Spinoff: For those who board 45-60 min away, schedule?

[BuddyRoo]

Question to those of you who board 45-60 min away....

How do you organize your life and get your riding in?

I have two horses that I really want to keep in good work--finally have a lovely indoor to use! I work full time, I also tutor one to two evenings per week and work a few hours a weekend at a PT job (just 4 hours on Sat or Sun)

I own a home and have the yard/house work, laundry, etc thing to take care of plus my monster dog and a BF who lives 45 min the other direction.

It used to be that my barn was 5 min away, my dog could go with me so that doubled as doggy exercise and of course, in such close proximity, it was nothing to pop out and ride both or groom or whatever each day.

But now I find myself burning 2 hours and a lot of gas just doing the driving--making it a 4 hour thing if I work both horses. I'm sure there's a way to work it in and get all of the other responsibilities taken care of, I just haven't found it yet. Only been doing it a few weeks, but looking for a better way to manage time.

What's your schedule like?

My weekday schedule right now is going like this:
7am up-walk dog, pack stuff for the day, get ready for work, etc. throw load of laundry in wash. Or if coming from BF's house, get up at 7 and drive home..home at 8am.
8:30-head to office.
Work til 6pm. If tutoring, til 7. Head to barn.
Leave barn around 9-9:30
Home at 10-10:30
Eat dinner, throw laundry in dryer. Catch up on email, clean something, or head to BF's house.
In bed around between 12 and 1.

I could probably pull that off every day during the week, but I get behind on the house work and feel like the dog is being neglected. So I've just been going every other day and scheduling that based on what I need to do with blankets on my older mare.

I have a roommate who will feed the monster at night and give him his meds at 7pm if I'm going to the barn or if I'm going down to my BF's for the night.

I would like to find a better "schedule" that would allow me to get things done and not feel so frazzled come Monday morning when it starts all over again.

So...I'm not married, no kids...should be cake. Tell me how you do it. :D To be honest, I think this is harder than when I leased property and did self care!

[Posting Trot]

Not trying to be snarky, but why are you boarding so far away? Is it a temporary situation?

I think that I'd look for something closer, although that may not be the most helpful piece of advice you'll get. :lol:

[Ibex]

I did that for a while... it's doable, but really exhausting...

If it's temporary, then it could work. Long term, you may want to explore options...

[gf]

I don't know if this will be helpful to you but I have a similar schedule. I live 45 min from work. Work is 30min from barn. Barn is 1 hour from home. I'm working two jobs to afford the horse so I can generally only ride three days a week, occasionally four. Right now I'm having someone ride my horse three days a week and I will be looking for a 1/2 lease at some point. Its not ideal but its the only way I can make it work right now. I'm looking in to moving closer to work/barn which would help a lot.

[bort84]

Well, I'm sort of in your boat, buddyroo. I technically just "board," but I wanted to board at a place with a great trainer too. In order to find a place like that cheap enough for me to afford, I had to go about 40 minutes away from my house. Big change for me because before I moved to Houston, my barn was 5 minutes away. And before that, I had worked for my grandma everyday after school and during the summer from 7 years old on, so I had a built in trainer, eventually was a trainer, and took care of everyone else's horses plus mine everyday - heaven.

So, as an explanation to postingtrot - This 40 minutes away thing has been a HUGE change, but it really mattered to me to have a quality trainer on site. She lives there, has one groom to help with chores, and has been absolutely wonderful when I can't get out everyday. He gets blanket on/off, great food, great turnout, and she checks on him everyday and lets me know if anything is not right. There's no place close to me (I live downtown) that has turnout + a good trainer that I can even come CLOSE to affording. So I hate the drive, but my horse is so so happy. Though I can't always get out everyday now, he's just as happy (happier?) when I'm not there, haha.

