My daughter’s horsey hobby makes her happy, but our home now hums

Keen to keep his children active, Will Gore finds himself paying an unexpected price

Her interest in horses began a couple of years ago, with origins unknown (Getty)

We’ve probably all had a crap hobby at some point. I collected small figurines of frogs and other assorted animals as a child. And I merrily left my mother to dust them.

I also went through a phase of writing down the registration number of every car that stopped at the junction outside our house. Just in case I ever needed to help the police with their enquiries.

One boy in our village bred stick insects. Their virility was so impressive that most people of his acquaintance ended up being gifted a baby bug or two. Ours didn’t last long, after my toddler brother tried to feed it a carrot.