What do you do for a living?

[mbbillz]

I’m still connected with some old horsey folk from my teens/Pony Club days on social media and whilst many of us “paused” our passion and went off to uni or started on the career path, the rest appear to have somehow continued living a very involved horsey life and still ride/compete all the time (and we’re talking into mid-late twenties now). I guess it’s none of my business really but being nosey I’m often curious as to how they do it from a financial perspective...

So I guess it got me thinking, what do you do for a living, in other words how do you fund your expensive four legged habit?! Did you have to take a break to get to a point in a career to be able to afford it or did you just soldier on and make it work somehow?

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I have been lucky enough to have ponies now horses from the age of 10 up to my now mid forties. Never had a break. Most I have had at one time is 5 now 2. I never made it priority to have a proper career as it got in the way of riding!!! I have worked all my life but havnt really struggled financially to look after my horses. They get the best I can afford.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

currently

1 my hubby
2 I run this livery yard

so work to keep mine and livery horses in food and hay and housing

 

[AUB]

I’m a lawyer, and yes, I did take a break from riding during my studies. Bought a horse again as soon as I handed in my masters thesis!

 

[Frano]

Had a horse since I was 19. Now a mature lady! I did without other things when necessary. Had a variety of modestly paid jobs , always rented fields so I could keep horses living out as much as possible. It is a lifestyle choice. I always have old cars hardly ever buy new clothes and budget carefully. Happy with my choices. Though perhaps winning the lottery would have been helpful!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’m a groom. True it doesn’t pay well but the horses are at home (part of husbands job) other perks are free bedding and hay so my minimalistic wages generally cope!
What it does give me is the time, I have daylight hours to ride all winter and can arrive at work directly from doing mine without having to shower and change between.
I do work at some point of the day 7 days a week pretty much 365 days a year but I can’t see how I’d fit them in properly with a Monday to Friday full time job.... well I guess I could afford a bit of help then maybe ?‍
I’m in a hazy job change process though so no idea what happens next with me!

 

[Cocorules]

I got my first pony at the age of 12 and she died when I was 33. I have had ponies all the way through and am now late 40s. I didn't take a break and just worked throughout to afford them. I probably did live at home with my parents for longer than my contemporaries though which cushioned me in the early years and I went to a local uni and lived at home. Back then you could do paper rounds and earn money from a very young age so I had been working paid from the age of 7 and worked throughout and always paid for them right from the start.

I didn't have kids though and I couldn't have afforded both, until after I was too old to have kids.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I’m 2 exams away from being a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor and I work in international tax for one of the big 4. My OH and I also own 2 houses that are both rented out. I’m mid 20’s. I keep my native pony simply, diy, token feed, winter unrugged etc but she gets everything she could possibly need, frequent physio, saddler checks etc etc. I don’t really spend much on anything other than my horse and bills cause tbh nothing really interests me apart from ponies!!

 

[HollyWoozle]

I'm an equestrian travel agent, ie. I sell horse riding holidays for a living (well, don't sell that many in a pandemic ). This basically means that I mostly ride other people's horses abroad when testing trips or escorting customers. My own horse is retired and lives with the family herd on my parents' land - out 24/7, unrugged, no hard feed unless a harsh winter and minimal on the costs basically. I consider myself very fortunate.

 

[BallyJ]

I'm an equestrian travel agent, ie. I sell horse riding holidays for a living (well, don't sell that many in a pandemic ). This basically means that I mostly ride other people's horses abroad when testing trips or escorting customers. My own horse is retired and lives with the family herd on my parents' land - out 24/7, unrugged, no hard feed unless a harsh winter and minimal on the costs basically. I consider myself very fortunate.

How on earth did you find this role? Sounds incredible!!

 

[Green Bean]

I had a break for career, husband and children but got back into it after turning 50. So much had changed it was a bit of a shock. My motto has always been working to live, not living to work. I work in the environment field.

 

[conniegirl]

I work in research and development of sealants and adhesives. Prior to this I worked in R&D of medical devices. I have a degree in Chemical emgineering.

I have kept horses throughout but at some points it has been very very hard work.

 

[Adoni123]

I had a break from around 14 years old until 22! I then had a horse on share as I was an accounts assistant and training to be an accountant and couldn't afford my own horse.
I've just turned 25 and I'm now a qualified accountant and the moment I got that promotion and could afford one I got my own!