Back at buddyroo - My schedule is a little less hectic than yours, but I don't see much way around your schedule either. Here's mine, work at 8:30 - I save a LOT of time because I live downtown and walk to work. Off between 6-7 if I'm lucky (investment banking has crappy hours, and mine are a LOT better than most). Walk back home. Try to leave for the barn between 6:30 - 7. Get to the barn btw 7:30-8 if traffic isn't too bad... a BIG if in Houston. Groom/ride/groom the pony, hopefully out of the barn around 9:30 - usually takes me longer than this because I just always find horsie things to do, and I'd live there if I could.

So me going to the barn is never less than a 3 hour excursion, and is often longer, This means I'm usually not home before 10:30 when I go ride. If the bf is feeling generous, he'll come over and meet me at my house so we can see each other for a half hour before going to bed, haha.

This has meant I usually only go out 4-5 times a week, but my horse is happy happy, and I really like the trainer I ride with.

So, buddyroo, sounds like the only way to do it is the way you're doing it.

And, postingtrot, sometimes this is the only way to find a really great place, especially if you live in a city. It sucks, but for now, it's the absolute best I can do for my horse and myself and still have a job (laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!) Haha. Someday, I'll pay off my loans and get back in it professionally, and then, no worries = )

[findeight]

Luckily I'm down to about 20 min each way these days but in the past has been an hour at times.

The best way is not to try to get them every day. You can't do it and will burn out trying and dreading going to the barn is no good. Neither is feeling guilty you haven't done what you need to at home...and you get tired. Really, really tired.

What worked for me was to set etched in stone Horse Days. Mine were Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I absolutely, positively went to the barn those days. When possible I picked up a 4th day but didn't kick myself over it when I could not. And 3 or 4 days is enough for most older horses. On those "Horse Days" I even went right from work and changed so I was sure I got there.

This lets you keep up with the home front and allows you to put in some extra days when a show is up or the weather is just too good to resist a ride without feeling guilty about undone chores.

I also ran my errands on the way to and from the barn. That helps.

[BuddyRoo]

Posting Trot: Yes, temporary. I'm on some wait lists for places closer...though not much closer. One is about 25 min from my house--40 minutes from work. The other is 25 min from my house but only 10 min from my work.

BO knows it's temporary and is cool w/ that. Though given the length of time most of the boarders have been at the one barn, it's likely that I could be on a wait list for a year or more. At least I'm at the top! (thank God for good horsey friends!) :D

[LSM1212]

Luckily, the barn is 10 minutes from work and about 20 minutes from home.

I do what F8 does, kinda sorta. :)

I ride 4-5 days a week. And I have specific days I go (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun). Wed is lesson day. But if I miss one of those days because of weather or something going on, I don't fret over it. And some of those days I just go out and visit, or it's 'spa day', etc.

This leaves me Mon and Thur for other stuff (along w/ the rest of the weekends).

Here is my 'at barn' schedule:

10-20 minutes to barn (depends on if I'm coming from work or home)
30-40 minutes to catch, groom and tack up (Yes, I'm slow... I like to take my time)
45-60 minutes ride time (includes warm up and cool down)
30-40 minutes to un-tack, groom and turn back out (weekends only for the turn out as he's in at night)
10-15 minute buffer to chat w/ barnmates or do a small chore
20 minutes to home

So that's between 2.5 to 3.5 hours for the entire process. And that's just for one horse. The weekends are a bit lazier... I have more time I can putter around. But during the week, I like to be home by 8pm at the latest and most nights, I can do that (leave work at 4:30pm). So that leaves me time to shower, get something to eat and chill out a bit w/ hubby before bedtime.

Seriously, I wouldn't get too stressed about going out there everyday. You need some time to get your other stuff done. I know my horse is fine if I'm not there. And the 4-5 days a week is just fine for me too!

[BuddyRoo]

Findeight--yes, the tiredness and the guilt. LOL....I'm there. Feel like I'm just running in circles. I haven't ridden this week, just groomed and turned them out to run around in the indoor (turnout paddock is a mudhole this time of year) because I just didn't have time to do much more than that.

