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I’m in similar position - I haven’t gotten to know many people even though I’ve been regularly playing for a good bit now.

I’m a college student in the mid-atlantic majoring in mechanical engineering. The rising popularity of pickle ball in the area is insane.

I’m a classically trained violinist - I started playing when I was 8 - but I cannot fiddle for the life of me :))

I still have my first horse, a QH who’s the same age as me and who’s foal date is exactly 2 weeks after my birthday (I was 10 when I got her and now we’re both 21). She’s been free leased out to a small lesson program for several years now and teaches the littles how to trot and canter :) She’s approaching retirement even though she’s been retired from hard work for years now and thankfully she’s still going strong. I dread the day we’ll have to make the tough call - she’s my heart horse.

I started riding horses when I was 5. I was at some outdoor fair/event, and being the shy little 5 year old I was, I was velcro-ed to my mom’s side and wasn’t willing to stand in line for anything or talk to anyone. However, there were pony rides at the event and somehow I ended up on a horse and I was immediately hooked. I stood in line over and over for the chance to take a pony ride and kept asking to ride the biggest horse. My mom asked the owner of the horses who was doing the pony rides if she gave lessons, and that’s how it started.

I started out riding western pleasure and then moved into hunt seat riding. Eventually I began jumping and showed in hunter divisions. I eventually came to the conclusion that showing was not good for my headspace and I felt like I needed to reconnect with the reason I started. After showing from ages 5-16 I quit and just focused on training and the horse-rider relationship. At the time, I had an OTTB mare that was a wee bit off her rocker and required some extra TLC as far as training was concerned. I began taking dressage lessons in addition to hunter/jumper lessons to help with a more wholistic and relaxed approach to horse training. Over the years I also dabbled in gymkhana (mostly barrel racing), cattle sorting, and competitive trail.

I’ve owned 7 horses in my life (including one free lease) - a Percheron/Hanoverian cross, 2 OTTBs, a QH, and 3 miniature horses. Ironically (and probably stupidly) all but one of the horses I’ve had have been mares. One of the minis I still have is the only gelding. Even worse, 4 of the 7 have been chestnut mares.

If anyone is looking for a good equine training book - the Practical Dressage Manual by Bengt Ljunguist is something my dressage trainer had me read. Denny Emerson’s books are also good (and his Facebook page lol)

I showed miniature horses for a while and still have 2 minis (one was my show horse who foundered and is in touch-and-go recovery, the other was a “free”/rescue situation due to his odd temperament). Neither will ever be sold unless there’s absolutely no alternative.

I have a cat that I adopted about a year ago who is the most adorable little menace. While she’s not orange, she definitely acts like she shares their collective brain cell. She also demands belly rubs and is the reason I can’t sleep with my feet underneath the covers (sneak attacks are painful)

@RedtailFoxFarm - you live in the middle of the Atlantic? :-O

I am retired and live with my husband in the south of England. We have two grown up daughters and four grandchildren. I found this game because I have a fascination with genetics. I love horses but have never owned a horse, although I did used to ride in my youth. I knit and sometimes crochet. I recently joined a choir even though I can't sing very well, but I thoroughly enjoy it. In my 50s I studied with the Open University and have an Honours Degree (I'm very proud of that). I am learning languages to keep my brain active. I use Duolingo, which is not the best, but it's free. I'm learning French (getting on well with that), German (not too bad with that one) and Irish Gaelic (really hard so I'm going slowly with that one). We have no pets - I like dogs but I'm afraid of cats. I've been playing this game for over 13 years and hope to continue playing it for many years to come. :)

It's nice to get to know people. Thanks for this @Fiddler.

@WhiteValley lol the mid-atlantic is a region in the US I’m from Virginia

I'm a young single just working at making ends meet at this point(as a housekeeper). I live in the Pacific Northwest on the coast, and I joined this game because I'm interested in learning more about color genetics. I still feel fairly new to the game, but I'm really loving it! This community is the best I've come across in any horse game, and I've been learning a lot.
I have been living in my own apartment for about a year now, and my current pets are all aquatic(1 fish, 1 dwarf frog, several snails, more to come). My landlord doesn't allow pets that aren't in tanks, unfortunately, or else I would have a cat as well.
I love horses, books, rocks, succulents, and Doctor Who, and I've been around/worked with horses off and on all my life. My favorite horse I've worked with, so far, was a sassy Quarter Horse/Percheron mare.

@spotpixie the hardest time of my life was being a working mom with 2 littles, this too shall pass
@mackz looks like you're my closest neighbor. It would be so hard to not have a cat!
@witchwateracres, i never considered the logistics of training a puppy in a high rise. Does not sound good.

@kintara, how cool, an Aussie!
What is agisted?

I love your betta stickers! Especially the attack betta pin! Do you ship them?
Edit: I just found your Instagram account. I may have to order some stickers and pins at some point...

I'm a veterinary technician by trade, and worked towards my Veterinary Technician Specialist title in the beginning of the pandemic. I specialized in emergency and critical care, and work in a specialty ICU in New Hampshire (USA).

Single, and also work on a dressage barn in exchange for an apartment above the barn. Only way to afford rent around here. Have a ton of houseplants as well.