 

[scats]

I was a teacher but I left last year to retrain as a dog groomer. I’m now self employed, working from home in my converted garage. It gives me the flexibility to do what I want with the horses.

 

[Flicker]

I‘ve worked since leaving Uni. Where time and money have allowed, I have had horses. At the moment, I could easily afford one but my job is too hectic and the hours too unpredictable to make it fair on either of us. I work in public service / NGO and Covid has turned everything on its head - I doubt life will be back to ‘normal’ until at least this time next year for us.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Worked for various government agencies where you have to sign your life away before being allowed through the doors. Took a break when I hit my mid 20’s and resumed at 51. From 16 to 25 I worked to pay for my horse either part time before and after school and then full time at 18. After years of living away from home or commuting I got fed up with it and retired, quite by accident moved to a horsey area, got the bug back, bought one and then another and keep them on DIY.

 

[dorsetladette]

I'm an accounts assistant. I had a short break of 3 years when I was sorting child/house/work in my early 20's. I put my pony out on loan to a friend of my fathers to stand at stud. It was the longest 3 years of my life and the only time in my boys life that he wasn't with me.

I intend to sit a few more exams and increase my income, but I keep my 2 horses out 24/7 and on a modest budget. They don't go with out but I don't spend money on expensive branded feeds or matchy sets. Rugs I buy second hand and hay I generally put money aside every month and buy off the field (I use a couple of days holiday to help with the baling to help keep the price down).
I've had 1 holiday in 12 years and I don't wear expensive clothes. Its definitely a lifestyle choice. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[jnb]

I shared a pony with my mum and sister from when I was 10, worked in the Civil Service for nearly 15 years on flexi time, so could ride/work around that.
Then lost my pony when i was 33, bought a show cob 2 years later, just as I worked part time for a slimming club as well as Civil Service. Got into IT within the Civil Service and could see it was going to be privatised, applied for and got a huge pay rise in a similar but more specialised IT role, am still here 19 years later (in 2 day's time!). I was on a variety of yards and pretty much hated them all as my job hours were (still are!) long and I'm on call 2 weeks in 4. Thought I couldn't do DIY or own yard.
Anyway I lost my old cob partly due to issues at the yard which I won't go into, bought an unbroken cob from Ireland and somehow happened across a sole use yard to let, so now I just get up earlier and finish later, horse is out 24/7 so it doesn't matter what time I feed him since he can't tell the time. have no school so have to box up to ride in the winter in the dark, or have afternoons off to ride when there's a lack of daylight.
I'll take that for no bitchiness and being in control of whether my horses gets injured or not

 

[HollyWoozle]

How on earth did you find this role? Sounds incredible!!

My Mum started an agency offering riding holidays in 2005 so I just fell into it after uni. It is primarily office-based of course, just like other travel agents essentially, and you don't make huge sums of money but I enjoy it and get several trips a year (in normal years). Very interesting to see and ride all different types of horses in completely different settings.

 

[ihatework]

I essentially administrate clinical trials of new drugs for people.

I never owned a horse through my childhood. I loaned/shared/begged rides. I gave up horses through Uni then bought my first upon graduation - cheap TB reject from an event yard.
scraped along for a few years as my career built up. Now in my early 40’s at director level I’m pretty secure but actually don’t want to ride anymore ?? but enjoy having horses around.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I work in financial services but have worked in insurance before that.

I was a pony mad but horseless child before eventually sharing/loaning as an older teenager. I shared through college and university and then bought my own a year after graduating.

During my early career I kept him on a no frills DIY livery and made sacrifices and learnt the difference between 'need' and 'want' and we mainly hacked with just the odd lesson or clinic. Until a few years ago, I've work two or three jobs (one full time job and working on yards or in pubs/bars) to help save for a deposit for a house. I've also worked lots of overtime and studied for additional work based exams to help with promotion.

Now I've built up my career, I've been able to move to full/part livery and have more lessons and clinics but I'm still not extravagant both in horses and outside of horses. I also keep spreadsheets for all my spending, so do still budget and live below my means.

 

[McFluff]

I worked in Saturday jobs as a teenager to pay for a weekly lesson. Never owned my own when I was young. Went to uni, then onto work in HR. Built my career up, and finally able to own a horse when I was 40. I had to wait that long as working long hours meant I needed to be able to afford part livery.

