Loved this video. I first started watching your channel about 7 months ago when I was thinking of moving out of London and buying my first horse at 29. Now 7 months on I'm waiting anxiously for her to be vetted! Your channel has been such a source of knowledge and reassurance to me over those months, and no doubt will continue to be. Thank you so much!
Ahh this comment makes me so happy. Thank you for sharing your experience and good luck with the vetting, it was definitely the most nerve-wracking bit for me. I'm so glad to hear my channel has been helpful in your journey, thank you for saying that
Very happy for you that you made the decision and turned your dream into a reality! I completely agree that it is the best. I bought my first horse when I was 29 and now at 36 bought my second horse a year ago. Best decisions I ever made as well. 😍🥰
I see alot of myself in this video. I got my boy Samson in 2020 and I planned for him working full time and made a support network and budgeted to an extent. Owning him is the best ever decision I have made. I wanted a horse since I was 2 years old and even though I had to wait till I was 27 it was well worth the wait. Love your videos!!!
Awww… this video really really resonated with me. I bought my “Woody” 10 months ago and my journey has been very similar to yours. A lot of planning beforehand, support from wise horse people, ups and downs, but an amazing experience (and I work and am mother of two young children)! Wouldn’t change a thing and I too get emotionally charged thinking about how much joy I get from my 2-3days a week riding and bonding with my girl 🥰. Thanks for sharing!
Agree with so many of your points! I would add in the “right horse” part that you have to feel that connection. I bought a great horse who allowed me to learn and improve….but I never felt connected to him. In the end, I decided I needed something different and found the perfect fit - in what the horse has to offer AND in my connection with him. I feel about my boy the way you talk about Woody. They are soulmates! ❤️❤️❤️
Yes this is true! And I have spoken about it before but for me the "connection" moment came after I popped a fence at the viewing without worrying - I felt completely safe with him and that said a lot
You and woody are such a great pair! I REALLY want a horse, we plan to get one in about 3 years or 4 when i leave school! Thank you for the advice, i love your videos :)
I bought my first horse almost a month ago, we weren't even planning to look at him on the day. We were going to look at a wee standy who was lovely but I don't think we clicked, my friend had pointed out an add for a chestnut tb just five minutes away from where we were viewing. So we went and had a look and him and I fell in love with him at first sight, he was almost exactly what I wanted and I couldn't be happier.
I'm so lucky my folks bought my first horse but I took over financially at 16 and I'm so glad I did! Now I work full time and have a career, as I've been budgeting for the horse for over ten years, it all falls into place a lot easier compared to people who maybe got used to not needing to put aside hundreds of pounds a month (eg. They were working full time before they got a horse). Xx
Love this video, so raw about what can happen and work and other commitments but seeing the happy face at the end of the day makes it all worth it! Love watching yours and Woody’s bond, I’ve been backing my youngster for over a year now taken it very slow just had to send him to a lovely yard to get him going more than I can due to me having a operation and not being that confident riding him.. can’t wait to have him back and build our bond stronger❤️x
Love this!! 6 months in with my new boy and we are not doing the things I thought we would be by now. Like you said, the foundation is so important and it’s ok to take the time to get that right. We are hobby riders with full time jobs. I have been super jealous of your bond and where you are with Woody in comparison but lately....we have been getting there slowly too! It’s a different journey for every rider and every horse so can’t compare ❤️
It is! And it's different for every horse too. Woody and I do have a lovely bond but don't forget that he's a very personable character anyway, so he's very friendly with everyone, making it much easier to bond. It just takes some horses a little longer to come out of their shell
@@RidingWithRhi hmmmm when your head is turned the camera captures the special bond between you. The way that boy makes you smile and glow!! Aghhh I’m all jealous again 😂
I envy your insurance in UK. In Ireland there's only indemnity insurance, nothing for vet bills. The only one that used to offer it has left the market. I did do a budget before and was still very surprised. Only a year on I finally feel like I'm recovering financially. I adore your yard and the support you find there. I didn't find that, we are struggling with our yard and it's very stressful. It's difficult to know if it's any better anywhere else or how to deal with it all. I love my horse but it's also currently a huge source of stress.
