How Often Do You Ride?

[ApresEquestrian]

I am at the barn every day to feed my horse, and then we usually do 5 days a week of medium-high intensity training (our discipline is hunter/eq but we do a lot of lateral work and “dressage” during our schooling rides).

That being said, I also work 9-5 and am at the barn for about 3 hours afterwards. So I’m not usually home until 9 PM at night.

Anyways, to the point of my question. I am tired. I enjoy being at the barn as often as possible but the driving and having dinner at 10 PM is becoming draining.

I am curious as to how much you ride your horse(s), mostly interested in hearing from those that show regularly or have horses in medium-high intensity training. I want to maintain and improve my horse’s condition, but I also want to have a life that is more than “work-ride-sleep, maybe eat”.

Or if you are in the same boat as me, how are you coping? I have been finding it increasingly difficult to enjoy spending time at the barn when I look at the clock and see 8:30 PM and then my mind races to all of the things I need to get done when I finally get home.

Thank you!

[btswass]

Juggling a full time job and riding is difficult. I found it unenjoyable to not get to the barn until 7 and everyone already gone and not getting home until 9. Now I have my horse at home which adds time but not as much as having to drive from work to barn to home. But its still difficult. On the days I don’t have time or motivation to ride I do ground work or lunge. So I usually ride 3 times a week and lunge twice a week for about 25 minutes. 5 minutes each gate each direction. It has really helped build up his back muscles and teach himself to balance (I free lunge in a round pen so he has nothing to hold on to to balance himself he has to figure it out on his own)

[sascha]

6-7 days/week. At least once/month is a longe, and when working through in hand work that gets done once or twice/week either in addition to a light ride or instead of a ride. I work 10 hour days so it’s a hell of a commitment but it’s what my horse prefers. Days off are THE WORST and AWFUL and YOU ARE SO MEAN and YOU DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME. Super fun now that pony is laid up for a bit. A sadder horse you have never seen.

[warriorhorse]

Ride 6 to 7 days work at a feedlot 4 days 5 to 6 hours a day currently. Other days are spent riding trails doing 15 mile rides. Fitting horse for endurance rides a bit later this spring. Horse behaves better if kept in hard work.

Otherwise he’s tearing up fence breaking tank heaters or whatever he can destroy. So gets the snot rode out of him. Lots of wet saddle blankets.

[Training_Cupid]

Same as you - work full time, go to the barn every day and ride 5 or 6 times/week. But I ride in the morning, it’s much easier for me. Typical schedule:

6am - wake up, dress in barn clothes, grab a quick breakfast and head to the barn
7am - groom, ride, feed, turnout. Wash up and change into work clothes in bathroom.
9:30am - get to work.
work out at lunch if schedule permits
5:30pm - go to gym if didn’t at lunch, or home otherwise.
I lay out all my clothes for the next day (barn clothes on top of my dresser, gym clothes and work clothes in my gym bag)

[PrincessPonies]

You mention going out to feed your horse. I know what it’s like to want to micro manage, when my horse was on stall rest I tired to go out twice a day, but I would suggest changing to a full service barn if possible. You may worry about your horse but it’ll give you more time to enjoy the riding. Also no matter how fun it is to show but make sure you don’t burn yourself out with everything. Always remember why you started riding and to enjoy yourself.

[Gardenhorse]

I work full time and usually ride 5-6 days a week. I work 9 hour days, but get every other Friday off. I ride 3 weekday evenings and then during the day Sat, Sun, and every other Friday. 3 hours at the barn every evening seems like a long time. I spend 3 hours total on days I ride after work, but that includes commuting to/from barn, so am usually home by 8 pm. Can you shorten the time you are actually at the barn? Or move to a closer barn if you have a long drive?