I was thinking of just making "barn days" like you guys are suggesting...my only problem with a set schedule right now is the fact that we're in the inbetween season for blanketing and my current barn won't blanket/remove blankets as a rule....so I have to coordinate my trips with the weather forecast. But that should get better as we head into spring. I think that's probably the smart thing to do....

Not try to kill myself getting there every night....or feeling badly if I can't.

And LSM, you're right...they'll live if I'm not there every day. I was just used to stellar care--not having to worry at all--and having them practically in my own back yard so I've gotten spoiled! :lol: Now I worry if I've missed them for a day--that they'll have and injury or a blanket askew and get caught up or something that I won't find til too late.

Good to hear how others do it! Thank you!

[bort84]

Luckily I'm down to about 20 min each way these days but in the past has been an hour at times.

The best way is not to try to get them every day. You can't do it and will burn out trying and dreading going to the barn is no good. Neither is feeling guilty you haven't done what you need to at home...and you get tired. Really, really tired.

What worked for me was to set etched in stone Horse Days. Mine were Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I absolutely, positively went to the barn those days. When possible I picked up a 4th day but didn't kick myself over it when I could not. And 3 or 4 days is enough for most older horses. On those "Horse Days" I even went right from work and changed so I was sure I got there.

This lets you keep up with the home front and allows you to put in some extra days when a show is up or the weather is just too good to resist a ride without feeling guilty about undone chores.

I also ran my errands on the way to and from the barn. That helps.


Yeah, that's what I try to do. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday for sure, then whatever else will fit. That way I still have time for the occasional night out with the BF and friends and have time for extra sleep for work so I don't get fired = ) I'm lucky enough to have a horse that somehow retains nearly everything from one ride to the next, so if I skip a day, it's okay.

But if I try to go everyday, I feel guilty when I don't, and guilty when I do because I don't ever see any of my people. By just accepting that I can only go 4-5 days a week, I feel much better. Also, though we aren't progressing as quickly, I know my horse is just as happy when I'm not there, so it's only my show career that I need to feel guilty about, and that's really secondary right now. So I feel fine = )

[2DogsFarm]

Like Findeight, when I boarded 1h+ from home I had to have Horse Days scheduled into my week.

For me it was always Tuesday (my day off) Friday (TGIF! Sleep in on Sat) & Sunday.
That way if I had 1/2 boarders they got a weekend day + 2 other days so horses got a day off.

I stopped blanketing so I didn't have to depend on BO for the extra service. I'd rather take the time to cool out a wooly horse than have one sweating on a warm day or wearing a wet blanket.

Luckily the supplements I used then (& still use) can stand missing a day w/o it being a crisis.

When Vern had knee surgery and needed dressing changed daily + handwalking I added another day to my week just for his care & paid a barnworker to fill in for me on the days I couldn't get there.
BOs did make sure he had the ABX prescribed.

When Tom passed away and I had 2 horses to work myself I was fortunate to find a coworker who rode and came with me on Fridays & Sundays. Do you know any horseless riders who might help you this way?
Maybe someone already at your barn does.
A shareboarder takes much of the burden off your shoulders.

[bambam]

My barn is an hour from work after rush hour and 40 minutes from my house. The way I do it is by accepting (1) I won't get to the barn every day and that is okay, (2) the non-competing horse will only get inconsistent work and usually only ridden on weekends (3) I cannot get a dog right now :( and (4) I have to have a barn with a lit riding arena for nighttime riding. But here is my general schedule on riding days:
Work from about 8am to 6 or 7pm (having packed my riding clothes so I can go straight to the barn from work)
I leave work between 6 and 6:45 pm
Drive to barn
Tack up, ride, untack from 7 -9:30 depending on when I got there
Get home between 9 and 10:30 pm
Putter around at home until I go to bed.
On non-barn nights I tend to work later so that I can leave early on barn nights- my job tends to dictate which days I go- if I get stuck at work past 6:45, then I won't ride that night. Monday is lesson night so I try to plan so that it is less likely I will get stuck at work that day. I tend to make it out 2-3 times during the week and both weekend days.
3-4 days a week, I get up at 5 am to row with my rowing team before work.
It is sometimes exhausting but I work in DC so either the commute to work or the commute to the barn was not going to be short no matter what I did.

