I have some health issues which mean I am often fatigued and physically not strong.
I am wondering if anyone has advice for managing this, particularly over winter, so that I don’t have to scrimp on horse care? Sometimes a lot of the physical tasks become rather taxing and I struggle, but my doctors have no advice as they are not horsey so don’t know what the everyday care really entails unfortunately!
Are your horses at home with you or boarded?
At home so there’s not really anyone to help (except family, who aren’t really clued up.)
pre-planning
organization
spreading big tasks out over the week
- troubleshoot how to make daily chores easier … more buckets …a second pasture water tank …
eat ‘right’
drink water / less caffeine
get a good night’s rest
prioritze = the ‘must do today’ in addition to the non-negotiable daily chores
frequent breaks Whenever needed
Build in breaks especially during extreme weather
** A chair at each end of the barn **
And
remember to cut yourself some slack every day
It’s not difficult to do daily horse chores for a week and or in perfect weather
However
It is really rough when doing this long term with medical issues and fatigue …
more buckets
feed store delivery
barn refrigerator for water
some days just do the minimum
it will be ok
they will survive
Lastly I rec add a radio for music
or audio book to keep your safe company = focus without worry
and the ‘right’ clothes / boots and barn equipment
I’ve rambled I apologize
hope something I’ve written will help
GOOD LUCK …
sometimes after a tough day after the evening feeding
I just say ‘I’ve done the best I can do today
I’ve had enough of this barn day’ …I skip sweeping the aisle or ??? and I go into the house Ta Da … knowing I’ll have another day tomorrow to wear myself out …
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OK. Mine are home as well. After 2 years of killing myself trying to have them “properly” stalled according to season (winter=up at night/out in day, summer=up in day, out at night) as I had grown up with ALL the places I rode, I reluctantly moved mine to live outdoors 24/7. Best thing I ever did. Though it probably took me another 2 years to not keep beating myself up over being “a bad horse mom” because my horses weren’t in a cushy stall, with a fan and toys and yada yada.
I’m over all that now. The horses are happier outside, honestly. And I’m not sick all the time like I was back then either - trying so hard to do everything like a “normal” person. I have Multiple Sclerosis and fatigue is just a part of my condition.
As @Zu Zu said above, eat right, rest as needed, break up chores, get really organized, and don’t beat yourself up when you can’t get everything done. Zu Zu is right - the horses will live.
If you want to PM me, I’d be glad to speak with you one on one too, if that would be helpful. 
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[B]adding … everything on ‘wheels’ for easier moving of anything … manure, shavings, feed, hay, water buckets …
and
most importantly is to get away … worth it to hurry through chores & set up for evening feeding … to ‘escape’ for an afternoon of ‘me time’ …[/B]
[B]Starbucks treat and a hair cut apt …
Book store for a good new read …
Gourmet shops for some special treats …
Lunch with a friend … Ice cream for lunch 
and when you need to just CRASH for a day[/B]
feed / water / hay both ends of the day and that’s it .
The toughest part of having horses at home is learning to ‘let go a bit’ …something I have trouble doing …like every single day :lol:
- I have several that can’t not live outside 24/7
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Even little things help. Not sure if you have your own horse or are leasing or what, but some ideas might be:
- car-pool to the barn with others whenever possible
- ride every other day, instead of two days in a row (weekends/shows excluded)
- if possible, rearrange your work schedule and work an extra hour on non-riding days, so you can have a shorter work day on the days you ride
- Or, if you can change your work schedule to ride first thing in the AM, then go to work afterwards
- save up and have the $ for someone else to braid/groom for the show you want to go to
- select divisions that are not back-to-back schedule wise, so you have some down time to take a nap or at least rest between divisions
- arrange for someone else to drive you to/from the show
- don't overuse coffee and caffeinated drinks for a pick-me-up & instead, drink lots of water
- I (personally) have had some success in completely removing artificial sweeteners out of my diet (no diet soda or artificially sweetened fruit juice or tea, or anything that has an artificial sweetener in it, and you'd be surprised what its in!) and I just feel better overall
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So true. Tired for me is coming home at the end of a day spent with my horse, unable to put two thoughts together, but feeling GREAT.
