A balancing act of work and horses...

Hello there!

I thought I would do a little post on balancing life, as I think this is very important and is something that I struggle with. I have a particularly time consuming job (as an animal keeper at a wildlife park) and a time consuming hobby (eventing). It's a pretty big struggle trying to cram anything in between those!

I think I have one of the best jobs in the world, though!

Forward planning is probably the biggest key to making it work. I check the weather avidly, decide what days I am going to ride after work and what I will do with Emmie on those days. I work 5 days a week, so my two days off are easy and definite riding days, and I usually ride or lunge 3-4 days after work. I also have long working days (8:30-6ish), so I get up at 5.45 to muck out, turn out and sort my stable before heading off to work - that means I have less to do after.

Now it's lighter in the evening it makes life a lot easier - I can ride outside or go hacking, so I don't feel like I am constantly in the indoor (and our indoor is pretty tiny!) I think that's really important for Emmie to keep her mentally stimulated - it means I can do fitness work and some jumping on work nights, which is a real help getting her ready for our BE debut of the year in a couple of weeks!

Help is vital - I absolutely couldn't do what I do without my mum. She usually brings the horses in on an evening and gives Emmie her tea well before I get there. That means I can ride and not have to hang around after waiting until I can feed her. She also puts her back on track back warmer on for me, so Emmie is all ready to go! I don't get home until gone 8 if I ride, so I would be pretty late if I had to wait to feed her too. I try and plan any social events or dinners in so that I don't ride on days when I have something planned. It doesn't always work out, but I do my best!

Thankfully it all becomes much easier when the horses can go out 24/7. We turf ours out as soon as possible as they much prefer being out! It also gives me a bit of a break as I don't have to go in the morning. Emmie gets a bit grumpy when she's clipped/rugged/stabled, so I love how happy she is when she can live out without any rugs. Basically: I can't WAIT for summer!