Why do you have horses?

[Moniece Dickerson]

For me I like to ride but it's mostly I have them as companions.They melt me when they do such sweet things.They hug me and do all sorts of things that show me they care about me and they are so beautiful especially when they run and play and groom eachother.Moniece

[Barbwire]

Suicide prevention.

[ErinC]

I have them because I really do not know life with out them,
My kids tell me I need a life....
if I did not have the horses I would be lost....
they are my life, my kids, I like to ride, but I don't have to ride, I just love having them, huging them, watching them run, play, grow.
I enjoy sharing them too, I love to see somone else happy using my horses. If thats all I ever did again, I would be OK with that!

[CarolU]

Good Question.

I was born horse crazy in a horseless family. No idea why (being a Sagittarian born in the year of the Horse may have something to do with it though). ;-)

I am a lot like Erin. I love my horses even when I'm not riding them. Love training, love ground work, love brushing, love feeding, don't mind the stall cleaning, love the big hugs and being mugged for cookies. Love just looking at them any/all the time. Love taking their pictures, love looking at their pictures. (am I nuts??)

As I think about it, my favorite time EVERY day is right after I've fed them and they're all happily munching their feed. That sound is alot like a purring cat...contentment.

[Boyd R]

Animals have allways been my life. But mostly replaces the family my X took away.

[appyday]

I work on that question today if I come up with an answer I will let you know...it is cold here and it rained all night...I have mud mud mud

[DSDECKERT]

Agree with what's been said so far, my animals are my life. Not just the horses, but my dog Keri too. Unconditional love is what it's all about with our pets.

Since I have the horses at my house and not boarded - I hardly ever get a chance to ride anymore, but that's ok, I love just being with them - everything about it, including cleaning the stalls and grooming them. Bianca is just a great big love sponge, you can kiss her face - she mugs and nuzzles - she even grooms me! She licks while I scratch her. Jochi isn't so people oriented, but he's coming around.

[Carol Nelson]

Why do I have horses????....hmmmm....
Well, it seems as long as I can remember, I had a love for horses. I guess I would pick up a pencil as a tot and draw pictures of horses. As a middleschooler, I would carry home six or seven books a week about horses. I lived, breathed and dreamed horses. But we were poor, and always lived in town, so I never owned a horse til I was 41 years old. That is why now, I can't control myself!!! Gotta have just one more! Ha.

My dad and his mother before him both loved horses and trained their own. Perhaps it's inborn....whatever it is, it's an affliction!
(But you do have to have a love for doing this...or you could never find validation for this much work!)

[Linda Y]

I'm another one...a horselover born into a family who could have cared less. I don't remember ever NOT loving them.
When younger I would ride anything with a leg on each corner, dam the consequences. Today I don't care if I ever ride again, but can't imagine life without one or two in the pasture. I think when I get old I will get minis.

[Moniece Dickerson]

Well it's good to know I am not the only one that really loves everything about them including taking care of them.I think i'd die without my animals.Moniece

Me either,not a person in my family that loves horses till I came along and I never didn't love them,was just born horse crazy.

[Ginger]

I have my current horses because I felt sorry for them and wanted to make sure that they were spoiled, lazy wh0res. The horses I had before them (Dash, Vandy, the rest of the ones we bought and sold over the years) were because I loved horses and didn't realize when I was a child that animals inevitably die, or are sold, and can be used as pieces in a game.

I love them more than anything in my life and wish only their happiness and health, but there's always a but that I can't finish, because that would make me a worse person than I am.

[PASOFAN]

I am one who has wanted one since a child, parents always said no. So when I was adult and had the chance I jumped on it! I love them, they are my release, my freedom, my friends....

I have never been unhappy when with them, ok I can get mad at them but that is different I still love them...

I have no man, my geldings are my men. They love me, dont run off w/other girls, cant cheat and I can keep them on a rope if I want too!lol

I just love them and need them.... :D

[Terri]

I too grew up in a non horsey family. My aunt however had the "horse gene" and I think I inherited it from her. I would spend my summers with her and she would always find a horse to lease, usually an older retired show morgan, that would be mine all summer. Horses are part of the fiber of who I am. So now in the same barn where "my" old morgan lived I have 5 wonderful equine friends. I think they are one of God's nobiliest creations and I see His handiwork in their design. When I am with my horses, God is on his throne and all is right with the world. I actually feel sorry for people who don't have horses, although most of those people think I am nuts.

