This week my daughter was given the opportunity to participate in a horseback riding day camp (and I am really grateful!). She has been learning a lot about horses, but even more about life, and those lessons can apply to all of us.
Knowledge Isn’t Everything
To say my daughter is obsessed with horses would be an understatement. She voraciously reads anything she can get her hands on including a free subscription I was able to get to a horse magazine. She has toy horses, horse books and horse decorations on her walls. When she was younger, she watched the Spirit dvd so many times that her older brother threatened to take it and secretly destroy it
On the way to camp, she innocently asked,”Do you think the instructor will be impressed with how much I know about horses?” I told her I didn’t know, but inside I had to smile.
That night she told her sister,”Reading about horses is really different than doing it.” Hahaha!
Life Lesson #1: Reading about taking control of your finances (or any other area of life) is completely different than actually doing it.
Don’t Let The Poop Pile Up
Within the first two hours of camp my daughter had learned to saddle a horse, but before they could ride, the camp director had the campers cleaning out the stalls. I loved it! This instructor knows that there is a lot more to horse back riding than getting on a horse.
It was a bit of a rude awakening to some of the girls (my daughter included), who thought that horse camp would be all fun and games.
Life Lesson #2: You can’t just have fun, you have to take care of the unpleasant stuff too. Spending money is fun, but you must also take care of balancing your checkbook and saving for the future or the “poop” will pile up.
Take Care of the Details
Each day before the girls ride, they must clean out the horses hooves and oil them. Do you know how difficult it is for a kid to hold up a horse’s hoof and clean out all the dirt and mud?
Most days the girls split up and take two hooves each, but yesterday my daughter had to do all four hooves on the horse she would be riding. She was hot, the work was dirty and her arms hurt, but she persevered. Her reward was riding her favorite horse once the work was done.
Life Lesson #3: Daily maintenance is key. You can’t ignore your finances, your health, your house and expect things to continue in a positive direction. Life requires hands-on involvement.
One of the greatest lessons we have both learned (once again) is that God is faithful. My little girl has dreamed of owning a therapeutic horse ranch for years, but we could not afford horseback riding lessons on our salary. God knows her heart and made a way for her to start the journey toward her dream.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Matthew 6:30-33 The Message
next post: Poverty vs. Frugality
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I love your blog! Your family’s lifestyle reminds me a lot of my family’s growing up. We were also a family of 6 living on a very low income and my mom stayed at home and homeschooled us as well.
Your daughters interest in horses reminds me of my sister. At the age of 15 she volunteered to work at a stable cleaning out stalls and doing chores in exchange for lessons. The owners were impressed by her desire to learn and strong work ethic. She eventually became the master trainer and took over the stables. She now has her own horse ranch where she gives lessons and trains show horses. You don’t have to have parents that “pay for lessons” to be a success in any area. You just have to be willing to work hard for what you want. 😉
That is so encouraging! I will tell my daughter. 🙂
The working student suggestions others have gave are great but somethings to keep in mind:
– Most barn do not allow working students until they are 13 or so. And that’s even to just refill water buckets. <13 yo can have a hard time if they need to move a 1200lbs+ animal and there are liability concerns. That said, once I was 13 I was at the barn several times a week (don't forget about the gas to get to the barn! I carpooled with another student) to earn riding time. It was invaluable experience and showed the actual difficulties of stable management- something you won't get from a book.
– Just because a barn will offer lessons, camps, student worker positions does not mean you should take advantage of it. Look for certifications (CHA is a great one to look for, especially starting out, the Christian camp I volunteered with in PA uses it and it's just fantastic), experience (when looking for my current trainer I wanted someone who has *successfully* ridden and shown at the level I want to achieve in 5-7+ years years), and recommendations from others (as snarky as they are, the people on Chronicle of the Horse forums know what they are talking about). My first lesson barn was cheap but the instruction was poor and looking back, my two years there were about as useful as the first two weeks at my next barn (where I worked, and road for another 6-7 years), but my parents didn't know better and were swayed by the fact she ran a 4H group.
– 4H has a horseless member option for kids who don't have access to their own. I'm not sure how it works now but it allowed me opportunities to go to different events where I could get experience without spending the thousands a year to have my own horse.
– Pony Club is a fantastic experience and I have a harder time finding a bad PC leader than 4H leader, but I'm not sure if they have a horseless option.
Whoops- that turned out a little longer than I intended- sorry!
Thanks so much for the great ideas Katie!
The other commenters have mentioned many of the gifts that come along with working with horses–perseverance, goal-setting, and penchant for hard work.
Working student positions are a great way to go. My generous trainer let me work in exchange for lessons, and I schemed my way onto as many horses as I possibly could (wealthy, older ladies rarely have time or the talent to ride their young horses that are too challenging for them to handle). Eventually I was given a “crazy” horse who I trained and competed enough to earn a full athletic scholarship to college. But the horse show world is VERY expensive, even if you’re trying to work it all off, and I was lucky to have generous women pay many of my competition fees and give me riding clothes.
