I hate horses: therapeutic rant. (Long)

[N80]

My experience with young girls and horses is that most of them once they get their drivers license and discover boys soon forget about horses.

Hmmm. That makes getting another horse look a little more attractive.

 

[dmccarty]

My wife bought a horse right before we had our first child. She had horses in the past and was taking lessons. She wanted another hourse. EVERYONE told her not to buy the horse. That she would not have time for the horse once the child was born.....

So she bought the horse. Its was a steal she told me....

I think the horse was around $1,000-2,000. I stayed out of it. She found a place to keep the horse. They used the horse for riding which lowered our expenses. Course the wife could not ride the horse due to being with child. Then she lost her job. So we had to move the horse to a lower cost placed. The owner at the new place wanted the horse. So she got the farrier to trim the hooves on the horse so that it made the horse appear lame. She would take the horse off our hands for nothing. Lots of Vet bills to figure out what the two of them did. If I could have horsed whipped them....

The horse got moved ASAP to a new place where the owner kept the horse for free or not much cost to us and he had the option to buy. Eventually he said he would buy the horse but of course it took months to get the money.

Horse Traders make Used Car Salesman look like Saints.

I don't know how many thousands that horse cost but I do know my wife did not ride said horse more than six times.

Our youngest daughter wants me to cut down trees so we can have grass so she can have a horse...

There is something genetic about girls, women and horses.

Rant Away George!



Later,
Dan

 

[john_bud]

I'll jump in on the side of "don't get horses".

Around here there are lots of people with small plots of land and horses. I know a lot of them. Some actually ride frequently (weekends) and a very few ride nearly every day. But, the bulk of them are infrequent to very infrequent. A buddy had to have a horse. He got one. It got lonely, so he got a second. They didn't like each other and both were lonely and pissed off most of the time. He got a 3rd. It helped some. Then he got a donkey to help broker the peace. (that's what he said - honest!). I helped him put up thousands of bales of hay. Helped pound fence posts, etc. About once or twice a year he would come to work limping and wincing. What's up? He tried to actually RIDE a horse and got bucked off. Yep, he only had time to ride a couple times a year and after each attempt had to send the horses off to get professionally broke again. Then no riding for 6-12 months, bucked off... well you get the picture.

I'm sure that if you add up all the costs of horse ownership and calculate the number of dollars per mile ridden, he could have gotten a longer more enjoyable ride in a stretch Escalade with open bar and a hottie hostess one or twice a year much cheaper.

Horses!

jb

 

[Taylortractornut]

Hate'm to. My dad was raised farming with horses and mules til lthey got a Cub. Then When he met my mother and moved to SC he had some horses then but had time to ride and tend them himself after work. Later he traveled building roads and got rid of the horses after I was hatched and moved back here. We had a mule growing up for a couple years then we sold her. Nothing but a food burner to ride 2 times a week. I traded her in for an s10 pickup. I then worked on several hore feeders and trailers in Votech till I was sick of them. Then I helped a friend with his off and on when they needed something. A few years went by and a friend opened a horse barn that bought and sold. Some went for hamburger and others were thourobreds. Every horse was worth something. My neighbor thought he wanted a horse so he bought 3 then won a high dollar job at a drawing and was in the business lol. He was fairly well off and had money but his pasture had no grass. Dad and I went over with our tractors and disked and sowed grass for them as soon as the grass got an inch tall he took a friend that never been around a horses advice saying they could nt hurt that new grass. in 2 days they had the 5 acres powdery. He worked at the sheriffs office and it didnt do any good to report him a bud was always covering for him. They had constant reports I almost hit one i nthe road one night called him and got blessed out because at 3 am I had no right to wake him up. Shoulda run over the horse anyway. One was in the road I peppered it to give it some motivation to get out of my yard and road. Dad bought a mare and her coltto keep them from starving this man would take a coffe can of feed and sprinkle it o nthe grond like chicken feed for 5 horses. I hauled them hay and such when ever I could. When Mom and dad split Dad started seeing a lady down the road and her grandaughter wanted a horse. Dad bought her a cheapie and she would get scared every time it stummbled or acted up and want a new horse. Then came the nights in the bottoms helping dad hunt them when the woman and kid left the gate undone, and then dad had to buy hay and feed and when he got sick I was asked to feed them. Big problems there. What really did me was on morning it was 5 degrees out and they needed hay. Had to take a bale over there on the goosenack and roll it off. to the feeder down hill. then the PITA woman wanted this 800 pound bale pushed back up the hill to the front feeder so the animal could be admired I had my fill of horses. Then a Mare had a colt and it died a day later the little girl through a fit then we took dads 970 with a backhoe and had to wrap it up and take it to the spot it was born the girl had a fit about the way I dumped it out and dug a grave. They were so ticky with this sitting in a warm car and me after a long day freezing my tail end off digging a grave. Dad and crazy woman split up and dad sold the horses except the colt. He was a nice one got out ofthe barn and came in the shop chasing my german sheperd and kicked a forklift inthe process cutting a vein in its leg. got that fixed begged dad to sell it. When I bought the house my oldest brother moved in with me during his divorce. He didnt have squat and wanted to raise the horse with me providing its room and board. One day dad was out there and Tim was with him and that horse stood up on its backlegs and came down trying to paw dad. Dad was saved by the feeder catching his hoof till he could get out. If my excavator had been there dad was gonna shoot him. My brother i nhis 40's whined about it. Dad gave him to a fella that trains horses and hes told me the stories of how many folks that Food burner hurt.
Like my brother said You love them feed them groom them and the D)(*()mn thing tries to kick your head off. My neighbors want one right now but i drew the line with that I told him I d help him do anything but keep a horse. I am sorry for your loss of property and your daughters pet but Im with ya on the horse business. 10 000 thats another good used tractor with a loader around here.

