Riding/boarding your horse while in college

[poltroon]

I don’t think anyone should go to college specifically to “party” but I will say that there are so many opportunities that only happen while you’re a college student that are not particularly compatible with riding regularly. For example, I did a summer research project that involved me spending weeks at a time at an observatory taking data. If I had still had my horse, that would have been a no-go for me, and it was really a key and valuable element of my college experience.

Most colleges that I’ve seen have some kinds of travel or extended field trip type opportunities.

Not all students and colleges might be in that situation, but there are a lot of internship and even social events that are very much about networking and learning (and not about getting plastered ). Some colleges are mostly about the classes, but for many of them, the opportunities outside of class are even more valuable. So keeping your eye on that and what things aren’t happening may be worth consideration, and if she finds that she is not riding much, make that really okay and not allow the horse to be a source of obligation. It might be that having the horse to start is comforting but that sending him back to you after the first semester or year is also a good solution.

[Scribbler]

In college and university I got really involved in the student newspapers, we published twice a week and stayed up late or all night doing production. I ended up an editor and everything I learned about organization, interpersonal relations, running a project, etc helped me enormously in adult life. In addition to the actual skills and knowledge. We ran educational conferences and workshops for ourselves and we did party, but we were also serious about things. I also ended up living downtown and following the local music scene and having serious boyfriends. The friends I made in college have been important emotionally and career wise my whole life. I don’t regret I stepped back from horses in those years. It would be different if you were competing or advancing in horses.

[LCDR]

What is your child’s intended major, and what are her plans after she graduates? I ask this because science majors will likely have lab courses that will occupy their afternoons. And some majors are very work intense (studying, research, and writing) while others are not. These things will come into play when trying to find riding time.

If future plans include either graduate or professional schools, then the time and effort spent to earn good grades versus the “gentlewoman’s C” are important. I spent 30 years screening applicants, and a poor GPA meant an immediate toss into the reject pile.

[littlebaypony]

If the close by barn doesn’t work out your daughter could consider finding a local individual that would let her board at their home place. My neighbor has done this and charged a very low fee plus a turn at helping with barn chores each week.She was flexible on schedule, let one girl build an entire jumping area in her side pasture (the trainer came to her) and she sometimes helped haul to local horse shows.
Keep in mind that there are also older ladies like me that would be thrilled to have a college student come out and ride my horses for me. I’ve had one student take me up on the offer and we enjoyed trail riding together and she sometimes just rode in my pasture.She had the option of hauling to a nearby barn for lessons or to use their arena. I even took her to Polocrosse practice and she was loaned a horse for practices and got to compete at a tournament.
Explore your options!

[NC001]

Agreed this is definitely an important quality to enjoying a horse when you have a busy schedule! Luckily my daughters horse is like that. She never has to lunge him before getting on regardless of how long it’s been.

[NC001]

she too is an introvert - I think having the horse will be good for her sanity for sure.

[NC001]

It will be flexible. It may be some years he doesnt go with her and others he does. He has a place to come back to and I can ride him or peopl ecan lesson on him or we can do partial leases. He’s an good egg luckily and everyone has asked me if he’s going to be up for sale or lease!

[NC001]

She will be in the science field and will do post grad work. I’m a scientist and her dad is an engineer and we both have careers in our fields. We are well aware of what it takes. I lived with med students and vet students while in grad school.
Lots of kids go to college and do sports so the demands of her horse will be far less than athletes that spend 5-6 hours a day training. And many of those athletes go on to post grad work including professional schools.

[dmveventer]

I would be a bit careful with this. Yes, having the horse can be a great outlet, but you don’t want your daughter to become so removed from campus life that she doesn’t find her “people” at school. It’s a big adjustment, finding yourself in a brand new place without anyone you know around. As an introvert I definitely had to push myself out of my comfort zone to find the people I wanted to spend time with, but it was worth it (and a useful life skill to develop). It was a rough first semester though, and if I’d had a horse full time I probably wouldn’t have tried as hard as I did and that initial loneliness might have turned into something more permanent.

There is so much more to college social life than drinking and partying. You don’t have to do that at all if you don’t want to, and there’s a big spectrum between having zero friends on campus or going to ragers every weekend. I didn’t drink much in college and still spent plenty of time hanging out with my friends, volunteering, interning, and generally trying new things with the time that had previously been consumed by horses. I’m surprised by how quick this thread has been to write off having a life in college - there is actually more out there than horses, and college is the perfect time to test things out. It was a valuable experience that helped me grow as a person, and confirmed that I really did miss having horses in my life because I love them, not because I just didn’t know what I was without them.

OP I think your overall plan is a good one - send the horse up, give your daughter something familiar to fall back on, but keep the pressure off if she finds she’d rather spend more time elsewhere. She’s lucky to have a sensible horse and parents willing to support her in whatever way she needs!

[LCDR]

Good point above. If the horse takes too much time away from “real university life” she might as well be going to a commuter college at home.

But I believe OP is interested in affirmation rather than any potential negatives.

[atr]

My inclination would be not to send the horse the first semester while she’s finding her feet and getting settled in to a new life, and then seeing how she feels.

[Bearx2]

@NC001

Lots of kids go to college and do sports so the demands of her horse will be far less than athletes that spend 5-6 hours a day training. And many of those athletes go on to post grad work including professional schools.

You might be comparing apples to oranges here. College athletes can only practice 4 hours a day during the season and 8 hours a week during the offseason. In addition many programs offer some sort of academic support, such as required study halls and tutors .

