[Annamaria]

I got this letter via the site:

Looking for a site with information re: how horses positively impact a high school/college students' grades, attitude, mental & physical health.

A friend is putting together a power point presentation to show her dad so that she can convince him that getting a horse would be good for her. She currently is an A/B student in advanced classes & has a Sat a.m. job at a vet clinic. She's planning to attend college & become a vet. She's been taking lessons at various barns for the last 6 years. She's found the "perfect" horse but needs to convince her dad that owning a horse won't negatively impact her grades or attitude.

Please post your experiences/opinions.

[horselover*]

hey for me it is like the same thing!!! i can only have a horse if i get good grades.... my advice is if you really want the horse, then try your best to keep up the grades.

[Paint Princess]

I believe that it depends on the individual's lifestyle and level of maturity. For instance, "Jon" might have excellent grades but not enough time that a horse/rider needs to have a fulfilling relationship. I've seen SO many horse ads where the owners are complaining that they "just don't have the time anymore". I imagine that they didn't properly assess their situation in the beginning and purchased the horse on impulse rather than sitting down and creating a plan that would give them an idea of how much time they had to devote to the horse. I understand that no person shares an exact lifestyle with another person, but that doesn't mean that we don't have similar experiences. I've heard that the keys to success are: learning from other's mistakes, not judging (look at life with open/rational eyes), and going with your gut. Good luck!

p.s. Come on folks! Let's hear some opinions!! I know I barely scratched the surface.

[Electric.Jive.Po...]

well. it really depends.
owning Bella had really made my attitude at school better, because if i dont work hard at school, no bellla. Also it makes school more bearable for me knowing that shes there waiting for me for whe i get home.

but horses do require alot a time, and you need to balance school and horses.

[Annamaria]

I am in college and don't think that I would have time to care for a horse. BUT, my sister is moving her horse to go with her to college. We are different people -- I wouldn't want to drive out to a barn daily/weekly with my other things going on, but she would.

I think it depends on the person and it's up for them to decide if they can handle school along with horses.

[SkyIsTheLimit]

i find its really true that horses help grades
im in 8th and since i got my horses it gives me
something to work for...during the winter it was too
cold for me to ride and i would get really stressed out
and my grades really drop, but now its all good

[BackInA_FLASH]

It won't necessarily help your grades, but if you know how to balance everything, it won't affect them. I'm a homeschooled straight A student and I quit at 1pm half the time to go out and ride. That's not saying it will work for everyone...but I've never had any problems.

[moneymarket]

Well the way my parents did it was that as long as my grades were good, then I could have the horse. But when my grades got bad, they would take him away.

[chevalier_nr]

It also depends on how many extra-curricular activities a student partakes in. I find that I barely have enough time to get out to the barn twice a week, and that means sacrificing time with friends. I know for a fact that I wouldn't have the time to give a horse the attention he needs. School stresses me out enough as it is.

[catchmeflying]

Well, I am also a homeschooled student who keeps up pretty good grades. (Last year my math test score average was 98!) I think that having the drive for a horse that you love can improve your grades, if you are the right kind of person. If worrying is going to put your grades under, that is not good, but if you are really dedicated to reaching your goals, I think it can be a driving force to help you. I want to go to college and get a degree in Pre-Vet specializing in Equine Studies, and having a horse here all the time is preparing me for college! It's great experience!

By the way, I hope she gets the horse.

[paintluver]

Well, at my house, if I don't have good grades, I can't go see the hose, so I keep my grades good. SO I don't know if that helps or not, but it makes me keep my grades up!!

[ridethewind]

It's really about horse acess. As long as I can ride at least a few times during each semester, I'm okay but if I don't ride during a semester it hruts my grades badly. I just have to be able to be at the barn just hanging out every so often or it drives me crazy. If she's takign riding lessons, it should be fine. Even though I know she'd rather have her own. So would I. The question should be is it finacially feasible, espeically in light of the fact that she's probably heading off to college in the near future.

[bayou1988]

i found haveing horse that is boarded some where while you have income it is good but if you are having to be there every day morning and nite and dont have money it not so good

[Jumpit007]

If she is boarding it, it won't affect her grades. I feel if she wants to be a vet, having a horse is great practice, dressing wounds, sweating legs, linimint and poulticing legs, and measuring out supplements and meds. But I think she needs to really learn about horses first, If she's not already a horse person, its very important that she spends time around them and learning about everything before she goes out and buys one.

