<p>Hey everyone! I'm going to be applying to colleges this fall, and I'm looking for some advice, most likely from other equestrians. I will probably be bringing my mare with me wherever I attend; it will allow me to keep working with her and give me another acticvity to do each day to fill spare time. This also means that for every college I look at, I have to check out barns within the area! So, I was wondering if anyone on here has ever brought their horse to college before, and how has it worked out? I'm planning on waiting until sophomore year to join an IHSA team in order to see how busy everything is and whether I can manage the time to both care for my mare and practice for the team. All opinions welcome. Thanks!!</p>
<p>When I read the first few lines, I thought you meant you were going to have your horse live with you inside your dorm. Oh dear, lol.</p>
<p>Anyways - this website talks about students who made college decisions that factored in their horses and whether or not the horses would come with them for school. They considered things like barns, the availability of an equestrian team, and the time/travel constraints that would arise with school/extracurriculars and taking care of your horse. </p>
<p>“Is your horse college bound?”
<a href=“http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-community/is-your-horse-college-bound-25012.aspx”>http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-community/is-your-horse-college-bound-25012.aspx</a></p>
<p>Check out Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA and Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA.</p>
<p>Also, you probably already know this: IHSA does not allow one to compete with one’s own horse. That is to keep it fair for those who don’t have horses.</p>
<p>Note - It takes extraordinary time management skills to ride during college, especially in the upperclass years, when classes for one’s major get more difficult.</p>
<p>Hi, </p>
<p>I’m the mother of rider who recently graduated with a double-major from a top-20 LAC, on the other coast from us. She did not bring her horse to school. </p>
<p>I’d actually encourage you to try out for the IHSA team freshman year. It’s a great way to instantly find your people, including upperclassmen. She found the time commitment manageable, even through junior and senior years, and while juggling a research assistant position, and being in a sorority.She became co-captain of her team by junior year, and made several strong friendships. It actually was a great stress-reliever for her. One thing to note, however: In her Zone, none of the away-shows were more than an hour or so away, which made traveling to them not so bad. No overnights, no 6 hour road trips, ever. This isn’t true for all the IHSA zones. Something to consider…</p>
<p>Because you love to ride, like my daughter, you may find it’s a great way to get off-campus, out of the library, get exercise, and do what you love to do most and are competent at (unlike a lot of other challenges you may face at college!).</p>
<p>Having your own horse at school does take more time: you’ll probably feel like you need to be riding her even during exam times when the IHSA schedule will lighten up, or when you are fighting a freshman-year virus or 2. But IHSA DOES allow a team to bring its own horses to Regionals, Zones, and Finals at the end of the season. It’s a real advantage to be on your own trusty pony then!</p>
<p>I think if my daughter’s horse didn’t have to criss-cross the country to be with her during the school year and then back home to show during the summers, it would have been fine for her to have him there with her. She did miss him! But I also think you would be wise not to bring your horse any sooner than 2nd semester freshman year, or sophomore year, at the earliest. Make sure you have other aspects of your college life sorted out before you add your mare to the mix. (It’s nice to have her back home to ride over winter break!) And it’s really great to learn to ride all the horses in your team barn.</p>
<p>PM me if you want to chat more. </p>
<p>^^^ Actually, I may have that wrong that teams get to supply their own horses for IHSA post-season events. I may be confusing that with athletic conference finals, in which your team may also participate post-season. How soon they forget!</p>
<p>@preamble1776 thank you for the link, quite the informative article!</p>
<p>@Jane345 i will be privately contacting you :)</p>