Time = money.. but horses need both!

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FionaM12

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I work part-time, but extra hours are available if I need them. It's not very highly paid work.

I used to mostly work just my "contracted" p/t hours, giving me loads of spare time, but little cash. Then I got a horse.

Situation now is: I need money to pay for her keep, so no problem, I can do lots of extra hours. Oh no, hang on, I also need lots of time for taking care of her! Arrrggghhh! I need both!

Even if I worked full-time in my job, I couldn't afford full livery so it has to be DIY. Somehow, I'll have to find a balance where I earn enough to keep her, but don't work so many hours that I don't have time for her.

Any day now, the YO will decide all the horses are to come in for the winter. There's very little winter turnout round here. I'm excited (it's my first winter with a horse since 1976) but also anxious. I do 24 hour shifts so will be calling in favours to get her looked after when I'm stuck at work.

This is a light-hearted thread, please don't come in and preach at me that I shouldn't own a horse on my limited income. She will be well cared for. I'm just wondering who else here finds it challenging to juggle horse care with earning enough money to pay the bills? :)
 
O my word yes. Very difficult. I work full time (reasonably involved job that I can't always get away from too) and have two on DIY. It feels like I'm running about like a headless chicken sometimes. Especially days when I have the farrier or the vet and have to leave work, bomb up the motorway and bomb back and try and be as quick as humanly possible! lol
 
This is a perenial problem. I get round it by not competing,not going on holiday,not having take-aways or meals out. I even bake my own bread and cakes and make soup etc as its all cheaper. I have a 20 year old car. I keep my horses mostly out,buy second hand stuff mostly, avoid catalogues and stores,feed hay and if needed,straights. If of riding age my horses have a period of time each year without shoes and do no work or very light work at that time,good for them and good for my pocket.
 
In my job we do these madly long shifts with no breaks (not even for lunch) so I can't even pop out. I'm going to have to be very organised and leave clear instructions with family and friends for her care in my absence.

Trouble is, family and friends aren't horsey (although they are keen to help). Have to get them all trained up! :eek:
 
I was lucky a few years ago that I was able to change my job to work from home, so most of my evenings and mid afternoons are attached to a computer. I ran my own business before running a clothes shop and had my horse to look after, with two young children and it was a nightmare. I knew I had to put the time in, in order to pay for my horse but then my children suffered and my horse did too. Its a massive juggling act and times are tough at the moment. In the end something had to give which I decided was my business. It was less money for a while but luckily I now earn enough to keep him and still do the hours for it in the evenings.
 
I don't think you're suffering a unique problem...I think you just have to make some choices. I work a full time job and have a pony on DIY. Sometimes I don't get away from work till 7pm so it's difficult. Only got my pony back in the Spring, and annoyingly the rest of the liveries all bring in studidly early (around 4pm!!!) which was tricky. I was up at the yard by 6am so I could sling her out before work, and then got a friend to drag her in when everyone else got theirs in and I'd go and finish off after work.

Now though she'd playing buddy to the YO's horse and she's out at night and in during the day which means she usually brings her in and I go and help turn out. Not sure how we will work it through the winter, but in my mind, I would just make it work, even if it means being up there at 6am and she has to wait till 6pm to get fed again. My job means I can have her, and whilst it's not a high end job, I'm just above minimum wage which means she gets everything outside of my bills. I recently went back to living at home, but still pay rent, and have debts and bills etc but if you want the horse, you make the choice and you make it work. I also work at weekends doing liveries which helps. But it is tiring working 7 days a week.
 
For many years I worked full time and rode 5 days a week, and the horse was stabled in winter. How I did it was working nights.
Finnish at 8, home 8.30, give horse small feed while I had my breakfast and got changed. Then rode for an hour, poo picked stable gave hay net and crawlled into bed.
Up at 4.30 /5 and muck out and give tea and haynet. He was deep littered on shaving and had a big muck out on my days off.
The cheat was he was at home in my garage. The horse is a domestic animal so as long as you do not cause nuisance, PH issues and have good neighbours no problem.
One of my happiest memories is decorating the Christmas tree with him watching through the window.
We lived on the edge of Sheffield on the moor side and the winters are so bad that if he was on the farm he would have been in from October till Apirl any way. He seemed very happy and content and come spring he went up the moorside for the summer.
 
