Do you reckon in this day and age it would be feasible to replace your car with a horse and trap?

[flashingnose]

Just wondering really. Maybe not in an inner city but anywhere else? Do you reckon it would get nicked from outside the shops?

But where would you keep a horse??

Well there are fields round about with horses in, so I assume I could chuck mine in as well for a fee.

Alternatively, it could live in the garden .

It would eat all your plants and trash your lawn with it's pointy, horsey hooves (shudder)

you can't canter down the A41 on a horse, with 2 kids and loads of shopping

Well, it would be popular with rose growers! Do you think they would provide special Parent and Baby places to park your horse and trap in Tesco's?

I have fields around too but most people don't. If Phil & Kirsty are anything to go by, converting your dining room into a stable would not be a very profitable!

If you have reasonable first aid skills you can get away without calling the vet for most things. But vets are expensive (£50 plus call out before they even look at the animal) and you have to know what you're doing. Ponies are pretty tough and much less likely to get into trouble than your average thoroughbred though.

pmsl at southeastastra

When I was a teenager I remember there was an old guy in our town who lost his driving license through drink-driving so he got around by horse and cart (although I think I'm right in saying you can be done for drunk in charge of a horse and cart too -Cod, where are you? you'd know the answer!)

Bit hard to get drunk and drive a horse and cart into a tree, though.

So I would probably get a reputation hereabouts for being a drunken silly bint then.

Might look into the bikes though

NQC -but you might lose control of your horse and it could eat someones prize hanging baskets

I've done this and the only problem was the silly bints driving cars getting in the way!

There's a woman in our village with a pony and trap. Although I've never seen her park it outside the shop.

The main drawback I see is the vets bills for the horse when it gets injured/ill.

Also there's the safety aspect - I'm sure even the nicest of horses gets scared every so often - this could be while it was transporting you & your children. At least the car is in 100% of the driver (well supposedly).

Ahh planes - it's a shame it's not feasible for most people to fly to work. Well for me to anyway. Would get to avoid the idiots that seem to drive to work at the same time as me.

I suppose it would depend on what you use your car for as well.

For me it would be no good - I'm not likely to be travelling 50miles a day in one. But if you just go to the next village or something it probably wouldn't be as bad.

Also will you want to be outside in the middle of winter in the trap when it's freezing, pouring with rain?

And I suppose you can't just stick it in the long-stay carpark at Heathrow for two weeks when you go on holiday.

It wouldn't be much good for anything over about 5 miles. Also, not very quick for getting out in the mornings. It takes me 2 mins to get car out, loaded up with school bags etc, keys in, away.

My horse (pre-married days) used to take me approx an hour to get ready.... catch him, groom gritty bits off saddle and bridle areas so he didn't chaffe, get me boots on, find hat etc. An hour if he was very dirty from rolling, 30 mins if he was stable -fresh.

Couldn't get to LHR with it I don't expect - well it'd probably take as long as the 2 week holiday! (Plus I'm sure the traffic around the airport would love going at 30mph or whatever you should do around horses!)

NQC, where can I find out more about Dutch bikes?

Silly bint speaking. I'm currently training a pony to pull a trap to do part-time school run. Even if I only do school pick-up it'll be 6 miles less per day in the car. I may do some of the shopping in it too - every little helps. Although I might have to buy one of those anti-theft wheel clamp devices to deter joy riders..

Mostly I want to piss off all the drivers who speed down my country lane when they should be using the A-roads.

We could all have shetland ponies. They are very strong but don't take up much room or eat much. Am liking this idea .

the wonders of mn, are u lot really serious?

right horse and cart - env friendly
but, vets bills, food bills, eating nightbours plants.hedges, too small a garden, nowhere to tether it outside school/shops, silly cow in merc wud prob run it over, what do I do with it when I go on hol, doesn't do 40mph, needs mucking out, vets bils.shoeing, clipping, cannot park it on drive and jsut leafve it o/n, possibinlty of bolting/kicking./biting

bike - very env friendily, no feeding or petrol costs!
get punctures every week (ime), cannot do 40mp - no way could get from dd's chool to ds1s school in time, v hard to transpot 4 kids, where do I put shopping, bloody hard work - no way I could pedal four kids!

car - env unfriendly, petrol, runnign costs
but warm, heated seats/air con, in car entertainent, fast, no eating of hedges or vets bills! plenty of luggage space, kids far more protected from silly cow in merc, can take thru drive thru for tea! comfortable, can be locked and alarmed - less likely to be stolen, doesn't bite or kick the kids, does as told All of the time, no extra effort for four children plus friends, doesnt star snorting and moaning abt extra journeys, no emotional ties, never had a puncture,

hmm,, I think I will stick with the car!

Loving this idea - what a great way to get to school. My friend used to come to school on her horse or sometimes in a tractor!

You could even pick other kids up on the way and charge a small amount, like a school bus. I'd definitely use it!