NCAA Rules Regarding Practice Hours

It can be so hard to have this type of schedule with horses, especially when things go wrong. So if I was going to send the horse to college I would make sure that you and daughter have a plan . It can be stressful if horse gets sick or injured , especially when the rider cannot be there .

[trubandloki]

@Bearx2

You might be comparing apples to oranges here. College athletes can only practice 4 hours a day during the season and 8 hours a week during the offseason. In addition many programs offer some sort of academic support, such as required study halls and tutors .

How are these rules written?
I know high school athletes get around this by the team work-outs during the off season are not “required” just “recommended”. But they take attendance.

[Bearx2]

NCAA Rules Regarding Practice Hours

defining-cara.pdf

Staying on Track to Graduate

https://aspsa.unc.edu/seasons-of-competition/

Deion Sanders RIPS Colorado players after reading a note from a professor | ESPN...

Do college athletes spend time doing things like public out reach, traveling to competitions and self imposed exercise? Yes . Can that add to the hours they spend doing their sport ? Yes . But as the links above shows , that goes hand in hand with academic support and general rules about amount of time they can practice . College coaches have a vested interest in making sure their athletes are following the rules and maintaining their grades . Athletes cannot play if they don’t. A person that is participating in sports outside the college might or might not get the same level of support and understanding that college athletes do.

Again, as I said in my last post , a plan should be in place so if something goes wrong with the horse everyone involved, mom, trainer and daughter know how it will be handled.

[NC001]

Agreed- we know plenty of college athletes and know the amount of time they are spending with their sport and teammates as they still go to class and have social lives.

My kid also did a varsity sport through high school in addition to riding, she was team captain this year, is taking 5 AP classes, was in 2 other clubs and earned her bronze medal in dressage all while getting in her college apps and getting into her top choice college. She’s pretty good at handling her schedule. If anything happens to the horse I will be there to take care of him as needed.

[Caol_Ila]

I had my horse as an undergrad, then a post grad, and then however many postgrad degrees I could ram in after the first one (three, it turns out).

It was fine. When I was an undergrad, my horse was on campus because the uni had a barn, and I was allowed my car anyways. I didn’t have trouble balancing horse with social life and academics, but I was a B-average student and worked out that a 91% in a class is as good as a 98%. And in the classes I didn’t give a damn about and wasn’t going to get an A in anyway, (anything involving math) scraping by with a low B (like 81%) seemed reasonable. Do you remember what grade you got in that class in 2002? Yeah, me neither. I rode my horse six days per week because the turnout at my uni sucked (and probably still does… two hours per day in a wee paddock). I also went to parties, had friends, we did nights out at local restaurants, gallivanted into NYC, got up to all sorts of nonsense. I miss being an undergrad. I’d definitely relive that, but without the being young and stupid part.

The limitations I had were that semesters/years abroad seemed impossible, and I knew lots of people who were having an amazing time doing that. Ach well… I live here now. And because uni was far from where my parents lived (CO to MA), myself and horse couldn’t just pop home for the summer. I had to hustle to find something to do on the East Coast every summer. It wasn’t always fun, but it was character building.

I didn’t join as many clubs/societies as other people might have done. Whatever. I didn’t care. With other kids, that could be an issue. It depends on what they want to do. I was in the freshmen choir, which was great fun, then auditioned to join the upperclassmen choir. That choir director was like, “It’s a huge time commitment. We expect you to devote every evening of your life to the choir and we do concerts in far flung places like Philadelphia every weekend. Will that work with the horse?” I was like, um, no, not really. I was in choir for the craic. I wasn’t that serious. I found other ways to be involved in music that demanded les commitment.

If your kid is serious about the horse, she’ll make it work. It’s easily doable. If she wants to hurl herself wholeheartedly into other stuff, it will be hard. And some uni clubs/societies are super chill, whilst others expect you to sign over your life and your first born. Some kids are happy sticking to the thing they know and love. Some want to try lots of new things and maybe find new passions. You know your kid.

And this is what I say to the students I know now, either through my current barn (which has some young people) and through the Glasgow Uni mountaineering club, which I was involved in long after I finished my PhD. “Are you really going to spend the next 48 hours straight studying for that exam? Really? Why not spend a few hours riding your horse/going up that hill/going for a run?” You will probably study more effectively if you do that." No one listened, but I’d say it anyway.

[Libby2563]

@atr

My inclination would be not to send the horse the first semester while she’s finding her feet and getting settled in to a new life, and then seeing how she feels.

I second this. This is what my parents and I agreed on, though for the first year. That said, I was much much happier and more balanced once I had my horse years two through four. I was borderline depressed freshman year due to not having my buddy and stress outlet, moving to a very unfamiliar urban environment across the country, etc. I did use the time to dabble in a club sport that I would probably never have made time for (rugby), which was a fun novelty but not a passion.

Sophomore through senior years I drove 25-40 min each way to ride probably 5 days a week, competed up to PSG, did USDF regionals, and held down a very good GPA with a triple major. I’ve spent my whole life at around that level of busy-ness and I’m good at time management, so it worked for me and was completely worth being off-campus regularly for a few hours at a time. It really didn’t impede my social life or ability to do anything I wanted to. I even shipped out to lessons regularly. I did have to leave a seminar class early once to drive my horse to a clinic for emergency surgery, but the professor was very understanding and let me give my presentation first then leave. I’m very grateful to my parents for supporting my horse through college, to include shipping back and forth each summer!