# Owning a horse while in the military?



## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

BarrelWannabe said:


> Has anyone here owned horses while enlisted or being an officer? Or while in the NROTC?
> 
> I'm heavily considering the military and I was wondering if it was or is possible.
> 
> ...


Well of course it's possible. It's a matter of how much you want it and how much work you're willing to put into it. I know a lot of military families who will "have to get rid of the cat" when they move...it doesn't have to be like that. We moved from the West Coast to the East coast with pets... I'd imagine that you'd have to finance the moves for your animal same as we did, but it would be a little more to consider. Plus you may not always have the option of going where you want...which means that board may end up being more, less...further than you'd want, or right next door. xD And then if you deploy, of course you'd want full board if you don't usually do that. Some things to consider. I'm going to end up being half the country away from my husband for a year or three, but either way, the horse will be moving with us.


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## Duren (Oct 25, 2011)

I got my mare because her previous owner was stationed in another state and was unable to take their horses. I keep in contact with them, they were heartbroken to have had to sell her. I dont know the details, but I imagine if they were able to keep them that they would have.


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## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

Duren said:


> I got my mare because her previous owner was stationed in another state and was unable to take their horses. I keep in contact with them, they were heartbroken to have had to sell her. I dont know the details, but I imagine if they were able to keep them that they would have.


They pay for your move and they pay for your household belongings to move. They don't pay for your horse to move or extras like that. If they didn't have the spare money to pay for that plus a non base housing place to live (which comes with deposit, other costs), it would make shipping a horse prohibitive.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I was in the USN for 6yrs and while I wasn't into horses at the time I can give you some insight.

First of all, no horses while in boot camp. While in boot camp you are not allowed out except right at the end but that's only a couple of months.

Next comes your schooling and that all depends on what rate you are. Schools can be extremely short or up to two years in length. It wouldn't be worth moving your horse down for a short school and stabling but for a longer one it can be. Personally my school lasted 20 months. Spent 13 months in Orlando, FL and another 7 in Idaho. I could of easily had a horse in both locations.

Next comes your duty station after graduating school. The last 4+ years I spent in one location so once again, having a horse was doable. Here comes the big BUT. OF the 4+ years stationed in Bremerton, WA I spent over 2 actually at sea. I had two 6 month deployments (WESTPAC) over in the Gulf (was there for the first Gulf war). The rest of my at sea time can in junks of 2 weeks to 2 months. That left 2+ yrs in home port where riding could of happened.

So owning a horse in the Navy is possible but not an easy course and probably no easier in the other branches. Something else, there are not a lot of rates that will guarantee you to be based in the US where you can keep your horse. If you were stationed in Japan I have no clue if you could find a stable for your horse if you could afford to transport them there to begin with. 

All that said, I highly recommend joining the armed forces. Choose the right rate and you can get a damned fine education that will keep you working the rest of your life. You'll also learn a lot of lifes lessons, have a chance to see the world and meet friends that will last a lifetime. Even better, that education will help you own horses after getting out.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

demonwolfmoon said:


> They pay for your move and they pay for your household belongings to move. They don't pay for your horse to move or extras like that. If they didn't have the spare money to pay for that plus a non base housing place to live (which comes with deposit, other costs), it would make shipping a horse prohibitive.


You also have the option of moving yourself if you can afford the initial up front cost. I did that a couple times and came out money ahead when they paid me. If you have a horse trailer and stay lean enough on belongings that they all fit in the back of your pickup you'll be fine. Problem comes in when you try to move a family and a house full of goods at the same time. That gets way to expensive to do on military pay so you have them do it for you. That's when moving the horse will come 100% out of your pocket.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

I was active duty navy for ten years, and owned horses the whole time. It really depends on how much you want it. I sacrificed a lot to keep horses On active duty. You need to set up care and exercise for when you are dePloyed. I also did not have a nice new car. My extra money went to my equine addiction.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

gonna depend on your job and your duty station. Before you get a horse you need to make sure you have permanent full board home lined up. SOmewhere that will care for a couple years at a time if you get stationed overseas. Generally stateside you could keep it with you, but still need a plan to get the horse to a boarding place with little to no notice.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

In many cases, the answer is "Absolutely not!"

What you do in the military influences it, but for many in the military, the reality is that you frequently leave for 3-12 months to a remote location. I spent much of my 25 years in the military deployed to places like Saudi Arabia for 6 months of each year. 

I also spent 8 years overseas. The Philippines, England and Korea. It would have been prohibitively expensive to buy & keep horses there.

Further, I was mostly in fighter squadrons. I worked 12 hour days or more. 5-6 days/week. During the 20 years I spent in fighter squadrons, it was so rare for me to leave after 11 hours that I felt guilty if I did.

If you go into the Navy, sea duty will interfere. Think 6-9 months spent at sea. No horses on the boat!

