<p>CTscout, apparently this pleas is several years out of date, and homes were found for all of the horses long ago.</p>
<p>We need to add “horse” to the A-Z Packing List thread. :D</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html?highlight=a+z[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html?highlight=a+z</a></p>
<p>The clarification of that story is all over the web and it seems they were placed very quickly, more than 2 years ago. The wording that circulated is apparently not original. But in its own way, it does show how horses can move from one owner to another.</p>
<p>I personally would discourage my child from taking a horse. I don’t think this is like taking a violin, rather more like taking a dog or a cat. The horse is a living creature who will need attention and I wouldn’t want my child to have to focus on taking care of an animal her first semester of school. There are too many new things to focus on and she already will be part of the equestrian team where she will be riding horses most days.</p>
<p>She will not have to focus on animal care. The horse will be in a boarding facility that handles all daily care. The student will only have to ride him a couple of times a week.</p>
<p>What will happen with the horse on school vacations and next summer?</p>
<p>I’m so sorry she lost her “heart” horse. I hope that having the summer riding the leased horse has helped her in her healing. And helped her know that even if the horse she passionately loved is gone, that the passion of riding is still there.</p>
<p>Years ago when D1 aged out of Juniors (mostly rode Eq and Medals) we sold her horse the fall of her freshman year. It was the plan all along, but emotionally harder than anticipated when we bought him. Many tears at the time, but she knew the focus needed to be school. (We’re in the LA area, and she’s about 45 minutes away from home and about the same to the barn – give or take an hour, being LA and all…) And it wasn’t financially an option anyway as board and training is crazy expensive here.</p>
<p>Since then she’s always found a way to keep horses in her life. </p>
<p>She rode on the IHSA team freshman year. She liked her teammates and was very successful at shows, but the constant fundraising was a PIA and it really wasn’t as much saddle time or the quality of horses that she was used to. (IHSA programs vary greatly, so ymmv… but, at least in our experience, they have horses that could not otherwise be leased out: hot, old, soundness issues… ) </p>
<p>After freshman year she leased a fabulous young jumper for the summer with the proceeds of the sale horse. She’s been a catch rider and exercised horses for sales barns in the area. Whenever she can make the drive to the old barn, there’s usually a horse to ride (but usually only on the flat).</p>
<p>For her, not having the horse at school helped her embrace the whole college experience … she’s getting good grades, joined a sorority and has a boyfriend that doesn’t have four legs ;-)</p>
<p>Bottom line, if we had the resources and let her take her horse to school, would she have stayed in her comfort zone and not spread her wings? In our case, D1 and I both agree we made the right decision. OP, I think that’s the big question you need to answer.</p>
<p>I brought a horse to college and it was my saving grace. Although it was time consuming, I still managed to have a job on campus, and participate in as many social activities and do well academically. Having a horse kept me sane when things got really tough in school. Whatever makes your daughter comfortable in her first year in college I would make every effort to make happen. What is the worst that could happen, she ends up deciding that she does not have time for a horse and returns the horse home. I say go for it.</p>
<p>Are you worried about the cost of keeping the lease? Is it too much to handle if you had to cancel the lease a month in? I know from experience that college is tough and frankly, I would never put myself in a position to take care of another life while dealing with this college ****. Maybe having the horse will help her stay more focused than she will be able to otherwise. Your call in the end.</p>
<p>REALLY???
If this family can afford and understand the need of their D to have this horse with her—What is the question. I honestly am sorry for the poster. This child needs her horse. this family can figure the $ and dynamics out.
If this was my D I would talk with her about her social life and her academics and let her know that we, as a family, are stretching and that we will take it semester by semester.
