Getting Tired

[TheSubwayDino]

Hi all,

I've been volunteering at yards as well as helping friends with their horses for over a year now and to be honest, I'm starting to get tired of it.

I've taken 3 weeks off now just because doing 20 hours of volunteer work is really hitting me hard and I don't think asking for payment is something I'd be comfortable doing. Don't get me wrong, I love doing it but it's so hard fitting it around my exams and life and I'd love to do it as a career and I'd be able to give it my all if it were paid.

I'm just unsure on what to do to be honest, do I quit and move onto another career path? Take time off or just continue?

I've been down at this yard since November and it's been my favourite so far so I would love to still stick by but I don't have my own pony yet.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Find someone that values your time? See if you can find a share or something?
You have the experience to be worth more than knackering your self for nothing.

 

[I'm Dun]

How old are you? Its pretty common for teenagers without their own horse to help out at yards in return for rides and training. As someone who taught and worked on yards for years, the teenagers weren't doing enough to warrant being paid and took a fair amount of effort to supervise.

I'm sure you said you were going to work in marketing didn't you? If you decide you want to make a career out of working with horses, then you would be doing it on an apprenticeship so wouldn't be getting paid very much. But this experience would stand you in good stead if that's the route you want to take. If you're finding the commitment too much then could you cut back on the hours you spend there?

 

[TheSubwayDino]

How old are you? Its pretty common for teenagers without their own horse to help out at yards in return for rides and training. As someone who taught and worked on yards for years, the teenagers weren't doing enough to warrant being paid and took a fair amount of effort to supervise.

I'm sure you said you were going to work in marketing didn't you? If you decide you want to make a career out of working with horses, then you would be doing it on an apprenticeship so wouldn't be getting paid very much. But this experience would stand you in good stead if that's the route you want to take. If you're finding the commitment too much then could you cut back on the hours you spend there?

None of my family thinks I'd be good in any job that isn't horses or animals ? they just told me I'm setting myself up for failure if I do an office or marketing job lol.

I'm currently 16 and don't get anything in return other than "learning the ropes". I don't get any riding out of it since it's a livery yard. I was thinking of cutting my hours back but we shall see ?

 

[ZondaR]

TSD, I am a lot older than you and have sort of experienced your dilemma, but different. I had a full time job and every evening I had to go and look after my horse on diy livery no matter how tired and fed up I was from work. Then home and deal with that aspect of my life. It took the shine off my horse as the pressure was dreadful so I put him back into full livery somewhere else. Then, many years later I got into teaching at a riding school at weekends and, while I initially loved it, it became too much, working a 9 to 5 Monday to Friday and working weekends too.

So my advice to you is concentrate on school. Cut back on the hours you volunteer at the stables and don't ruin horses for yourself. Over the next few years give yourself time to decide what you want to do. You will never earn big money with horses but it is a vocation. I don't know what you are like as a student but consider being a vet or a vet nurse, or an equine physio or something like that. There are loads of equine courses out there. You are very young and you have all the options in front of you. You don't have to decide now. You don't need to be under this kind of pressure and you don't have to decide the rest of your life now.

 

[stangs]

100% cut down your hours. You'd be silly not to. The holidays are coming up soon, so you could increase your hours during those if you want. Realistically, you're not going to get a job from doing 20 hours instead of 5 hours - especially as it sounds like you're not been given the chance to learn too much anyway.

Focus on your mental health, spending time with friends, and on your grades, and then you can start looking at apprenticeships or an equine course once you're free from school. With the way the industry's looking right now, you'll definitely be able to find an apprenticeship once you graduate, if that's what you desire, and that will hopefully give you proper hands-on experience.

 

[Four Seasons]

It's not worth burning yourself out. Take it easy, enjoy being young and having some free time while you still have some...?

If you do want to eventually go on the path of an equestrian career, be very careful and make sure to have all agreements in black and white.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Agree with all the posts. Explain to the yard that you need to cut back your volunteering to concentrate on your exams. Decide if you would like to keep in touch, and maybe go to assist once or twice a week, or if you feel better stopping completely for a while.

 

[tristar]

don`t do it!, all poop and no riding? no way

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would definitely cut back on hours could you not get a part time paid job somewhere?

I used to employ a few college students when I ran a yard they just did 2 or 3 hours a day a few times a week.

 

[TheSubwayDino]

I would definitely cut back on hours could you not get a part time paid job somewhere?

I used to employ a few college students when I ran a yard they just did 2 or 3 hours a day a few times a week.

I've already tried, haven't had any luck unfortunately ?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

So your 16 and not being paid to work? Thats not right at all. They are taking the absolute micky out of you! Jeez! We pay 14yo's + to work on the yard at weekends. We don't expect them to work for nothing or "volunteer".

