Riding in Med School

[Vaeventer]

Hi all!

I recently graduated college and am looking towards going to med school. I successfully owned and competed 1-2 horses during college, but I am hoping I might be able to get some advice from anyone who would advocate against or for owning and competing during Med I know it is a very stressful, hard 4+ years, but I am hoping someone can give insight on how it can be done! I ask because if I think it can be managed, I would look at purchasing a new horse, but if not, then buying a new horse is not the best thing to do. Thanks for any help!

[veritas]

I did not have a horse during med school, but I managed to take one lesson on the weekend fairly regularly. It depends on your learning style. I sat in lecture 8-10 hours a day and then studied for about 4 more. Other people who were self-learners could essentially work from home, but med school is definitely more than a 40 hour work week - I’d estimate 70 hours on average. During clinicals, you are at the mercy of the schedule, call shifts, and studying for exams and boards, so some rotations are worse than others. The worst schedule, by far, is residency. By this time I did get a saint of a made horse to help keep me sane, but there were stretches up to 3-4 weeks when I didn’t ride. Sometimes I would just run by the barn to groom and feed my mare treats. My hours ranged from 60-90+ hours/week. I had 3 weeks off during residency, so I did get to go to a couple horse shows each year. Therefore, the schedule during med school is more flexible, you just have to manage your time and get the studying done. On the other hand, during residency, it’s your job and you have to be there. Good luck with whatever you choose! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

[RnR]

Coming from someone who graduated from dental school last year and brought both my horses with me to school, I would not have purchased one to have in school. I only brought mine because I have already owned both of them for over 11 years, they were in their late teens, and the pony in his twenties, they did not need a lot of ride time, and the barn care was impeccable. I worked out there to lower the cost (which is significant) during dental school.

They were a great stress breaker (most of the time). I managed to go out 2-3 days a week most weeks, but there were times where I just couldn’t get the time away to see them for 2-3 weeks, either due to finals or our school does external rotations. Then it was actually the opposite and I was stressed having them because I just felt guilty that I wasn’t out there enough taking care of them. I ended up half leasing my thoroughbred to someone who rode 2-3 days a week so I didn’t feel so guilty if I didn’t make it out.

Instead of owning, I would have used that money and taken riding lessons several days a week as my stress relief, and then I wouldn’t have had to worry about that colic, eye fungal infection, the vet bills and unexpected late night emergencies. That being said, I wouldn’t take it back, I managed and I am sure you could too. It is all about priorities and managing your time! Best of luck!

[HorselessOH]

I graduated from dental school 2 years ago. I went to school with one horse, retired her, bought and sold 2 more, before finally purchasing the horse I currently own (in fall of 4th year).

I went to dental school leaving my horse at home thinking I needed to focus 100% on school and had no room for horses. I made it until September before I broke down and moved her out there with me. It was the best decision I ever made. Horses provided a great mental outlet. I was able to ride anywhere from 4-6 days a week. I was also able to compete about once a month April-October, depending on my academic schedule.

Admittedly, I did board at a full training facility. So if I was having a crazy day, I could just text my trainer and ask her to hack my horse for me. That was a huge help, especially during 2nd year when school was crazy busy. Life got easier 3rd and 4th year, when lectures started to taper and the clinical load took over. Often it meant getting creative and finishing lab work super early on weekend mornings.

Another plus side to riding- you make great local community connections for clinical and board exam patients. : )

One more point to note is that you need to decide what type of student you want to be. There are gunners who are super intense about grades and never stop studying. I was less intense about the academics. Don’t get me wrong, I was a good student. But I went into dental school after trying to find a career that could blend art and science. Dentistry to me is about restoring the mouth to a state where it looks like it was never touched. The hands on part is where my passion lies. I was able to balance outside life while still getting a good education. Where my fiance graduated first in our class rank, I graduated in the middle. I knew I didn’t want to specialize, just wanted to do a general residency after graduating. My class ranking has never been brought up in an interview. Patients care more about bedside manner, being kept out of pain, etc. Now, if I wanted to graduate at the top of my class and go on to specialize? I probably would not have had time to ride. It all comes down to how you want to live your life.

Good luck with whichever path you take! I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The experience was well worth all of the stress.

[buschkn]

I definitely would not buy a horse with the intention of taking it to school. If you find somewhere you can occasionally lesson or hack that would be a better plan IMHO. I had very little time in medical school or residency to ride, so I think saving that money and avoiding the worry of feeling a responsibility to a horse you don’t see much is a better option at this point. But if it’s a few years off yet, you never know what you happens so you can always get one now and plan to sell or lease if you go to school later. Good luck!