[BuddyRoo]

2Dogs, I only blanket one and that's for a medical thing. She got potomac 2 years ago and hasn't been able to grow a coat/keep warm since. sigh. I HATE blanketing.

[Trakehner]

Up: 5:00AM
Leave house: 5:30
Work 6:00-3:30
Arrive at barn: 4:30
Back Home: 8:30

It's doable, tough if you can't start work early.

[Blondie22]

I think you just have to be really organized and have set days for everything. I ride Tues/Thurs/Sat/Sun and work at a barn after my F/T job on Wed/Fri (and Sat/Sun Am but that's fine). This leaves me with Monday off. My work is an hr from my house, the barn is 30 mins from my work and 45 minutes from my house. Usually I don't get home until 8ish during the week (minus Mondays) which leaves me time to shower, eat and watch my favourite show before bed. With that being said, I don't have kids, pets or a BF at the moment (which is totally fine!). I see my friends on the weekends or for late dinners during the week. I think making a schedule and sticking to it is the only way to do this.

[CamdenLab]

My barn is about 30 mins away and I have a live-in fiance with three kids (Friday - Monday) and we have two senior dogs and a puppy we found on the road. Oh, and a full time job.

I used to do the after work thing, but to be honest, it was not working. If I stayed late for work, it threw everything off. I'd change clothes at the barn, all that stuff, but I rarely made it home before 9 PM.

I have non-horsey days. Always take Mondays off and occasionally take a weekend day. I feed in the mornings, Tuesday - Friday for reduced board, and because I MUST leave the barn at a certain time to make it to work on time, I spend a lot less time dawdling. Plus, I'm there alone so no chatting -- unless you count the barn puppy who rides around in the tractor with me when I harrow the arena. As much as I love to ride and spend time with my horse, it's so nice to just get it out of the way. On the weekends I go whenever and usually spend several hours there.

As far as blankets go, it's tough in the fall and spring here -- cold nights and warm days. In the mornings I'll take blankets off of my horse and a fellow boarder's horse who in turn replaces them in the evenings. I found at all the boarding facilities that it helps to have a friend and some people to trade chores with.

In looking at your schedule, my suggestions are . . .

- Walk your dog in the AM so he's more tired and relaxed later in the day. Can you hire a dog-walker to exercise your dog during the day?
- Have boyfriend stay at your house or just stay with him on the weekends.
- Take some horsey days off so you don't get burnt out! Pay someone to deal with the blankets a couple times a week. Most barns will offer that service for around $15 per month out here. Think of the gas you'll save!
- Can you hire someone to clean your house?

It can be done!

[JenEM]

I have an unusual work schedule, but the horse does live 45min-1hr away. Even if she were closer (nigh on impossible, this close in to DC, especially given that I live inside the beltway), because I work 12 hr shifts, I would not get to see her every day. I've just had to accept that as part of having a job that allows me to afford a horse.

It does seem like it would be rather unworkable if the horse isn't boarded somewhere that does blankets, feeds supplements, etc. I flat-out couldn't board somewhere like that, because I only get out to the barn on my days off (which are 3-4 days a week, but varied).

[rttigrl]

My horse is ~40 minutes away (used to have both of them that far away), and the ONLY way I can get it done is by getting up early. Up before 5am, deal with the pets, drive to the barn, horse caught/tacked up/fanny in the saddle by 6:30am (7 on a bad day), horse ridden/cooled/turned out by 8am, 15 minutes to shower and slap on makeup, and I'm off to work (45 minute drive). As my work day technically starts at 8am, I'll usually schedule conference calls for when I know I'll be in the car.

Back in the day before my old guy fully retired, I'd trade off the horses (ride each 2x during the work week) or concentrate on whoever needed the most. Not a perfect situation, but I feel lucky to be able to have my horses at all, so I make it work!