Sack the lot of them in, concentrate on school and don't get a job working with horses! It's really not worth it! And I speak from experience on that front!

 

[TheSubwayDino]

So your 16 and not being paid to work? Thats not right at all. They are taking the absolute micky out of you! Jeez! We pay 14yo's + to work on the yard at weekends. We don't expect them to work for nothing or "volunteer".

Sack the lot of them in, concentrate on school and don't get a job working with horses! It's really not worth it! And I speak from experience on that front!

Yeah, I've been down there since November. I was originally gonna do an apprenticeship there but I don't think it'll be worth it at this point. Still unsure what to do for college lol

 

[[153312]]

Whilst volunteer work does look good on your CV, at your age you really ought to be being paid if it's a riding school. If they can't/won't, give notice and look for somewhere that will pay you. (They do exist!)
Focus on getting the best grades you can so you have options open - be that an equine course, a levels, then a degree/degree apprenticeship etc. Don't let your family put you off doing marketing as a career and leaving you with horses as your down time, either! It's your life so you should be the one making the decisions.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Yeah, I've been down there since November. I was originally gonna do an apprenticeship there but I don't think it'll be worth it at this point. Still unsure what to do for college lol

If you want to go down a horse route go to the British Racing School in Newmarket. 14 weeks residential course, guaranteed job at the end of it in a yard. If you don't like it then at least you know and can figure out what you want to do. But I really wouldn't recommend working with horses for a living.

 

[TheSubwayDino]

If you want to go down a horse route go to the British Racing School in Newmarket. 14 weeks residential course, guaranteed job at the end of it in a yard. If you don't like it then at least you know and can figure out what you want to do. But I really wouldn't recommend working with horses for a living.

Yeah, I don't think I could work with horses for a living. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only thing my family thinks I could do as I am for sure a top fail student ?? we shall see how it goes tho, hopefully I can find a college course or a job in time ?

 

[TheSubwayDino]

It's not worth burning yourself out. Take it easy, enjoy being young and having some free time while you still have some...?

If you do want to eventually go on the path of an equestrian career, be very careful and make sure to have all agreements in black and white.

Haha yeah, helping at 4 yards has shown me to be very careful lol! I honestly don't know if I would go with a career path with horses at this point. I'd love my own but even so I don't have much time to decide what to do next lol

 

[Dave's Mam]

May I be so rude as to ask why you are taking your family's word that you could only work with animals?
What other skills do you have? Are you good at organising? Making contacts? You may have many skills yet undiscovered.
I had no idea what to do when I left school. I did an agri course at uni, hated it, sacked it off, worked in pubs & then got into sales, then I worked for the police. I'm now in Facilities Management for an international construction company.
You know not yet what path is ahead of you!

 

[Keith_Beef]

You know not yet what path is ahead of you!

Spot on.

I didn't really know, at 16, what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I hated school.

YTS (got me an ONC in business studies), then work, than back to college for A level, then a four year degree (international marketing with French & Russian), then over to France where I ended up doing translation and technical writing for geophysics software...

 

[[153312]]

Gosh op it's really rather sad that at 16 you think you're a 'top fail student' with no prospects. There's so much you could do. You don't have to stay in school, you can do an apprenticeship, or college, or a levels, or go straight to work; very few people actually work in the 'career path' they go into when they've done GCSEs/A levels.

Of course the nice thing about adulthood is no one can tell you what to do

Just find something you love and go for it. A life spent doing things you enjoy is not a life wasted. Have fun and believe in yourself: you don't come across on here as stupid or a failure at all!

 

[bouncing_ball]

Gosh op it's really rather sad that at 16 you think you're a 'top fail student' with no prospects. There's so much you could do. You don't have to stay in school, you can do an apprenticeship, or college, or a levels, or go straight to work; very few people actually work in the 'career path' they go into when they've done GCSEs/A levels.

Of course the nice thing about adulthood is no one can tell you what to do

Just find something you love and go for it. A life spent doing things you enjoy is not a life wasted. Have fun and believe in yourself: you don't come across on here as stupid or a failure at all!

Echo this. Based on your postings here I think you will have lots of career options.

 

[Squeak]

Agree with the others, cut down the volunteer hours and save horses as a hobby. There's absolutely no reason why you can't follow a different career path. Find what you enjoy doing, is it marketing that you'd like to do? If so, find a way to get in to it as a career. It's amazing how much difference it can make when it's the subjects you like and are naturally predisposed to. Just because you're not top of the class for x, y or z subject doesn't mean you can't still achieve a good career.

In fact the person who graduated top of my uni course and went on to do a PhD had very mediocre school grades and it was only when they reached uni that they excelled. I always remember the Uni admissions professor saying that he regretted the entry grades going up as he'd often seen people who were very mediocre at school go on to do amazing things at and after uni.