[SMK]

I wouldn’t do it unless you are highly dedicated and very time-wise. I’ve had three vet school students take lessons with me, and one did so very successfully. The one that did succeed had every second of every day planned out, and the horse’s days off always revolved around her exams. When she was in rotations, typically I or another person rode the horse several times a week. Of the other two, one basically had the horse sit once she started vet school, and the third only did lessons.

I did have one young doctor (post-residency) lesson with me, and while she had a really odd schedule, she absolutely had time to ride.

I did not have time to ride more than a handful of times a week as a graduate student. It was expected that I worked a bare minimum of 10 hours a day, usually more, and every free second was typically reading and writing. Although those not worried about a publication record were able to have more free time.

I’d really give it time to see how it goes at first, without a horse. If it seems like the time constraint isn’t a huge issue for you, maybe try leasing or lessoning, but I wouldn’t by a horse going into the unknown.

[supershorty628]

I’m entering my second year of vet school and I barely have time to ride. I might be able to make time, but I wouldn’t be maintaining the grades that I’ve been earning right now.

It depends on your approach and your curriculum. I have a friend who just graduated from Cornell Vet and she had her horse with her at school, and rode regularly. That said, Cornell’s curriculum is very differently structured from my school, and I’m not sure she would have been able to do that if she were out here - mainly because the commute to the barn is so far (I live in a major city). As HorselessOH said, it’ll depend on what kind of student you want to be. The last person in a graduating MD/DDS/DVM curriculum is still a doctor. I have GPA requirements because I’m in a dual degree program, and I also want to specialize, so I’m one of those people who lives in the library and is trying to be near/at the top of my class.

I’m with the people who say to try school out before making a big commitment to having a horse there with you. I miss riding all the time, and I miss my horse, but I’m glad that I don’t have her here with me right now.

[RS]

I think it’s really a personal decision. I’m a third year vet student, in the top half of my class, and I ride my horse every single day. I’m also a distance runner and run at least 5 days a week. But, I usually only sleep 4-6 hours a night, which is what allows me to go to class for 8-9 hours a day and still have time for 4 hours of studying daily, extracurricular activities through school, riding, and running. And I’m most productive when my schedule is closely structured – there are people in my class that need time to just chill, and if that’s you, there’s nothing wrong with that but it may limit your riding time.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

Why not find a close barn with a horse for partial lease? Or possibly a breeder nearby with horses that need attention. I have had a few that have come to my farm, and rode my youngsters, occasionally shown too. It was a win-win situation.

[marianne]

As dental school faculty, I would ask you to consider the financial consideration. Yes, riding is a great stress breaker but it is costly. Depending on the school accepting you as a student, your financial costs will be anywhere from 35k (in state public school) to as much as 125k (USC and NYU) PER YEAR. This is JUST tuition, fees, books. It does not include your living expenses and horse expenses. Give great consideration to how long it will require you to repay the student debt. Did I ride in school? Yes I did but I only had lessons, and half leased a horse for a while; no competitions. I did pick it back up after my education was finished and competed for quite a number of years.

[Simba27]

I’m a current 4th year medical student and I’ve had a horse all through both med school and undergrad. I’ve never felt that I didn’t have time to ride and be out at the barn, however, I am someone who doesn’t need to study a whole lot (and we were not required to attend classes the first 2 years so I watched lectures online whenever. 3rd yr rotations are hit or miss whether your life sucks or not). Finances were not of a concern for me because I have the best mom in the entire universe who is a physician who offered to pay for my horse so I would remain sane. I would be a horribly depressed person without a horse and a barn to escape to, especially since I do not enjoy medical school at all

[supershorty628]

Actually, I feel like I would have time to ride if I didn’t have so many extracurricular things that I piled on, now that I’m thinking about it. I rode a fair amount during my first semester - not during the week but I’d get out to the barn most weekends. I probably could have done that my second semester if I hadn’t loaded so many other things onto my plate. (I took the approach of thinking that a lot of things sounded interesting/like good learning opportunities and decided to do ALL OF THEM, which means I work overnights and do 500 other things during the day. Don’t be like me.)

See how you’re feeling during your first semester and go from there. I know I needed the stress relief of getting out to the barn sometimes, although by second semester, I’d developed other coping mechanisms since riding regularly was not in the cards. If there’s a good barn near where you end up for school, you could probably make it happen.