[Dutchmare433]

I ride 2 horses 5-6 days a week…more like 5 in the winter, 6 the rest of the year. But I’m done with work at 2:15 Sept-June and have a super flexible schedule June-August. I can get both horses done in 3 hours, plus 30 mins round trip commute. Do they get groomed perfectly every day? They certainly do not. But they both get groomed well a few days a week and they get ridden 35-45 mins (young horse) and 45-60 mins (3rd/4th level horse).

[Palm_Beach]

Can you bump your work schedule to 7-3 or 8-4? That might help.

I am going to show this year, so I’ve just started back riding my show horse 5x a week and my other horse 3-4x a week. I work, but from home 3x a week and visiting clients 2x a week, so it makes riding a lot easier since there is no commute.

I don’t do a whole lot of grooming before I ride other than the shedding blade and a stiff brush. I spend a bit more time on weekends, but my horses have fantastic coats.

[GoodTimes]

I work 8-4:30 and live 30 minutes from the barn. I’ve got two riding age horses that I sit on for 30-40 minutes each 4-5 times per week. The older one just needs to stay fit, the younger one needs the schooling. Both are AO hunters, although I may move the older guy down to the 3’ this year.
We plan on buying a fixer upper property this spring so I’ve decided to send my guys an hour away to my parents farm for the summer. We head up that way most weekends in the summer anyway so I can still ride 2-3 times/wk. My mom will take over the ride on the older guy and will lunge the younger one a couple days/week to keep him fit.

We’ve also got a coming yearling. Next winter I’ll have two to ride, plus groundwork with her.

We showed a lot last summer so I’m ok to step it down a little this year. They should stay fit enough and are well schooled enough at this point that it doesn’t take a lot of work to get them to one or two A shows.

SO and the dog deserve my attention too

[a1eventing]

I have a similar work schedule (9:30 - 6p) but ride in the morning before work. I’m at the barn for about an hour and a half on work days which allows for a good 40min ride. Weekends I can take my time and am there for about 3hrs each day.
Mornings work best for me so that I can come home from work, unwind, do laundry, and get to bed at a decent time. My energy level feels pretty good and I like having my ride/ time with horse to look forward to first thing. It’s my motivator to get out of bed and get going in the mornings.

[TWH_Girl]

Wow! There is no way I could keep a schedule like many of you do. I’d be burned out, exhausted and resentful of riding. It’s important to me that my horses are my hobby, and that I find balance in other areas of my life. I love them dearly but have to work to maintain balance.

​​​​​​I have two horses- 6 and 15. In the winter I ride the younger one 2-3 days a week and the older one 1-2 days a week. I’ve given myself permission to back off in winter because I’m to the point where it’s just not enjoyable when it’s dark, cold and you’re alone.
​​​​​​Once daylight savings time hits, I try to do 3-4 days on younger one and 2-3 on older one. I have a trainer that can put rides on my horses when I can’t be there. 6 yr old is going into training in April so that will free up some days too.

I’m 47 and a pleasure rider but I do show as well. I have a gym I go to as well in days off from the barn. Balance and perspective are important in my own life so that means making choices. I’m also married and that is a consideration too. Work schedule is 730-4 so I ride after work and weekends.

[kiwichick]

I also ride 5x a week, and thats just one horse (I have 2)
I work from 6am -2pm but all that does it move the fatigue to a different end of the day. I also go out daily and feed (25min drive each way)
I try really hard to make sure I have time for my partner too, as its so easy to get so engulfed into our horses and neglect everything else.
I need to make a schedule to start riding the second one too, which unfortunately means I will have to ride 7 days a week, and actually sometimes I enjoy a non-riding day too.
Im also +40 but I compete so they need a certain level of work.

[beau159]

I’m in the same boat. I used to work 50+ hours a week but have now cut that to 40+. I have 2 horse’s that I try to ride 5 times a week. I also have a daughter and a brand new son. My riding days may be cut a bit this year with the new addition but it just takes lots of time to keep the horse’s legged up.

