Working long hours and managing the horses? Give me some success stories

dressagelove

dressagelove

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Sorry, I know this has been done a bit in the past... but just looking for some people out there who work longish hours and still manage the horses?

I have the opportunity to start an amazing job immediately after I graduate in June, (how lucky am I?!) but it is a minimum of 45 hours a week, with extra on top if required.

I have two horses and compete regularly as well. Work would be about 45 minutes away, horses about 45 minutes away from work, and 30 minutes away from home...
My horses are kept at my parents farm, so they can help me out if I can't get up, and obviously it will be loads easier in the summers...

Who works 45 hours+ a week and manages their horse?? I have an OH as well, who will get a bit grumpy if I dont make time for him too!.... Worried Im going to be stretching myself too thin...
 
dressagelove said:
Sorry, I know this has been done a bit in the past... but just looking for some people out there who work longish hours and still manage the horses?

I have the opportunity to start an amazing job immediately after I graduate in June, (how lucky am I?!) but it is a minimum of 45 hours a week, with extra on top if required.

I have two horses and compete regularly as well. Work would be about 45 minutes away, horses about 45 minutes away from work, and 30 minutes away from home...
My horses are kept at my parents farm, so they can help me out if I can't get up, and obviously it will be loads easier in the summers...

Who works 45 hours+ a week and manages their horse?? I have an OH as well, who will get a bit grumpy if I dont make time for him too!.... Worried Im going to be stretching myself too thin...
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how often do you need to ride? what hours are you doing now at work? I have a similar situation and pretty much do not ride at the moment, but I do spend a lot of time running around after 3 kids and their ponies. Without them i would be fine, and have oodles of time.
 
I work nearly 60 hours a week and have 2 horses on diy. My yard is 10 minutes from home and work is 30 mins from home (the opposite direction to the yard!). I make like easier for myself by only doing a haynet for my cob who tramples it into his bed otherwise, mine live in their turnouts (obviously they come off every night!) also I have mine on deep litter so only takes a few minutes to muck out, I can get both horses fed, turned out, mucked out, hays, waters and feeds done in bout 1 1/2 hours or an hour if I really crack on! In the evening bringing in, a quick flick off and re-rugged/fed takes about half an hour or so.

They get the winter off but in the spring they go on 24/7 turnout so can ride most mornings/evenings.

It is doable but hard work sometimes!
 
jeeve said:
how often do you need to ride? what hours are you doing now at work? I have a similar situation and pretty much do not ride at the moment, but I do spend a lot of time running around after 3 kids and their ponies. Without them i would be fine, and have oodles of time.
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Thanks for your replies!! well I'm just at uni at the moment, so only have 9 hours of lectures a week! Its a cushy life! Get loads of time just to go and play with them, ride, be leisurely with them! Going to hit me hard I fear, lol.

I would hope I could still manage to ride 5 or 6 days a week...

Wow, broke but happy, 60 hours a week! How do you structure that through a week? Im thinking my day will be 8-5 every day, then some saturday mornings... thats encourages me to do it if people are doing 60hours a week with 2 horses on diy.!
 
I work between 48 and 60 hrs a week and have two on DIY,but I do work nights. I get home at 8.30 am ish, have about 3-4 hrs sleep, out to do the girls (30 mins away, living out atm) back when it gets dark, have dinner and back to work. Pretty crap in winter but in summer I have all afternoon to ride.
 
Ive got 2 horses and 2 jobs to keep em lol work monday to friday 8-4.30 then do 2-3 evenings a week as a waitress start at 5.30 till 10/11.

I manage mine by early mornings i.e 5.15 starts horses are about 15-20min drive away and work about 30min in opposite directions but i do everything before work muck out haynets etc so when i finish on a night i can be at yard for about 5.30 and then ride does mean long cold nights riding but i think its worth it.

youngster gets ridden 5 days a week with 2 days of when in working nights and older horse just gets ridden on a weekend. I also have a bf and somehow manage to make time for him aswell.

It can be done just means planning your time well and lots of bags under eyes during winter but summer is worth its waiting gold. good luck and well done for getting job straight out of uni :)
 
You will manage :-) could your parents turn out if you leave turnouts on and breakfasts made? Then you can muck out bring in etc in the evenings? I work 7am-6pm most week days (fridays off) so my 2 go out 6.15 am, takes me half hour to muck out then home 6.45am. Yard only 2 mins away so that helps! Poo pick in eves with a head torch and bring in and ride Fri, sat and Sunday. It's very do-able and I have a 3year old daughter! :-)
 
I used to work 13 hours a day monday to friday, then 6 on a saturday plus 2 hours commuting, and did the horses everyday, rode in the dark, but it was worth it!
 
Well iv got 6 horses from foals upwards, 2 in work. I get up at 5am every day and get to work at 8 am finish work at 4.30 and go to horses again and get home at 8pm and start my dinner and my daughters. I have no life apart from work and horses but that's the way I like it. :)
if you want it you will do it
 
As others have said, it is difficult but doable!

My basic hours are 37.5 per week, but I have never worked less than 40! I work in marketing and PR which menas I have to go to and cover events. During the summer, I also work at BE events as an assistant photographer so through the summer, my working horus are even longer. Although of course, it's much easier when it's summer due to the extra daylight hours!

by stand working day is 8.30-5pm, but because I need to cover a variety of events, sometimes I might finish at 9 or 10pm. I am quite lucky though as instead of overtime pay, I get flexi time, so I can have the odd morning or afternoon off! Very useful for blacksmiths etc!

I have two horses who are on DIY livery and tbh, I don't find it too difficult. I have paired up with a girl on the yard who will bring mine in and give them an armful of hay at 3pm, and then I finish hers off when I get there later in evening. If I am going to be really late, on that day my husband will do them, or worst case scenario, I pay for full livery!

It's all about being organised and prioritising your time effectively. I deep litter through the week and make sure I spend plenty of time doing my jobs at the weekends. It helps if you can encourage your OH to join you occasionally too...especially if you give them mannly jobs like repairing fences or doors etc! lol
 
Similar situation horses 15mins from home on parents farm with no help as parents elderly, work an hour away and work mainly 12 hr shifts. Big plus is half of my shifts are nights so if I have max of 4hrs sleep can ride daylight whatever the time of year plus 12hr shifts = average of 4 day week so more riding. Day shifts are a pain as leave home 4.30am get home 9pm. As others have said summer so much easier as leave out and only visit once a day on work days.
 
I work full time, 5 dogs and trying to sell a house right now! Manage fine, I'm bloody shattered most of the time but even when my lad has been on his 'holiday' for the last month I was still shattered and missed him so at least I know now he's a benefit not a chore.

It's hard work, some evenings I really don't have the energy to muck out, ride and then go home walk the dogs and maybe at some point catch 20 mins TV before I go to bed and start again at 6am the next day, but it's worth it. The summer of course is 100 times easier but also I'm even more tired because I spend longer at the yard then because I feel guilty for leaving the dogs I walk them further so I'm usually not home til gone 9pm!

I certainly don't have the luxury of him being at my parents and am DIY so I have to go see to him every single day come rain or shine or if I'm feeling ill, so you having that fall back is a bonus.

Try it, whats the alternative? Not take the job...cos that would be stupid in this climate. I doubt very much the horses would be hugely bothered if you cut down riding one day a week and had a scheduled day off where you could go home and relax.
 
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