Work with horses, be poor / Have a regular job & afford things?

[sbloom]

Some kind of flexible working arrangement might be a good compromise - where you either work say 6 days but have enough time each day to ride, or you take half a day off during the week for training, competitions etc, but make it up at the weekend or in the evenings.

 

[Sol]

My choice is probably even more shocking than just going the horsey way... I've just dropped out of college to try and make it 'full time' as an artist Self-empployed, clueless, just got lots of customers!! My eventual plan being to own a yard & have my art as a side-line
Looks impossible but I have a plan And if it doesn't work out? At least I'm enjoying it. You only live once, and I'm really not the sort of person who's happy doing anything but my first choice, so I WILL make it work! Doing a job 'to get by' and 'pay for what I want' wouldn't work for me, I'd just end up depressed and hating even what I supposedly liked. Now I've got more time for my horse, myself, my boyfriend. It's a scary, scary leap given that I've only just turned 18, I'm not backed by a particularly wealthy (or horsey/arty!) family and do suffer from a variety of things even now from depression/anxiety to arthritis/iffy joints!! Shall keep trying though Got to at least try to live your dreams I think

 

[racingdemon]

i'd recommend a 'proper' job in the horsey industry, (that's what I do) it means you get to think horses all day, but from the relative comfort of an office chair!

The only downside is that certainly in my industry, jobs are like hen's teeth.... it is a real dead mans shoes situation, but hard work & perseverance, plus skills that are easily transferable can all help to make a difference in getting one of the few jobs that do come up!

 

[Polotash]

Option B for sure. If you have the option of working for a good company definitely go for that but try and get flexible working, say starting at 10am two days a week, or take a half day off by working extra hours on your other days.

I work in a non-horsey environmental job 40 hours a week and fit in three horses around that, although I do have them at home and have a flood lit school. I was asked by a few people I rode for if I'd go professional when i finished school but I've NEVER regretted going to Uni and getting a non-horsey job.

From what I've seen people who work with horses are always too tired for their own anyway, and you'd certianly struggle to compete at weekends if you are grooming for someone else...

 

[dressagelove]

Option B for sure. If you have the option of working for a good company definitely go for that but try and get flexible working, say starting at 10am two days a week, or take a half day off by working extra hours on your other days.

I work in a non-horsey environmental job 40 hours a week and fit in three horses around that, although I do have them at home and have a flood lit school. I was asked by a few people I rode for if I'd go professional when i finished school but I've NEVER regretted going to Uni and getting a non-horsey job.

From what I've seen people who work with horses are always too tired for their own anyway, and you'd certianly struggle to compete at weekends if you are grooming for someone else...

Ooh, you sound like the job I am going to go into, environmental, prob be 40 hours a week. Its heartening to hear you say it is doable with 3 horses! thanks

 

[JGC]

What a difficult thread! I don't have an answer, nor advice. I have spent the whole of my life working towards one very specific career (i.e. academia). I invested so much in it (not financially, more in terms of time and effort) and my whole life has been planned with that one goal in mind (yes I am very driven )
I always loved horses, but I thought I wouldn't want to work with them (issues with making your passion your job and all that) - always felt it was much better to get a good job that would enable me to afford good horses.
Then one day this summer for a number of reasons I started working as a groom at my old yard and it literally changed everything. First of all, it was the best time of my life. For the first time ever I was doing something that I LOVED (to use an euphemism!) doing, and it was a shock. When I left (I had to leave, because I wasn't brave enough to give up my chosen 'career' to work with horses) I was totally heart-broken and I still am (and still very unsure that I actually made the right decision!), so much so that I feel I ended up buying that 2yo I wrote about mainly because he was a souvenir of my time there
Yes, of course it's very rare that there is money in a career with horses. But without wanting to use clichès, some things *are* priceless. I was working with and occasionally riding horses of amazing quality, the kind of training I was getting is the stuff dreams are made of - really, it was the kind of education that no amount of money in the world can buy. When in my life will I ever be able to say again that I piaffed on a horse who represented Germany at international Grand Prix? To me that is far higher up in my list of priorities than having my dream car!
And, before I actually started working with horses (yes I had done the odd part-time grooming/riding job as a student, but that doesn't really count) I had no idea anybody could be THAT happy in the workplace. I literally had a smile on my face every minute of the day. I am not a morning person, yet I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to jump down the last three steps of the stairs and be with 'my' horses. So there you go. I am a coward, and I left - in tears, but I still left. You are definitely young enough to try, and if you don't like it, you can always go back to a non-horsey career.

