I live in a non-horsey area. The only suitable barn within an hour isn’t really working out. I’m considering moving my horse, but it would be a big change. I’d only see him on weekends. He’d be in full training during the week.
Anyone else do this? I’m afraid that:
A) I will miss him terribly
B) My skills will deteriorate with that little saddle time
I would love to hear peoples’ experiences who have been in this boat.
I’m in the same situation, my horse is just over an hour away from me. For me, I try to see him 3x a week (although it’s often 2x and so far it’s been working well. The main difficulty is making sure I prioritize seeing him. As for riding, luckily I’m in a situation where I’m able to ride multiple horses when I’m at the barn. I’ve found that this really helps with maintaining/improving my riding despite the few days I’m able to spend at the barn. While I miss my horse greatly, I am glad he’s at a good barn with great care.
How far away would horse be that only weekends will be doable?
When I was showing my TB H/J & working, I used to travel 1h+ 3X weekly to ride, drive home was even longer.
No Pro rides needed.
Only about an hour, but my other responsibilities (work, kids) won’t allow me to get there during the week. It’d be a 4 hour round trip.
You don’t seem to have a lot of options so why not try it and see if it works out? Is there any possibility of riding another horse closer to home during the week to keep your skills up, maybe a friend has a horse that needs riding at the barn you are currently boarding at?
I made the decision to keep my horse further away when there were closer options, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get out as often, because I felt so much more confident in the care she would get. I decided I’d rather see her less but be confident that she was taken care of well when I wasn’t there, opposed to seeing her in person more but worrying on the days I wasn’t there.
I do miss being able to run out quickly to see her, and trips to just fuss over her feel pretty extravagant and happen rarely, but the peace of mind I have was worth the trade off for me.
I know lots of folks who only see their horses 2x or 3x per week because the barn is far away and continue to progress. If you have a fitness routine out of the saddle, the horse is kept tuned up for you and you click well with the instructor… you should be ok!
Not my horse, but I made the decision to take lessons (1-2 times/week) at a barn about an hour away. Ive been doing it for about 6 months now.
Frankly, it’s frustrating, but doable (at least for my childless self 
) . I’m starting to lease there this month, and I expect I’ll be going out 3-4 times per week maximum. I’m just accepting that I’ll be getting up early on my weekends to go ride in the morning to be home by noon, and then “sacrifice” one or two nights a week after work to go.
As 173north mentioned - as long as you have a fitness routine out of the saddle, I don’t think your riding will regress as much as you fear it will, and your horse will still be getting consistent work, so you don’t need to worry about keeping them fit either.
My horse has been in Florida since January. I left at the end of March to come home and he stayed with the current training program. It’s still debatable as to whether he’s an investment or my amateur hunter, but it’s starting to lean towards keeping him as he’s made some significant progress in his training. I’ve yet to figure out how I’m going to stay fit enough to ride him when he’s ready.
The pluses:
The minuses:
So my advice is to weigh out all the options and determine what the end goal is… because if it’s not just about riding at a certain barn, then you need to determine what the cost is going to be from that distance (and the time of travel for you) to get the shows and spend time there and if it will require overnight stays for you, as well. All that adds up and should weigh into your decision.
FWIW, I’ve rarely been able to live anywhere close to my barns. I had one that was 15 minutes away for awhile and that was dreamy, but the others ranged anywhere from 45 mins-1 hour regularly. Right now, the majority of barns that would be suitable for me would require a minimum of 25-30 minutes, but more likely closer to 40-45 minutes.
I would just be super sure that you trust the trainer, the program, AND the barn employees to provide the level of care that your horse needs. A lot can fall to the wayside when someone knows the horse’s owner won’t be around to hold them accountable.
I know that I’m paranoid, but I feel like only a horse’s owner is going to notice the little things that you’d only catch by examining every single little bump and scratch on their body… a groom tacking up a horse for a trainer to ride is a lot less likely to notice something small that you normally would, as the horsie mom.
BUT if your horse isn’t insanely high maintenance / you trust this trainer and their program implicitly, then I’m sure it’ll be just fine!
I drive 1-1.5 hours to barn, and that or more back. Before current job could get there 4+ times a week, now it is 2-3x. Horse is doing swell with pro rides and an occasional hack by working student or fellow boarder. My fitness is suffering, but that is mainly because I haven’t made time for other exercise. Horse is in great program, with trainer and staff I trust. I do miss her during the week…
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