who still hasn`t qite got his head around the fact that trotting is not allowed. Tomorrow will tell.

Spirit has decided that there is nothing he wishes to do for me starting with refusing to be caught. 6 hours on and off in the hysterical rain yesterday did I persuade cajole and play the I am not interested game in the geldings paddock to no avail. Eventually taking his feed upto him intending to feed him where he was, as him having his build up is more important that him coming in for it at the moment.
Tactically I removed my waterproof coat and left his head collar at the stable and wandered up to the paddock food in hand to stand for 45 minutes being entirely ignored. Even attempted to leave it for him to one side to allow him to eat undisturbed but he believed it was a tactic. However this morning he gave in came in had a slightly bigger morning feed but protested with the farrier as though the poor chap was attempting to chop his legs off.

Well this is the trials and tribulations of the last couple of days. I shall be taking a disposable camera with me at the weekend so pictures of the crew are being organised.

Thank you all again for the welcomes.

Charlieboy.
Caring for horses is common sense and there are alot of us here who will help should you need it. Follow that dream and 'suck it and see' it is the best way. Best of luck to you.
 
did you not say that you were also studying psychology? where do you find the time?? you obviously much more organised than me :rolleyes:

xx
 
What a great story. I do hope that you will post some pictures of the herd soon. :)

I am another who has returned to horses after a 20 plus year gap. It's almost 2 years since I started riding again and about 1 1/2 years since I bought my girl. Best thing I ever did!

Best of luck with your lot!
 
How exciting! I also returned to riding after 18 years off-- and not realizing how much I missed it.
I went very quickly from lessons, to helping out, to leasing to now owning two mares. Have lots of fun! I wish I had more time to spend with my girls.
 
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