Owning a horse in University: is it possible?

[RedMareDontCare]

I’m about halfway through my last year of high school and I’ve started applying to universities. While this is a stressful time for everyone, I’ve got something rather significant on my peers; my horse.

I’ve owned/ridden horses quite literally my entire life, despite not having horsie parents, and I’ve never really imagined myself living without them. However, I know of almost no one who has successfully kept their own horse and/or continued riding through university.

And here’s the kicker, my horse had a major injury about two years ago and is virtually unsellable due to the fact that it will likely cause her some issues down the road. This also means she’s no longer allowed to jump and I won’t ever lunge. Despite her being my heart horse, she’s not exactly someone’s dream lease or purchase.

My question is, is there hope? Has anyone had personal experience owning a horse while in post-secondary school? Or should I start looking into potentially selling her as a broodmare? She has awesome bloodlines, so this is an option. I have the resources to take her with me, but would this even make a difference? Any advice and/or personal experience would be appreciated.

[endlessclimb]

I personally could not find the time, so my Old Man horse got leased out to some wonderful girls.

Your horse doesn’t sound like that would be possible. Maybe, but unlikely.

If you have the resources, I’d take her with you. Find a nice place with LONG turnout hours, and the ability to handle minor emergencies.

[OnDeck]

I know MANY people who have done it successfully. Super easy if you can put her in full training and only come when it works for you. It’s more of a time commitment if you’re the sole rider but definitely possible. I suggest finding a place with plenty of turnout so it’s less of a problem if you get very busy for a few days.

[clanter]

our youngest daughter took her horse with her, it was cheaper to board the horse where she attended school than keeping it here at home.

It also gave her something that was not school focused. Oldest daughter attended a school that had riding as a course, which she was able to take every semester rather than a physical education class

[CBoylen]

Well, yes, it’s fully possible. I rode four days a week in college with an hour commute to the barn and flew out in the winter every Wednesday night to show in Florida every week and flew back on Sunday. The difference though is that I was interested in riding, not in college. I was on the Dean’s list every semester and graduated with the degree I wanted, but did not involve myself in any extracurricular activities or clubs, etc. Now obviously, there is a balance between this approach, and absolutely going cold turkey on horses, but there are going to be sacrifices in your time and attention on both ends. It’s a personal decision, and also depends on your major to some extent. I avoided any classes with extensive lab time and took advantage of flexible course requirements by blocking up Monday with 3 hr seminars. But again, I was trying to maintain an extensive show schedule. If you just want a casual relationship with your horse, you can probably easily manage it with a good time management skills and self awareness of what you want out of your college experience.
I will say the drawback that most of my students have had has been transportation. I was able to take my car to school by working out an arrangement with the garage of a nearby hotel. Many of my students have been unable to take a vehicle and us getting back-and-forth to a barn has been difficult.

[NancyM]

Having the horse through the university years was about the only thing that kept me semi sane. But my family owned the farm, and still paid the bills, so I was extremely spoiled. If you don’t want to sell the horse, find someone who would take her on a breeding lease. Either a free lease, or, if she is super desirable as a broodmare, a lease where you get paid for her services may be an option. Good luck.

[showy]

Totally possible. I had a horse through undergrad and even had two during law school!

It was a great way to get away and decompress from school. Even if your mare is just hack/ trail around sound, it’s fun to get away. I needed it for my own personal sanity living in the dorms with roommates freshmen year.

Caveat- you didn’t mention if you would have any financial support. I boarded pretty cheaply in undergrad but had parental support.

Broodmare paid leases are incredibly rare. Unless she has both an outstanding competition record and amazing bloodlines, it’s a free lease/ giveaway situation.

[beowulf]

It’s totally possible… if you have the funds to afford both college and horses, which most young people don’t. I managed to keep mine boarded close by while I was in college. My parents did not pay for college, or for the horse. It became very difficult. I had my wake-up call when my grades in class started slipping because I had three jobs to afford the horse and books for class. Horse went back home to a care-lease situation which helped the financial burden some, but college is so expensive – especially these days – that I almost think the additional stress of horses and finance isn’t worth it unless you have parental backing.

[Scribbler]

Yes the real issue is money. If you have the cash you can find a full care place or you can put a horse on a field and keep a car to drive out weekends. Crunch the numbers.

[fivestrideline]

I did it - and wouldn’t do it again if I was footing the bill. We free leased my jumper to my trainer while I was in college, and I worked to pay for some shows freshman year. That worked out great, and in hindsight I should’ve joined the IHSA team to stay sharp. I ended up taking a working student gig instead and was so exhausted from school, WS, and working a part time job as well that I never rode.

In your situation, I’d talk to your trainer or connections (maybe your horse’s breeder?) about a broodmare lease. It will most likely be unpaid but will keep her off your bill. I really wouldn’t have horses in college outside of a school team if I did it again.

[LilDunFilly]

I had a horse in college and have friends who had them. However, everyone’s situation was different.

1. One had her parent’s financial support the entire time. They paid for board at a nearby facility, training, and for her to go to shows. However, this friend cared more about the horses than school, leading to her eventually dropping out to be a horse trainer full-time.
2. One didn’t have her parent’s financial support for the horse (not sure about college). She got an Associates in a horse-related field (Equine Science? I just remember she learned about colt starting).
3. One had some parental financial support for college. She was given a horse for free/cheap by the barn she worked at. She graduated within a year or so of that.
4. Me. I bought a horse during college. I had financial support for the college portion and paid for the horse portion myself. I kept the costs low by boarding my horse far away (pasture board isn’t easy to find here); the distance only became a problem once Covid happened as I moved back home and the 1 1/2 hour drive to the ranch turned into 3 hours. However, I did not ride my horse and trusted the ranch owners to take care of her since I could only ever come once a week (if that).