That's so exciting Beth, good luck with your search. Thank you for your lovely comment, it's so nice to hear that the content is useful! Anything I can do to share the knowledge I've been lucky enough to get taught myself is always something I want to do.
Definitely agree about it being non linear. I’ve had my share horse since October and the things we’re working on aren’t necessarily things I thought we’d be looking at five months down the line. To the point that sometimes it can feel like I just work I. One problem or issue and then discover another. It can definitely feel like two steps forward one step back at times but progress is progress and it’s worth getting it right at the start. Also agree with planning. I feel so much better planning on a Sunday for my week ahead so I know how riding and other horse related things will fit around work
Love love love this video! ❤️ I have done all the planning and taken on all tips you have to offer and it has really helped me out. It has helped given me mindset of whether or not I can afford a horse right now and what the future looks like. I have recently bought my first horse, have only had him for 1 week and he is best decision I have ever made. I love him so much already! We share the same horse anniversary, my Clydesdale came home 5th March!
It's really interesting and good to see how folks do things to fit in with their workflow and environment - I think I'm at the extreme other end of the scale though which feels (to me) somewhat relaxed to the point of falling backwards with my mare (owned for 16 months now) DIY livery (it's a field, 24/7 turnout), boot of my car is my tack room and the lanes and local woods my 'exercise yard'. Rugging is easy depending on the weather and her body condition (World Horse Welfare has a lot to say on this) and barefoot, so no farrier bills... It helps that I live in a small town in the countryside and work mostly from home and don't do competition but the occasional cross country ride is fun. (I'm the worlds happiest hacker) Insurance is always going to be an interesting point - I have the World Horse Welfare package which isn't full insurance, more a "get me home" service (plus liability, etc.) Good points about shopping though - stay away from the leather shops! (Although if I'd known about BioThane I'd have gone down that route - still tempted but I do like my western style leather headstall and treeless saddle) -Thanks!
Loved watching this! But I cant not get every LeMieux colour that's new! 🤣 There is a tack shop (very overpriced🤫) opposite my yard, I just cant say no 😂
Such a wonderful video getting to see how your partnership with Woody has grown this past year. Thank you as always for freely sharing your experiences and expertise with us. This is a bit of a random question, but how easy/hard is it for a horse to switch disciplines? Say, for example, you’d want to try riding Western with Woody…would that be a difficult thing to do or would he be adaptable to potentially different aids/tack etc.?
Hmm. It's a great question and I think it's mostly based on the horse's attitude: how much do they like to learn, how quickly can they pick up new things and how comfortable are they with change? I'd say Woody is pretty good when presented with those. What you may not get with switching disciplines is the natural talent, E.g speed, jumping height, ability to turn on a sixpence like a barrel horse etc
I also try to find information on this! I live in the Midwest USA and around here it's all western horses and I just happen to be in love with dressage. Im always trying to find information on getting a western horse to do dressage and a bit of jumping. If you find some info on this I would personally LOVE to hear it. Thanks again Rhi for all your valuable info!
@@HorseyHonor I struggle to find the things I really want. My bad for looking at so much European stuff whilst living in Australia with a reluctance to spend money.
I'm thinking of getting my first horse and I'm also trying to budget but when I ask people about it everyone just keeps telling me it's expensive and I shouldn't get a horse i should get a bike because it's cheaper and easier than caring for a horse, and i know horses are expensive but if i didnt think i could care for a horse i woudnt get one. Overall my experience with asking people for advice has really not been good
I did a whole video on monthly costs of horses with a full breakdown of prices you may find useful. But yes, they are very expensive! You are looking at around £400 a month and up
I don’t know about in the UK or anywhere else but in MN the horse people are very mean. I thought they would be nice but they are not. They told me I didn’t know what I was doing after 20 sum years. As they had been all along. I was not prepared for this.
I think it depends on a couple of things: 1) what disciplines do you do (if you compete you'll need white, if you hunt you'll need brown etc) 2) how many saddles do you have (dressage and jump saddles take different shapes of saddle pad and 3) how often can you wash them. Provided that you can circulate sweaty pads out and keep your horse's skin healthy i don't think you need loads. I'd say you could easily comfortably rotate four if you could wash them regularly