Gosh FB, you've struck a real cord with me. I'm in a similar situation to you in that I very single-mindedly planned and studied to get into a specific profession (translation/editing) so that I would have enough money to keep my horses, but now I find myself thinking about riding constantly and wishing I could ride different/more horses and improve - when my baby was still based in Germany I would cry when I had to leave the yard. I also got the chance to sit on a international-standard passage and I want more! But I really don't think I'm brave enough to pack it all in. There is a chance I will be made redundant at some point so I guess I'll wait and see. I just wish the job left me more time to ride.

To the OP, if the job would still be there in a couple of years, I would see if I could get a good job with riding in the horsey world for a few years (possibly abroad, as that would be a really interesting experience, even if you ended up going for the non-horsey job)?

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

Gosh FB, you've struck a real cord with me. I'm in a similar situation to you in that I very single-mindedly planned and studied to get into a specific profession (translation/editing) so that I would have enough money to keep my horses, but now I find myself thinking about riding constantly and wishing I could ride different/more horses and improve - when my baby was still based in Germany I would cry when I had to leave the yard. I also got the chance to sit on a international-standard passage and I want more! But I really don't think I'm brave enough to pack it all in. There is a chance I will be made redundant at some point so I guess I'll wait and see. I just wish the job left me more time to ride.

Gosh we do have a few things in common who are you?

Same here btw, the other day I heard that Marlon Roudette song "New Age" on the radio which was our Bereiter's favourite song in Germany (she'd play it at full blast on the radio whenever it came on! Which was at least three times a day, in Germany) - I got so emotional that I felt just like a teenager unable to get over a broken heart! (something which, incidentally, I never experienced as a teenager...go figure )

 

[Kat]

My choice is probably even more shocking than just going the horsey way... I've just dropped out of college to try and make it 'full time' as an artist Self-empployed, clueless, just got lots of customers!! My eventual plan being to own a yard & have my art as a side-line
Looks impossible but I have a plan And if it doesn't work out? At least I'm enjoying it. You only live once, and I'm really not the sort of person who's happy doing anything but my first choice, so I WILL make it work! Doing a job 'to get by' and 'pay for what I want' wouldn't work for me, I'd just end up depressed and hating even what I supposedly liked. Now I've got more time for my horse, myself, my boyfriend. It's a scary, scary leap given that I've only just turned 18, I'm not backed by a particularly wealthy (or horsey/arty!) family and do suffer from a variety of things even now from depression/anxiety to arthritis/iffy joints!! Shall keep trying though Got to at least try to live your dreams I think

Just wanted to wish you luck Sol, my DH gave up a secure job a couple of years ago to make his art business his full time career. He'd been doing it part time for years and getting busier and busier. He comes from a family of people with proper jobs who wanted him to "get a trade", not quite sure what they think of him being an artist!

It takes a long time to get to the stage where you earn a liveable wage, as you have to keep working to find the commissions as you begin to exhaust your contacts and local people, and marketing costs money. And you begin to find that the admin, marketing and so on starts to take up more and more time. But hopefully you will enjoy it and feel the fullfillment of doing something that you have a true talent for.

Good Luck

 

[Ginn]

But there is also a time/money balance. So teachers arent brilliantly paid, but teaching is not so hard to combine with finding the time to have a horse on DIY.