I applaud you for knowing your own Kid.</p>
<p>The person asked for our input so that is what various people are offering. I didn’t read every post, but early on someone mentioned that the person has only been doing this for 3 months which makes a BIG difference (if true). If this is just a newly found hobby, then the advice would be a lot different from someone who is attending college on a riding scholarship, for example. </p>
<p>There are also longer term commitments to consider like the costs, time it would take away from college and exactly what arrangements you need to make during summer break…etc.</p>
<p>Various people are offering their advice, you are welcome to agree or disagree.</p>
<p>Times…she has been riding THIS horse for three months. She has had a horse…one who died, since she was a preteen. </p>
<p>This is a family decision…they know their kiddo the best. If they are all on board with the horse going and the finances to support this, I say…send the horse.</p>
<p>But really, I still wonder about those school breaks. Winter break is usually three weeks long…longer at some schools. And summer is three months. Will the horse be transported back and forth?</p>
<p>My daughter has been riding this particular leased horse for just a few months, but riding has been a lifelong activity for her. She first took riding lessons at age 6, started competing at age 11, and owned a horse starting at age 12. She is now learning a new riding discipline, hunt seat equitation over fences (e.g. jumping), in preparation for competing in IHSA at college. </p>
<p>The horse would be in a full-care boarding facility, but would still require some care, appointments for the farrier and vet, plus riding at least twice a week, preferably 3x. She is an older horse, and 2-3x riding per week is sufficient, unlike some young horses who need daily exercise. </p>
<p>I don’t know the quality of the school horses, but her trainer has said that they are likely to be much less good than the current leased horse, since they are used by true beginner riders. The IHSA team members at her college are only required to take lessons once per week. I don’t think the team is so serious, compared to some of the other schools we visited.</p>
<p>If we continued to lease the horse, we would take it back to the local barn over the summer. I’m not sure about winter break.</p>
<p>First post: kid has owned a horse since age 12.</p>
<p>Ime, on breaks, there can be a fee for the higher level of attention while the owner is away. You make those arrangements; there’s usually something in the contract. Many take their horses home in summer. I knew some who left them there in return for the horse being used for qualified riders in serious summer programs. Depends.</p>
<p>xpost.</p>
<p>But I want to add that horse people (we’re not talking about boarding at a local farm) how the ropes, the range of good practices and what has to be considered.</p>
<p>thumper-I will share what I have observed at my D’s barn. Winter and spring breaks, most end up taking a shorter break. They go home for part of the break but return early. At my D’s barn you can pay the equestrian center a daily rate to turn out your horse. Also the young women tend to help each other out. Whenever my D has gone away she has had friends available who will ride or turn out her horse. She in turn does the same for them.
I did notice that some of the riders who had access to a trailer and just lived a few hours away did take the horse home over winter break.
Summer- the equestrian center becomes a bit of a ghost town. The majority take their horses home. In the case of a couple of my D’s friends who live cross country they did not go home and are working and attending summer session. In their cases it is too costly to ship a horse back and forth several times a year. It is a sacrifice they make to have their horse at school. For my D she recently bought a new young horse. Part of our condition for purchase that we would not pay for training at home. She agreed and is spending the summer at her university and riding daily. Her school barn is much more affordable.
In the OP case they are only a few hours from the barn. They might have a trailer they can use to transport cheaply.
My D and her barn friends are not interested in sorority life. The barn is where they hang out even when they aren’t riding. It is their social outlet.
OTOH my D has a barn friend from home who is headed to a big rah rah school. Part of her would love to take her horse and she is heartbroken about selling him but she knows herself. This young woman wants to join a sorority and go to football games. She knows she would not have time for her horse.</p>
<p>a college i saw in new york, private, has a stable or something right by the school, sarah lawrence or something like that…one of those schools in the rural area up north</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence is right outside NYC. You must be thinking of some other school.</p>
<p>This thread makes me want to pound my head against the wall. The number of people who are apparently incapable of grasping the basic facts of the situation and the number who think it is appropriate to make snarky remarks just astound me.</p>
<p>OP, you are very gracious and patient. If it were me I would be reaching for the Tums. :)</p>
<p>ccnube–You might be thinking Skidmore, in Saratoga. I used to live near there, we’d drive by the stables sometimes. I’m sure there are other NY colleges with boarding facilities, but Skidmore gets mentioned on CC kind of a lot. Naturally, Saratoga is a very “horsey” town, and there’s plenty of rural space around it.</p>
<p>I think aMacMom makes some very good points about the pros and cons of having a horse on campus. I couldn’t care less about the Op’s family resources, I think you have to approach the situation as, “Is this the best choice for the student in front of me?” Some people have financial resources, but a lot of horse families give up plenty of other things to make horses a priority. There’s nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>I have a few thoughts. </p>
<p>(I was a very accomplished rider – USPC A rating achieved at 17 – and attended a university with an IHSA team in the 70s. That said, while I had innumerable horses to ride and even compete with, I did not actually own my own horse until I was 40.)</p>
<p>I’m curious about what discipline the young woman in question has been pursuing (dressage?) that she’s just now learning to jump. </p>
<p>I am curious about the relationship between the trainer at home and the new leased horse. IMHO a schoolmaster at the college stable might be a better jumping teacher. Does the trainer have a vested interest in the leased horse continuing to be leased to your daughter? On the other hand, it seems to me that an accomplished rider with a summer of training in a new discipline on a new horse, should have picked up the basics of that discipline fairly easily and that would not be my reasoning for taking that particular horse to school.</p>
<p>Did I read correctly that your D will be on campus for a few weeks before the horse can arrive? That might be enough time for her to get her feet under her with both academics and equestrian activity. I might even buy myself another month – and then the horse can go up. She might even decide by then that he doesn’t need to be there, and you can give up the lease.</p>
<p>Also thinking that you might pony up (pun intended) for several lessons with the college stable trainers on the stable horses during orientation and the first month – like 2-3 lessons per week – just to get acclimated to the stable, trainers, and atmosphere.</p>
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<p>Maybe we (or our teams) showed against each other 
!</p>