But a way that might be more viable for your daughter (if she’s that interested in learning about horses) is working for a veterinarian or a horse rescue. At rescues, you can ride, teach, learn from other volunteers, and gain volunteer/working experience that looks great on college applications. It’s much more of a community compared to the elite, money-driven horse show world, and you learn a lot more practical skills from the ground up.
Thanks so much for that idea Scarlett!
I found your blog via Pinterest. As a horsewoman, I have to say I think it’s great your daughter was able to attend horse camp. I hope, even at her age, that she gets the opportunity to become a working student to a respectable trainer or finds a mentor of her own. Horses are good for kids on so many levels. And if it’s her passion, she can find a way to achieve her dreams with a lot of hard work and perseverance. I, too, started off cleaning stalls in exchange for riding lessons, which later became in exchange for board. Horses probably helped keep me out of trouble as a teen. And well, horses are always better than boys! 🙂
I love the parallels especially about daily maintanance…sometimes I just get in a season of laziness and hope that things just somehow work out. I am trying to do better by being vigilent.
As an adult of nearly 50 I can relate to both you and your daughter. I have loved horses my entire life and currently am what we (horse people) call “horse poor”. I give up a great deal to have my horse. I know most people don’t understand but I would rather do without and have my heart full than have extra money in the bank. I wish your daughter luck and fulfillment…oh and when she’s old enough many barns have working students 🙂 BTW, great blog. Thanks.
I like your philosophy. 🙂
I love this post! I have been blessed to grow up with many animals, horses included and my mother and I compete in horse events together and we have sent several of our horses to be therapeutic horses when their competitive careers have ended. We keep in touch with the people that have them and gain so much from the stories of how our horses are still helping so many people.
Animals can teach a person so much and I love how you have applied it to so many things!
That’s wonderful that your daughter was able to do that and that therapeutic ranch will become a reality if she holds on to that dream!
I love your blog! I especially appreciated this one. I was home-schooled growing up and even though we didnt have much, my parents sacrificed a lot so that my sister and I could have horses. I will definitely be following your blog bc no matter how little or how much you make, if you’re not consistent about saving money and budgeting, you can spend way more than you make! Keep up the good work and kudos for having the kind of discipline to create the kind of life that is most healthy and beneficial for your family!
Thanks so much Brooklyn. Glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
Sure! It is always fun to do horse camp. Glad she had a good time.
Thanks Lisa. 🙂
I love the parallels that you have drawn through this article between horses and life. There are so many! I have been involved with horses for 25 years now. What you talk about in taking care of the horse is part of good horsemanship. You tend to see more of that emphasized in natural horsemanship methods. All those little things you do with the horse really do add up in the overall relationship to the horse. It is not just about riding. Your daughter did have a very good instructor. As you mentioned far too many people learning about horses only learn about riding but have not interest in doing the work that goes with it. I am surprised at the number of my horse owning friends that don’t know what their own horse gets for feed or how much to give them as an example.
Just FYI there are less expensive ways to get into horses than traditional riding lessons. Many stables will do “working student” arrangements for those who are hard working but lack in funds for lessons. In exchange for mucking stalls, feeding horses and helping out at the stable you can earn riding lessons.
I grew up in the same kind of household as yours and found my way into horses that way. By the time I was 12 I had saved up my babysitting money to buy my first horse and then supported it on my own from then on by babysitting and working at various stables. Although it is a lot harder to do the showing route that way, you can really enjoy and learn a lot about horses which is the best part anyway! Sounds like your daughter has the horse bug, you better watch out! Love your blog!
Thanks for the working student tip Lisa. We are going to look into some other stables as well to see if that is available. This was a good experience and I am so glad that she was able to take part in it.
How much was horse camp? And are summer activities like camp something that you save for throughout the year?
Hi Angelina! Horse camp was provided by someone else. We don’t usually have any extra money during the year to save toward activities, so we do things that are free or for which we can receive a scholarship. Last year the girls were able to participate in a swim team for which we received an income-based scholarship. If we did have the money, then yes, I would save for the cost of summer activities throughout the year.
Great post!!!! So happy she was able to attend the camp & learn some of the things involved in raising horses. You really did a good job of relating this experience with real life. God is good!
I think your daughter and my daughter would be very good friends! 🙂
Does she have the book “For Horse-Crazy Girls Only”? We checked that one out from the library so many times I think my kid started thinking it belonged to her, so we finally gave her a copy for her birthday. She goes to horse camp for the first time next week and she is beside herself with excitement. So glad your daughter is getting the chance to go.
Sounds like they would be great friends. That is actually one book she doesn’t have–LOL! We’ll have to check into it.
This a great parallel! So true 🙂 I needed that because I don’t keep track of our finances as much as I used too. Now I feel like I am playing a slot machine when I go to the mac machine and it shouldn’t be that way. I used to know every penny I had. Well I am getting back to that now. So thank you:)
You are very welcome! I need to be reminded myself. 🙂