I know people who drive an hour one way, and I would if I had to (most of the barns I would want my horse at are an hour away from where I currently live) – BUT I lucked out and there is one barn 15 minutes from my home (but 40 minutes from my work) that I am quite happy with!
Before that, I was driving 30 minutes one way from home, but that barn was about 15 minutes from my work so that was nice. Even the 30-minute drive home started to get old for me, though. :lol:
I would never see my horse if they lived that far away! I live under a mile from my current barn and it is only 18 minutes from my work. The furthest I have ever driven was 45 minutes each way.
@findeight makes a good point.
If you don’t have to worry about care & are not aggressively competing, the distance is less of a problem.
Before I (Finally!) got mine home, my commute was at least 1H & if highway traffic was bad, add to that.
Worst ever was a snowstorm that had me driving 4H to get to the barn.
Too exhausted to ride by the time I got there, just visited horse & turned around.
But the tradeoff - then - was living & working in a Big City, while horses lived in the 'burbs.
Now that I am Old, and too used to having them in my backyard, the driving would probably kill the deal for me.
I do still drive into that City to volunteer once a week, but when horses lived here I’d be doing the RT drive 3-4X week.
Fortunately I was able to build an indoor, so riding has not suffered… aside from my ingrained Wimpiness at weather conditions :uhoh:
My drive is 3 minutes. I work 2 jobs and commute about 40 minutes to and from work,and also have 2 dogs. I’ve had them further away, but found it too hard to get out to the barn between work and the dogs. I also work where I board several days a week as my second job now, which has simplified things. If they were any further away, it would be too much.
I drive a whopping 3 hours one way to my barn. My horses live at home with me (aside from the occasional boot camp at my trainers barn) and I drive to my trainers every. single. weekend. where I typically stay the night so I can get two good days of riding in. The closest barn to my house is an hour away, but I choose to drive the three hours to get an exceptional education. My riding has VASTLY improved because of the quality of education that I have received, even though my hours of instruction are a lot less. It is so worth it to me. It is hard and poses many challenges, but I do it.
We used to drive 1hr 45mins one way to the barn. It came at a good time for us, as we knew our jobs that year were going to be insane (military-changes year by year), and we wanted our gelding to finally get a good education. The farms local to us just didn’t have what we needed.
it came down to what was better for him. The almost 2 hr drive came with a friend who would ride him through the week who is a fantastic rider, two great coaches, and unbelievable care. The only reason we needed him closer was for our own enjoyment and convenience. When we looked at it that way, it was an easy choice.
now that we have moved to horse country, he could be 2 mins away, but we found the perfect barn with a fantastic program 18 mins away and it is perfect. We are all over the moon with it, horse included.
They were 30 minutes from work (35 minutes from home) for about a year and a half. But one of my horses wasn’t happy, starting to crib, ready to explode all the time, etc. I moved him to my parents farm for the summer which was an hour from home, 1.5 hours from work so I only ever rode on the weekends. I’ve been so bored! My dog, SO and chickens filled some of the void but it was really hard when you’re used to riding 2 horses 5 days/wk.
Next weekend they move to a place that’s 15 minutes from my house. The arena isn’t very big but they offer 24/7 turnout in big, hilly fields so if the arena is too busy some nights at least I know they’re out walking around with hay instead of stuck in a stall.
They have two big outdoor rings so I can’t wait until spring.
45 mins to an hour each way. I hate the drive, but love the barn and instruction. I’ll have been doing it for a year in December. I’m not sure if I can can do the commute long term. I’m only getting out there 2/3 times a week and I’d love to ride more. It’s definitely tough.
20 min from work and 50 minutes from home. I get sick of the drive even though it’s quite reasonable for the area. If all I had going on was horses I’d likely move closer to work/barn, but life is here and it works best for the family for now.
From home - 15-17 miles depending on route (25-30 minutes when I typically drive it; my worst drive was about 45 minutes, on a weekday afternoon)
To work - 30-33 miles depending on route (45-60 minutes when I typically do it; can take 90 minutes during traffic).
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
