When I was still a trainer, I had a couple of school horses and taught quite a few horseless students. Most of them came once or twice a week for lessons. All of them came because they loved horses. But not all of them enjoyed the process of learning to ride, to some it was scary, it made them uncomfortable.
I myself grew up in an environment where you could only be with horses if you took lessons on a regular basis. And I just dreamed of “hanging out with horses”. Maybe brushing them, but mostly just being in their presence. As young students we got yelled at a lot, the horses were not comfortable or even safe. It was no fun, but since it was the only way to be with horses, we all endured the abuse of our teachers. I thought one day, when I am an instructor myself, I will do this different, and I did. But still, not everyone who wanted to be with horses enjoyed riding.
Today I have the everyday luxury of being just with horses. I have retired from training horses, and no longer have a hoof clinic. I still have five horses. They are wonderful, they do not get ridden, even though two of them are trained through FEI level dressage. They are cared for and they provide us all with hours of joy. I wish I had known then what I know now and could have shared this with my students: You do not have to ride in order to have a horse.
All you have to have is the necessary funds to do right by that horse. Like someone once said (I forgot who first came up with that): The horse does not care how much you know as long as he knows how much you care.
And the care is important. Establishing a relationship and communicating with your horse is important. Not only for you, but for the horse as well. Every one of my horses craves attention in his own way. And I just can hope that I do every one of them justice.
hoofwoman 
….I believe being involved in healing horses leads to a change of awareness. There is a point where the love for the individual is becoming unconditional. I do love riding horses and I miss it – but I think that special freedom and the romance of having harnessed “nature’s power” could be similar to what a motor bike rider feels when driving along a beautiful coastal road or similar…. it’s an exhilarating feeling – (but experiencing this on the back of a horse might be not a feeling that is shared by the horse you are sitting on….). So here I am another one who loves horses without having to sit on them. But only now I understand what it really means to feel them. 🙂 xxx
I took riding lessons when I was 27 years old way back in the 80’s. It was a childhood dream to be with horses, my parents just couldn’t afford that. I was so appalled at the way horses were treated that I left after a year, I could bear to hit them with crops, and watch qualified english instructors be cruel to them. I didn’t return for for 20 years, and now I have found my own way – positive reinforcement, clicker training and 24/7 turnout on a paddock paradise. Still learning but I believe my horses are happy.
I never had, or was around, horses much growing up. I always was fascinated by them, and even seeing pictures of them would draw me in. I finally got my first horse when I was 50, and all the plans were to ride. I did ride – a little. Got scared, also life circumstances got in the way. But, in the meantime, I learned so much about them – their needs, their care, their emotions and personalities (and also how easy it was to get hurt by them, just by accident). I rescued several horses – some from kill pens and some locally. I experienced the joy and deep satisfaction that comes from saving a horse’s life, and feeding them back from the brink of starvation – as well as the lifelong devotion from them that doing this brings. And, through illnesses they have been afflicted with, I have just about become an uncertified vet tech LOL! Now, 12 years later, I’m still hoping to get to ride at some point, but I have accepted the fact that if I don’t, I don’t. I have friends who think I’m nuts because all I do is feed, care for and clean up after my 6 horses – that they are not providing anything in return – oh but they could not be more wrong. I get unconditional love, I get laughter when they do something funny, I get comfort when I am sad or grieving a loss, reassurance when I am upset about something – I could go on and on. My goal at this point, is to be able to offer my horses as therapy to vets suffering from PTSD, abused women and children, children/people with Autism. And if I never ride…no big deal. I know I am blessed beyond imagining to be able to walk out my back door and have a bunch of giant puppy dogs all gathering around me, just happy to be near me. It doesn’t get much better than that. And as long as God gives me the means to be able to feed and care for them properly, that is how it will stay.