How many horses and what kind of job?

I have two and keep them at home. Thi is our second home with land and this one will, with a bit of work, be perfect. 4 acres around the front of the house so checking them is so easy and land all flat. Simple and easy is important as I used to work long hours (solicitor) and with three horses then it was hard. I went in-house 6 months ago so work a lot less hours too now.
 
For years I had two horses on DIY livery whilst holding down a job as a teacher full time. Used to involve 5am get ups to go turn out and muck out before work, then finally getting home at 7-8pm ish after doing the horses after work.

Looking back I have no idea how I managed it. Hardest time was when one was on box rest for 4 months and I had my other one plus a loan pony to look after.

Now I really couldn't fit horses into my lifestyle in that way.
 
I own 2 ex racers, both retired/ turned away and have a gorgeous ID on lwvtb. One Tb lives with my friend's mare on a farm, she looks after her and I'm grateful as she's my daughters horse and we never gelled really. The other Tb and ID are on diy livery, if I get on well with him ill probably ride 3-4 times a week, mostly hacking. I've always managed the chores snd hope I can still as have recently been diagnosed with colitis, most likely Crohns.

I work full time, meant to do 37.5 hours but I do quite a bit extra over evenings snd weekends ( from home) I don't mind going that extra mile because the non pay benefits are great. I'm an exec assistant in the public sector btw. Flexible working is a godsend really, I took a pay cut to get it and it was worth it. I'll be lucky to get such a job again when I finally get made redundant after one of the endless rounds of reviews.
 
Last edited:
I have a dressage horse who is currently in foal (although still being ridden but not competed so much) and an old retired TB with cushings & laminitis. They are both in assisted livery. I then have another happy hack who is out on full loan to someone so I rarely see him and I also own a share of an event horse who is in competition livery with a pro. So in reality just 2+ blob are my responsibility.

Now I'm not training & competing it's very easy to manage and very relaxing! When I was, and last year was very full on, I also was running my own consultancy, it mean having my competition horse on livery and also having someone come in to school her at least once a week. I was exhausted by the time Hartbury came round in April (and I'm sure moving house didn't help that!)
 
One of my own, and three full liveries - all live out, and are kept at home. I'm a veterinary editor, with a ridiculously busy job, but I work from home, so nip in and out throughout the day to cuddle, feed, poo pick - and just marvel at the wonderfulness of having horses on the other side of the garden fence! I've only been here a week, so the novelty hasn't worn off yet!
 
I've got 3, my old lad 16hh warmblood x tb who is a still active 23 yo, my youngster 16.2hh warmblood x tb/shire 3yo mare, and a companion 14.2hh Connie mare. They are kept on rented 5 acres with mobile stables, which I pretty much manage myself, only me there. I run my own business doing video production, which means I can be flexible about how I work, but also involves some odd hours. I just have to work around it, but as they are out 24/7 that helps a lot. Still pretty time consuming though!! If I was on a livery I couldn't afford 3, so its a toss up between having the 3 or having more facilities. Love my little herd to bits though so wouldn't swap!
Its amazing how many of us have more than 1 isn't it??! Horses truly are an addiction!! He he!
 
We have 7, but keep them at home now. 2 years ago, they where at yard that was 10mins up the road.
I work full time, pretty demanding job, plus do hubbies, books and invoicing and admin. Have 2 kids.

2 are SJ, who are competed by a local pro, ( I keep these ticking over in the week )1 ridden by me, 1 my daughters, and 3 are babies.
Last couple of months have been easier, as daughter has now finished college.

It's totally doable, as long as you accept its a lifestyle choice.
 
I have three, soon four. I have help three mornings a week and hubby does the poo picking once a week and maintains fencing. Also have three spaniels. Job and family? No, I'm retired and never had children. When working I went part time when I upped my numbers to two. I was at livery then.

The biggest consumer of time is effective land management and hay making from the winter rested fields
 
I have one, my seven YO ISh (mostly connie) and I work 36 hours a week which can be quite flexible but at least two days a week HAVE to be 8-5.30. I keep him on assisted DIY about 5 miles from my house which is exactly halfway between the yard and my workplace. I would dearly love to get an unbroken connie to bring on as a project but can't afford to keep two at my current yard which I love being at. PLUS, as my boy's only seven and I'm having huge fun with him, despite the fact I don't work hugely long hours, time would be a factor. If I had unlimited funds & time I'd love to have a whole heard of different types and my own livery yard.
 
I am a legal secretary working 3 days at present as I have a 18 month old. I have a Connie and a Shetland. Both on diy livery but I have a sharer who does them in the morning and I do them in the evening. I have to admit I would struggle if I had to do them myself. The Connie is a happy hacker and the Shetland will be my little girl's when she is a little bigger. Before I had my little girl though I worked 6 days a week but only had the Connie.
 
I have 2x horses; a 15.2 FT and a 16hand IDX. Both on grass livery and live out with shelters (2 acres). I keep them as cheaply as possible, often looking for 2nd hand stuff before new. They are easy in the winter and i always have tons of grass in the summer .

I work as a Health Visitor (NHS) and im lucky enough to be part time (im 26). Im never going to be loaded, especially not working full time however i feel i have a good work life balance and enjoy having the horses :). I work 9-5 and do the horses on the way and way back from work. Just moving the fence for strip grazing, poo picking and water. They fit in around my life easily.
 
One horse on full livery in Cheshire while I work as a barrister in Leeds. I compete BD and usually get to ride once midweek and both days of the weekend. My instructor usually rides him once a week too :) I don't have as much time for my horse as I would like but I earn enough to keep him and buy him whatever he needs.
 
