Ok, I'm a long time reader but I never really post much on equestrian or on my own LJ (swear i'm not a troll!), but after reading for a long time i'm confident i can get some good advice here
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I think this is a situation where it is really really really hard to offer advice. Only you really know what your personal preferences and habits are you know? Some people need a certain amount of downtime, no ifs ands or buts. Other people can go go go like the Energizer bunny - as long as they get to see their horse.
I have no experience with ppl in grad school and horse ownership- everyone I know, including myself, is doing the school/horse thing at the Undergrad level. I'm an adult student, dividing my time between 'work, school and a little time for the horse' but I will be the first to say how much better that works in reality during the summer, when I have piddly online classes, than it does during 'regular' school semesters when I am taking courses in my major (computer programming).
The drawbacks to this are that my green horse still hasn't ever cantered under saddle! And there have moments in time when he was lame and needed walking up hills everyday, and I just did NOT have the time to drive 40 minutes out to the stable and back every single day to do it.
I am very veryvery lucky to have a vet who takes payments over time, but if he didn't man...I probably would have had to sell my horse by now. Of course, $15 an hour is more than I make since I don't have my undergrad degree yet. But the point is...his vet bills have come in $700 to $1000 surprises here and there. That's stressful unless you have a really emergency fund saved up, and since I wasn't smart enough to do that, my advice is that I hope you are! (It sounds like you plan on doing that anyways.)
On the other hand, I'm not sure I can really say that if I could do it all over again I would just stick to taking lessons. Because I love my horse! And he's been a very positive thing in my life, and absolutely my sanity-saver more times than I can count. I can struggle with programming something for two days straight and just not get it you know? and then I'll go see my horse and come home so happy that I get everything all fixed and working in 20 minutes flat. Being an adult student and working isn't easy...and I'm not sure I would still be enrolled in school, or have the kick-ass GPA that I (knock on wood) currently have if I didn't have my horse...
So...only you can tell, really. Looks like an awesome horse to me! what a face...and it sounds like he has a nice easygoing temperament too, which makes a huge huge difference. Just be prepared for some pouting during finals week...
I have no experience with ppl in grad school and horse ownership- everyone I know, including myself, is doing the school/horse thing at the Undergrad level. I'm an adult student, dividing my time between 'work, school and a little time for the horse' but I will be the first to say how much better that works in reality during the summer, when I have piddly online classes, than it does during 'regular' school semesters when I am taking courses in my major (computer programming).
The drawbacks to this are that my green horse still hasn't ever cantered under saddle! And there have moments in time when he was lame and needed walking up hills everyday, and I just did NOT have the time to drive 40 minutes out to the stable and back every single day to do it.
I am very veryvery lucky to have a vet who takes payments over time, but if he didn't man...I probably would have had to sell my horse by now. Of course, $15 an hour is more than I make since I don't have my undergrad degree yet. But the point is...his vet bills have come in $700 to $1000 surprises here and there. That's stressful unless you have a really emergency fund saved up, and since I wasn't smart enough to do that, my advice is that I hope you are! (It sounds like you plan on doing that anyways.)
On the other hand, I'm not sure I can really say that if I could do it all over again I would just stick to taking lessons. Because I love my horse! And he's been a very positive thing in my life, and absolutely my sanity-saver more times than I can count. I can struggle with programming something for two days straight and just not get it you know? and then I'll go see my horse and come home so happy that I get everything all fixed and working in 20 minutes flat. Being an adult student and working isn't easy...and I'm not sure I would still be enrolled in school, or have the kick-ass GPA that I (knock on wood) currently have if I didn't have my horse...
So...only you can tell, really. Looks like an awesome horse to me! what a face...and it sounds like he has a nice easygoing temperament too, which makes a huge huge difference. Just be prepared for some pouting during finals week...
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