The Confessions of a New Horse Owner

I was so in love with him that I didn’t want to not buy him. Ever since the day I saw him and up until the vet check day I was going to sleep while imagining that I already had him and all the things we would do together. I was already emotionally very invested. 

I was very well aware of all the things that would come with owning him: the financial burden and the time commitment. But I also knew it would come with having an amazing partner. 

After the vet check, I knew I was going to buy him, but I had this fear inside of me. As the dealer was preparing the contract, I still wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. Can I afford to have him? How will it be with this much traveling? Will it be fair to the horse? The dealer pushed the contract in front me. I decided to take a leap of faith and sign it. I was happy, but worried at the same time. Was it too late to cancel the purchase? Would I even have the courage to cancel it, because I already love him so much? 

I just decided to turn off all these feelings and wanted to deal with problems and challenges as they came along. Luckily, so far there hasn’t been anything major. All the good things that came along with owning a horse are:

1. Having a partner
2. Connection with a soul
3. Being able to ride whenever I want
4. Improving my riding skills, because I was riding so much
5. The fulfillment you feel after successfully taking care of him

Now, let’s do a reality check. Yes, the good things are worth having a horse, but I definitely can’t ignore the bad things that came with it. While I wish everyone who wants to own a horse to be able to get their dream horse one day, I want you to know my challenges:

1. Constant desire to make more money, just in case (I highly recommend you to get at least the operation insurance for your horse) - Let me tell you, it is frustrating. And honestly, the ideal way should be to not buy a horse until you think you are 100% ready. I definitely wasn’t, but luckily I’m getting by.
2. “What if I wasn’t ready?” thoughts. 
3. The struggle of arranging things for your horse so much in advance when you want to travel - this is especially stressful when you have a partner, because you will often hear “this is why I didn’t want you to get this horse”
4. General anxiety regarding anything that could all of a sudden go south with having a horse that comes and goes 
5. The fear of “What would people think if I actually had to sell him?” - not that it matters what others think, but let’s be honest, the thought can still come once in a while, because nobody wants to be a bad owner. You want to make sure you have done everything right by a living being that depends on you.

The good parts are definitely worth having a horse, but it will be mentally and emotionally exhausting, because of all the other bad parts. I’m still very grateful that I can own a great horse and take great care of him. My advice, however, is that if you completely want to feel stress free while owning a horse, then really get one when you are 100% ready in every sense. How do you know you are ready? That can be a separate blog post!