Going to vet/med/dental school IS a job. You are in class from 8 to 5. Then expected to study - hopefully about 5 to 6 hours a day. When in undergrad, we were told study 2 hours for every 1 hour in class. Not possible in medical schools. Some students had work study, but no one had “jobs.” You just can’t do it.
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I know this is a year after the fact, but I was procrastinating studying and found this thread.
I am currently a second year medical student, and I have owned my horse for the last 9 years throughout high most of my high school, undergrad, and now medical school. I thought that med schools would not like that I owned a horse because they would think I would not be dedicated enough, however my faculty is super supportive of my ownership of my horse.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, it is hard. My schedule varies a ton week to week (which I was not prepared for going into med school) On test weeks, I am lucky to go out once and brush him real quick, but there are some weeks that I can ride him twice a week and graze him one day before dark. Oh, and as much as I would love to compete, there just isn’t enough time, or money. 
However, my horse is a real grandpa, so only going out to ride him once or twice a week, or even not at all, does not phase him too much because he is happy just hanging out and eating while I brush him off.
I am the most insane person ever when it comes to finding barns for my baby, so some things were a must for me in medical school so I didn’t have to worry about him while I was away, including: 1. Short drive time 2. Excellent and reliable care 3. Ample and lush turnout 4. Indoor arena 5. Some sort of trails to relax on and 6. Again, excellent care. I am fortunate that the city that I moved to has a plethora of boarding stables, so I found a perfect place that hits all of my checklist.
For finances, echoing the people above, I would say it is next to near impossible to afford a horse through any type of graduate school unless you have parents/guardians/fairy god parents to help out with the finances. Your student loan will cover your own rent and food, but you cannot use Uncle Sam for your horse! I ended up choosing a more expensive barn because I felt that they would take care of my horse the best since I would not be there often to look over him, and my parents agreed to pay a little more (it helped that my loan could pay for my expense) But it gives me great peace of mind that he is well taken care of. If I had three, or even two horses, that wouldn’t be possible.
So my final piece of advice: if you want to do it, you will find a way. Listen to these guys advice, or don’t. In my opinion, if you already have a horse, I would just stick to that gal or guy. You will get the therapeutic benefit still. Yes, I am so in debt, but I would rather become a poop harvester than do away with my horse. For me, the benefits outweigh the risks.
Do your best researching areas you might want to go to and the barns in the areas. Make a checklist of what you and your horse(s) wants and needs so that you are confident they are well taken care of.
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blackly is really spot on. As faculty in a school of medicine (Orthopedic Spine), the students who I knew had horses before they started, don’t have them now. As with the vets I know who have/had horses, they always found a financial/time limit based on their drive to be who they want to be.
As others have said, it also depends on where your area of focus will be. For example, where I am, Orthopedics is brutal. We expect students and residents to pretty much be able to go 24/7, studies, research, rotations,… Even as a research faculty, I find it hard to always get to ride. There are lectures I give to the med students at 5pm and later, after a day that started at 6am.
I admit, many of our doctors are former special forces/battlefield surgeons from around the world. They are driven and focused beyond what many people are willing to do (and have totally freaky stories to tell). They are patient oriented to a fault, working in the ORs almost 16 hours or more a day. (In my clinical research programs, I’ve had days starting at 7am, and I walked out of my last OR at 9pm - and I make sure my graduate students are right there doing the same). I joke that ortho surgeons have no concept of time. It is easier to schedule meetings at 6am than at normal times.
I know we push our students hard with high expectations. The same goes for the graduate (MS/PhD) students in the associated university.
In the end it comes down to what kind of doctor you wish to be and and how hard you are willing to work to get there. And I am already concerned by the concept you are asking about med/vet/dental school. I would assume you had an idea of where you want to go already.
For me, graduate school was seriously brutal (4 years for MS/PhD in engineering focused on NASA bone research). I had a few friends literally go insane (not kidding). We were working 24/7 on our research and classes. I rode, but I also drove myself into the ground. I was up at 6am and worked until 3am for about 2 years to finish my research and get the associated publications out. It destroyed my health and my relationship with my gf because I was so driven. Horses helped but they were limiting too.
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RAyers, well done for “telling it like it is”.
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