# Watching everyone else ride by...



## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

clippityclop said:


> If anyone knows how to condition a horse without about only 1 hour a week to ride, let me know...YEAH RIGHT!! :wink:


Teach your horse to drive, so then you can bring the kids along in the cart when you are conditioning?! :lol:

I am blessed to be able to manage riding around my work schedule (one of the reasons working 4 10-hour shifts is nice). The fact my boyfriend is also an endurance rider helps a lot too, as he also wants to spend weekends either conditioning or going to rides!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Having kids is a 24-7 job, no holidays either.


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## jmescal (Jul 13, 2012)

I don't know where you are located but if you are looking for someone to keep your horse in shape please let me know. I am an experienced rider and trained my young mare arab in endurance but because of these tough time had to give her over to a friend. I'm looking to fill a void and just get to ride and maybe help someone in the process. 





clippityclop said:


> Anyone else sidelined from endurance for the time being?
> 
> Horse injury? You have an injury? Job loss - horse loss? Etc?
> 
> ...


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Yeah. Every summer, I want to do some endurance. For the last two summers, my mare has hurt herslf and put herself on watch till fall. :/ Last August, she bowed a tendon on the first weekend of summer vacation at a CTR in Virgina. She was out for six weeks, missed all our summer rides, and barely scrapped by that fall. This year, azoturia. Out for two weeks, then months of slower work to bring her back. Missing a trip to Leatherwood and an endurance ride in SC for that. Just when things were going well...


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

Now that is no fun! Last spring, I told myself that I would ride as much as I could (which pretty much meant barely any riding at all) and MAYBE put enough condition on my Arab to do one measly 25 later on that December. Wouldn't you know that before the ink was dry on the entry form, he developed a sore shoulder from just general concussion and trotting on harder ground (last summer was a beast here in TX) and then not even a day later, I pulled a muscle in my back. We were both down and out for about two months. By then, what's the use?

But I keep trying - LOL - although as desperate as I'm getting, I still may only have time to condition barely enough just to enter the little 12-14 miler intro rides...haha!


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

waresbear said:


> Having kids is a 24-7 job, no holidays either.


 

So true and no sick days either! My youngest (2.5 yrs) went on a trail ride with me with some friends (slow walk thru the forest) and she had the BEST time ever. I was so sure she would either complain about her new helmet (which she didn't want to take off all day, even at bedtime) or just get tired of sitting with me in the saddle.  She sang and talked and collected pine cones and was quite the entertainer for the entire group of ladies we were riding with for two whole hours. Can you believe it?

Maybe she will want to grow up and ride endurance with mommy! One can only hope! My oldest (12 yrs) has NO interest in horses.....so it would be such a treat if this younger one gets the horse bug........


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

dont the kids have a father ? Yeh I know you are a mom but you owe it to yourself to live a life as well, Block out a few hours a couple days a week and go ride. make it your routine. Stand up for yourself. If your schedule is so full you cant take 3 or 4 hours twice a week for yorself. You need to really step back and take a look at what is actually filling your time and what can be eliminated.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> you owe it to yourself to live a life as well, Block out a few hours a couple days a week and go ride. make it your routine. Stand up for yourself. If your schedule is so full you cant take 3 or 4 hours twice a week for yorself. You need to really step back and take a look at what is actually filling your time and what can be eliminated.


Joe, if I weren't married, I think I would propose to you.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Well, married and most likely old enough to be your mother.
Seriously, more men need that attitude.


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

LOL! With sweet talk like that, I think Joe has probably had quite a few proposals already! :clap:

No complaints here with the spouse buys the hay and pays the bills so I don't have to right now - it's the price you pay to get to take a few years off to stay home with the kids. But I think it is human nature to always want more, isn't it? It won't last forever and I'll get back to it but it sure is hard sitting on the sideline. Hey the best part is that with all of the time I have for real home-cooked meals, hubby has lost 20lbs and I've lost 10. I get to change my weight category when I renew this fall with AERC. That's kind of cool! I'm sure my horses appreciate it.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I agree with Joe, there should be 3-4 hours a week you could find...what about a daycare or even joining a mom's group to trade babysitting with? Then it doesn't cost anything either!


