Balancing horses with grad school

[marmarmar]

I’m starting grad school and my long term lease just ended unexpectedly, and I’m now seriously debating whether or not to take a break from riding to focus on school. I’ve taken a break before and was absolutely miserable so I want to avoid that if possible… What I’m most worried about is having time to ride. I have a full course load along with a 20 hr/week job, and am doing my Master’s in an engineering field.

Let me hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about your experiences with balancing grad school and riding

[Gardenhorse]

I did a half lease throughout getting my PhD in the sciences. It was a nice break from the schoolwork and riding 2-3 days a week wasn’t too much time commitment for me.

If you do another lease, I would recommend doing a month to month lease so that if the workload does get overwhelming, it would be easy to end it. You could also just consider taking lessons for a while - maybe it could be a chance to try a new discipline?

[Simba27]

I owned a horse throughout undergrad and medical school. I own 2 horses currently and I’m in residency and I can make the time to ride them both if I manage my time well. It’s possible, depends on how much you need to study and how well you manage your time. If I didn’t have the horse outlet, I would not have made it through med school and it is my saving grace during residency

[marmarmar]

@Gardenhorse I’ve been looking around at leases the past couple weeks thinking that’s what I really wanted to do, but now that I’ve been hired on as a TA I’m having second thoughts. I think if I do lease it’ll need to be a half-lease, since I really won’t have time to ride more than 2 or 3 times a week.

I do like the idea of lessoning instead of leasing. The problem is I just moved here and am not familiar with any of the barns in the area, so the thought of shopping around for a lesson program that suites me is daunting lol

[marmarmar]

@Simba27 It’s very reassuring to hear that you managed med school while still finding time to ride! I agree, I really need the horse time for sanity’s sake

[showy]

Something I can answer! I did it/ am still doing it in law school!!

I had one horse with me at school during my first year and two my second year. I would have brought two again this fall, but we are online so we are all at home. I found having a horse the first year was the best thing for my mental health. Law school is very much its own world and its easy to get wrapped up in the gossip, pettiness, and competition. While I don’t know about masters programs, its helpful to have “outside” hobbies and a job. I am lucky that my barn was relatively close (20-30mins) so I rode 3-4x a week on average. Usually both Saturday and Sunday plus two weekdays depending on my semester. I actually rode more during finals because I cannot study all day.

My first year, I just had a horse to have fun with and took a lesson once a week on. No shows or goals the first semester. I just enjoyed my time at the barn! I started showing again my second semester. My second year, I was bringing back my mare after she had a foal and had the same original horse. I didn’t show during the fall again because I had 4 classes, a job, and law review but picked back up in the spring before the pandemic. I would have showed both this fall and spring at school but I’m ok with being home.

Just plan out your schedule and manage your time effectively. Set aside the time you’ll study/ do homework, work, class, and stick to it. Seriously. Use a planner and stay on top of what you have to do. I would plan out my whole week in advance and I also did as much work as possible on the weekend for the week ahead so I could ride. When I worked, I would eat lunch at my desk so I could leave earlier.

If you’re going to be riding after work/school, make sure the barn accommodates that. My barn at school was more kid heavy, so I would lesson early in the afternoon before the wave of them arrived. When I had to work full time in the summer, I lessoned later but the trainer was understanding and we kept it quick so we could head home. I would also sneak in some early morning rides before work/ school the day before my lesson. Set out any goals/expectations with a trainer and barn owner. Are they ok with you coming at odd times, if necessary? Is your trainer ok with you showing or maybe showing later?

Also- have a fun horse that’s ok with a few days off. It’s not very much fun to spend your valuable free time taming a wild dragon or getting bucked off.

I don’t really have any “ugly” stories other than I did listen to tapes on my phone about civil procedure with ear buds in during finals. It was then I decided I did not want to be a litigator

[marmarmar]

@showy Thank you for your response! Sounds like you had a similar graduate experience to what I’m expecting. I think it’s definitely manageable, I’m just very cautious about getting in over my head. I wasn’t an amazing student in undergrad (chalk it up to not being all that smart lol) and honestly have no idea how I scraped by into grad school:confused:

If I lease, the barn I’d be at is 25-30 min away, which doesn’t seem that bad, but when I’m in class/working 8:30-6:30pm I just don’t see myself going out on weekdays:cry: I might just have to be a weekend warrior this semester

[Gardenhorse]

@marmarmar

@Gardenhorse I’ve been looking around at leases the past couple weeks thinking that’s what I really wanted to do, but now that I’ve been hired on as a TA I’m having second thoughts. I think if I do lease it’ll need to be a half-lease, since I really won’t have time to ride more than 2 or 3 times a week.

I do like the idea of lessoning instead of leasing. The problem is I just moved here and am not familiar with any of the barns in the area, so the thought of shopping around for a lesson program that suites me is daunting lol

You could just try them all out. A new barn every week!

[marmarmar]

@Gardenhorse

You could just try them all out. A new barn every week!

So true! Window shopping until I find something I like! Might just have to do that

[Elsari]

I didn’t ride during grad school. I did continue to take care of my horse twice a day (self care boarding barn) and that was enough for me to keep my sanity. I didn’t have time to ride.

[GoodTimes]

I didn’t take my horse with me during my undergrad, mostly because my mom and I were sharing him at the time.
I think I would have struggled trying to ride consistently, always feeling like I was missing out if my friends were doing something.