 

[schmism]

ill admit i didnt read all of responses but hears my .02

my neighbor wanted to get a horse. they had to "Create" some pasture for it, and after a year they "created" some more ie what used to be there backyard.

As my other neighbor and brother in law to them says... the hay burner. It never gets rode and i cant for the life of me figure out why they have it.

Ive heard the term pasture pets, honestly its lost on me.

If you had real acreage to ride on (50+) sure own a horse or 2. If you have draft types that pull the old cycle bar or wagon just because you can great.

other than those to reasons, the "owning a horse" thing is lost on me.

My hobby farm will contain chickens, a couple of goats to keep down that wolley section in the back that is a pain to maintain, a couple of sheep for fiber and perhaps meat, and if we can ever get the cash together, a couple of alpaca (again for fiber).

Ill pass on the horses, cows, pigs.

 

[2manyrocks]

My sister couldn't wait to get off the farm. She now lives on a 5 acre place in another state and has about 5 horses. She's in her mid 60's and feeds and cleans up after them every day. Doesn't sound like much fun to me.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Re: I horses: therapeutic rant. (Long)

Never understood the horse thing either. Personally I'm a cow person. I can either get milk or meat out of them.

Hope all works out ok for your sister.

You get meat out of horse too. The horse wurst is common overseas, pretty good on a grill if you ask me.

 

[Bird]

Re: I horses: therapeutic rant. (Long)

You get meat out of horse too. The horse wurst is common overseas, pretty good on a grill if you ask me.

We have friends from France who say horse steaks are very good, but the animal rights folks in this country don't want anyone to eat horse meat, or anyone in this country to slaughter horses to ship the meat overseas.

 

[Redbug]

Hi George,

The psychological portion of my post:
I think you are looking at the situation pretty level headed. Mainly because you are not in it emotionally like your daughter and wife are. However if it's any consolation to you....Looking at the big picture, this experience for your daughter may turn out to be a good experience/example about real life. Some things do not turn out well, and that's the way it is. And some things may not seem fair, either. She may not see it that way now. But, it's all part of growing up and having to make tough decisions, sometimes. It hurts.

The common sense portion of my post: I have several friends that also have horses. And it is a disease. However, anything we are passionate about makes us cross the line of lunacy. I have seen my friends do the same sort of things as you have described. After thinking about it, I will amend one of my old famous Dave's sayings to add one more article:

4 instead of 3 things I don't ever want to have:
1. A boat too big to trailer. 2. A pack of dogs. 3. A swimming pool. 4. A Horse.

Things always seem work themselves out...and usually for the best. Hang in there.

 

[2manyrocks]

I just don't know why the ladies don't love tractors...