Having Horses Around a Working Life

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tomdakota

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Hi all,

My first post here to be nice to me haha.

I am looking into getting a horse in the new year, my two I have are on full loan and have been for 3 years, they are perfectly happy where they are, so I wouldn't wish to move them. This was when I was 17, working part time in college so my parents were helping out with them financially.

Three years down the line I really really miss having a horse. I am now financially stable with a regular income, so could comfortably afford a horse. I am just wondering how people fit it in working 9-5. Can it become stressful? I would just really like an insight into it if that makes sense.

I have no doubt it would be wonderful having another horse. But I would just like to know how people fit it into working all week, having a partner, seeing family. I am just really interested to any help would be very much appreciated. :)
 
It's probably not what you want to hear but I've found keeping my boy on part livery is the easiest way to get a horse/work/life balance and even still my husband rarely sees me in the evenings and weekends.

I know plenty manage on DIY but my job, whilst well paid, often requires me to work long hours and travel a fair bit so it just wouldn't be possible for me to keep a horse any other way and takes the pressure off when it's pushing 8pm and I'm still sat at my desk.

Oh and welcome to the forum *waves*
 
First off, Welcome :)

I would suggest part livery as above, or if you are really worried how about finding a share horse to see how you get on?? There are so many people looking for sharers at the minute, especially coming into winter, its probably not the best time to be getting a horse soley of your own of worried about time etc so a share or part loan may be ideal!

Good luck on your quest though :)
 
I have one horse on DIY, but I have made sure I am on a yard that has people that offer 'livery services' that mean that if I can't go up or need to go back to Norfolk, Nugz will be looked after. I am lucky that the OH is happy enough to be involved so will normally come up with me, but in the last couple of years I have taken to getting up at the weekends to be on the yard for 6am, turfing out, then going home and back to bed :D

All the yards I have been on have been very close to home so I can do this. If they were further I would have to consider part/assisted DIY because otherwise the cost of fuel and time means it becomes not worth it.

You soon get into the groove of what needs to be done, and what can wait. Will also depend on the horse as well - some will happily wait until 10am for the owner to sort them out, others won't. Having the option of 24hr turnout is good as can mean you're not restricted time wise as much.
 
I work 6am until 2.30pm and have 3 on DIY. They live out 24/7 from roughly march until November, in overnight in winter. During the summer months, I don't tend to go up in the mornings as a fellow livery checks them for me. During the winter, I go up about 4.15 in the mornings, turn out, and throw up beds. Aim to leave yard by 5 to give me time to get home and shower before work. Am lucky that both work and yard are only 5 mins or so from home in either direction. Usually finish work, and back at yard by 3.30/4ish. Son often comes with me, helps do beds, feeds, haynets etc, and sometimes we ride, sometimes we don't. We ride all the time in summer. Works for us, we are usually home by about 5.30 in winter, time for dinner, family time with OH. There is someone who will do jobs if needed which, although I don't use her often, is handy to have.
 
I work full time, also go to college part time and do some other bits, like weight watchers and the gym in the evenings!! and I have 3 horses (well one is a mini Shetland)

I've never had them on part livery, always DIY and now I'm on a private yard again after 3 yrs of trying to share with others!!

I've always had them on grass livery but as of next weekend they will be coming in a bit! so will mean that I need to be up at 5.30pm at to let them out and get mucked out before work, will come back straight from work at 5.30pm and put them to bed then go to the gym!!

I think its perfectly do-able on your own, without the help of others!

at the moment I get up at 6 arrive at the yard around 7.30, muck out my field, and feed the horses, and go straight to work at 8.20ish have breakfast when I get to work!

When the farrier comes I just book him in for 7.30/8 and agree with work that I might be a bit late, so only have half hour lunch break that day! take the day off when I have the vet etc!