I have to disagree with this. For me a typical day is out the house by 7am and rarely out of work before 6pm with 30 mins break for lunch if I am lucky! I then usually have 1-2 hours marking and planning when I get home (today is my PPA afternoon so is the exception rather than the rule and at 4.50pm I have briefly stopped for a cup of tea and ten mins break before going up to put the horses in). My circumstances are probably not helped by 45mins drive either end of the day I admit but I do get irritated by the notion that teachers have relatively flexible hours/shorter days. We do not start at 9 and finish at 3.30 contrary to popular belief!

I do have my horse on DIY but am very lucky that my wonderful mum turns out in the mornings for me and will do them of an evening if I'm running late as she does my sister's at the same time. I am finding it almost impossible to ride in the week although I am insanely planning on riding around our 30x60 paddock in the dark when the mousse comes back into work in a few weeks and cannot afford to move to a yard with part livery or an arena to make life that little bit easier. Financially I'm not that well off either. I have no money left over at the end of the month and cannot afford to leave home as the rental I pay my parents is still significantly less than if I lived away from home. I have no nice facilities and have asked for monthly riding lessons for Christmas as I am too broke for them at the moment and am doing 2 hours of private tutoring on a Friday evening to build up a training/competing fund! Oh and my social life... what social life! OK, so I have only been in teaching 2 yrs so as I get more experienced the work/time/life/money balance will (and is!) improving BUT it is NOT what the media would have you believe!

Anyway, in response to the OP... I absolutely LOVE my job and couldn't imagine doing anything else (and therein lies half the problem as I put maximum effort into it every day) and I am fortunate in that I can (just) about afford my horse, a nice car, nice(ish) clothes (even if I only ever shop in the sales) and I have great parents who while not letting me scrounge do help me with cost of living and a mum who I'd be lost without wrt helping with turning out, mucking out etc. I had the opportunity to have an amazing career with very good money etc but to be honest it made me utterly miserable and wasn't worth the sacrifices it brought. However, as much as I love my horses and my one regret was not taking a gap year to go and work with them, it isn't something I could or ever would do now. I think it really boils down to the compromises you're prepared to make and I guess I am lucky in that money and time have been mine but only on a relatively short term basis and not to the extent I have to give up my "luxuries" (horse) or that I can't find ways of having decent standard of living and I spend everyday doing something I love.

 

[Sol]

Just wanted to wish you luck Sol, my DH gave up a secure job a couple of years ago to make his art business his full time career. He'd been doing it part time for years and getting busier and busier. He comes from a family of people with proper jobs who wanted him to "get a trade", not quite sure what they think of him being an artist!

It takes a long time to get to the stage where you earn a liveable wage, as you have to keep working to find the commissions as you begin to exhaust your contacts and local people, and marketing costs money. And you begin to find that the admin, marketing and so on starts to take up more and more time. But hopefully you will enjoy it and feel the fullfillment of doing something that you have a true talent for.

Good Luck

Thank you! It's going to be hard work, I know that for certain, but it's got to the stage where it had somewhat taken over, I had lost all motivation with college and have so many ideas that I didn't have time for with my art I was almost losing motivation with that too. Even if I can only make it last a short time, I plan to do as much as I can and enjoy it, it certainly is a very satisfying job!

 

[Kat]

Thank you! It's going to be hard work, I know that for certain, but it's got to the stage where it had somewhat taken over, I had lost all motivation with college and have so many ideas that I didn't have time for with my art I was almost losing motivation with that too. Even if I can only make it last a short time, I plan to do as much as I can and enjoy it, it certainly is a very satisfying job!

Yes DH took the plunge when he got to the stage where he couldn't fit all the commissions in around work. He's having a bit of a crisis at the moment as he is struggling to fit the art around the admin but can't afford any help. Many of the successful artists have a "free" helper whether that be a parent or spouse who doesn't work, but I have to work to pay the bills and keep the horse while he draws.

