Horses, College, and IHSA

[ihorse]

OK, I've got a ton of questions for you guys. :) I'm currently a senior in high school and I've done the running start program for two years now, so I'm only a few credits shy of earning my Associate's Degree in Art. I won't be able to graduate high school with my AA, but should have it after a couple more quarters at community college. After that

Comments

[infinitlight]

I don't have any experience with the other stuff, but I can probably offer some advice on balancing college, work and horses :). I worked my way through college and trained horses for people (on a pretty basic level, I'm nothing special as far as training goes) and rode and competed my own horses.

My best advice is be really, really organized. Keep charts for yourself, write everything down in a diary, plan your days out as much as you can. Don't waste time--if you're waiting at the barn for your horses to eat their feeds or whatever, read over your course notes or do a rough plan of that essay you need to write. (I did some of my best work by flashlight while my horse ate his hay, I think.)

For me it was easy not to burn out, though. Horses are my great joy, so spending time with them has always been the best way for me to relax. They are what made it all worthwhile for me.

(P.S. I HATED Economics too, lol. The only way I got through that class was by being very, very disciplined with myself.)

[ihorse]

Thanks for the tips. Thankfully I'll be transferring directly into the graphic design program, so I shouldn't have to write too many essays, and I should enjoy most of the work. :)

[belle7067]

I rode IHSA in college for 2 years, and bought my first horse during my first year. Riding my own horse was far more rewarding than competing, and frankly, IHSA is the pits. I had a terrible experience. Not because the judge didn't place me, boo hoo, because I won a great deal, but the horses were generally poorly cared for and overused. At one show I saw a horse standing in his stall with blood running down his nose. ALL the time horses were being held at the gate, steaming with sweat, no cooler on, in the dead of winter. I mean, at least walk the poor horse. They tend to get badly overworked to accommodate all the divisions, and I saw horses run all day, from the Open classes all the way through w-t. I don't think it's in ANY way fair to them. Not to mention some of the people riding should definitely have their reins taken away and get put on a longe line before they're allowed to jump courses at 2'6".
/two cents.

[ihorse]

Yeah, the horses are one of my main concerns. I obviously don't want to support a program that doesn't care for the animals properly, but I'm hoping that my region is pretty good about care, etc.

[eversparkling]

I can't really answer your main question regarding the IHSA, because where I live such a possibility does not exist. I know quite something about how to balance university, work and horses, though, because I've been in that situation myself. I think it really depends on what classes you take and how organized you are. I didn't have a horse of my own during my years at university - just very recently bought one, after I graduated - but I had a couple of horses to look after during that time and always managed to make it all work, especially because I benefited a lot from being around the horses, because they made me feel calm and relaxed after a long day at university and/or work

[ihorse]

Thanks for the advice. :) I've got a while yet before I'll be moving and going to school, so I'm definitely going to take a lot of time to find a good barn if I do decide to take my horse to school with me. I'm hoping that I will have time to work off some board or possibly have my parents help pay for some (maybe 1/3 of it or something, depending on how much it costs). The good thing is that I've saved a TON of money by doing Running Start, and I'll be taking time off to work before I transfer, so I'm hoping to have some savings built up. :)

[sm923]

I'll start with bringing your own horse. I was really excited to bring one of my horses (actually, one of my show horses). She stayed at a barn for free in exchange for her use as a lesson horse. She was an advanced horse and I loved the barn owner (still do) so I didn't worry about it. Honestly, I went to see her about twice a quarter because I was so busy and exhausted by the time I was done with class. I was an AS major so it was very science intense. I also graduated a year early so I took well over 21 credit hours almost every quarter (with no credits coming in to college). So, if you'r enot sure if you'll actually go out to see the horse, I wouldn't recommend it. And you seem to be super honest with yourself so I think you'll make the right choice. I loved it when I was out there but actually getting out there, changing, etc was what kind of halted me from going out there

[ihorse]

You bring up some really good points. I've got plenty of time to decide what I want to do, though, and perhaps if I make a ton of progress with my mare in the next year or so, I might decide trying to keep doing eventing through college will be the most fun for me and my mare.

The thing about IHSA, though, is that I think it'd be REALLY fun to ride as a team. I haven't been able to ride in a close knit group since I first got my mare and took her to summer camp where I rode with my friends. On the other hand, if I board my mare, I still have the opportunity to make new horsey friends and ride together. :) Maybe even go to some shows together.

Anyway, I think I'm going to try to check out the IHSA team next fall and see what the trainer, facilities, etc. are like, and then go from there. If I totally love the girls and the horses and the trainer, I think it would be a great experience for me. If not, then maybe I'd be better off just working with my own horse. :)

Thanks for the advice!

[thelitas]

If you have your own horse already, you probably will have more fun working with him than doing anything with IHSA

[thelitas]

On that note: the showing was fun. I hadn't shown true hunters ever before, and probably will never show it again. I came from a western and dressage background and the hardest part for me was to stop messing with the horse and just sit there and look pretty, and to ride with short stirrups. Once I figured that out, my placings started to go up. I'm not the type of rider to enjoy just letting the horse noodle around without a purpose though, so it didn't enjoy the style of riding

[ihorse]

I think I'd probably be like you in this situation. I don't like to just sit on the horse, I like to actually ride and try to improve the horse's way of going. Obviously that's one of the goals in hunt seat riding, but you can't really do that when you've got ten minutes to ride some random horse and you're trying to look your best as a rider.

I think it could be fun, but I KNOW eventing is fun. Like I said in my previous comment, I'll check out the team/horses/trainer next fall and do some more thinking about it then. Thanks! :)