The thing that will help her the most though, is learning how to manage her time. If she knows how to properly manage her time she will have no problem keeping her grades up while having a horse.

[SnowBeau]

I don't know about any worthwhile sites, but you can use my experiences if you would like.

I am a year 11 student in living in NSW Australia. My friend lent me a horse last year. His name is Snow. Over the last 12 months, Snow has helped me immensely. He has taught me to be independent and to hold my head high. Because of him, my school work has greatly improved. I am now game enough to approach teachers and ask for help. Before I got Snow, I would always try to fade into the background and my grades were mediocre.

Snow is great in nearly every way. We have had a few hiccups in our times together, but he is always there for me. When I have had a bad day at school, I can just go out into the paddock and be with him. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't still be here, (I got diagnosed with depression early last year and considered suicide). If all the petty little things at school get too much, Snow keeps it real for me.

Horses can become too much if you have major assessments/exams/etc. The resposibility of having to feed and exercise a horse can sap your energy and leave you feeling a bit negative towards them. BUT, there is nothing better than going out to a paddock and having a horse trotting up to you, just to be with you. It is an amazing feeling. Snow has taught me to trust and love again.

Studying veterinary science should make it easier to convince your dad. Horses can be some of the most accident prone animals I know. Perfect for practicing emergency training! lol

[L_B]

In my experience, having a horse has helped me to keep my grades up AND keep myself out of trouble. I, like many others who wrote on this thread, have to maintain high grades if I wanna keep leasing a horse or even have a hope of buying one someday. The second my grades drop, my parents either cancel some lessons or a show or end the lease completely (though they have never actually ended the lease because I've always been too scared to give them any reason to end the lease). I go to a very competitive private school where if you get a B it's a huge deal, and I haven't had a grade below a B+ since I've had Phoenix and my last pony, Tigger.

Also, my school is a stereotypical artsy school ridden with drugs and I hang out with the "bad kids" I guess you would say, but having a horse has kept me on track and away from trouble-making behavior because I know if my trainer, let alone my parents, found out about me getting into any sort of trouble because of drugs or alcohol I would be off my barn's show team and grounded for quite a bit of time.

I will say, having a horse is a huge commitment and takes up a lot of time that you could be spending hanging out with your friends but for me it's worth it, though it isn't worth it for everyone. I've seen too many people suddenly stop riding because they have a boyfriend that suddenly becomes more important than their horse or they feel like they're losing their friends because they spend so much time at the barn. In my opinion, don't lease a horse right off the bat. See if you can lease one first for a couple of months during the school year and see if you can handle that commitment. If things don't go well, you have your answer. If things do, feel free to go forward with things.

[feifan]

My 15-year-old is disinclined to work for her GCSEs, saying her time is better spent preening herself in preparation for assignations with her delightful, diligent, privately educated, moneyed boyfriend. She insists the money spent on nail-painting, hair-colouring and the like is an investment and will be more than repaid when he marries her. Is she deluding herself?

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　　However, your daughter is only 15; for Edlund, “prime marriageable age” is 25-44. Your daughter is either going to have to get her hooks into this chap unusually early, or she is going to have to keep him on the boil for another decade – a lot of nail-painting。

　　Not only is she concentrating her investments into a single asset by abandoning her education, but she may even be making her main goal harder to achieve. Belot and Francesconi discovered that a strong social trend towards “assortative mating” means that although educated, high-achieving men are not interested in marrying a rich woman, they do like educated high-achieving women, rather than shallow girls with shiny nails。
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　　Your daughter should learn to work hard and look good at the same time. Not only will it advance her immediate goals, it will also – sadly – stand her in good stead for the rest of her life。

Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
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A curious mother My 15-year-old is disinclined to work for her GCSEs, saying her time is better spent preening herself in preparation for assignations with her delightful, diligent, privately educated, moneyed boyfriend. She insists the money spent on nail-painting, hair-colouring and the like is an investment and will be more than repaid when he marries her. Is she deluding herself?

　　A curious mother