There are things they didn’t tell you when they said, buy a horse. I’m going to fill you in on these realities.
For starters, your vet is always on speed dial. Your horse will find a way to prompt you to call that vet at least once a month. In fact, you’ll create a close relationship with that vet. He or she may even laugh at you from time to time. That’s because sometimes you won’t be able to keep from calling when you’re pretty positive your horse has come down with that latest blood disease you just read about online.
[READ: Keep Your Horse in a Vet-Friendly Barn]
You experience extreme emotions. These range from delirious joy to sadness you’ve never felt before—and everything in between.
You no longer have any money. As a child, you had a saying: “My dog ate my homework.” Now, your new adult saying is, “My horse ate my wallet.” Whether it’s needing special feed or requiring monthly $125+ shoes, your horse will always find a way to spend a bit more money than you actually have.
[READ: Financial Tips for Horse Owners]
There become fewer hours in a day. You already thought you needed two extra hours to accomplish all the things on your to-do list. Now you need five more hours to accommodate all the time you spend at the barn. (Don’t worry, though. Those hours at the barn will be the best hours of your day.)
Your house is no longer spotless. Well, OK…maybe it never was spotless, but now—thanks to the fact that you have even fewer hours in your day—your to-do list of house chores will drift into the trash. Because of course cleaning your horse’s stall definitely ranks above the dirty dishes piling up in your kitchen sink.
The smell of barn and horse follows you everywhere. This seems gross at first, but quickly becomes normal. Eventually, you may even show up to work with a few pieces of hay in your hair and horse slobber on your jacket.
You like your horse more than you like people. You say, “Oh, but I love my husband.” Let me tell you—you will love your horse more.
All this is what they didn’t tell you, and now I have. But there’s one more reality you need to know, and it’s probably the most important of all: Owning a horse is the best thing that will happen to you. And you’ll deal with the challenges. So, by all means: buy a horse!
[READ: Horse Buying Tips]