[aquafilly]

The drive to the barn is about 50 minutes for me. I go after classes.

I'm a big reader, but my brain is fried from all the studying, so I buy books on tape for the long commute. I put them on CDs or my mp3 player. I also record my professors during class and play it back while doing barn chores, cleaning the house, making dinner.

Works pretty well for me! :cool:

[Karma]

My barn is 45 minutes from my house, my work, everywhere and in the "wrong" direction from most other things I do.

I have scheduled riding days. I half lease my gelding on the other days, which helps with the guilt of not getting out every day. It's great to know that it's "not my day" and that it would be pointless to go out. Now that my mare is at a second barn to foal out- it's pretty hard to get to see them both 3x a week, but staying on schedule helps.

I work full time and have two dogs at home.

Monday-Thursday FT job
Friday PT job
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday or Sunday ride- when I got out on Sunday I only work with the mare.

It works, but there's not much down time.

[Peggy]

Barn is 50 miles away (60-ish minutes even during rush hour since I am generally going the opposite direction of people who are rushing). I make specific barn days which are 4-5 days a week depending on my teaching schedule. I think I would go crazy if I tried for more over time. The saving grace in my case is an extremely untraditional work schedule that allows me to ride in the mornings. At the moment I have to full days "off" during the week. The quid pro quo is that I teach at night which gives me long days that are essentially the reverse of people who work normal hours. Plus, I end up doing a lot of work on the weekend (which reminds me that I should be grading evil chemistry tests instead of typing this:lol:).

[dalpal]

It works for me because the barn is dog friendly. I couldn't do all of it, if it wasn't.

I take the dogs FAR AWAY from the barn and walk them for 2 hours on the property. Bring them back, water them and let them sleep in the Jeep while I ride horse 1. Then I let them out of the car to use the bathroom while I tack horse 2...put them back in..ride horse 2...then let them out again while I'm untacking/packing up. If I have time, I'll take them out for another 30 minutes before I leave. (I have high energy kids)

I am so very grateful that our barn allows dogs...I want to make sure mine aren't in anyone's way.

As for the house work..I'm no Martha Stewart......I manage to get the dishes, laundry, vaccuming, bathrooms done at least once a week....the house is the part of my life that suffers...no doubt.

[BuddyRoo]

Well, this is definitely temporary for us...though temporarly may mean up to a year or more since I'm on a lot of wait lists.

The blanket thing is rather non-negotiable. I offered to pay more, it's just not a service they provide. So it's hairy. (so to speak)

I left early today and just groomed and let them run around in the indoor since the paddocs are hock deep mud at this point. They had fun.

I would like to work 5 to 1 but unfortuanately, we already have 2 guys on that schedule so i have to stay at least til 5 to cover our clients. More than half of my department is gone by 2pm. Someone has to hold down the fort.

Good ideas all. Thank you!

[JulesGirl]

I wait until my husband leaves for work at 9 am.
At 10:30 I meet my mom at the gym. I work out, then change into riding gear.
I'm usually at the barn no later than 12:15, 12:30. I ride until about 3.
Come home, do housework, make dinner, etc.

[PiedPiper]

I am in a similar situation. I work 45-60 minutes from my house, the barn is 60 miles from work, and about 40 minutes from my house.

I can't offer a lot of advice as I haven't really got a schedule down yet, definitely my goal for this year as I am trying to get back up to my normal riding schedule.

I am at work by 6:30-7 but my problem is getting out of there at a normal time and not 5/6ish. By that point traffic is too awful and I am too tired to make the drive out there.

I am keeping them that far out because the care is over the top and I have no worries about them when I am away traveling, etc. They are very happy and so that makes me happy. We are building a barn at my father's so that will put them a little closer and I will need to be more hands on.

Trying to find that work/life balance is so difficult. I am hoping, when it is a little warmer, to start hitting the barn at 6am and then getting into the office later. I can knock out the riding first thing and then any issues that pop up won't affect it.

