I’m right around your age (32) and work full time 8-5 but am salaried so my schedule is fairly flexible. My horse is at a full care facility for the first time ever in both mine & his life. He’s sensible enough that when he lived a lot closer, I was only riding once a week or so and he was fine with that. My barn is an hr+ commute one way for me and is more expensive but i’m riding way, way more. Definitely worth the exchange in time & cost.
It is just my husband, myself, and our dogs in our 1960’s house. No kids, yet.
Here are some things that help!
-I don’t mean to be dismissive but get your vitamin D and B12 checked ASAP. Turns out my vitamin D levels were extremely low. Like, my doctor was a little curious how I made it through the day low. A presciption dose plus fairly regular blood work and I feel like a new person.
-I get up 5:30-6 every day and workout just about every other. Sometimes just starting the day with some adrenaline and that sweet, sweet dopamine is enough to get me through to ride time.
-I realize I’m in a full board situation which is half your battle here. However, for most of my life I’ve always had horses either at home or partial board. I’ve been no stranger to stuffing multiple hay bags at once (the slow feeds from SmartPak are a godsend). Even in full board, I still prep all my supplements in quart bags–that admittedly is a hold over from doing it myself for so long to save time and sanity.
-My husband is a literal, godsent saint. He pays for my lessons and when my horse first moved to our barn now, he covered the first month of training. Horses are basically my only hobby and he’s pretty clueless but comes to shows and the barn with me on weekends in exchange for a lunch date on the way home. He has his own hobbies–hockey (because why not have two expensive hobbies under one roof!
) and is a teacher so his time is about as equally filled. In fact, he’s also doing DRT with me because the exercises are great for what he needs, too.
a. As I mentioned, my drive to the barn is 2 hrs, round trip. The nights I go ride after work, I duck out of work a tad early and he either feeds himself or I have planned a dinner that’s either in the crockpot when I leave or requires little prep when I get home.
b. You don’t have to meal plan but working out a menu with your SO ahead of time is a huge time saver. Either batch cook or at least spend some time prepping. There are many a Sunday afternoon where I’m dicing onions, blending parm, chopping spinach, etc. all in prep for the week of dinners ahead. Saves myself time when I cook and my husband’s when he does. Leftovers (especially soup) go in the freezer and will get pulled out when we need something quick that requires no prep other than some pre-thought to thaw it.
c. Crockpot dinners are your friend! Throw some soup, baked potatoes, meatballs, hell meat for taco salads in there and half your battle is done when you get home from work and/or after riding. Eg. I have a lesson tonight and he has a PTO meeting after work so the plan was hot turkey sandwiches and fries. Fries go in the airfryer and are done at the same time sandwiches are. Will we be eating at 8 pm? Sure, but it’ll take under 20 min to finish.
d. Seriously, stock up on easy options you can eat in the car on the way to the barn.
-I know others have said it but it might indeed be time to consider just one horse. More quality horse time and barn time, more quality time with your SO.
Managing all the moving parts of being an adult is hard, there’s no doubt about that. But once you figure out exactly what those priorities are, being able to prioritize the time surrounding them becomes much easier 