Currently driving 1.5-1.75 hours each way to the barn. I love the facility, trainer etc but it is so far away I am only able to go on the weekends and maybe once during the week. Anyone else driving this far to the barn?
Not recently but I have. Sometimes when you find a place that matches all your needs, that’s what you have to do. Unless you want to compromise on care or quality training. Sometimes you can get by with more modest goals and a finished horse skimping on trainer services. Likewise you can pass up some frills if the basic care is outstanding. But have found it’s rare to get quality training without quality care behind it. Sometimes, though, you can get the quality basic care without the trainer services you prefer,
Depends on what you are willing to settle for but wouldn’t dream of skimping on quality basic care. That leads to health problems in the horse and too much stress on you worrying and making endless trips to the barn because you don’t trust them.
The longer I had horses, the more I learned trusting the barn and not having to be in a constant state of worry trumps all other factors and is worth extra drive time and maybe fewer trips out, especially if it’s ridden by qualified riders under trainer supervision in your absence.
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This is so true. I had to drive 25-30 minutes which doesn’t seem far, but it was a PITA because I didn’t trust that was my horse was getting properly grained (BO let kids handle stuff for her, and we all know how that goes) so I was going constantly.
I have a dreamy commute as well. My barn is 1.5 hours away. My job is also 1.5 away. During the week I ride after work 3-4 days per week so that is a 40 minute drive from work to the barn, then 1.5 hr home. I usually go out once on the weekend. When my trainer moved her business farther away I tried to resist the move due to how impractical it is for me… but shipping over for lessons was a huge pain and I missed the excellent care. The horse has been there for almost a year now and I have not gone completely insane just yet… so I think that’s a win!
Speaking of sanity… podcasts are my best friend.
I have a whole 15 min drive to endure! It’s a pretty wicked deal, if I do say so myself. I was doing 35 min which I got tired of eventually. I’m a wimp, what can I say!
Mine is 20 min, it used to be 7 but we moved house. I’m really happy with the barn I’m at, even more so now that the direction has changed and we now have a small number of no drama boarders and the rest is taken up with sales horses.
My riding horse is less than 1/2 mile from my house now. I have done the hour to 2 hours away and it was just not for me. At 1.5-2 hours away I could only ride on the weekends and then I always felt rushed to get home…it just wasn’t a good fit for me. When I had my current horse in training he was 45 minutes from home (about an hour or just over an hour from work) which was right on the edge of what works for me. I’ve now made the trade off of being in a boarding barn with no trainer, but super close to home. I haul out for lessons. It’s been a huge transition for me. The timing worked well for me though as I was just coming back from a year long injury when I moved to this barn, so I haven’t had the pressure to get back to showing.
45 minutes each way, mostly on the interstate which helps a lot. I once commuted 70 miles each way and the barn and trainer were great but it was just too much commute time to do for very long.
I did a 200 mile r/t stint for 3 years. It was a great situation but at a certain point I just couldn’t keep doing the drive. I went out 4 times a week and I started to feel like my entire life was spent in the car. I wasn’t into books on tape, which is a pity as I probably could have heard “War and Peace” several times over.
45 minutes from the house, 15 minutes from work.
I’m beyond spoiled, probably couldn’t get better even it was my backyard. My commute is 6 mins - drive 2 blocks to freeway, drive to next exit (not even a mile), get off and drive 2 blocks to barn. I’ve had barns as close as 15 mins, but I really lucked out on this one considering I’m deep, deep in the suburbs.
I guess I’m spoiled, my commute is about 25 minutes to the barn from both my house and work (I’m lucky to live about a mile from the office). Even that feels tiring sometimes, especially after a long day of work. You guys who are driving 1.5 hours are troopers!
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1 1/2 hours back in the day!
I’m pretty spoiled at the moment - from my current place to the barn is a soul-rending 5-10 minute drive depending on how many lights I hit, though from my office to the barn can be up to 80 minutes if traffic is bad after work. (At least if I have the long slog out to ride after work I’m consoled with a short delay between me and my tub/glass of wine!)
In the next couple of months I’ll be moving to a place that’s almost equidistant between work and the barn (20-25 to/from work and ~30 to/from the barn)… still consider myself extremely lucky!
3 steps. Seriously. I currently live in a same level barn apartment. I walk out the utility room door into the barn!
My trainer’s barn is 20 minutes away. When my horse is not injured I ship in once a week. There are ladies in the barn who commute an hour and a half.
55 Minutes door to door from home with no traffic. From work during the week at 5 p.m. rush hour, 90 minutes at least, so I only ride on Friday (i’m off at noon), Saturday and Sunday. I just changed barns in September and was MUCH closer to the old barn - 6 minutes from my house, 15 minutes from work in the evening, in the direction of my house.
Currently 5 minutes from my house. 
But in the past I’ve driven as much as 45 minutes each way without traffic.
I currently live 15 minutes from my barn and I think 30 min would be my absolute max. I just don’t know how people can do a 45 minute commute if they work full time and ride daily.
We are moving soon and I told our realtor I have to know where I’m going to board before I know where I want to live!
My commute from home to the barn is around 25 minutes. I wish it was closer because sometimes after a long day even that seems too long sometimes! You guys that drive an hour plus are heros!
I did the hour plus commute to the barn several times over the years. As F8 says, sometimes it is worth it if the facility, care and training are what you are looking for. However, there is no doubt it is a challenging situation to manage over time, that commuting can really impact quality of life as well as progress if you can only get out there 2-3x a week. There is no replacement for riding time when it comes to improving, IMO.
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