There really is never enough time in the day! But I am going insane not exercising and not riding.

[peedin]

BuddyRoo, do you have a pal at the barn who would do the blanketing change for you? Not the owner or manager, but a fellow boarder?

[BuddyRoo]

Not yet. I've only run into one other gal while I've been out there. She said she's been there 3 mos and it was the first time she'd ever shared the arena with someone! Eeek! I think a lot of the boarders are students and they don't get up there much. If I ever run into someone, I would definitely chat them up and see about something like that.

I've been there in the morning, early afternoon and in the evenings and still...only run into that one person.

Thanks for the ideas. Riding in the morning just might be the answer too...then I know it's done. That seems to be about the only part of the day that I can really tap into for some extra time. Maybe it's just me, but I swear I was able to juggle a lot more when I was in college and just out. Now I feel like the thought of getting up at 4 or 5am is about the worst thing I've ever heard of! LOL



Thanks again!

[baylady7]

Buddyroo

My guy is over an hours drive each way. I get there usually 3x a week since he is semi-retired. The farm is super with care. I pay to have him groomed on some of the days I cannot get there.

May I suggest you leave your chores to the weekend (laundry, etc)? That way when you get home at 10-11pm you can be in bed before or at 12 midnight, up at 7am, which is sufficient sleep for most folks.

I used to keep him 45 min away and went out weekends and two weeknights. That was the ONLY thing I did on those weeknights. Again, paid for grooming if needed and blanketing was part of board fees.

Basically, you have to sacrafice in other parts of your life. I know often I just get to chat with my BF (enroute to barn via handsfree cell call)- have not seen him in over 2 weeks. Hard choices have to be made. I know that I cannot have a dog (would not be fair to him to sit home alone) but you have a roomate so you should be able to manage that.

Best of luck- hopefully you are young and can keep up the energy level!!!

[quietann]

It's a 45 to 50 minute drive to the barn for me. Work is 30 to 75 minutes (depending on the time of day) in the other direction. I realized pretty quickly that I am just not going to be able to work and ride on the same day. I work 3 days per week, so I ride 4 days per week. Maresy is in training and gets worked two other days as well. I would *love* to have her closer, but this is the best I can do for now.

[BuddyRoo]

This week I'm going for the EOD thing...went yesterday, going tomorrow, Thurs, and for sure next Sunday. And if I can, Sat as well.

Going to try to get my house work, laundry, grocery shopping etc done tonight. Figure if I plan to have one night a week at home I can get quite a bit done and won't be rushing around all weekend.

I think the lack of true down time is what's bugging me right now. There's always something I feel like I *should* be doing.

So...based on your suggestions, I'm just going to ratchet down the expectations a bit and guarantee myself 3 days a week. I can work 2 horses 3 days a week and maybe throw in one more day as a "treat" when I have time. AND, I'm going to endeavor to get out of the office at a more reasonable hour. Chatted w/ the bossman today in fact. :yes:

Happy driving to all! :lol:

PS: I need two horses like I need a hole my head. ;)

[bf1]

I am exhausted just reading your schedule......I guess my only question is why the 2 horses? I seem to remember something about the fact that one is easy, and one is difficult......?

But other than that, no comments as I know I couldn't handle your schedule! And the dog wouldn't be there.....I love dogs, but they are rather needy! I am more of a cat person...(altho I have 2 dogs).

But I do know about the feeling that there is always something to do.....that is how I feel about my farm. I feel guilty even sitting on the deck for a few minutes!

[BuddyRoo]

BF1? Why two? Because I'm an idiot. :lol:

I grew up with the idea that once you have a horse, you have it forever. I ALSO grew up not having to board. My first "boarding" experience was in N. TX and I had two horses at first. One mare who I'd had since she was born (bred on our farm back home) and my gelding (my BuddyRoo) who was in his late 20's. While I was there, I was asked to work/show another mare and when she came up for sale, I bought her. It was CHEAP to have horses down there...I worked from home...no big deal to ride in the a.m. after I did chores and ride again in the PM. Had a supportive SO who worked a lot--but I had help around the house and yard, no need to get cleaned up before work, etc. Got the dog back then.