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

But then I'd have to give up my Zumba...haha! All I have is about 3 hrs a week and it's being used to get me back in shape -but I can't do both. When I conditioned my horses, I usually tried to do some 1-2 hr rides about three times a week - mid day is too hot and early morning or evenings are when 'stay at home mom' mode is in full swing.

They won't be kids forever tho -


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## lsdrider (Jun 27, 2012)

Ya, before I knew there was endurance I always had a horse that would have been fully capable. Now that I know about it, for the past two years it seems like nothing but heal heal heal. 

Maybe this fall. When we get thru this barefoot transition business.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

A good friend of mine, liked riding but never came with because of kid, Oh noone to watch kid,,, meanwhile hubby spent all weekend every weekend hunting. Umm something wrong with that picture, dont think hubby liked me pointing that out, but now she rides most Sundays which is still closed to hunting in VA.

You girls would not want to marry me. I'd make a terrible husband and dont like kids. .


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

Joe4d said:


> A good friend of mine, liked riding but never came with because of kid, Oh noone to watch kid,,, meanwhile hubby spent all weekend every weekend hunting. Umm something wrong with that picture, dont think hubby liked me pointing that out, but now she rides most Sundays which is still closed to hunting in VA.
> 
> You girls would not want to marry me. I'd make a terrible husband and dont like kids. .


You like horses, Joe, isn't that all that matters? LOL! It's amazing what we women can put up with when a man is supportive of our busy/ever-evolving/time-consuming/money cow of a horse addiction...

I've got one of those - he DOESN't hunt and he could care less about football...I'm pretty darn lucky!!

My guy just works all of the time - it is those lovely 50-60 hr workweeks when you have your own business, heck I'm there too helping out most of the time. So when he's home, I give him his time off, feed him good and try not to nag. 

Right now I'm sitting on the fence watching everyone else, but it's just temporary - I'm not complaining, just miss it real bad...


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

clippityclop said:


> You like horses, isn't that all that matters?


What she said...............


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Celeste said:


> What she said...............


 Ditto...


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## prairiewindlady (Sep 20, 2011)

I have a 4 yr old daughter, and can understand where you're coming from. My husband used to work 2 jobs and would be gone pretty much 12 hrs a day as well. However when I got horses again, I couldn't NOT ride, so something had to change. Nowadays I hold down a 3rd shift job, while he works days. I typically ride twice a day, once when I get off work (6am) and again in the evenings. I basically nap on and off throughout the day when my daughter allows (lol)...until my husband gets home in the afternoon, then he takes over so I can sleep a couple hours and go out again. The things we do for horses/riding, lol!


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

prairiewindlady said:


> I have a 4 yr old daughter, and can understand where you're coming from. My husband used to work 2 jobs and would be gone pretty much 12 hrs a day as well. However when I got horses again, I couldn't NOT ride, so something had to change. Nowadays I hold down a 3rd shift job, while he works days. I typically ride twice a day, once when I get off work (6am) and again in the evenings. I basically nap on and off throughout the day when my daughter allows (lol)...until my husband gets home in the afternoon, then he takes over so I can sleep a couple hours and go out again. The things we do for horses/riding, lol!


What a great way to keep riding!! 

I would do practically anything needed to keep riding, and somehow there is always a way to make it work


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## 2SCHorses (Jun 18, 2011)

I have 2 kids with special needs, and my husband is great when he's home, but his job has him traveling for 4-6 WEEKS at a time over to Asia! I wish we could live closer to my folks, but it has been hard. I have a good work schedule and have a good friend that encourages me to ride 1 time a week (I have Wednesdays off, and I go riding unless it's POURING while my kids are in school ... laundry be damned!), and then I joined a church. I am not a super religious person, but the church has been helpful with some low cost sitters available in our area ... a lot of retired Grannies that like babysitting and are not expensive. I try to schedule a 2 hour ride on the weekend when I can. But right now my endurance mare has a hoof issue, so no riding anyway. I feel you all on the 'sideline' racer. I encourage you to try to find a family member or a low cost sitter to help out with riding. I am hoping my daughter will get into riding, too! I took her trail riding and she loved it, but her horse is super duper pokey, and my mare HATES ponying him ... but she deals with it so we can go out. If there's a will, there's a way. Even if the odds are stacked against you!


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