[finolover]

i bought my first, gladiador de oroplel as a 15 month colt...because my daughter wanted him...it was her idea to make me a partner so we could finaly do something together after 30 years :roll:
her lifestyle changed and she backed out, leaving me with him ..i left him at eltomaria till i recently traded him for a huge unpaid training bill and
ultimo del pina.....
now i keep quito and big mo for suicide prevention, like barb....WHO

would feed and care for them?
plus i can tell them all my troubles, and they will listen..if i'm holding
a feed bucket behind my back...bribes , the world turns on bribes :lol: :lol:

p's. from the looks of things Gladiador will be a big hit....at next years show circuit, without me.........money talks and bullchips walk :(

[Cindy]

I didn't realize there was another option. :D

[DebbieS]

I've had horses on and off since I was about 14. They are my hobby, my other children, and will still be my children when my human children leave home. My friend and I were riding a few weeks ago and we had this discussion. I asked her what do people that don't have horses do?

My husband plays music with some other guys on Tues nights, plays poker a couple times a month with the guys.... I ride my horse on Sunday afternoons. The rest of the week belongs to my job or my family but Sunday is my day with my horses. Hubby usually stays home with the kids that day so I can go ride with friends.

They are always happy to see me, and I also love the time I spend feeding, grooming, talking to them, etc. I love looking out the window and seeing them play, graze, and act crazy. Even when they're naughty, I love them.

I love my dogs too. I have a 15 y/o dauschund that comes to work with me every day because she would miss me too much! The other 3 are great trail companions, and love to cuddle up by the fire at night.

[Brigitte]

Well since I was a little girl I've liked horses, I started riding lessons..then it seemed natural to buy one after time. However I don't have them just for riding, but as friends..They are always there for me (of course, they're locked up in their stalls) :lol:

For me I like to ride but it's mostly I have them as companions.They melt me when they do such sweet things.They hug me and do all sorts of things that show me they care about me and they are so beautiful especially when they run and play and groom eachother.Moniece

I wouldn't know what to do without them! Rusty reminds me that patience is king -- that you don't have to rush through life, but when you feel all high spirited and joyful, a nice spanking trot does a world of good. Tilly is my best teacher and she's as protective of me on the trail as a good mother. She reminds me that, whatever your species, a calm mind and a gentle heart are all it takes to live a happy life. Then there's little Jazz -- who hasn't stopped moving, jumping, running and exploring since he first stood up. He reminds me that youth is not something that has an ending, unless you let it. As for Jubilee -- she reminds me that I've got a lot to learn and as long as I'm learning, I'm better every day.

They are my teachers and my friends. If I ride them, too, that's icing on the cake, but they'd be my teachers and friends if I never rode them.

Rita

[Pasolady]

After the Lord...my horses complete me. My joy is not just riding them, its their glorious smell, their warm breathe, their nuzzling touch, playful nips, heavenly nickers, snuffles, neighing, playing...I could watch them for hours, and I do. When I'm with my beloved horses, my stress levels just disappear.

I smile, not just with my mouth and eyes, but with my heart! I've loved horses since before I could say the word. Thank You Lord! And do you know there will be horses in heaven. Our Lord and Savior will fight the final battle on a white horse! Perhaps I'll be privileged to just touch that magnificient steed.

Yes horses make my heart sing with joy, with love, with Thanks!

[motorgypsy]

They make me laugh
They talk to me
They let me ride on their backs and share their power with me
They share their good humor with me
They teach me about human behavior
They teach me what can be changed and what can't be changed
They show me how many things I worry about are trivial
They teach me the value of remembering and also forgiving
They teach me that they don't always forgive
They feel no guilt
They don't explain, they just do
They allow me to share their existence
They try really hard
When they're afraid they make me go first so I'l get eaten instead of them

[reuben T]

the horse was a gift given to man, and the love planted in the heart for the horse is a gift as well, some seem to have it from birth with no obvious reason. although i think i got it from early and constant programming. sometimes i wonder why i have them, but all i gotta do is go hang around them and it's obvious. i go to shows just to watch all day and never get bored. i never got around to gettin married, got horses instead. they eat up my time, affections, and money. then i went trail riding and it's the most mind relaxing/refreshing and soreness inducing activity ever experienced. (course it didn't help much to be ridin a rough trottin horse.)
mom told me one of her greatest desires when a child was a pony, and she never had one. I never expressed a desire, never really had a concious desire. i just went and bought a mule when it was suggested by a neighbor soon after we moved here when i was 20. knew nothing about them, but started learning, and still at it 20 yrs later. The more i learn the clearer it gets, the ideal relationship of horse to man, is identical to the ideal relationship of man to his creator, as if it was designed that way.

