Does anyone else feel guilty about juggling jobs and horses?!?!

[GingerTrotter]

I just read a thread about people managing to ride their horses 5 to 6 times a week and it made me feel very guilty!
I'm sure that we all have to juggle a full time job and our horses but I only manage to get the time to ride my 2 horses about 3 times a week
One of them is a 7 year old and I usually compete on the weekends, local show jumping or HPs. The other is a 3 year old so probably doesnt require too much work anyway.

Where do these people find the time - super human powers perhaps

 

[Farma]

I actually cant wait to go and ride when I finish work so doesnt always feel like that much effort, I love riding my mare so much its an effort and disappointment if I dont manage to ride or go away for a few days.

If I am tired 1 day I just feed and go home early instead, simples!

 

[BigRed]

I feel guilty about juggling my dogs/horses/husband. I never feel guilty about work.

 

[NW-K]

Yep - I'm there with you on the guilt. I've got a 5 year old who really needs working 6 days a week but struggling to hit 5 at the moment and an 8 year old who's had 2 years off so I'm trying to do a bit with every day but failing at present. Love riding after work but am so shattered it's really hard work - particularly as I get stuck with stupid on call rotas working 5 12 hour shifts in a row - feel that my riding is really not at it's best by the time I get on!

 

[PooJay]

I work full time and usually ride 5-6 times per week. I do resign myself to the fact that i don't get home till 930 most nights though. Sometimes if i'm on early shifts and finish at 4, i get a treat and can actually ride, muck out and be home for 8.

My livery yard does seem to be some kind of bermuda triangle for time though, I don't know where it goes!

 

[AandK]

I actually cant wait to go and ride when I finish work so doesnt always feel like that much effort, I love riding my mare so much its an effort and disappointment if I dont manage to ride or go away for a few days.

If I am tired 1 day I just feed and go home early instead, simples!

Ditto that!

Due to lack of arena/daylight in the winter (Dec and Jan) I can only ride at the weekends. In Oct/Nov and Feb/March I get up earlier and ride once or twice a week before work.
This time of year is great as I can ride after work (I finish at 5.30pm), I usually ride 4-6 times a week, but my lad lives out all year round and keeps himself quite fit just mooching round the field, so I don't feel bad for giving him the odd day off

 

[GingerTrotter]

Phew! glad you guys are in the same boat
I have an hour commute to work and then a 9 hour day in the office so by the time I get home and do all the other essential horsey things riding can take a back seat.
Maybe I should start getting up at 4am and riding before work!! Soon the winter nights will come and then I'll be screwed with a flooded poorly lit sand school and no safe hacking. <sigh>

 

[TheoryX1]

Well it helps having a teenager with a horse on the same yard as mummy. However, I do feel guilty sometimes. However, although I have an older horse (18), who is mainly a happy hacker, he does pick up the vibes big time from me, and I have learned that if I have a really, really stressful day I just dont ride. If I have had a bad day if I school we just end up not getting anywhere. If I hack, he is really really 'Looky' and can be silly. Therefore its sometimes just a cuddle, groom, tea and muck out and chuck out.

Oddly enough I feel the guilt that I am not putting in the hours at work, but at least I have Mini TX to care for our horses. I even considered selling my own horse so I could commit myself more to the business but my business partner stopped me dead in my tracks. He said that my face lit up whenever I talked about my horse, my horsey life etc and that if I sold him to concentrate on work that I would really regret it, as all the light would go out of my life. For a bloke, how correct was that comment.

I have come to the conclusion that as long as they have a reasonable routine, they get ridden regularily, get fed well and turned out and of course loved that it really does not matter.

 

[Ginn]

Oddly enough I feel the guilt that I am not putting in the hours at work.

This ^^^^ But then I do (imo) one of the best jobs in the world and it's something which I always feel I could and should be doing more for, even though it consumes my evenings and weekends as it is!

BUT I also feel incredibly guilty about lack of time spent with my horse, especially riding (Come the clocks going back I will leave for work before/as the sun comes up and leave work as it/after its gone down which makes riding in the week, unless I box somewhere, difficult!). I am very lucky that, because madam is on a yard with sister's pony, mum turns out for me and skips out stables of a morning so atleast I get to enjoy cuddles and fussing of an evening.