I had talked about a new puppy last year and he is a little over a year now. He is a Wirehaired Vizsla, has a great beard and is such a good dog. We do hunt training with NAVHDA, AKC conformation, FastCAT, dock diving and are trying out rally.

@Fiddler - my degree is in Childhood and Youth Studies. At the time I was a Teaching Assistant in a Secondary School (11 - 16 year olds) but I left the job just as I graduated because it had become stressful and more about ticking boxes than helping young people.

@RedtailFoxFarm - I looked at a map of the USA and Virginia seems to be about half way down the Atlantic coast, so I'm guessing that's what you meant. :)

And will someone please explain what pickle ball is? :-B

Thank you all for contributing to this thread! You are fleshing out into an amazing array of people with lives all different from each other; united in a love for horses, this game, and genetics. and Many of us coming from different countries, teaching us things we never knew (pickleball, lol, and agistment; i pride myself in my vocabulary and was stunned to find a word I'd never heard!)
@Cheshirefarms, what a beautiful post! Thanks for sharing your art, (I couldn't find your instagram account)
I would have never known if you didn't share here.

Love this idea! I have a few good friends here, but I don’t know much about anyone else.

Currently I’m a stay at home mom with two children. Two years ago, before having my children, I was a Veterinary Assistant for many years. I started working in the vet field when I was in middle school and have loved the job ever since. My passion was emergency medicine.
I was born into the horse world. My mom was a very talented hunter/jumper rider, and my grandfather was also a talented rider and horseman. At four years old, my mother bought me my first horse...a four year old Appaloosa. From there, I have gone on to own over 20 horses of my own. I have had a bit of everything, but QHs, Appaloosas and Miniature Horses are my true love. I have done everything from driving to reining. I was schooled in English riding and low jumping as a young child, but i couldn’t seem to connect with it. After some very unfortunate events in my life, I found myself at a point where I desperately needed something to light the fire again for me. After searching for nearly two years, I happened to come across a stable when on a soccer tournament trip for my sister. There, I found the horse who saved me. A very spunky 5 year old red devil AQHA mare. One trip around the arena on that Ranchy mare changed my life forever. From there on, I have lived and breathed Western Pleasure, Reining, Ranch work. I expanded my family’s horse farm and started training, giving lessons, consignment sales, and showing. I have been blessed to work with so many amazing horses and people. Since, having children I have slowed down in the horse business. I recently lost my Paint x Frisian gelding, so I’m down to just my 17 year old red devil AQHA mare and 17 year old Miniature Horse gelding. Soon I’ll be rebooting my barn hopefully.
Besides my horses, I have a German Shepherd(The love of my life), a Lab, a Beagle, a Brittany/pointer rescue, two cats, and too many rabbits to admit to. I’ve been a Holland Lop Rabbit breeder for 12+ years. My other hobbies include fishing, hunting, winter sports and anything outdoors really.

I'm in a retirement home, so no pets, not even a fish. It was really hard to part with my furbabies, I still get tears in my eyes and choke up when I think about them. Reading about other people's fun with their furbabies cheers me up. Lots of humans here in the lodge but it's not the same, is it. When I started as a bookkeeper, my window by my computer looked onto the owner's pasture where they had 4 half-draft horses, and it was really hard to focus on my work when they were playing in the field. Then they got a miniature donkey, who spent April 1st in the mayor's office. When the grain truck was in the yard, the horses were tall enough they could reach over the top and eat the grain while the poor little donkey ran back and forth so upset because he couldn't get any. Then I move to a nearby small town to go to college, and did 2 two year diplomas, accounting and agri-business. As a single mom raising 2 kids while in college and trying to maintain a high mark, I was a basket case by the time I finished college. I got a job as a bookkeeper for a very large home schooling school, over 1600 students. At that time I had a half basset-half border collie dog, an orange tabby cat, and some cockatiels. I never had the opportunity to have horses til I discovered them on the internet. I love the new artwork. Makes them look so much more real.

:-? I've never attempted to introduce myself before...I
have just started to reach some good strides in my life. A little backwards and socially awkward from being sheltered and homeschooled my whole life. A bad marriage made me kind of draw in a bit more and hide from everything. I am relearning how to be myself with some special help. :\">
I work at a Walmart distribution center in Ohio. I receive all the cold freight on weekends that then gets sent to the stores in the area. I have put in for a new position as the pay is good, but the hours I'm getting aren't quite enough to be comfortable.
I have three girls, 14, 8, and 4, wildcats. :-)) They tolerate each other, but when they get along they're a blast to watch. They finally started doing better in school last year when their home influences settled a little. The youngest starts kindergarten this year, so I'll have a lot more free time on my hands.
I am going through a divorce, that was supposed to be a dissolution, from a person that I am assuming is a narcissist from others explanations of his treatment of me. :-w Except that *he* decided he didn't want to sign any more papers. Doesn't want to pay anything, but doesn't want to sign to get it over with either. He was served the divorce papers last week, and I'm just waiting on the courts to decide a hearing date.
Right after he left, a friend I met online two years ago contacted me again. We've been talking online for almost a year now and he's supposed to be coming to Ohio in August so we can meet in person. Super excited and super afraid at the same time, which is a whole rollercoaster.
I am in flux on religion. I was raised Pentecostal, homeschooled through a Baptist school, but moved entirely away from that in the last few years. Found I have been gravitating more towards things that my raising makes me super uncomfortable with mentioning.
I have three black/black and white cats, a Border Collie who needs way more work than she currently gets(think neurotic 8-| ), and about 20 chickens, mostly Blue Laced Wyandottes, Salmon Favorelles, and Black Marans. I forgot to add that I also have white Guineas for bug control and alert duties.
I live in an '94 trailer that needs a little more than TLC. Repairs were not done properly in the 17 yrs I have lived in it. Partly to blame, as I was ignoring everything in the quest to "get along". I'm just now starting to catch up and get ahead of most of the things that need replaced or repaired.
All in all this has been a most startling couple of years. @-) But me and mine are doing much better and the only goal is upward and onward!