I have one pony on part livery and work in the charity sector. I am single and childless so all spare money goes on pony and he is my main source of entertainment as well as my friend.

When I was on DIY livery there were quite a few people with multiple horses sometimes as many as 5 but they were all owned by people who did not need to work and had very understanding husbands.
 
I now have a Welsh d and 2 midgets, I sold my other riding horse this year as I just couldn't cope last winter with them all living out on limited land with no electricity and no running water. I'm a catering manager at a college so get fab holidays and work 7-2.30, 1 ridden horse is the limit for me having been through the worst winter ever I'm glad it made me see sense
 
I have 2 and work in an estate agents. Although I am not a negotiator for sales or lettings, I do work 8.30-5.30 Monday to Friday, Saturday a month and never leave before 6.30. It's difficult but it works. Only one is in work at the moment, and I'll either be putting my other mare in foal or bringing her back into work too. Wouldn't be without them, especially one as the other is relatively new. I think once you have them, you manage around them and for them.
 
21 year old mare, lightly competed, schooled and hacked 4-6 times a week, 40 mins minimum. I work 8.35 - 5 Monday to Thursday, and 8.35-3 on a Friday. Manage just fine fitting in the horses, gym, work, plus other life activities! Careful planning ahead and it's fine :) winter is just less riding really.

My work is the sort I can forget about once I cross through the office doors, I think if I had a more intensive job, it would be a different story.
 
I have 1 He's an almost 2 and a half year old Appaloosa X Cob (He doesn't act like a 2 and a half year old a lot of the time it must be his smartness) and I work as a Systems and Finance Officer within Adult Education. Monday - Friday 9-5.30 in the summer and I will be doing 9-5 in the winter. My sister also has 1 (11 Year old Cob) and we share all the duties as they live out 24/7 together and she works 9-4.30 everyday.

In the future I will probably get another (which will be an old done it all kind) but 2 will be my max :) My boy will mostly be a happy hacker but might do some very low level stuff if we both like something when he's old enough as I didn't buy him with the plan to event or anything but if we ever get there it would be nice as well.
 
I work 13 hours a week, keep my mini shetland and arab 5 mins from were I live. Have a very understanding husband.:)
 
3. 1 i event & 2 3 year olds
i work in the nhs in business performance & doing management training. My work is 8 -4 which works better for me but if i am in afternoon meetings sometimes i am late or sometimes i have to travel up to 2 hours which means getting home late
 
Only the one at the moment but back up to two again next week. Section A for the kids and my new one is a highland x. I'm 29, accounting student (will be going into my second year at uni come September), single mum with three children aged 2, 6 and 8 who are homeschooled. My life is busy and pretty much revolves around educating myself and the kids and being at the yard but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Planning to buy a trailer towards the end of the year and there'll be no stopping us then!
 
I have two, a shire x native, 18 years old and semi retired, he is a hack and a was a low level dressage diva. I also have a six year old traditional gypsy cob who's main occupation seems to be growing, interspaced with a bit of hacking and dressage and showing. I am a full time art teacher and a ceramic artist.
 
At the moment I am a zookeeper and work 8.30-6, five days a week. My days off are weekdays, so I work every weekend. I have one horse that I event and no way in heck could I have another! I use up my holidays for competitions and ride 5 days a week.

I am single and live at home with my parents which makes life easier (I'm 23 btw). I pay board but much cheaper than having my own place. It's very hard sometimes, time-wise and financially, but I wouldn't have it any other way right now - I LOVE my job.
 
1 horse, work in a project type role in a large company. Would describe it as a pretty flexible 9-5 office type. Live with my OH and spend about 2.5 hours per day at yard, more if he's working or not at home :-P. I definitely don't think I would have time to give another horse the time / attention it deserved/ I wanted but if I was able to have stables at home I think I maybe could.
 
Three horses, two owned and one loaned. Mine are 23 and 6, OH's is 11. Until recently they have all lived out 24/7 on our own land which is 1 mile from home, it's another 4 miles past the field to get to work so we 'do' them on the way so to speak. 6 year old is two and a half months into a bout of toxic laminitis, recovery is going well but I can't say I've enjoyed box rest too much... We're now at the stage of the horses all in by day and going out at night, 6 year old is muzzled, and this seems to be working for them and for me! It's also given us the kick to complete some much needed upgrading... So now we have three stables with concrete floors instead of earth, a proper feedroom, concrete undercover area for shoeing etc, proper drainage, we've done all the work ourselves, Thursday we laid 6 cubic metres of concrete pretty fast, as the hot weather meant it was setting fast.

We are self employed, we own a feed merchants on Dartmoor. We do have three part time staff members, and we run a big delivery round so we're often not in the shop but are out delivering bedding, haulage, livestock feed etc etc. we work 5.5 days a week, hours are longer in winter than summer, last winter I turned my young horse away for three months, ice ever done that before but I simply didn't have the time to ride.

It is wonderful to have your own place but as others have said there are always sacrifices to be made. The stables rebuild this week has taken probably 20 hours for the each of us over the last three days, thank God for light summer evenings! I've also topped a field and had to dismantle electric fencing twice, once for the concrete lorry and once because a horse had escaped into the wrong area. I would love to have a school, even a flat even footed area for schooling, mains electric and water would be great too (we were quoted £30,000.00 to get electric to our field entrance!), so glad we installed a bore hole a few years ago as I'm now having to soak hay!
 
7 ponies, mostly NF either on the open forest or 5 miles away in rented fields. Two children 7 & 5. Two jobs, every lunchtime at son's school and 4 nights at week at local co-op.

I share the fields with a friend so we have anything from 8 to about 15 in depending on the time of the year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top