How often do you ride? Those who work full time or have babies!

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lucky7

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How often do you ride your horse this time of year and going into winter?
I have started riding my 5 yr old again after having a baby back in june. He has been ridden 3 x per week sometimes more sometimes less. However now its getting dark early am not going to have much chance to ride until little one goes to nursery after christmas!
I normally go at weekends and after the OH finishes work - sometimes hes not back until 5 or 6 then its dark at 630.
I work 3 days a week from home plus have 4 children to look after. The days i work my toddler is at nursery and the 2 older ones are at school. However i have got the baby with me all the time, he's 4 months old and just about manage to work whilst he sleeps during the morning! I admit its really hard work but i do love my job and love being a mum. However i also love spending time with the neds. I do feel a bit guilty that i am paying livery for them and not getting to ride out much (in the summer they are at home so no costs but there field turns to mush and is far too wet so they spend the winter at grass livery) , i intend to try and ride as much as possible, OH is self employed too so sometimes he may finish early enough so i can go a and ride! the weekends are fine as i leave at 830 and i am back for 1030 whilst OH has the kids.
Does anyone else feel a bit guilty for not riding?!! I know the horse doesn't care its just me!! Just seems a bit of a waste as just had him shod and feel am not getting the use. We dont do much at the moment, short hacking and we may go in the school but nothing too strenuous!
 
No babies but work full time. I ride at least one a day, usually 2 and sometimes 3 ;) I have the horses at home now though which really helps. I do feel guilty if I don't ride them, but one is rehabbing an injury and the other is competing so both need the work.

Don't beat yourself up. If you don't have the time or don't feel like it, your horse isn't going to care. Only time that's a problem is if they haven't got any fitness and then an owner wants to go hunting or something!
 
Will answer as I work full time with a fairly long commute (min hour each way), so time is always tight, but then again I only have myself to please and getting in at 9pm if fine by me ;).

I'm currently riding every day, as I have an oldie on rehab, a just backed youngster and a horse in full work that I compete who really needs to loose some weight!

I do feel guilty if I don't ride, as they all need work. I generally aim for 2 a day and if mum come with me then the baby and the oldie go together as short hacks are perfect for both. For Topaz a floodlit school is a must, I can school for 30/45mins and be done far quickier than when I hack the other two out, if I take into account the whole grooming, tacking up, putting hi-vis on etc.

If he doesn't need the work I wouldn't feel guilty as you say he doesn't care :D.

x x
 
Nope, i have no plans to go hunting or doing much else this side of christmas!
However next year i am planning on getting him out and about and have a few dressage tests lined up for him in Feb, but by then the baby will be in nursery a few mornings a week so hopefully will be riding 5 x per week.
A glad i am not the only one who feels guilty about not riding!
 
I work full time with a 1 hour commute each way, meaning I don't get home until 7pm - by the time I get to the yard it's 7.30pm. I also travel every 2-3 weeks with work.

I ride 5-6 days a week, and if I'm really slammed I'll get a friend to hack or lunge my horse. She has early onset kissing spines and has to be worked correctly so I can't afford to have her off. We have a great surface in our arena and floodlights, which really helps.

If you have a little one it's going to make it harder - maybe you could try to find a busier yard where there are people around that could help with your little one while you ride? The last place I was in had lots of liveries and teenagers who were 'hanging around' chatting, and were happy to mind kiddies while the Mum rode :) Or maybe find another Mum who you could help each other out and mind kiddies while one rides etc?
 
nato said:
maybe you could try to find a busier yard where there are people around that could help with your little one while you ride? The last place I was in had lots of liveries and teenagers who were 'hanging around' chatting, and were happy to mind kiddies while the Mum rode :) Or maybe find another Mum who you could help each other out and mind kiddies while one rides etc?
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I have a horsey friend who has offered to look after the baby whilst i ride, says she will come down the yard with me as she only works 2 days a week (shes not at my yard but lives very close to me) Its a great offer but i feel a bit cheeky on taking her up on it especially as i have not known her for too long, shes my daughters friends mum :) I may wait to see if she offers again and take her up on it once a week
 
I work full time but, it's my own company so I am flexible with my hours. At the moment I am riding everyday - tacking up in darkness then as soon as it gets light I get on and hack. We have no school at the yard so it its just hacking. As the weather gets horrible I will have to start taking days off because hacking in rain is not my idea of fun. Oh for an indoor arena... Oh for any kind of arena!!
 
I work full time and have a 2yo :) I cheat by having my horse at my mums.
It was easyish initially as I went back 3 days a week for the first 3 months. So I'd ride on my days off and in the evenings - I went back in May so light wasn't an issue. Then when I went back fulltime small was in nursery 2 days a week (still is) and with mum the other two.
Again through the summer was simple as just rode evenings with my mum keeping watch over small, then weekends he'd be with my OH. Through the winter, I just gave in to riding less - we don't have a lights on our small schooling area so I was restricted to weekends and then on Fridays I tend to work from home so would take some time after dropping small at nursery to ride before starting work - luckily my boss is very flexible. My mum also helped keep my horse ticking over during the week, luckily being a TB she maintains a reasonable level of fitness relatively easily. This winter it's even simpler as my horse is broken :( so just helping mum keep her boy going.
 