I paint a bunch of everything. I like textured pieces so I've been experimenting with spackle on canvas lately, but I also have a project using acrylics to paint on glass!

I'm 30 years old, married with 3 cats, own my house and work at home. I'm 2 semesters from graduating with my bachelors in health information management (if you want to know how to fight your insurance company, Americans, drop me a line lol) and work full time for the evil health insurance >:D

Horses were not a part of my life until around age 10 when I said mom I want to ride a pony that isn't on the wheel at the amusement park. Luckily, mom had a friend with horses so I got my education starting there, I've been a freelance horseless horse rider since, leasing, borrowing, and volunteering my way into rides. When I got a big kid job 9 years ago I called the closest dressage barn that offered lessons and started "Formal" lessons (I took some hunter lessons and general lessons as a kid but nothing consistent and not dressage). I leased a morgan gelding at that first barn and we learned dressage together for 3 years before he was sold. After that I took a break from horses, got married and bought a house. After that I found another barn with dressage lessons and leased an 18hand hanoverian (my avatar pic) and loved on him for a good 5 years through his retirement, he died this April. I made a good friend at this barn who has an "extra" horse I have ridden in the past and will start riding again soon (Hopefully). I'm at the point in my life where I would just love to have my own horse and control over where it lives and how it's trained and when I can ride... but the money! Stupid expensive animals. Hopefully the degree next year kicks up my income.

In my free time I also knit and crochet (hello fellow fiber artists!) I've been reading the Witcher series, and I also love watching anime and have my few weekly manga I keep up with. My other game of choice right now is Final Fantasy 14

@Lioness83, i had a similar experience in the 10 years I lived in Idaho. At first there were lots of pastures and horse farms, but the pastures are now subdivisions and most of the stables and farms have closed. Thanks for writing and telling about yourself, your love of horses and your horses who sound wonderful.

@soliloquy goodness, glad you survived! I hear ectopic pregnancies are painful too! I hope you make it to the country. I did not. But i taught my kids about wild plants and foraging, and today, they both know more about mushrooms than me and love to forage.

@brandybrookes, i know I'm in the minority, but i think 14.2 is a perfect size for a riding horse. When i was young and impressionable, my gf and i rented pasture from this old guy. He rode ponies and we were scandalized, after all you need a big tall horse, right? Well, he made his ponies step out and walk faster than our bigger horses, and he mentioned that if he fell, he was closer to the ground!
I'm sorry you have to make such tough life choices. I chose the shortest Commute and the biggest paycheck and had the most boring job on earth. We all have to make them. Thanks for writing.

What kind of horses do you need? Welcome back!
I'm curious, why do people like goats without ears?
Let us know how we can help

Stony, yes the polish Arab is so pretty.
My fave breed of goat was always toggenburg, bur I never actually owned one. Thanks for explaining.
Let us know

Yup, I had Nubians for almost a decade. :)

I'm 38 and found this place from someone advertising it on my other favorite game site Alacritysim.com which is dogs not horses lol

I currently live in Iowa and am a single mom with 2 kids (10 & 6) and work in a hog packing house. I run the chemical cage on 3rd shift dispensing all the cleaning chemicals for the cleaning crew.

I currently own a Husky, a Wolfdog, and a German Shepherd along with 2 cats and my daughters 6 parakeets/budgies. When I have free time I like to crochet or make tshirts with my Cricket machine for my friends and family.

I was adopted by my grandparents when I was 5 so they became my parents and I grew up on a horse farm. Our family does western pleasure. I learned to ride on a pinto Shetland when I was 4. My first pony that was all mine as a kid was a POA mare and from there I when I got to big for her I moved on to an Appaloosa gelding and the Appaloosa/POA gelding son of the POA and my dad's stud that I trained myself. (He was born when I was 14.) We mostly had Apps but a few other horses through the years. When my mom died in 2009 dad sold the horses and the farm and moved to Louisiana until he passed away a few years ago.

I've always had dogs and cats my whole life but other pets have included rabbits in the past when I dabbled in rabbit breeding. Mostly Mini Rex and Netherland dwarf. I plan on getting back into that but for now my current landlord says no way.