And then the SO was no longer and I moved to MI. Eeek! Boarding is much more expensive and harder to find. My old man died in 2005 so I am now down to 2...and still have the dog who is my buddy...wouldn't trade him for anything. And I had a really awesome board situation for the last few years.

So...this is the first time I've really run into this challenge. If I didn't have horses right now, I wouldn't buy one. I'd lease. But my one girl will be 18 this year and she's not going anywhere...I'll keep her forever. The other...well...we'll see. Whenever I get to the point that I want to sell her, she pulls some sweetness and light out and I remember why I liked her way back when. LOL Good timing.

I'm making a big vat of my special spaghetti sauce tonight, having BF over for dinner, getting laundry done...roomie is gone for the evening so I've got the radio blasting and am cleaning floors. I feel better about this week already! Whoot!

I love a plan. A list. A schedule. Type A control freak much?

[inquisitive]

Question to those of you who board 45-60 min away....

How do you organize your life and get your riding in?

I have two horses that I really want to keep in good work--finally have a lovely indoor to use! I work full time, I also tutor one to two evenings per week and work a few hours a weekend at a PT job (just 4 hours on Sat or Sun)

I own a home and have the yard/house work, laundry, etc thing to take care of plus my monster dog and a BF who lives 45 min the other direction.

It used to be that my barn was 5 min away, my dog could go with me so that doubled as doggy exercise and of course, in such close proximity, it was nothing to pop out and ride both or groom or whatever each day.

But now I find myself burning 2 hours and a lot of gas just doing the driving--making it a 4 hour thing if I work both horses. I'm sure there's a way to work it in and get all of the other responsibilities taken care of, I just haven't found it yet. Only been doing it a few weeks, but looking for a better way to manage time.

What's your schedule like?

My weekday schedule right now is going like this:
7am up-walk dog, pack stuff for the day, get ready for work, etc. throw load of laundry in wash. Or if coming from BF's house, get up at 7 and drive home..home at 8am.
8:30-head to office.
Work til 6pm. If tutoring, til 7. Head to barn.
Leave barn around 9-9:30
Home at 10-10:30
Eat dinner, throw laundry in dryer. Catch up on email, clean something, or head to BF's house.
In bed around between 12 and 1.

I could probably pull that off every day during the week, but I get behind on the house work and feel like the dog is being neglected. So I've just been going every other day and scheduling that based on what I need to do with blankets on my older mare.

I have a roommate who will feed the monster at night and give him his meds at 7pm if I'm going to the barn or if I'm going down to my BF's for the night.

I would like to find a better "schedule" that would allow me to get things done and not feel so frazzled come Monday morning when it starts all over again.

So...I'm not married, no kids...should be cake. Tell me how you do it. :D To be honest, I think this is harder than when I leased property and did self care!

Same boat here. Have three: one of my horses is in consistent work, one is retired but needs light hack/trail or something, and the baby needs handling. I've got the new house that needs a lot of work, dog and fiance (he's a lot of work too :lol:) My barn is about 45-60 minutes from my house (depending on traffic) and my work is an hour metro ride from my house. Thankfully my work allows me to come in earlier and leave earlier most days. Here's my schedule:
Night before (when I'm good and not too tired): pack lunch and get out work and barn clothes for next day
Get up 5AM: walk dog, shower, get ready
6-7AM: Commute to work
7-3:30: Work (don't go out to eat which saves time and eat a big lunch)
3:30-4:30: Commute home, quick change of clothes and let dog out, sometimes bring her with me if the barn won't be too crowded
4:45-5:30: Commute to barn
5:30-8:30/9:30ish: Ride and take care of the horses
8:30/9:30-9:15/10:15: Commute home
9:15/10:15-10/11: let the dog out if fiance didn't take her for her PM walk, grab an apple/small snack to eat for dinner, do some more chores, check email, all the little stuff, try to get to bed early :)

I've found little ways I can do some of the housework, like tossing in/changing a load of laundry while I let the dog out in the backyard. The key for me is to do lots of little things all the time. Like picking up or washing dishes right away, five minutes here or there.

