Just before lockdown I got back into horses/ riding again. Had a few lessons and a 8yo horse on loan who’s owner had him on full loan and never rode. This was a very small yard and the Yard Owner only rode out with friends and did not want me to come along as my loan was unfit/ nappy due to being out of work.
Then a friend from work offered to loan me her horse on another tiny yard as she had just had twins. Her horse was a fabulous happy hacker and has no vices at all other than he hates the school and won’t hack alone. She eventually decided to sell him and offered me a really good price as she could still come to visit and knew I would look after him. At precisely that time, just as I was getting confident and a much better rider, and my horse fitter, one person on the yard had a fall and lost her nerve and the other two left. These two were replaced by children with ponies who ride them round the school while their mothers video them for social media and only hack out occasionally and for a short period of time and the horse of the person who fell was left in the field.
So at the end of last year I moved to my current yard, which is much, much bigger and I was told lots of people hack out all the time and I can get support from the YO who is also a trainer, to get my horse hacking alone. Not as much turnout here as my old yard but seemed perfect in other ways. In the first three months it was great, when the weather was decent enough there were people riding out, one in particular I got on with. But then in March, she left for a yard with more turnout and the other people I rode with stopped riding as the sales liveries they used were sold and the ones they owned are still too young to ride. The rest of the people on the yard either have shetlands as pets that they are way too big to ride, are children on lead rein, or have foals that the YO will break in when they are old enough ( none older than two years old). There is one exception of a really lovely teen who comes and rides one of the smaller ponies for its owner. I am now relying on a 15 year old to ride with and last night missed a date night with DH so I could get out and ride with her .
I hate being so reliant on anyone, let alone a teen who will no doubt much rather be with kids her own age. I have put sooo much time in with my horse doing ground work and training but it’s one step forward, three steps back. I can get him out for a short period of time alone but he is soo nappy, for example it took me an hour to get about a quarter of a mile up the road last week and that was my most successful lone outing in all the time I have had him. In contrast, he is a dream out and about when there is at least one other horse around.
I am feeling extremely despondent and frustrated today. The YO has no time to help me and I feel that the yard isn’t what I was told it was in that hardly anyone rides out at all but the people who are there are lovely and the horses are well cared for, which means a lot.
My horse is 16 and I am 55. It is summer soon and I want us to be having fun together while we are still fit and able to. I am not sure whether to look at other yards or just give up and resign myself to groundwork and long reining forever.
If I do look yet again, is it likely to be the same? Are there any yards where lots of people hack out regularly and do fun things like days out for beach and forest rides? This is what I want but how do I know that they really do this stuff rather then telling me what I want to hear? I did check the social media of my current yard and there are pics on there of farm rides but I found out that they were from years ago.
sorry for the long post but it feels good to get it out. I am in Cheshire and currently play £360 per month for half livery if this is relevant but I am wondering what other people’s experiences are generally from all types and sizes of yard nationwide and if my experience is typical?