Want to ride but stuck in office job instead... anyone sympathise?!

S

sfward

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 June 2007
Messages
1,214
Location
York
Visit site
Hi all - sorry just to warn you this is a bit long...!! I'm 3/4 of the way through yet another boring and unproductive day in the office and just wanted to have a bit of a moan about the rubbishness of full-time employment!

I wondered whether anyone else is in a similar situation as me- stuck in an office all day when what you really want to do is ride horses all day but can't work out how to do it...?!! I fit my eventing around a full time job, and find it so frustrating having to squeeze riding around work, husband, dog etc and never having enough hours in the day! I'd love to have more than 1 horse but can't afford it with livery costs and time.


I would love to work with horses but can't seem to work out a way to do it as I have no teaching qualifications, can't really afford to give up work to get them, and working pupil is out due to having home and husband etc. There never seem to be many opportunities in Yorkshire anyway! It's particularly galling as I feel I had my chance as a teenager and missed it. I was lucky enough to be shortlisted for the Pony and Junior eventing Europeans as a teenager and would have loved to do horses full time but instead I let my parents push me into going to uni - had a great time but as said uni was in London the horses were sold and it was 5 years before I started riding again, by which time I was working full time in the heritage industry... I'm afraid I can't help being a tad jealous of my peers in Juniors who have all gone on to great things - I wish I had at least given he horses a go in a gap year (this never occurred to me at the time!)

Anyway sorry for the long whinge, just wondered whether anyone else feels the same from time to time... Or am I just being self-pitying and should count myself lucky to have even one lovely horse to ride?!! How does everyone else manage to balance their lives?! Would love to hear your thoughts...
 
I completely understand and sympathise. Although I was never a serious competition rider in my youth when my parents made me give up horses to study for my A-levels so i could go to uni i really really missed riding. So i took a gap year and had a horse on loan for that time....was fun but all the time I knew it was only temporary. Then went off to uni and had a fantastic but VERY unhorsey 3 years. As soon as I got back and secured a job I got a horse on full loan (as had no money to purchase one at the time) and since then haven't stopped riding/competing etc. I do get very frustrated when i am stuck in London in an office and the weather is great and all i want to do is ride! Also get jealous when my friends who don't have full time office jobs start getting ready for evening shows at 4pm and I have to either miss out/go late or use up a half day just to be able to go to a local show!

BUT I do often sit and remind myself that if it wasn't for my salary I wouldn't have my beautiful new horse....nor own my nice own house/car etc. I know that I couldn't afford all that if I worked in the horse world (due to the fact I have no horsey exams etc).

So maybe just look at the fact that at least you can afford to event because you have your job - and it looks from your signature that you are lucky enough to have more than one horse - so enjoy them! Maybe in the future you could work part time or the right job can come up in the horsey world so you can leave the office??

Good luck! x
 
It won't do you any good looking back and wishing you'd done things differently. If you really want to do something the do it. If your house/relationship/job etc is too much to sacrifice then you don't want it that much, do you? If you want something, try hard enough and you will get it. If you don't want it badly enough, forget about what might have been and focus on enjoying yorself now and in the future. You sound pretty lucky to me
smile.gif
 
Yeah, think i'm just feeling sorry for myself cos I've had a crap day!!!!! Desperate to get out of the office and go play with the horses! So boring sitting in the same place for 8 hours...
 
I can sympathise!! I work full time in the legal world and spend all day looking out the window wishing i was outside with horses. I don't even have one to ride as mine has just gone out to grass for a number of reasons.
I did used to work with horses at Catherston Stud but gave it up as i couldn't make any money and thought it would be best to get a degree! And now i have a degree and a good job im probably even more unhaappy!! But thats life, we all make decisions but it doesn't mean you have to live with them!
I have decided to move to France next year and run a horsey holiday place and get out of the rat race.
If you really wanna work with horses then you will find a way, go for it!!!
 
Oops just realised you said you had one horse and i referred to 2 in my post - sorry!

Definitely don't live life regretting things and maybe just change to a more interesting job to make the 8 hours go a bit quicker?!!
 
Yes, point taken! You are right of course. I have to put my husband first though and accept that's the way it is and should be!
 
im stuck in an office all day, and today i am going to be in sooooo much trouble because i have done nothing pretty much. i have just been thinking about Frankie and riding all day! xxx
 
Thanks nels, was lovely to read your post and realise I'm not alone!!! I'm going to try and persuade work to let me do flexitime, and in the meantime go for a nice ride to get myself in a more positive frame of mind!
 