[motorgypsy]

Interesting because I see the interaction between human and horse as being two alien species with totally different perspectives on life meeting at the edge of their repsective worlds, sharing information and helping each other. Yes we have to set boundaries because we are very fragile and they don't understand this in the beginning or perhaps ever but there are many things they understand that we will never be able understand or experience. We're like two characters in a game - we're the wizards and they're the warriers and together we're much more powerful than separated but many of them can live without us quite easily. I like to think we both have a richer life through the sharing of our existences though. I hope so.

[Edurne]

Primero is the pony I rode as a child, the wall outside the house, the bycicle I lead into its stall (the shed). He has been a companion on a spiritual journey and has given me the opportunity to work with many emotions especially fear. I found him after a search for a horse I could get my nerve back with. He has paid his way, I can now ride him without hands, especially when I fly off.

I love his sweet nature, his mildness with the weanlings and yearlings who tower over him in size and how he loves the cows. He makes me laugh with his sense of humor and how he shows off when we have visiting horses by tic-tacking ahead to show his new hunt horse trick of getting close to the gate so I can open it. Other times I can't get him anywhere near it.

Not being a landowner, when I see him enjoying his god-given life in a beautiful 60 acre field I am aware of the transitory nature of "owning" Primero and what a glorious opportunity I currently enjoy with this unconditional relationship.

[CarolU]

An easy answer might be, "I used to have disposable income"...

;-)

[Pam M]

I'm more curious about those people who don't have horses! What do they do with their time and money? I have 4 sisters, none of whom has a horse and all of whom have a lot more money than me. Not one of them is even close to being as happy though! They're always stressed out and complaining. One has cats and she's better off than the others, who have no animals. I keep telling them to loosen up on the purse strings and get a horse and half their problems will go away!

[CarolU]

I'm more curious about those people who don't have horses! What do they do with their time and money? I have 4 sisters, none of whom has a horse and all of whom have a lot more money than me. Not one of them is even close to being as happy though! They're always stressed out and complaining. One has cats and she's better off than the others, who have no animals. I keep telling them to loosen up on the purse strings and get a horse and half their problems will go away!

Well, at least the worry about what to do with their money will disapear! ;-)

I think many people aren't born with the urge to bond with horses, even when they have and love other animals. Some are intimidated by their size or don't like the associated smell or dirt. I know for many men, the feeling of not being in total control of a horse is uncomfortable.

Maybe the 'contentment' gene is attached to the 'horseloving' gene and one passes with the other?

Of course I do know many horse owners who don't LOVE their horses at all. They have them for deer hunting or moving cattle or rodeoing or racing, or whatever, and they are just livestock. These people are little harder for me to understand then those who don't want them at all. I just can't imagine being around one and not loving it.

[motorgypsy]

Sadly I think the horse owners who don't really have any bond with their horses are in the majority. They're missing so much!

[Ginger]

I'm more curious about those people who don't have horses! What do they do with their time and money?

Lol, at least they HAVE time AND money!

It's almost uncomfortable to talk to non-horse people, have you noticed? We speak foreign languages to the rest of the world, and nobody cares how Zumi can"warble" through his nose, or how Ickis snores, etc.

Horse people never run out of conversation, whereas horse and non-horse people do.

I'm sure there are many other great things to do outside of horses and dancing, and combining the two... I just haven't found them yet! I'm too busy in a barn or on the floor!

[motorgypsy]

How sad to have time and money! ;-) ;-) ;-)

I'm convinced I could spend any amount of money I had so there's no point in worrying about making more if we have enough to feed, clothe, shelter, and provide medical care for (and pay for internet) our crew.

Hanging out with each other and all the critters, riding the horses, dancing, eating at neat little owner operated ethnic restaurants, finding bargains at thrift stores, window shopping at Lowes home improvement stores and feed and tack shops, listening to the wind roaring through the pines, chatting with other horse people - heaven on earth.

Crystal - you are so right - our non horsey friends and family think we're totally crazy. We've gotten so bad we find it hard to even carry on a conversation with non horse people without inserting horsey stuff into it. Serious addiction!

[Carol Nelson]

Again....so what's wrong in this picture???? Sounds fine to me... ;-)