Is a horse way too much responsibility?

Question

I go horse riding everyweek and my mum and dad said maybe one day i could havee a horse im 14 at the moment and I reckon if i got a horse i would be around 17

I know its ages away and i might not even get one but

Im not even sure if i want a horse. I love riding them and id love to be able to ride one when ever i want. I think they could be to much to be able to handle as i would need to move them in and out of the stable and visit it twice a day and the stables probably wouldnt be too close also my family arent really into horses they like them but dont know much about them but anyone who has horses must of had a first.

Answer 1

I suggest you go out to a stable and find someone who owns a horse to show you what it en-'tails'. LOL!

Answer 2

well it might be hard at first but i think its responsibility

Answer 3

You would be better sharing.My friend has two horses and it issuch a big responsibility.She has to go and muck out and stuff every single day and its hard work and also a bit of a nuisance at times.

Answer 4

if your not even sure if you want one right now, then you shouldnt get one. they are a very big responsibility.  Maybe you could try leasing first.

Answer 5

You're going to change your mind A LOT in the next few years.  And when you're 17, you're going to be in your last years of high school so you'll be very busy with all of your activities.  But there are plenty of high school girls who have horses.  It depends on how much you care to have one.  If you really want a horse, you'll make the time to care for it.  If you'd rather be doing other things, then you'll probably stick with your lesson once a week.

Horses certainly are a lot of responsibility.  You have to clean the stall at least once a day (twice would be better).  They need to eat 2 or 3 times each day.  They need exercise pretty much every day so you either have to go ride, lunge, or turn out your horse.  Then if you take a vacation or something, then you need someone else to do all of this stuff for you while you're gone.

Most people don't actually do all the work for their horses.  If you have enough money and you don't have a barn at your house, then you board your horse at a stable.  You will need to pay for that service.  Most people who board also pay the barn to feed the horse, possibly clean the stalls, possibly turn out the horse, and maybe even ride the horse once in a while.  But the more you want the barn to do for you, the more you have to pay.

So horses are varying degrees of responsibility depending on how much work you're willing to do and how much you can pay for them.

If you want to have a trial experience of owning a horse, you can usually lease one of the lesson horses from a local barn.  Then you can ride more often than your lesson time.  Usually though, when you lease you don't have to do the extra care for the horse, but you can ask to lease for a lower price in exchange for cleaning stalls or filling water buckets or something like that.

Answer 6

You could maybe try to "share" a horse with 2 / 3 others. As long as he / she didn't mind being ridden quite a bit and was fit enough.

This way you would have your "own" horse but you wouldn't have to do all the mucking out etc all on your own. It's a huge commitment but you can do it if you share.

Answer 7

it can be at times, but i luv mine anyways!