Crazy commute?

[PortPonies]

The good news: I found my match! I'm buying a horse later this month and bringing him up to my neck of the woods to get back in the saddle in my local eventing community.

The bad news: The great barn where I've been working and riding is closing. Other options close to home (30-45 min. away) include:

A -- an entirely self-care place with wire mesh in the stalls, no kick boards in the run ins, mostly Western/trail riders (I love trails and I respect good riders of all stripes, but there's no equipment or good footing for jumping work in sight), inconsistent staffing (owner leaves for Western vacation for half the year), and dubious quality hay (you buy and truck in yourself, but there's no storage to bring in your own good hay so most folks feed local round bales)
B -- many backyard barns with a roof (sometimes), a strand of tape, and a little "arena" if you're lucky, pretty much all of which are full to the gills even if I wanted to board there
C -- a good-looking indoor with a good reputation and laid-back atmosphere, whose owner is in the process of building three more stalls and may or may not get them done by November...or next year...or sometime...or never.

So I am looking further afield. Two hours from my home (an hour and a quarter south from my work) is a beautiful private facility with seasoned hunter/jumper owners, a coverall arena, a large outdoor jumping/sand arena, well-cared-for horses, and an owner who seems to know what she's doing and is very willing to help me get settled (i.e. helping me trailer new horse up, informal schooling advice and riding together, lending one of her horses for trail riding with my other half on occasion, etc.). She appears to be affordable and professional. I am thinking of this as an option for the winter, to bridge the time until Option C above finishes its stalls -- or perhaps a longer-term option if the opportunities to learn and to trailer to events and shows with this barn outweigh the benefits of moving closer to home.

I keep trying to tell myself that if I were in New York City, I'd be traveling the same amount of time/distance or more to get to an event barn. Even in more metropolitan areas of my region, a half hour or forty minutes is par for the course to get to your boarding barn. I am pretty much ready to commit to the two-hour drive because of the lack of good local options, but I'm hoping I won't go crazy with more drive time than ride time...and that the gas prices will not go up further!

So...how long is your commute? Is it worth it to be with like-minded riders and owners you can trust? How far would you drive to your horse's home?

[skykingismybaby1]

Well I have a crazy commute, I have 1 1/2 hours to work in the AM and 2 hours return home!!! But my horse is only 4 min away from the house. Can you tell my priorities? and yes I work in NYC but only three days a week so the commute time makes some sense to me although I still hate it.

[KateKat]

I leased a horse that was 45 minutes from my house. I probably only got out there 2-3 times a week on a good week. So knowing myself, it would be hard if my commute was 2 hours. However, I think it is worth it to keep your horse somewhere you know you can trust. I would definitely put that priority above my concerns about adding some extra time onto my commute.

[klmck63]

From my house the barn is 45-50 minutes away. From school it's more like 30 minutes. It was a big change for me when I moved there. My old barn (in my old province) was only 15 minutes from my house so I could pretty much decide at the drop of a hat that I just wanted to go to the barn, right then. Then I'd hop in the car and go. No planning required. Now that the round trip is 2 hours of driving plus whatever time I actually spend AT the barn, I have to plan. I also try and be a bit more economical with my time at the barn. On a weeknight I try not to loiter around and chat, I brush, ride, cool out, switch horses and repeat. I save chatting for days when I have not much else to do.

I would say that it's worth it. The barn takes fabulous care of my horses and it includes everything that I need to keep me and my horses happy. When I was considering barns to move to there were two choices for where my coach that I wanted could coach. The other barn seemed to have a kind of ridiculous set of rules, the owner seemed a bit 'off' and the place may or may not be for sale. The far away barn was the obvious choice.

ETA: I make it out to the barn 7 days a week when not in school and 5/6 days when I'm in school.

[BuddyRoo]

It depends on how much/what kind of responsibilities you have at home and how you can manage your time.

Me personally...no husband, no kids, and STILL the hour commute makes me not even want to ride. I can't get there enough to really do the things I want to do.

Initially when I moved there, I was going daily...big crunch on the gas $$ and time....every night it was about a 4-5 hour deal including driving if I messed with both of my horses.

I personally would search very hard for something closer.

[Donkey]

If you're going to go for a long commute make sure the barn is happy and able to
- handle emergencies until you can arrive
- willing to hold for the vet/farrier
- change blankets if the weather changes during the day
- provide medical care such as wrapping in the mornings and/or evenings (assuming you can't be there twice a day)
- administer meds multiple times a day (if ever required)

Basically make sure they will be willing and are trustworthy to pick up a bit of extra care for your horse (even for extra $$) when required since it won't be convenient for you to visit more than once a day.

I live in a city and commute 25 minutes to my horse. Any further would be tough for me.

[mvp]

It will be a bigger PITA than you think. Just because NYCers commute doesn't mean that they have a great time doing it or have the kind of horse ownership you want.

I'm the kind that remains involved with her horse. I want good care, but it's important to me to actually lay eyes on my horse just about every day.

On the other hand, lack of facilities can get old. That will be especially true in the winter. I'd look back over my previous horse situations and ask myself what style of owner i was, and/or if my life has changed that now.

Remember that if you are polite, do things in writing and keep you side of the street clean with your BOs, it will be easier for you to change your mind and move in the future.

[bort84]

It sort of depends on what you want to do. If you plan on giving your horse a rest for a bit and only want to get out a couple of times a week, maybe the commute is worth it. If you plan on putting him in training, same thing. However, if you want to get out more than 1-2 times a week, that's a LOOOONG commute. I would avoid it if it's at all possible. Maybe put out a couple of ads (boarding wanted?) and put out some more feelers in your area. Maaaybe there's some nice little private place that randomly needs a boarder.

I would not have my horse that far away ever unless he was in training (with me only riding 1-2x per week, unlikely to be my cup of tea unless I had others close to home) or on a break from work and in very good hands. I just know myself, and the drive would be a huge deterrent.

My horse is currently 35-50 minutes away depending on traffic, sometimes more, and I hate it, but there aren't any options close to downtown Houston with the same quality of care and training that I can actually afford. Plus I don't have a trailer, so I can't haul in for lessons. Anyway, even that relatively short drive (compared to yours) through traffic after a long day at works makes me feel really unmotivated.

[JohnDeere]

There are people close to me who go that far (and farther 2.5 hrs for 1 college student) to see a bnt. Plus the road to get there is not fun esp in winter. They pay extra $ to have horsie there plus spend crazy amts on gas to visit 1 x week.

To each their own. I wouldnt do it personally every day but its your choice.