Yes, I'm all too happy to make her my priority and make choices. My only child has grown up, I'm not house-proud and don't care much about clothes etc so there's only the horse and the dog who really matter.

The shifts are a pain though. I start at 10 am then work right through until 11am the next day, sometimes longer. So clearly someone else will have to do her evening and early morning routine while I'm at work.

As I say, no (or v little) winter turnout doesn't help.

I'm not complaining or asking for answers by the way, it's just very much on my mind at present! :)
 
FionaM12 said:
In my job we do these madly long shifts with no breaks (not even for lunch) so I can't even pop out. I'm going to have to be very organised and leave clear instructions with family and friends for her care in my absence.

Trouble is, family and friends aren't horsey (although they are keen to help). Have to get them all trained up! :eek:
Click to expand...

Willing non horsey people can still feed, rug, muck out etc. Lucky to have someone who is willing to help out.
 
I work full time in a demanding and stressful job and I have 2 youngsters on diy livery. They both need riding or some sort of work. It's very hard to be able to get the energy to do something with them every night and my weekends are pretty much 9-6 down the yard. I do feel I will burn out soon! Probably through winter!
 
The thing with horses is they are the best time wasters ever!!! Even if you don't work, somehow there is never enough time to do everything you want /'should' do with your horse.

I guess the only way is to find really good systems (ie filling all haynets once a week or whatever) and finding really good support.

Its a '*bugger* that your horse can't have 24 hour turnout as I find that takes heaps of pressure off over the winter!
 
Yes, I'm lucky I have a few volunteers. We'll see how keen they when winter's really here though!

I'm working on the systems, Canteron. I bought and filled a pile of haynets yesterday. Her bed is made up ready in case the YO decides today's the day they all come in. Meanwhile, there's a little farm cat stretched out blissfully in the deep clean straw. :D

I'm off to work now until midday tomorrow. I have a nice job, but it does get in the way a bit... :):)
 
yup it's the catch22 of horses:(
when you finally get a job that allows you to afford a horse, suddenly you're working so hard that you barely have time to enjoy the horse:rolleyes:

but at least you have the horse eh?
i spent years saving and saving, working, grooming, ride-sharing etc etc all to get the ride on someone elses horse and wishing for my own.
Now i have my own, yes i barely find time, but he's all mine all mine and every little moment, no matter how little the moment is worth it:D
 
Molasses said:
but at least you have the horse eh?
i spent years saving and saving, working, grooming, ride-sharing etc etc all to get the ride on someone elses horse and wishing for my own.
:D
Click to expand...

I spent 35 years being so dramatically allergic to them that I couldn't go near anyone who even had horse hair on their clothes, never mind the horse itself! I'd had to part with my boy in 1976 for this reason. Contact with horses put my in the Intensive Care Unit.

Eventually, I accepted that I'd never have horses in my life again, but there was always an ache, something missing.

So, yes, at least I have the horse! Every time I say that, or think it, I can't believe how lucky I am.
 
I work full time and have evening work every other month also. I get up at 5am every morning in order to get everything done before work and when I get home at 6pm I run around then too.
I do the bare minimum for a happy well fed horse...he is stabled at night all year round due to previous laminitis problems so I have to muck out each morning. I poo pick in the evening and move the fence if strip grazing. He is brushed only when ridden, I dont have time to spend gazing into his eyes and admiring him, dont have time for cleaning tack so everything is synthetic and my riding boots rarely get cleaned.
It is hard work indeed but he is happy and his 'needs' are met even if my emotional ones are not!!! I rent a field so have to do everything myself all year round or pay for someone to do it when I have a few days away...rare!
 
I know exactly how you feel. I have 2 on DIY, i'm working 40+ hours a week and often work double shifts. A usual day for me is: 5am: wake up and go to feed and turn out horses. 7am-1.30pm work then home for a spot of lunch. 2pm: go down to yard to muck out (yes i leave it until the afternoon when im working in morning!) bring horses in for the nigh and feed them. 3.30pm-10pm work then go and check horses. get home around 10.30ish. unfortunately the morning are getting darker and darker and im starting to struggle to see to put the horses out! Luckily yard owners will turnout for a small cost which is added to monthly bill.
 
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