Fast forward to my post grad (Degree in Cardiac Sonography). I don’t think I would have survived it without my horse.
New school, new city, I was over the partying and social scene. The barn was my outlet.
We only had class 4 days/wk. I usually worked two of the three days that we didn’t have class. Some weeks I only rode 3x, but other weeks I could get 5 rides in.
I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time though. That would have made things more difficult.

[poltroon]

I’d take a break from the commitment but that doesn’t mean you have to stop riding.

The people you ride with now: let them know you’re available for exercise rides. You may find that there are enough catch rides to keep you happy.

Friend of mine hooked up with some endurance riders who were thrilled to have another person to keep the second string horses fit.

Getting to take lessons at various places around could be really fun. What a great way to find out what you’ve been missing! If it were me, I’d not stick to my discipline either - maybe try lessons for random other stuff. Cutting! Reining! Horse archery! Driving! Is there a horse vacation barn within striking distance? There are great things out there and you’ve got some flexibility maybe.

You can always up your commitment at any time if a good half-lease comes along or … more. Give yourself a couple of months at least to figure out what is the best balance for you right now.

[hunt_jumpfl]

I actually started riding again at the end of my first year of my PhD program after taking a break during undergrad. For me it was my outlet and my way to learn to balance my life. I picked up a new discipline and started with lessons and leasing first, but I purchased a horse before I finished grad school (my PhD program took 7 years). I am now research faculty and I find that my time at the barn is the only time I really turn off the job and refocus my cognitive energy on something outside of academics. I didn’t have a true appreciation for what my barn time meant for me during grad school or recently until it went away with the barn being closed for a few months this spring. Without that time and outlet I was quickly headed towards burnout. I would give yourself a chance to figure out your program and the demands of the TA position (that first term can be a real adjustment sometimes), but once you figure it out maybe look into lessons or leasing.

[marmarmar]

Catch riding would be really ideal for me, but like I said I’m new to the area and don’t have any connections or a trainer to vouch for me…

I actually went and looked at a couple of horses today for fun and found one I really liked and could do a lease on with the option to send it back in case classes/work get overwhelming. He’s the type that could sit for a week or two and be the same when you hop back on. I’m also going out to watch a lesson at one of the lesson barns in the area tomorrow… I’m in no rush to make any decisions, so we will see:D

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, I think the consensus is to at least stay involved to some degree for sanity’s sake, but maybe go easy on the commitment level for now

[Garnet_Z]

You don’t have to decide right now. You could start your semester and decide in a couple of months if you have time to ride.

I actually first got into horses when I was a Ph.D student who was also working as a teaching assistant. I started with one lesson per week. Later on, I took one lesson per week and one lease ride.

[FjordBCRF]

I like having the barn to escape to. I work full time 40+ hours for a chemical company and started my MBA program online last fall. I also started leasing throughout the fall/winter last year and ended up buying a horse this summer. The idea was to wait and use the money I had floating my tuition reimbursement for the horse when I finished the program, but covid came along, I switched to working from home and found a really good fit. Working from home (and the continued ability to do so in the future) really helped solidify the decision to do it now and not wait. My boy is at a great full care boarding barn that is a 15 minute drive from my home and I go see him everyday, even if its just to groom him. It helps give me a break from the work day and turns my brain off which is priceless.

[JustTheTicket]

If it were me, I’d hold off until I’d done a few weeks of the new work/study/school routine and see how that goes before adding in a lease commitment.

[joiedevie99]

Get settled for a few weeks and see how you feel. I went to law school without my horse, and brought her back with me after Thanksgiving. During 2L, I picked up a few catch rides in addition. During 3L, I bought a second.

If you feel like you can’t get out during a normal week, definitely consider lessons instead - at least for the first semester. Find out if your school has an IHSA or NCAA team. As a grad student, you may be eligible to ride in their group lessons at a greatly reduced rate.

[supershorty628]

@JustTheTicket

If it were me, I’d hold off until I’d done a few weeks of the new work/study/school routine and see how that goes before adding in a lease commitment.

I agree with this. A lot of it depends on what your commute would be like to the barn, too. I’m in a dual DVM/PhD program and basically did not ride at all during vet school because my trainer is a solid 50 minutes from my house (more with traffic, which I would deal with during the week). It was too much for me to juggle.

As a PhD candidate, I’ve been able to squeak out some time here and there, and I recently picked up the ride on a pony project who is closer to my house (only 15 min away), so I’m trying to get back into riding 3-4 times a week. I’m really glad to have the time at the barn, but similarly, I’m glad that I didn’t have to worry about that commitment during vet school.

[SMK]

@joiedevie99

Get settled for a few weeks and see how you feel. I went to law school without my horse, and brought her back with me after Thanksgiving. During 2L, I picked up a few catch rides in addition. During 3L, I bought a second.

I agree with this; I’d take at least a few weeks to see how you adjust. It’s really going to depend on your program and your time management skills. In my field (microbiology), 60+ hour weeks were expected. But I still had time to ride at least once a week. I had multiple students in med/vet school, and some were able to successfully continue riding very frequently, except during certain rotations. But having known several folks doing Masters in Engineering, the time commitment was much lower and riding would definitely be possible, but they did not have research attached to their degrees. But again, it depends on the program, and sometimes “TAing” means “have fun teaching that entire class”.

Commuting time also matters. I was lucky to be ~20 or 25 minutes from a barn, but that isn’t always possible in a larger city. I wouldn’t have had the time if the commute time had been doubled.

Good luck. I’ve noticed horse folks tend to do disproportionately well in grad school, perhaps because of their work ethic.