[mmeqcenter]

When I boarded, I worked 8-5 M-F in an office 30 minutes from both my house and my barn. My barn was also 30+ minutes from my house. Who needs convenience?
I rode 5 days a week, typically an hour ride each. I full boarded so I did not have to worry about losing ride time to barn chores. I also did not find a reasonable way to ride more than one horse regularly, so when I had two I always leased one out. I tried to haul out to lessons when I could, but that only ended up being a handful a year at most.
I’m not super social and don’t care to party or do anything at all really, so it was just fine to me to work-ride-sleep-work-ride-sleep. I always rode both weekend days so I could have two weeks night off to do non horse things, like dinner with my parents and stuff, and my boyfriend and I only went out on Friday or Saturday nights if we went out at all.

I now have my horses at home and I ride 7 days right now because I have my mare, and a gelding I’m getting back into work for a friend. I ride each of them 5 days/week, or 4 days and a lunge day if a fence needs repaired or I need to do some other non-regular barn work. Hour rides, ~30 minutes if lunging. I work from home also, so I’ve cut out two hours of driving from my day, and of course that time (and more) is spent feeding, cleaning stalls, and doing other barn chores. I wake up when I wake up (I almost never set alarm clocks, it’s amazing), feed, hop on the computer, work 8 hours then ride or take a lunch to ride and work a bit later, feed, and am usually done around 8pm. I also get a lesson every other week with someone who comes to me and is amazing and I’m really enjoying regular lessons again after a 10 year hiatus.

You just have to adjust according to your priorities. If you want free non-horse time to be a higher priority, then ride less, do less barn chores (pay for full board). No one can tell you what you’re doing is wrong, you just have to do what’s best for you and your horse and your situation.
Perhaps consider a partial leaser.

[ActNatural]

Can you cut down the time spent at the barn? I work 7:30-4 in the winter and 8:30-5 the rest of the year. I try to ride 4 days a week, sometimes 5 but I need to do other things like spend time with husband and dog, friends and family, and gym, etc. When I’m at the barn after work, I basically knock the mud off the saddle and bridle area and pick feet. That’s all you really need to do. Then, I try to do a more complete grooming on the weekends. My horse is on field board so she stays more fit than she would stuck in a stall half the time plus she’s not as wild. I usually do a 30-45 minute workout during the week and then longer on the weekends plus a lesson on Sunday. My barn is 45 minutes from my office and 15 minutes from my house. I get to the barn at 4:45, put my tack out and put on my helmet, catch her, lightly groom and tack up, ride 30 minutes, untack and brush. Feed and turn her back out! Done and done! I’m usually leaving by 6:15 and home by 6:30, make dinner, maybe watch some TV/chores/laundry/wine time and bed by 9:30.

[TWH_Girl]

@ActNatural

Can you cut down the time spent at the barn? I work 7:30-4 in the winter and 8:30-5 the rest of the year. I try to ride 4 days a week, sometimes 5 but I need to do other things like spend time with husband and dog, friends and family, and gym, etc. When I’m at the barn after work, I basically knock the mud off the saddle and bridle area and pick feet. That’s all you really need to do. Then, I try to do a more complete grooming on the weekends. My horse is on field board so she stays more fit than she would stuck in a stall half the time plus she’s not as wild. I usually do a 30-45 minute workout during the week and then longer on the weekends plus a lesson on Sunday. My barn is 45 minutes from my office and 15 minutes from my house. I get to the barn at 4:45, put my tack out and put on my helmet, catch her, lightly groom and tack up, ride 30 minutes, untack and brush. Feed and turn her back out! Done and done! I’m usually leaving by 6:15 and home by 6:30, make dinner, maybe watch some TV/chores/laundry/wine time and bed by 9:30.

Oh my gosh, this sounds exactly like my schedule during the week. There are still not enough hours in the day.

Agree also with mmeqcenter who reminded us of choosing our priorities. However, OP, you said your current schedule was draining and that’s a good indication it’s time to review priorities and change it up.