Biggest tip is to make sure you cost your commissions properly, you have to be able to pay yourself a living wage after all the expenses. Try to allow at least minimum wage hourly rates when you cost out your pictures plus materials and other expenses.

 

[CrazyMare]

I work as a trainer for a hospital group. I do a 40hr week. If I'm teaching my hours are set but on the other days I can do what I like in terms of start/finish times. Added to that I travel around and my travel time is added to the rota so I can rack up lots of overtime and take some in lieu so I can ride/have a lesson in thd week.

Downside is I am away from home for 2 or 3 days some weeks but it adds to my o/t so that's a day off next week

 

[Gamebird]

I'm fairly lucky (though it doesn't often feel like that!) and have an averagely paid job but a reasonable amount of free time and a certain degree of flexibility. I live in a rural area about 15mins from the office but I'm out and about in my car most of the day and can pop home for lunch and do a quick horsey job or two if necessary. I have two competition horses on DIY livery and muck out/ride at about 6am and don't need to be in my car to go to work until 8.30am. I do have to work one weekend a month and one night a week but don't have to necessarily be in the office for all that time so can manage the horses too.

We have always had a half day off each week (to compensate for the weekends) but recently had the option to make this into a full day off in lieu of a pay rise so I now work a 4 day week most weeks. This means that I have to fit all my work into 4 days instead of 5 so I am busier and work harder but the extra day off is immensely helpful - my day is a Tuesday so today I have been BDing, but there is often BSJA locally on a Tuesday and our local hunt go out on a Tuesday too.

The money's distinctly average and my husband doesn't get paid very well so it is a struggle to pay for everything but at the moment I feel like I've got the best of both worlds .

 

[jessamess]

I faced this exact problem,

I was starting Uni in september but gave it up after one day!!! :O

I went through school with good grades but always dreaming about horses, but people would always say to me you can't work with horses blah blah, so I decided to go to college and study graphic design which I LOVED came out of it with full marks and 2 uncondtional uni offers!!! :O but I never felt truly happy...

but I accepted a uni offer and prepared myself for the debt of uni, as I have a completely unhorsey family so I felt I sorta 'had' to go to uni to 'please' them ect...

but in the summer I did EXTREMELY well with my horse! got alot of notice in the ring and had ALOT of ride offers and over the summer I was able to take them up, I passed my driving test and was always here there and everywhere riding and working with horses, I LOVED it yes I was absolutely KNACKERED every night, but I was living my dream!!!

then september came and I had my parents on my back about getting ready for uni and I just couldn't see myself there, I went to enrollment and sat in the car for 10 minutes before going in just saying to my self "i don't want to do this, why am I here" but i just felt I HAD to do it! so went for my first day and sat in the class room, blanked from what going on looking out the window at a field of horses and just saying to myself "what am I doing here?"

I got on the train on the way home and text my mum saying "it's not for me... this is not who I am" and I thought she would be angry and upset but she just replied "if you're sure... follow your heart" and thats what I've done now 3 months into my horsey life and LOVING IT!!!!

I have a smile on my face constantly, I'm happy and enjoying myself!!! Even on weekends I LOOK forward to monday

I'm currently working on a (mainly arab) showing/livery yard helping back and break along with the usual chores, it's hard work, long days... but I have never enjoyed myself so much!!! I'm moving my horse over there this weekend (I keep him at home) so I can ride through the winter (I don't have a school) and get him better prepared for next season!!! I'm lucky as I have known my boss for many years so we are more of a partnership and a team than boss and groom!!! and it's nice as it is only a little yard and it's just me and my boss, we have about 25 horses (20 stabled- lots of mucking out HAHAHA!!!) we currently have 6 in breaking (all at different stages) and it's good as I do all the riding and am a crash dummy HAHA!!!