Weekends I get up by 7 or 8 AM to spend 1/2 of one day cleaning the house. 1/2 of both weekend days are spent at the barn where I have more time to do things like clean tack, check supplements, etc (unless a competition). Then we try to do something with family or friends too.

My fiance is really understanding because he works full-time and is taking classes, so that makes it easier. Also, we live together so he can chip in with the dog and some chores. It's hard to leave work that early, especially because most of my coworkers do happy hours 1+/week, but I'd honestly rather be at the barn so whatever :p I do try to do that every once in a while to keep up the good face and do some networking.

It sounds like you've planned a similar schedule, just starting and ending later than me. I do feel a bit frazzled all the time, or that there's never enough time in the day, but I feel that way even if I don't go to the barn, so I figure it can't hurt :) If you start to feel tired, take a day off the barn. I'm the type of person that can't sit still though so I guess it works out.

I understand the dog part, especially since you go to your bf's for the night sometimes. What do you feel you can't get done around the house? Do you have a realistic to-do list with one or two things to get 'fixed up' every weekend? Don't try to do it all at once!

ETA: I tried keeping a weekly schedule, where I set certain barn days, but it didn't work. My work schedule varies sometimes (IT, so we have to be on-call sometimes or on-site for late migrations) and I don't always have notice, so I just try to go to the barn whenever possible. Sometimes that's 7 days a week, sometimes 4...

[LD1129]

I live 45 minutes to an hour from home to the farm and its about 40-45 minutes from work to the farm. Here is my schedule since I have a 5 year old to work 4 days a week myself, my trainer has him one day a week, and I lesson at night once a week.

6:00 am wake up shower ect.
7:20 am leave for work
8:00 am -4:30 PM work
4:30 Pm leave for barn
5:15 Pm arrive at farm ride/groom/lesson ect.
6:30-7:00 PM leave farm depending on how long I rode/groomed ect.
Home by 7:30-8:00 (not as much traffic at that time)
8:00 PM - dinner/laundry ect
10:30-11:00 bed

I have gotten so used to this scedule since I have done the same thing for years. As long as I am home by 8:30 at night I am fine that gives me a few hours to get stuff done.

[Hoofpick]

If you wanted to get in 1 more day, consider going early in the morning 1 day a week. When it's not the dead of winter, I ride in the morning 1-2x per week to get in extra days. If you're only getting up early once or twice, it's not quite so painful. :lol: I've actually learned to love those days, too.

I boarded for a while at a place that was 45-50 minutes away and recently moved to a place that's 25-30 minutes away.

My riding schedule looks something like this:
I ride Monday early morning before work, Tuesday evening after work, Wednesday I ride as it is my day off from work, I don't plan on riding Th or F as those are long work days. Then I ride Sat and Sun. Every 3rd weekend I work, and on those weekends, I also get up early and go ride before work.

My work schedule is something like this:
Monday 8:30 - whenever - usually get out sometime early evening but last night I got out at 9:30 pm.
Tuesday 7am-6pm
Wed off
Th 8-6
F 8-6ish, sometimes later
Every 3rd Sat/Sun 9-5 or 6 ish.

I'd add: I admit that I think I would have a hard time keeping 2 horses worked with this schedule. Currently I only have 1 horse.

[ironbessflint]

Hey Broo...I drive right by DBH on my way to/from class (right now that's Monday nights), and I'll be next door 3-4 evenings/week working with pony I thought I had time to take on for training ;) If any of the nights I'm up there aren't your "barn days" I'd be happy to stop out and throw a blanket on Chey (like now, when the evenings get chilly), if it's taken off in the AM?

[BuddyRoo]

Thanks Bess!

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