[beowulf]

@Simba27

I’m a current 4th year medical student and I’ve had a horse all through both med school and undergrad. I’ve never felt that I didn’t have time to ride and be out at the barn, however, I am someone who doesn’t need to study a whole lot (and we were not required to attend classes the first 2 years so I watched lectures online whenever. 3rd yr rotations are hit or miss whether your life sucks or not). Finances were not of a concern for me because I have the best mom in the entire universe who is a physician who offered to pay for my horse so I would remain sane. I would be a horribly depressed person without a horse and a barn to escape to, especially since I do not enjoy medical school at all

Do you not have a job? Because not having a job in college is going to give you a lot more free time.

I may be assuming here, but I think having a job, especially when going to school in a medical capacity, can really drain your time resources. I don’t know how anyone could find time to ride if they were in college & work full time.

I went to college for business management, didn’t even go for something as stressful as medical school, I have great time management, but even then, after class, work/job and going to take care of the pony, I had almost no time to ride… and I managed to get my pony in by working off board + working on a food truck AND working for the college as part of the financial aid program. My days usually started at 6:30 AM for 7:10 class, out by 12-1 PM, work work work, oh yeah, I guess I need to eat and study… etc. I ended up burning out big time and sending the horse home.

[awesomenessity]

@beowulf

Do you not have a job? Because not having a job in college is going to give you a lot more free time.

I’m going into 2nd year vet, and no one in my class has a job during the school year. One of my classmates tried to maintain his, but ended up quitting because it was unmanageable for him. It’s pretty common for medical students to just live off loans and spend the extra time studying to maintain their grades… at least here in Canada. Might be different in the US.

[Simba27]

@beowulf

Do you not have a job? Because not having a job in college is going to give you a lot more free time.

I may be assuming here, but I think having a job, especially when going to school in a medical capacity, can really drain your time resources. I don’t know how anyone could find time to ride if they were in college & work full time.

I went to college for business management, didn’t even go for something as stressful as medical school, I have great time management, but even then, after class, work/job and going to take care of the pony, I had almost no time to ride… and I managed to get my pony in by working off board + working on a food truck AND working for the college as part of the financial aid program. My days usually started at 6:30 AM for 7:10 class, out by 12-1 PM, work work work, oh yeah, I guess I need to eat and study… etc. I ended up burning out big time and sending the horse home.

Do I have a job now? No. I am in medical school, not college. No one works during medical school, it just isn’t possible. I worked occasionally in college (undergrad) but they were both unpaid internships, 1 semester each. I got 2 degrees so I took 20 hrs of class a semester, was in sorority, and did the horse thing and competed.

[HiJumpGrrl]

I rode in medical school, but I was poor as a church mouse (because see above re: debt) and it was on borrowed animals, and only when I could. So as medical school faculty, I would advise against taking on more debt for a horse. Get one when you’re settled. You can find ways to ride without having the responsibility, I promise.

[kmwines]

I didn’t take a horse with me but rode my first 2 years of vet school. First year I lived alone and was in a long distance relationship so I could go out and ride for 2 hours then come back and study. 2nd year I leased an awesome mare and did the AA’s at 2 rated shows over the summer. When my now husband moved out, my free time was getting split between activities with him, riding, and school. By third year, there just wasn’t enough time to keep up with everything so riding lost out for the most part. Still lessoned but didn’t keep up with it seriously. 4th year just wasn’t a consistent enough schedule to make plans for lessons. I never knew if id be done at 5 or 10 that night.

Internship year I took 3 lessons.

I’m good at studying so I didn’t need tons of book time but I valued fun times with my bf/fiance/husband and prioritized that over riding. It’s a balance and is doable but each situation is different.

[blackwly]

I went to med school in 2001-2005. I was lucky enough to have a full merit scholarship so I could spend some saved money on horses (saved by working 3 jobs in undergrad.) I went to a school that had a very intense curriculum with mostly mandatory classes and labs. At the beginning of my first year I was told by an anatomy professor that I could not make better than a “C” if I continued to ride. I focused on my studies and one horse who was at training at the time- had a nice season and made straight “A”'s. I had been riding at the two star level since high school and honestly the decreased focus on riding helped my riding tremendously. I prioritized school but there was enough time for both and riding had become my hobby. This was a good thing for me.

i wound up having the most success I ever would as a second year student. I won the US Senior 3 day (long format) championship the weekend before my midterms and I did well on them. That was on a horse I had broken as an undergrad. By that point I had figured out how to balance the two. Riding made me a more focused student and med school made me a more relaxed (better) rider. By that point my school was very supportive and proud of me and they actually started advertising my riding accomplishments (eye roll.) They let me skip a week of class for that three day and then marketed it to the high heavens!