 

[Annagain]

I'm a management level civil servant and have been since leaving uni (If you'd told me at 22 I'd be a career civil servant I'd have laughed in your face!). OH is in the police. We don't have kids, which I'm sure is the secret to being able to fund the horses.

I sort of gave up during uni (I 'bought' my loan horse for £5 when I was 17 to prevent his owner's estranged husband from selling him for meat as he was threatening to do but his owner was still very involved so I would just ride him when I was home) but picked him straight up again when I was back. Soon after, I started paying for him completely as his owner had to move away due to said estranged husband. I had him until we were both 27. I wouldn't have bought myself a horse at this time but there was no way I could abandon him.

I had some very tight financial times when I bought my first house when I lived on spaghetti on toast (I have a baked bean phobia and spaghetti's only a few pence more) or would find a reason to be at mum and dad's at tea time but when OH moved in and helped to pay the mortgage things got a lot easier and over the years, as we've both moved up the career ladder, we've become comfortable, financially speaking - certainly no more than that. We don't live a lavish lifestyle - we have a 3 bed semi in a pretty nice area that is in desperate need of redecorating, don't go out a huge amount and go on holidays in our old camper van. Everything goes on the horses and OH's off-roading Range Rover, which he does most of the work on himself.

We won't have much to pass on at the end but we only have my two nieces to pass it on to and they'll get everything from my sister too so they'll be very comfortable at some point in the future!

 

[abbijay]

I wasn't allowed a pony until I could afford to keep it myself so I went off to uni (volunteering at RDA to keep my hand in until I could afford lessons again) and got myself a grad job in Construction. I didn't get my first "pony" until I was 25 and knew I could cover my rent and bills as well as him.
I'm now a construction project planner - it's not a particularly glamorous job but it is quite a technical niche with not enough people doing it so the salary is excellent. Assistant planners start on about £30k plus a car and planning managers can pull £80-100k in the North West (more in London). My husband is in a well respected (and well paid) profession and I think most people would be horrified to realise I earn the same as him working a 4 day week and being "just a builder". I am somewhat evangelical about my industry and wish I could persuade more teachers and careers advisers that perhaps some people would have equally good or better opportunities going into Construction than becoming a doctor/dentist/lawyer/vet...

 

[sportsmansB]

I'm an accountant, Finance Director of a group of companies now.
I had a few breaks after school and through my twenties, but also a year and a half 'out' doing horses full time.

Now I can afford a nice horse, lessons, truck, entry fees etc- but I am time poor. In the winter I am riding in the dark a couple of times a week and at the weekends. My horse is quite particular about what he likes so he is in the yard which suits him rather than me (poor facilities but lots of attention for him) - it would be easier if I could keep him somewhere with better facilities for winter riding but then he wouldn't be as happy & healthy so we are where we are.
Funny enough more home working in the pandemic should mean I can be a bit more flexible this winter and go and ride over lunch time a few days a week which would make a massive difference to me

 

[Pedantic]

I will give you a clue, I rip off old people and piss in their tanks, drink lots of tea, do lots of tsk tsk tsk and head nodding when looking at other peoples installtions...

 

[SpizWiz]

Telling people how to handle their money whilst spending all of mine on ponies

 

[cblover]

I’m a youth worker manager. Had the same job for 21 years, although currently furloughed. Started as a part time youth worker and now run the charity. My main role is securing funding to keep the charity moving forward and supporting young people deemed socially excluded, disadvantaged, living in poverty ect. Very flexible hours and I live in the same town as I work with my horses about 2 miles away from my house. We own 3 acres, stables, barn and hard standing for winter.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I keep my motley crew at my parents to pay no livery. I am a work rider by job title - general dogsbody by trade and I will soon be away from this job onto something that hopefully pays better! I've done this straight from school.

 

[Nicnac]

Didn't have my own horse until 28 - combination of living abroad and moving around a lot and then Uni in the US so riding was very sporadic. Owned my house before I bought my first horse and bought a second horse 3 years later.

Worked abroad and in the City in banking for 20 odd years and now part own and run a large care company. With horses at home I have very little time to enjoy them as day job is full on and field maintenance and keeping horses at home is a lot of work.