Fatigue is nearly always accompanied by some anxiety, not being able to get started or get my stuff together to get to the barn. And knowing that, on that day, feeling that way, that even if I get there I won’t have the strength to do all the horse stuff - it will be a toss-up whether I’ll get so far as to ride.
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Just to add to all the great comments, speak to a naturopath and look for supplements that would boost energy briefly.
Also B vitamin deficiency (and other types of vitamin/mineral deficiency) can contribute to fatigue on top of a health issue.
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Eat right, be as efficient as possible, take the help when you can get it (IE you have some help on the weekends have them bank shavings, scrub buckets, move bales of hay to where convenient etc etc) sometimes do the “want to’s” before the “have to’s” to get a boost in mental energy.
I have MS. After I finally got land and could live with my horses a car wreck completely derailed my life and caused a horrible worsening of my then undiagnosed MS.
When grooming, clean hooves are important, having a clean coat under the halter, bridle, saddle and girth are important, all the rest of it? The horse does not care.
Feeding and watering on a regular schedule is IMPORTANT. Luckily for me my horses thrived being outside 24/7/365. So long as I fed them regularly and they had clean water the horses did not seem troubled by all the undone work around them (so long as they could not get injured easily.)
Eventually my MS got so bad that I could only get up enough energy to ride a horse once or twice a year, partially because of having to give them a good grooming and making sure that their hooves were rasped down (barefoot horses.) I finally realized that if I wanted to get back into riding horses I better find a lesson stable where the horses were groomed regularly etc… Once I did that I had enough energy to ride once a week, after my last horse died I was able to go up to twice a week, and over the years I worked up to 3x a week, for 30 minutes each ride. I get exhausted from this, but at least I no longer have to feed, water, groom or tack up my own horses.
Supplements that help me some–bilberry, CoQ 10, milk thistle, MSM, ashwagandha, rhodiola and astragalus. Notice I said that they help me some, and they by no means help me enough to give me enough energy to take care of a horse by myself or enough energy to ride more than 30 minutes in a day.
I will never buy another horse even though I have my own land. I just had to finally realize that I would never again have enough energy to take care of a horse properly by myself. I miss the horses, then I remember how utterly exhausted I got taking care of them and I realize that I do not miss the necessary work at all.
At least by riding lesson horses I still get to ride and be around horses. To me life without horses is not really worth living. I just had to give up on the idea of owning them myself.
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Have you heard of Spoon Theory? It will seem ridiculous and a bit dorky. Spoon Theory talks about the energy you have and labels them as “spoons.” So some days I wake up and I know I have ten spoons. I’ll use one spoon taking a shower, two spoons to clean the kitchen, a spoon having dinner with a friend, etcetera. But on other days I wake up knowing I only have three spoons. I could use a spoon taking a shower, one for driving, another for going to run errands, but then I don’t have a spoon to drive home. So I need to rework my plan. Maybe I need to have groceries delivered to me, rather than go out. Spoon Theory basically makes you think about how much energy you truly have, and work within your own limits. The fact is that if you have a serious but invisible illness, people will always think you have more energy than you actually have. The only person who truly knows how much you can give the world without being completely exhausted and exacerbating your illness is you.
Anyway, here’s a video about Spoon Theory. She explains it far better than I could. Ignore the corny music; it goes away after a minute. Hang in there, best of luck!
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Has your family doctor checked to see if you are anemic? it’s quite common in many woman and it will make you chronically tired. Taking a daily Iron supplement with a vitamin D to help your body absorb it-can make the difference like night and day.
I have anaemia, hypokalemia, and bradycardia and that is why I feel fatigued/tired. Sorry. I ought to have said in the OP.
Heart meds can sometimes cause fatigue as well eh. I have a heart rhythm issues that made me exhausted when I took the medications to correct it. Eventually found the right meds that didn’t make me feel tired. Might be worth investigating.