That said, I do think you have to have your priorities in order and school has to be number one. I had to roll with the punches. Shortly after that magical season my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I spent third year on rotations and taking care of her - I rode a few days a week and she died that year. Fourth year I had some time to ride which was nice but then I matched into neurosurgery and thought I would give up the horses for good. Championship horse sold.

as it turned out, I had a great time riding in residency despite the horrific time demands (110 hour weeks were typical.) I had a nice OTTB who was happy being ridden 4-5 times a week and I paid someone to do one of those rides. We competed through intermediate before he developed navicular. Most of the time I was happy with my rides but I could only do 1-2 day events and I drove to a great many at 2AM on no sleep for 40 hours prior. It was a little nuts and I was lucky to have a horse that could be fit and happy on that schedule. During my 4th year of residency (out of 7, ugh) I started dating my husband and realized that I could do two things: neurosurgery, horses, relationships: but not three. I picked the job and the relationship. Haven’t regretted it. Had two kids and that has only made considering riding plus life as a neurosurgeon harder.

so… I would say that it is doable for the right person with the right set up during school. You have to have the priorities straight and have to be willing to give up the horses if you are struggling at school. Depending on your specialty, things will likely get a lot worse after grad school. The finances will be better but the flexibility will be much diminished. I came very very close to never attending med school because of my dream of being a rider on the US team. Ultimately I gave that dream up and I have honestly never regretted it - my career is incredibly rewarding, financially stable, and in no way depends on thrown horseshoes or abscesses. It has worked for me. But I do caution you that if you make this decision you need to be prepared for sacrifices that a medical career may require - if not you are setting yourself up for unhappiness.

best of luck!

[Horse_Rider]

As a poor veterinarian, can I put in a vote for DON’T BUY A HORSE BEFORE YOU GO TO SCHOOL, unless mom and dad are paying for everything and you’ll never see a student loan bill. I would still wait at least a semester to have time to settle in. Not everyone finds it easy or fun to multitask and riding isn’t a 20 minute a day diversion like running or the gym.

I worked 4 jobs in undergrad (at the same time, lots of travel), plus rode horses for people after getting rid of my own because I couldn’t afford him. In vet school I took lessons the first year, where the trainer tossed a nutty lesson horse at me when it became clear I could stick 'em and wanted the extra ride time. Then I was introduced to someone with a “green” pony who turned out to be unbroke. I trained that pony for 3 years, taught her kids lessons on another pony, and worked a job in the vet school hospital. I am that person that does better when I’m a certain level of crazy busy, plus I was painfully aware of how big my loans were. I was not the norm. Most of my friends only did school and they struggled with only that on their plate. A friend with multiple horses at school failed and had to return a year later. What role horses played in that I can’t say, but I never went to her place to study because it usually turned into horse time instead. She was by no means dumb or unmotivated, so I tend to think she was overstretched.

You don’t need a horse in school. You need to study and not spend your loan money on anything that isn’t a necessity. For me horses are a necessity (I tried really hard to take a break and was experiencing severe withdrawal within a week), but lessons are much cheaper than board or board plus lessons, and hopefully you get to expand your range on a multitude of horses. You don’t get that when you own and only have time to ride your own horse.

I bought myself a horse one year out of school because that horse was fantastic fun and I couldn’t let him go, but I still have days where I wish I was filling in for people on their horses or taking lessons on random horses again because I worry I’m getting really good at riding my horse, and not really good at riding itself.

Just my 2 cents (which by the time you pay back on your loans, with interest, is 6 cents).

[rjr]

It depends a lot on the particular school. The problem is that most med schools are in major cities, and not conducive to riding. Also, at some schools you can wind up getting sent to a different location a couple hours away for a month or two at a time for certain rotations. You really need to wait until you get accepted and choose a school, then see what the possibilities are in that area - it is so different one school to another. If you own a horse, you would likely wind up finding someone at the barn to 1/2 lease it or keep it exercised for you. If you have the money and a set-up that will allow for that, it can be really great to have a stress-reliever to get off campus for once or twice a week. But you wont be able to ride daily - so could be a lot of expense for only part time riding. You will NEED to find a set-up where your horse will be safe and cared for if there are times you can’t get out there for a couple weeks during finals, etc.