I rider 6 times a week, sometimes two horses a day. I work full time 8.30 - 5pm and do degree through the OU. It helps that my current job is only 2 mins down the road from where I live and I am lucky that I keep my horses at home. I am starting a new job in two weeks which is very exciting but the commute is about 25 mins each way (the horror!) but my new boss has agreed that I can start at 9.30 two days a week in the winter so at least mine should get ridden 4 times a week ready for the eventing season. I also feel guilty when I don't ride mine as they love working and go mad when they have their enforced holiday from November to Christmas.
 
Working full time, it doesn't get light til after I start & it's dark before I leave in the evening, so weekends only for me in winter. Pony is semi retired, so she's fine with that. Baby Exmoor is not ridden & is too busy having fun to be bothered about anything!
 
Crikey I just don't know how people do it ! I work full time and it's a 45 min commute one-way. I try to ride after work 4 times a week but now losing the light. I don't feel guilty for the horse if i don't ride but I feel like I'm slacking and not dedicated enough. I do feel guilty for my husband tho when I DO ride as I feel he should be my priority. He's extremely supportive, but sometimes it seems that our lives are controlled by the horse. Sometimes after work i really just feel too knackered to ride so I wonder where other people's energy comes from ?? It's all a massive juggle
 
a little bit OT but I ride less now than when I worked and had children. I guess having all the time in the world" makes one less focused and I often think theres always tomorrow I'l do something else today.
 
lucky7 you are a superwoman! I used to work full time with a 4 hours commute and would ride about 4 times a week, then had a baby and could only fit 1 ride a week even on maternity leave, eek. Now expecting the second so not riding until next year and really really crossing fingers she will a good sleeper.
 
I work full time and have a 2 hour commute each way, but work at home on Mondays and Fridays (mostly!). During the summer I ride on Friday evenings and weekends, with the occasional half day off work for a dressage lesson with a visiting trainer, or a competition. Now it's getting dark so early I will lose the Friday evenings, which is frustrating but I would need to catch my horse in a massive field with a big herd which aren't above suddenly deciding to gallop about in the dark :-o, and then walk her on the road with nobody around to drive behind me with their hazard warning lights on (the usual way we get to and from the field in the dark). So from a safety perspective it's better not to try.

I have a sharer who rides my horse during the week and I have just offered her Fridays, as it doesn't make sense for me to keep Friday as one of "my" days. I have told her that I will take Fridays back when the evenings get light again, and she's fine with that. But at this time of year I do feel that my sharer is riding more than me. I wouldn't give up my horse for the world though!
 
I work part time and have a 4yo son. Now that he is at school I can ride on my days off but before he started preschool in sept 2014 I was lucky to be able to ride twice per week.

Luckily my hubby would do ride and lead and take my mare out another couple of times. .

Fiona
 
Working full time, 3 horses work in a normal calender month having 2 or 3 days off so i think around half a day off per week.
i work 9 to 5 but use leave to get the odd hr extra in.
plus horse 4 is retired but does 1 or 2 days per week at weekends
 
I work full time, fairly demanding role but no kids and have flexible hours so depending on my schedule can start any time between 0730-1030, I tend to ride out on short 30-45min hacks 3-5 mornings a week with a couple of friends and have a lesson one morning as well, but if I am having a busy time where I have to travel a lot to our other sites that can be less. A job with give and take is a great thing, so I make sure I respect that! My boy is a happy hacker and has arthritis so regular work is important, especially when he's stabled at night. I just wish I weren't so slow, I leave my house around 620 most mornings, on board by 7, back by 745, and yet still somehow by time I have mucked out both my boys and fed breakfast and turned out it's usually about 0915 by time I have changed clothes and driving to work. I would like to be quicker than that.
 
I work full time but no kids. I do 9-5 but don't usually finish til 5.30. 40 min commute each way. I make sure I ride at least 5 times per week. I compete so need him to be fit. I do draw the line though at riding in the dark and the rain! So if its raining after work I won't ride. I'm lucky enough to have floodlights and a great surface which is great.

My motivation is that I will always feel great once I've ridden so just get on and go!
 
I don't ride atall through winter, by the time I finish work its dark and we have no lights (plus I'm too tired anyway, my job is physically demanding) and tbh I rarely get to ride in summer months too, which for a while because I had lost my confidence, I used kids/work=lack of time as an excuse but now I have my confidence back it's kinda heartbreaking to see my mares sharer getting all the fun out of all the hard work and bonding I put into her but I'm hoping as my now 2yr old daughter gets older I will be able to find the time to ride mine while she rides hers (I don't have a supportive OH or family members that will help with childcare)
 
I work full time & have an all rounder, we do a bit of everything but nothing to a high level. I have a floodlit school & this is a must for me as riding in daylight is impossible from Nov-March - unless it is a weekend.
I ride 3 times a week & lunge/in hand work one day a week. I try not to over commit myself but put effort into my riding & set weekly plans and goals but don't beat myself up if work goes wrong & I'm out super late & don't feel like riding. Life isn't perfect.
 