Sarah I totally empathise with you x
I'm stuck in a part time job and as it's on a main road near to where I live and I often see horses going past including one from the livery yard mine are at.
I get really down about it.
I went back to work to help pay for the horses but now I am working I find that my partner leans on me financially more and more each month.
I only earn around £400 a month and insurance and stabling fees comes to around £150 and that's not including other bills I pay for.
My aim is personally to get a shop opened up on ebay. The money raised in profits would pay for the horses ( less any tax I would have to pay of course).
Either that or I'm going to have to go back to working full time.
Ideally one using my degree otherwise the 5 years and nearly £15,000 of loans was a pathetic waste of time.
I thought by working part time I would see more of my horses wrong!
I go to work after 9 ( takes 3 mins to get there) I finish just after 1pm.
If partner on days then I have to be back at home for daughter to get home from school.
I don't have time to get the stables and back on time.
I don't drive/have a car so it's either a 25mins walk each way or catch a bus at a certain time.
If partner on nights I have to be home to do tea for 5pm as he has to leave for work at 6pm.
Weekends when partner off or daughter at dad's are the only time I get to spend quality time with the horses.
Weather has been really crappy just lately.
When I am at work most days sun out and then I finish or at weekends and the heavens open.
I try to juggle the horses around not only work, housework, cooking but also the other pets we have which is quite a lot at the moment, mainly ferrets that have been taking up my time lately.
I suppose looking back I should have learned to drive and then got the horses but an opportunity came up and I took it.
If I had waited there was no guarantee a similar offer would have been available or space on a yard free so close to home. Also the money put to one side for the horses would have spent on something else. You know you save for a rainy day/holiday etc and then the washing machine etc breaks down. I bet most of us have had that happen to us at one time or another.
You are not alone and nor should you feel bad for having a moan and winge about stuff.
We are all human and things can get us down at any time in life.
Not all of us are built of steel.
Having a rant, moan or whatever anyone wants to call it is a way of getting things of our chests.
Myself personally I cannot wait to get away for short break to go sea fishing. Recharge my batteries so I can come back refreshed and ready to face the world head on again.
Maybe a holiday may do you some good? I don't know ? I don't know your personal situation but I know for me personally if I am not happy with how my life is at a moment in time I find a quick break from the norm does me the world of good
smile.gif

Good luck and I hope things take a change for the better for you soon x
Cazx
 
Believe me, I know the feeling
smile.gif
It took me a while to accept that I like my house/car/lifestyle/dog/relationship too much to go back to working with horses and having no money. It's nice to dream though...I'm sure that mystery relative will leave me his/her millions one day *crossesfingersandwishes*
 
Thanks Caz, and for you too! It's really nice to know people out there feel the same thing. I'm having one of those days today but you've definitely made me feel better x
And reading your post has made me realise that actually I have it easy compared with your day!
 
Yes that would be the ideal - you never know hopefully husband will land amazing 750k a year director job or something so i can be an idle housewife and tinker around with the nags all day assisted by grooms, nannies and housekeepers...!! (yeah right!)
 
well how bad is this, i work full time and dream of being with my boy, get given the afternoon off, totally unplanned, totally thrilled (not docked off of annual leave either cos my company and team are so lovely anyway) and i run down the stable in excitement at an afternoon with the boy and IT CHUCKS IT DOWN SO HARD for 2 hours i have to just "faff" with him in the stable before putting him back out again so im on the forum at home with a glass of red thoroughly peeved.
 
Ive just started a full time office job so can now sympathise! I went from 2 years of doing nothing but playing with my horses everyday to getting up at 5.30am, driving an hour to work, sitting on my butt all day and coming home at 5pm. Today it was sunny all day until I came home where upon it then chucked it down so now cant ride
frown.gif


Id love to eventually have a husband to fund it all.... but we cant all count on that now can we?!
 
My boring office/factory job pays for my lifestyle. I can endure 38 hours per week for that as I would be worse off any other way. Besides, I would not want an equestrian job as I would hate for my "hobby" to become "the office".
 
You have my sympathy also. I'm in an office most of the time and like daydreaming about taking an extended holiday/career break just to ride lots :-)
 
Oh I take "holidays", but I do not go anywhere. I just turn off the phones and ignore emails for the 2 weeks that I am out of the workhouse...
 
I am stuck in a full time job that bores me to tears!!!! + it doesn't pay well (just about survive and i still live at home). I only stay as i work 7.00-15.00(sometimes 16.00) so i get most afternoons with my horses. But my mom and dad have to take it in turns to them in the morning because i start so early. Plus i don't really get to ride must, all i can afford is a field (of mud at the moment) and if he's wet he's wet!!! I know your all going to say count your blessings but really, it doesn't work like that does it!!!!!!!
 
Well it could always be worse but feel free to have a good moan on this post - sometimes you just need to!!

Finally escaped from the office and arrived at the stable to find that horse (who has finally got front shoe on again after week on 3 shoes) had a back leg like a football, so couldn't ride anyway... Horses eh?!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top