The Air Force, Army and Marines deploy a lot. During the 90s, the Air Force deployed the most. Over the last 10 years, the Army has. Even when you are not deployed, there are field exercises (Marines, Army) and flying exercises that will occupy much of your time.

If you are independently wealthy, you can pay full board for your horse and just deal with sometimes not seeing your horse for 1-12 months. But unless you go in as a senior officer (just joking), the military won't pay you enough to keep horses on full board.

There are jobs in the military that deploy less than others. If you are stationed at a place like D-M in Arizona, there is a stable on base - although full board isn't an option there, I don't think.

But consider this: the Commander of the US Marine Corps once tried to ban first-term enlisted from getting married. Congress overruled him, probably because most members of Congress neither know nor care anything about the military.

My last deployment was to Afghanistan in 2007. I volunteered for it, and had warning. One of the guys on my crew was told on a Friday that he had plane tickets for Sunday...then he spent 2 of the next 3 months in training, then to Afghanistan for 6 months (that turned into 7). That was not uncommon.


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## Dresden (Jun 24, 2011)

Agree with bsms for similar reasons. I am also ex-military and I wouldn't try to own a horse in the military. I would probably take lessons etc when possible. 

Here is why- I got injured during a training exercise. Because of the injury I could not leave that base to return home or go onto my scheduled duty station. I spent almost a year at that base in the middle of nowhere recovering. There was no set timeline for when I would recover and move on. Thus no way to make a plan. I ended up having to beg people to watch my dogs because they hadn't anticipated having them so long. It was hard just with dogs. I cannot imagine what I would have done with a horse. Also I was ultimately medically discharged before my term of service was up. Into this economy... and had to scramble around to find a job that my injury didn't hinder. I couldn't have afforded a horse at that time. 

I would wait until you are out of the military to purchase a horse. Spend those years learning everything about horses so you are ready when you get out.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

bsms said:


> In many cases, the answer is "Absolutely not!"
> 
> What you do in the military influences it, but for many in the military, the reality is that you frequently leave for 3-12 months to a remote location. I spent much of my 25 years in the military deployed to places like Saudi Arabia for 6 months of each year.
> 
> ...


thats pretty much it in a nutshell sad to say. While certain jobs make it possible the above is closer to reality. It really is best not to have any animals or family for the first few years. DOnt get me wrong the Army gave me a great life and I am glad I did it. But From Oct 2000 to Feb 2008 the longest I was home at a time was 75 days.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

but when home there are always short term leases, riding clubs, and simply people with more horses than they can keep exercised. I have a friend that rode often in Germany, she ended up buying her horse and bringing it home, Butttt shes a LTC, has a bit more funds at her disposal. But even now she is downrange and had to find a place to keep her horse while she was gone.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

If there is a place that offers full board, it will almost certainly offer lessons. A 2-hour lesson each week would cost less than full board here. The student doesn't need to worry about exercising or feeding the horse, and he/she can deploy on a moment's notice or work those long shifts without the horse standing around doing nothing.

Overall, I loved life in the military, but many of the career fields didn't leave time for daily care of a horse. Heck, a lot of times, it didn't leave much time left over for the wife and kids...


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## Drifting (Oct 26, 2011)

I do want to mention that there are SOME army bases that still have stables/boarding facilities for service members ( Active, Retired, Reserves) and DOD civilians to board horses.
I served 4 years in the Navy in Hawaii (shore duty) and one of the army bases there had a riding club to board your horse at.

This kind of boarding is SELF CARE, but it was like 25 dollars a month, you buy everything else and see to the need of your horses, as well as do 4 hours of volunteer work at the facility a quarter.

Depending on your MOS and where your stationed, it's possible, but expensive. I didn't have a horse then, but I can only imagine what it would have cost to have my horse shipped from state side, to hawaii and back again. 

On a side note, I loved my time in the Navy and Hawaii. I only did one 4 year tour before seperating, but I have educational benfits, and my military career helped pave the way for my current job as a DOD Contractor.

I am in Maryland now, and have the option to board my horse at the army base I work on since I have base access. I have no idea if there is a waiting list, I think the price is 50 a month per horse (self care again.) They have a barn, a ring, a round pen, run ins.. But it's 20 minutes frmo where I live and I don't have a trailer to go on and off base for trail riding, so full care for me!


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## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

Every three years or so, we move. It's a pain in the butt. My husband is active duty marines. He goes to training sometimes and yes, he can get deployed. But in here  and I can arrange for moves if for some reason he can't. I'll admit, it could probably get complicated, but what I'm saying is it can be done. If you're single or lack family support it may be more difficult.. And probably easier to lease.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Drifting (Oct 26, 2011)

In case it helps, here is a link to the MWR for horse boarding. This is an example of what some army bases offer. Not all will, and you can never gaurnetee you'll be stationed by one.

Outdoor Recreation - Stables


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