Horses are the best therapy in MY WORLD other than my eskies (dogs in general). I love dressage, not to into western riding.....but will do trail riding in a western saddle if it's my only choice rather than not ride at all.

Another thought....if you have any extra spare time....sometimes at the ranch where my horses still are.....the owner/trainer/instructor will let some people who are a little tight on money clean some stalls in exchange for a lesson.....then pay for the rest.....but at least it lowers the expense by some......just a thought if it may be possible.

I truly believe that brushing down the horse, cleaning the hooves & tacking them up before riding is a great part of bonding & getting to know your horse before riding them.

I am a horse lover that is going through withdrawals because my horse is still in California after I left 5 years ago.....Izzy is now 8 years old.....I was with her 1 hour after she was born.....& that bond was the most awesome feeling I have ever experienced......I have some pictures of her in my profile album. She was born just at the time my mother's cancer surgery & when everything bad started happening along with the trauma with the home care person & the stress caused anorexia.....but I think if I didn't have Izzy at that time.....I never would have been able to recover.

Horses are so healing....the unspoken communication between body & horse is the most beautiful feeling. I love watching them but not as much as I love riding although I volunteered at the horse park for the World Equestrian Games in 2010 at Lexington KY & also just 2 weekends ago for the dressage championship 4 day show.....I felt like I was in heaven surrounded by all those gorgeous horses.

I would definitely say if you can swing even 2 lessons a month to go for it....it's healthy, it's outdoors, it's exercise, it's interfacing with a horse that is definitely healing for our mental health.

Horses are definitely expensive....but if you can just take lessons & even practice ride at times between lessons it would be great also. I ended up buying a horse after I started taking lessons.....& the vet expenses....but one can enjoy riding & lessons even without owning IMO......showing gets into a whole other set of expenses....again, not something that is necessary to really enjoy.

I am not really into trail riding but the trails around where I live are the most gorgeous anywhere in the country.....I have a friend who owns a farm with about 30 miles of riding trails. The first time I rode there 4 years ago, It was just like the dreams I had when I was a child....that was definitely a strange feeling....but awesome.

Hope you can work out a way financially to do this because the benefits are so great