[NoSuchPerson]

Like others have said, it depends on money. I had two horses all through college, but my horses were kept at home, I went to college within commuting distance of my home, and my parents footed all the bills.

I rode a lot in college because the university had a nice riding program back then and I also rode on the IHSA team. But, I did not ride my own horses very much because I was too busy with coursework and riding university horses.

[Jarpur]

I took three horses to college - a stallion, a mare, and a gelding. Didn’t have a car the first semester, so I put a lot of miles on my bike (12 mile roundtrip!!). My daddy took pity on me and provided me with a vehicle.

I was a scholarship student, with some parental support and a summer job, and I joined an equestrian sport organization, which allowed me to board my horse for costs (plus volunteer work). Eventually, I moved them closer in.

As mentioned by other posters, it was important that my horses had access to plenty of turnout due to the limited time I could spend exercising them. But those rides were so important to me.

This was long ago, would probably not be affordable nowadays, and was a tremendous amount of work and sacrifice (although I did have a couple extra-curricular activities). I don’t regret it, although I think I wouldn’t take three with me if I had to do it again. But a second horse meant that someone could ride with me, which was fun.

I’m someone who saw my first horse when less than a year old, pulled myself up to look out the window at it babbling and pointing (according to family lore), sat on a horse the first time at two years of age, and asked my daddy every Christmas and birthday for a pony until I got one (had him thirty years - he was the gelding I took to college). My mother told me, when I was middle-aged, that she always thought I’d grow out of it. Ha!

[Mango20]

I did it. The secret was good scheduling and hopefully cheaper board or parents paying the board.

I tried to get all my classes between 9-noon or in the evenings. From noon - 3:00 or so was free for my horse. 3:30- dinner time was crew (rowing) practice. After dinner was for school work or the occasional evening class. Partying was mostly restricted to the weekends.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I didn’t ride in college, but I’ve worked with students applying to college. Many posters have given you great advice and hopeful stories but a few things I’d consider:

1. Where do you want to go to school? I really don’t advise picking schools based on where you’re likely to find cheap board, and you might regret this if you do. Pick based on cost, program, opportunities, social life.

2. What do you want to study? As one poster said, if you’re taking classes with required labs, or any classes in the sciences, balancing horses and studying will be exponentially more challenging because of the time commitment and level of competition.

3. College is very expensive, even if it’s paid for by your parents, and you really need to weigh how much riding will detract from your ability to participate in internships, give yourself to your classes, and max out on the investment. You need to envision what’s your ideal college experience and how your horse will impact this.

If you want to go to a small college in a rural area, will have a car on campus, and are financially comfortable, your answers will be different if your ideal is an urban college, studying engineering, and you’re taking out major loans. Plus, it sounds like leasing the horse out may be challenging, and you will probably be in a new area with few contacts in the horsey scene.

[J-Lu]

OP,

You’ve already mentioned that this horse can’t jump or longe anymore due to injury, so the riding would be relatively light. You have some options:

You can take her with you if you have the resources. Visiting her and grooming her might keep you sane and you won’t feel pressured to get rides in if you’re really busy. Depending on your major, you might be very busy! I couldn’t have imagined riding a horse regularly in the first year or two of my undergrad, but very much could later on. I rode and trained in graduate school and post-docs and that kept me sane. Depending on your major, give yourself the space to not ride much the first year but go out and just groom. You may not need that space but be sure to be OK if you do.

Second, is this a safe and quiet horse who can trail ride? Consider a free lease as a “husband horse”. I’ve known couples who wanted a “husband horse” who could pack the guy around in huge ovals in an arena and then mild trails but he didn’t ride enough or know enough to warrant a purchase.

If the bloodlines are good, consider a free broodmare lease. That’s hard because most people won’t spend the money to roll the dice on a virgin mare. But you might find someone willing to try, esp if they own a stallion and already have a broodmare band.

Remember, you are free to change your mind if things don’t work out. Too busy at college? You have options. Not too busy at college and she’s a “husband horse home”? After the lease is up, bring her to school.

Good luck!!

[George_T_Mule]

You might try at CSU in Ft. Collins, CO. I know they have a large Equine Research/Vet program.
https://equinescience.agsci.colostate.edu/

[dmveventer]

You’ve gotten good advice already on the horse-keeping front. I’ll throw out a counterpoint though: taking a step back from horses as a young adult is not the worst thing in the world, and has a lot of upsides as well. I also couldn’t imagine not having horses in my life when I was a teenager, but during college I only had time and money for a weekly lesson and after graduating I couldn’t afford horses at all for a few years. It gave me a chance to become a more well-rounded person, get my career off the ground, have a social life, and explote other interests without constantly stressing about paying for horses or fitting in riding time. I’d never really had free time before because I was always at school, the barn, or at work to pay for the barn. I ultimately think the break was a good thing, and it makes me appreciate the horses so much more now that I’m back. I suspect I would have burned out on the sport by now if I’d spent those years struggling to make the horse thing work.

Personally, I would either look at finding your horse a new job for at least your first year of university, or just lower your expectations for how consistently you’ll be riding for a while until you’re more settled at school. Your horse won’t care if she spends most of her time out to pasture, as long as she’s well cared for. If you find that you really value your barn time and can fit it in without compromising other areas of your life, then great! If not, at least you’ll know your horse is happy and healthy, and you have the space to focus on other things for a while.

If you do decide to find her another job, even temporarily, you could look into leasing to trail or low-level dressage homes depending on what her injury allows. She may also be of interest to therapeutic riding programs if she’s cleared for light flatwork, and they also typically accept lease arrangements.