I work full time and he gets ridden by me 4 times a week although one of those is a lunge lesson and he is also schooled by the yard one day a week so he and I get two days off a week. He is only 6 so really just needs kept in work nothing strenuous for now. It's gonna be fun achieving this when winter arrives.
 
I work about full time (final year vet student) and spend a fair bit of time away. In the last 3 weeks mine have all been worked a total of once. They'll be worked about 4 times over the next week and in 3 weeks time daily for 3 weeks! I still compete as and when I have time (RC team next Sunday!) but I have sensible adult horses who don't forget everything they know with a few weeks off :) Think they're just as happy on a quite week as a busy week!
 
How on earth are people managing to ride 5/6 times with full time and kids?! (Unless riding for 10mins or in dark in floodlit school?!) I don't have kids and my job is shifts, so one day I'll work 12hrs (no time for anything- just sleep and go!) Another day I'll work earlies or lates so I ride in the day. I ride 4 times a week,sometimes more but NEVER less than 3. (I'm very anal about it! Pony has arthritus and gets stiff if left) There is no school and I only hack out. I have tried but I cannot do a route in 1hr or less! I generally always ride 2-3 hrs and once a week I do a 'proper hack' of 4-5 hrs.
 
Work full time (leave home 7am to get to work, leave work 4pm to go to horse) and feeling my age and so depends on the kind of week I have at work and how knackered I am. Last week with the lovely weather even though I had a horrid bug I managed a weekend hack, a small go another afternoon over a cross pole a few times in the jumping paddock, then a session in the grass schooling paddock and once in the actual menage so 4 for us in a week was good going. This week my colleague's been out sick and it's been horrendously busy so I've not ridden since the weekend - just depends but in reality when the light goes at 6.30pm which it will later this coming week here I'll probably just be back to riding at weekends. Mine's 19 though does need some regular work to try and keep his weight down a bit and keep his joints moving as he ages...much like me :).
 
It's about balance as far as I am concerned, I have the advantage so I take it and make it work for me and my horse. :)
 
work full time in London so by time I get to yard it is about 6.45pm. Pony on part livery so no jobs to do other than grooming, though I normally skip out as well and I ride 3 times a week after work as well at the weekends. Sometimes I might lunge instead of ride if I feel tired. We have large floodlit school and I am normally the only person in the winter riding at this time so get the school to myself. Tonight I was schooling and fireworks were going off in the distance and it felt very autumnal.
 
I work just over 40hrs a week and a lot of random shifts. I'm aiming to ride at weekends and 3 times during the week but it's not always happening. In my defence I've gone from having access to an indoor (to hide from the rain!) to just having a grass area to ride on and with recent weather it's been a bit slippy so haven't wanted to risk doing too much. I did force myself to do inhand work in walk in the rain on Weds and to hack in the semi-darkness last night (think I'll be doing a lot of this... need some lights and to dig out the headtorch methinks!) and then had a lesson in the fading light tonight. There is an arena in the works where I am now and lights are planned as well so fingers crossed if and when that happens it will make getting the rides in easier
 
I work at a school & a charity- so in term time I work 50 hours a week, monday-saturday, including 2 late nights at afterschool club. I have 4 horses- the 2 ponies were backed over the summer, my mare is 12 and I have an arthritic 17 year old who is semi-retired, but needs gentle hacks to keep him going. so i have 4 that can be ridden! in spring/summer i usually ride 2 on monday, 2 tuesday, 2 thursday and sunday- all of them if i have the time and energy on my 1 day off! however, now that the weather is getting worse and daylight is against us, I end up riding 1 on my shorter days of work, and on Sunday. I have no school or floodlights so i can only hack, which obviously restricts me a lot over the winter. In school holidays I have day time- yay!
they don't mind!
 
Its a definite thing of wanting to make it work and finding time for it i think.
I managed to ride last night, OH finished work at 5 so i had everything ready for the baby, tea was on and i was ready to go out the door as soon as he came in. Razzed down there (10 min drive) bought him in, quick brush and managed to hack out with a lady who was lovely (new yard for me) and managed a good 45 min hack. Got back at 7pm on the dot when it was dark!
 
Work full time but no kids. Work a mixture of nights and long days which vary from 07.30-20.30 or 10.00-23.00. On nights I can ride most days of the week as ride after work before I go to bed. On 10am starts I sometimes can squeeze a short hack or lunge in but when on 7.30 starts I just muck out and turnout and go. Have a lovely yard owner who does horse while I am working on assisted livery. I own a semi retired horse who is arthritic so needs regular gentle hacks and I also ride yard owners horse and compete him so try and get 4-6 days a week work into him to keep him fit x
 
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