I've had my mare for 13 yrs and I've always worked full time (bare 2yrs when I was at college and working part time)

Its nice if you have someone on hand that can help you out but remember they will want a hand in return, so might be easier to pay someone else hehe!

i'm not saying I have the most exciting life in the world but I still find time to see my friends, not as much as I'd like but I do! I don't have a boyfriend, as I have no idea when I would fit one in, unless he wanted to come mucking out, which isn't likely! but I wouldn't change my life for anything :)
 
I work 28 hours a week, am in full time college, have two teenagers and keep 2 horses on pure DIY. If you are committed to very early rises and being at the yard daily twice a day, its do-able. My yard is only a mile from my house so its very handy. I have however eased myself into full DIY on a farm with no involved YO - we just rent the stables and fields from a farmer who takes very little to do with us. I started with one horse on full livery for several years, then went part livery with a very helpful YO who did full livery days as required, then I took the dive into full DIY and I honestly can say I love it and will never go back to full livery. But I could never have managed with this current arrangement when I bought my first horse, I would never have coped - the kids were much younger too, they are teens now so dont need/want me around so much. If you cant do full then I would agree with the others who have said part livery to start with - then see how you go with getting into a routine and if you think you can manage it down the line, change to DIY.

Good luck with whatever you chooose :)
 
I work full time hand have college on a Friday. I am at the yard my 8 in the morning to muck out and turn out to be at work at 9. then I'm at the yard after work to bring in and ride and usually home by 6.30. Then weekends usually up there about 9.30 to turn out and then in the afternoon to bring in. I wouldn't say i was particularly well paid on 16k a year but i manage just fine, and still manage to go out at the weekends too

Definately very do-able, don't see how some people struggle so much with working lol
 
I think a lot will depend on work/yard/home distances and what sort of work you do.

If you have a horse living out you can probably be more flexible about what time you check your horse so if you get delayed at work then you don't have a horse waiting to come in. Some yards also have rules that horses have to be in by dark and that can have an impact in the winter also sometimes the first person up has to feed all the horses so may add on extra time in the mornings.

I also think if you have a partner and one of you always has to get up very early and that other does not that could be an issue especially for younger people who may want to do more socialising in the evenings etc.

It is certainly doable and there are plenty of options for those who work full time to keep horses.
 
I work full time from 8am - 6pm (usually later!), luckily keep them at home - it's very, very tiring with lots of early starts & lots of late nights, especially when squeezing in riding every night too, but worth it! The easiest option for you would probably be part livery so that you can have a bit of assistance leaving you with more time to do the fun bits like riding / pampering rather than racing around mucking out etc. Alternatively keeping a horse on grass livery if possible, then you don't have to worry about the stable management element. Or a sharer perhaps? x
 
I work full time and keep my horses on DIY, we have some good fellow liveries that we can trade off with, so far so good, but I won't lie, it's tiring and time consuming, though worth it of course
 
I think it depends a lot on how easy and amenable your horse is, your commute to work, the other things you have/want to dedicate time to in your life and how much help you have on hand at the yard.

I have a young horse who does not take kindly to being left out in the wind, rain and dark in the winter, and I have a long commute to work. I used to do pure DIY with him, but one of the biggest stresses came from worrying about him when I was late leaving work or got stuck in traffic, rather than from the time or energy commitment in itself. Now that he is on a yard with good facilities and is fetched in and fed with the other horses before dark, with me doing his stable in the morning. That way, I get to the yard at my leisure in the evening and have a comfortable, fed and chilled out horse to work with.

I walk the dogs at 6am before I leave (and they have access to the large garden all day) and my OH doesn't mind me getting back late as he spends the time I'm out on his hobbies at home, but if I had kids I don't think that the mammoth commute-demanding job-horse-dogs combination would be doable realistically. As it is though, the time I spend with my horse in the evening is actually a very therapeutic part of my day.
 
I'm another one who has a big commute.

My journey to work is 35 miles each way and that goes up to about 50 miles when I go via the yard. Luckily my yard is assisted DIY so I can get turn outs and bring ins as required. I also benefit from a good friend who works just by the yard and helps me with a few turnouts during the week (it helps her too as it gives her horse a friend to go out with). I also have a sharer who is down one weekday evening and one weekend day.

In summer my horse stays out 24/7 so no mucking out and only need to go down once a day. I don't have any kids and my OH has his own hobby that keeps him busy.

Basically it's all doable. You might struggle to begin with but you will soon get into the routine :-)

Going down and spending time with my girl after a horrible day at work keeps me sane and all the stresses and strains just disappear
 
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For years I had 2 horses on DIY livery - going every morning before work at 5.30 am then again after work (usually a 10hr day)

It's easier when you are younger I think and have less commitments / more energy.

I now have them on part livery (full for 5 days & DIY at the weejends)which is so much easier and means when I get there after work I can just groom or ride so get to spend more time with them.
 
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