I also ride an arab stallion & breaking a mare for someone else + 2 anglos in the line for breaking!!! and even have been asked to ride a welsh d stallion (certainly a change from the arabs!!!)

to begin with I felt guilty like I had let my parents/grandparents down as I had worked so hard with my design and had got fantastic grades they were all so proud I was going to uni and all I did feel like I had let them down, as I spent my whole education being told "oh you don't want to work with horses!" and "you need a proper job and horses can be a hobby!" "you are to clever to be wasted on horses" but you know what throwing in uni was the best thing I have ever done, I have never been more happy with my life!!!

I have always be told "work hard but most importantly love what you do" and now I can assure you I work EXTREMELY hard and LOVE every single second even if it is mucking out 20 stables in the pouring rain!!!

Horses are my life, not just my hobby!!! I am pleased I did do my graphic design as I do have it to fall back on if I need to, but I just could never see my in a traditional office job working 9-5, for me life is about living, and living it doing what your heart tells you, you only live once and you've got to make the most out of it!!!

 

[stencilface]

I think the sucky thing about my job is the working away all summer and long weeks. I don't always do crazy hours (50 max chargeable generally) but if I am staying in a B&B in deepest darkest wales, I can't do my horse which I find very frustrating. Still, I have a plan to change this, a short term one, and a long term one. If neither works I'll pop out some kids and see what happens from there

 

[humblepie]

I have always worked full time first of all secretarial work then as an estate agent then eventually qualified as a lawyer. Alongside this I have always had horses and competed, keeping the horses variously at DIY, part livery and full competition livery.

I have had a couple of "career" breaks for want of a better phrase where I trained and did my BHSAI and at a later stage worked for a top event rider. Both were excellent times and working in the event yard for was fabulous.

I do wish that I had for a period of time properly worked with horses ideally competition yard travelling horses although having been involved in yards I know what hard work that is.

Nothing to add as to what OP should do just thought would add my own experiences to the pot.

 

[kerilli]

i've done both. had 2 horses in full work at DIY livery when i worked in a bank before going to Uni, nightmare, trying to get 2 worked in the morning before going home, showering (NOT going into work stinking of horse), and into work before 8.30am, irregular hours, getting them in in the pitch dark... ugh. never again.
worked full time with horses as a working pupil (i don't look back with rose-tinteds, i worked my butt off, and paid, for very little). it's hard work and you have to be tough and lucky, not to get injuries.
now i have the best of both worlds, i work part-time from home, and fit the horses around it.
having the money to do what i want with the horses is a HUGE deal. when times were lean i hated having to try to scrimp on things that i felt they needed - routine back checks, that sort of thing.
i think either this, which i appreciate is a very lucky position to be in, or making enough to be able to pay someone to do the daily grind so that you can do the riding, training etc, is very workable. if you find a good trusted yard, or groom, and have good facilities (floodlit arena etc) then you can make the time work... as long as you are sure you will have enough time when you want it. obv working 8am - 9pm 6 days a week isn't going to cut it...

 

[Molasses]

Another who's done both, enjoyed both and my advise is its better to try it rather than regretting not having tried it. For me, when horses were the day job the buck never stopped with me. At the end of the day they were other peoples horses. I couldn't afford my own until I got a "proper" job. No regrets, nothing beats being able to have my horse my rules. Riding other peoples horses, there were too many times I had to bite my tongue. Now I ride to my agenda and nobody elses. Priceless

 

[Rach_W]

I have a reasonably well paid job as a solicitor. I have to work hard but I earn enough to keep mine on full livery, which means I normally ride at 7am before work and then come into work afterwards. I work locally and my job is very flexible so I can have time off for lessons etc without anyone moaning (or realising) as longs as my bills are in at the end of the month!

I could probably double my salary by taking a job in London, but then I'd never see my horse and wouldn't be able to bring my dogs into the office. So the compromise I make is the slightly lower salary, working locally, but still enough to give me enough money to do what I want to do.

I worked with horses when I was younger but was always of the view that I'd rather have a job where I could enjoy horses as my hobby, rather than have horses as my job and not enjoy my hobby as much.