I'm just going to jump in and say that my biggest rant right now is having to sell my horse because I'm going to college in the fall.
I grew up in Manila, Philippines, where I spent the first 15 years of my life; now my Dad's job requires him to be reassigned to different countries every 4-6 years or so. We're about one or two years away from finishing our first assignment in Bangkok, Thailand. The thing is, when I moved I was extremely involved with horseback riding in Manila. I would help out at the stables, help organize local shows, exercise horses, etc - I was a few months away from teaching for the first time. Then I had to move.
The consolation was that I got to bring my horse with me, which was amazing in itself - it was really expensive and also a little risky because there was air travel and land travel involved in a country we knew nothing about. But things went fine and he's with me now. We still compete, it sucks that I can't even understand the announcer when my name is called because no one here ever speaks English at all, but I'm extremely grateful that I got to have him while I finished high school.
The bad part, however, is that there is no way I can bring him to the U.S. for college, and he's too expensive to keep without me there, so I'm going to have to sell him. We tried to find clients back in Manila, because that is the only country I'm sure about going back to - since it's my home our family tries to go back there for Christmas. But we can't find any because most people would rather buy some random young horse that has great potential but of course will buck off their beginner jumping kids etc. Most of the teachers would rather import their horses from Europe, which I completely understand, but not for kids who are just starting to compete and aren't sure they'll be devoted to the sport for more years anyway. Why not get a sure thing from nearer by who is not only very simple to ride but a champion who wins or places in almost every single show I've joined, as long as I don't fall off? He has taken me so far and I was actually really excited to share his amazing talent with some kid that was me a few years ago.
But since no one back home will take him we have to sell him here. Okay, it sounds spoiled of me, but I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO THIS. First of all, there are many more riding clubs here than in Manila, so we can't keep track of all the teachers and whether they treat their horses well. Most of the showjumpers here like to push their horses so that they wear out in half the number of years they're supposed to. Some people don't even know how to teach their kids, I don't know where the hell they learned to ride but bolting at the jumps around a course is not the way to do the jumpers. I am incredibly scared that my horse will end up with some owner that doesn't realize how special he is and will just run him into the ground. He has joint problems that need supplements and how do we know they'll be taken care of the same way?!
Plus, most of the stables have much worse facilities than the one I'm boarding at, but none of the students at my stable here want to buy him. What if he ends up in some crappy city riding stable (not that all stables in the city are crappy, but I know the ones here are) in a tiny stall with a tiny paddock sometimes and bad ventilation?
The worst part is that since my Dad is going to be reassigned in a couple of years I have no idea if I would ever, ever see him again if I sold him here in Bangkok. That might be the biggest reason why I want him back home - I know at least that I will always return here. Selling Jacko to someone who doesn't even speak my language and who might not keep in touch with me and who I might never see again in my life is so terrifying.
I keep having these bad bad thoughts about him being overridden and overcompeted (if that's even a word) by some kid who didn't get taught right, and then he'll stop winning because he can't tolerate people riding him stupidly, and then they'll sell him and he'll get passed on from person to person until he ends up jumping crossbar classes with a kid who pulls on his mouth. I don't know what to do. Even if we find a good owner here there's the possibility that when he changes hands again after that the whole downhill slide will start from there. So finding one good owner doesn't guarantee that all of his owners will be the same.
It's not an irrational fear either. Some weeks ago I was sitting with my coach at a riding show and we were watching the little kids' classes, around 2'. Some kid went into the ring with a skinny bay horse that jerked its head up and down a lot and refused two jumps, getting his rider eliminated. My coach turned to me and said, "That horse used to be on the national team here. Can you believe it?" I think the scary thoughts started from that day onward.
It was good to get all of that out since I don't think people here really know how scared I am. But I'm also more scared now that I'm actively thinking about it, haha.
I sound like such a fool. /endrant.
