Re: Do you find your judged because you ride?

 My dad totally understands as he is just as horse ad as I am. My mum thinks owning your own is a waste of money when there are perfectly good horses at riding schools. Most people I meet assume I must be rich but the worst are the people who give me funny looks when they ask what job I do to fund it and I say right now nothing, I have a very supportive husband. I've just lost my job (bad timing with recently buying my boys) and if it wasn't for my husband understanding how much having them means to me, I would have had to sell them. Instead he has made a lot of sacrifices for me and we have tightened our purse strings where we can. I think people assume I just spend all day playing with horses and spending his money! Never mind that I spent 6 years in a job I hated to save up to finally own my own and now I attend every job interview I can trying to find something that will help ease the pressure. I even got asked if my job-seekers paid for them! UM NO! I am not on any benefits at all thankyou very much! Oh dear I had better stop ranting ;-)

Re: Do you find your judged because you ride?

Think it's very rare to find a non-horsey person who really understands.

Re: Do you find your judged because you ride?

Give me horses any day.  I do get folks saying isn't  it about time you gave up?!?  You should have grown out of it by now, when are you going give up?  I just switch off and it just makes me determined to carry on, I tell em Tony McCoy's my hero and they say who's he?!? Gee I give up trying to justify why I carry on with my four-legged friends. It seems to be far more acceptable to have other pets, ie dogs or cats. Work is a problem as they don't like you to participate in 'extreme' sports, as it classed now so I believe. Oh yes and the classic is you must be really rich, no I'm not, I struggle to pay all the bills just like eveyone else.

Re: Do you find your judged because you ride?

i quite often get the rich thing because i have 6 ponies, my own land/yard to keep them on and a nice new trailer, i'm very very lucky and i know this but i'm not rich, i would be if i didn't have them though.

i used to get the horrible ones at school years ago that said that i s**g horses, and they properly meant it to, they weren't just saying it to wind me up. i didn't pay any attention though. i went to study horses at college for 3 years, most people who aren't horsey though i was just taking the mick because i didn't know what else i wanted to do, little did they know i did lots of stud management, grassland, and business aspects that is part of owning your own yard or running one so what i did was very important. none of my close friends are horsey so they just don't understand, sometimes it annoys me but then sometimes i feel sorry for them because they don't understand the joy and happiness a horse can bring.

Re: Do you find your judged because you ride?

Used to when I was younger, but not anymore, mind you I don't really see many people off the yard and those I do are horsey anyway - or family and they gave up years ago trying to "talk sense into me"!!  Although over the last few years my sanity has been questioned with the money I spend on medications and blood tests for ZZ - but I earn it so if I want to blow every penny I can get my hands on to help my horse I will.

I think the last time someone said something that annoyed me was when I hired a groom and lorry to take ZZ to Rossdales, she was adament she would lead my horse to the stables from the lorry as this was her job, then wait to see if the horse returned home or stayed (all being charged as waiting time!!).  Anyway, top Colic Vet comes out and asks what work ZZ is in, I'm about to answer that she is still being schooled but jumps when the "groom" pipes up "Oh its a my little pony and is there for petting as mummy has nothing better to spend her money on".  Never used her services again!!!!

In my mind they are all sad individuals, they have no idea what they are missing when you find that special horse, I am blessed to have had a few "once in a lifetime" horses so buggar everyone elses view