Have you ever gotten excited about the upcoming endurance ride season, only to look at your daily schedule and feel your insides deflate? As much as you want to finally get out there, reality is overwhelming.
How are you supposed to condition your endurance horse, work full time, commute, exercise, care for your family, and still find time to eat and sleep? When do you condition if you’re stuck at the office all day? Is endurance even possible with a full-time job?
In a word, yes. Let’s talk strategies.
Endurance Riding with a Full Time Job
1. Identify Your Advantages and Limitations
Before you can make a meaningful plan for endurance riding with a full-time job, you need to take a hard look at reality. Each of us has a unique set of challenges, but we also have unfair advantages.
So, take a moment to consider what you’re up against. What gets in your way of conditioning, training, and caring for your horse, as well as building your own fitness for the sport?
This will likely include obstacles like your work schedule, commuting time, family responsibilities, household chores, and social events. Maybe you’re also in school or running a side hustle. Perhaps you have challenging weather conditions, limited horse facilities, or a long haul to trails.
List it all out. I’ll wait…
Okay, now take a deep breath. Don’t let hopelessness take over, because next we’re on to the fun part: our unfair advantages. What resources can you leverage to support your endurance goals?
Maybe you have a supportive spouse, a childcare swap, a flexible boss, excellent planning skills, high-quality rain gear, or a gym at your workplace. Maybe you have a friend at the barn who will catch your horse when she visits her own, saving you that 15 minutes. Maybe you keep your horse at home and can ride right out your back door.
Give yourself time to be creative, and I’ll bet you’ll discover more advantages than you expected.
2. Accept the Opportunity Cost
You’ve heard the expression, “You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once,” right? That definitely applies to those of us who want to endurance ride while working full time.
There’s just no getting around the fact that endurance is a time-consuming sport. Choosing to pursue it means giving up other things. Period.
Like what?
Cut the Fat
Most of us can start with a “cut the fat” approach. This means replacing time spent on unnecessary (if pleasurable) activities like watching Netflix or scrolling through social media.
What’s that? You aren’t watching TV or Facebook reels at a time you could be riding anyway?
Sure, but you probably are doing it when you could be accomplishing something else that would free up horse time. (Hello workout, laundry, homework, meal prep, electrolyte research…)
Everyone needs some down time, of course, but when you find yourself spending too much of your week on activities that don’t support your endurance goals, it’s time to cut the fat.
Cut to the Bone
Now for the painful part. For us working folk, prioritizing endurance means giving up other activities that are meaningful, enjoyable, and healthy. This could mean church potlucks, movies with friends, reading novels, recreational travel, hosting dinner parties, coaching peewee soccer…
Like I said, all good things. But not necessarily things you can do while working full time and conditioning your endurance horse.
Making sacrifices like these will go more smoothly if you get your family’s buy-in first. Use your words, people! Have a heart-to-heart with your partner and kids, so they understand why endurance is meaningful to you and how it will affect your availability.
If that’s a tough one for you, check out the tips in What to Do if Your Partner Doesn’t Support Your Riding Goals.
Once you’ve prepared to pay the opportunity cost of endurance riding, it’s time to move on to the nuts and bolts of fitting everything in.
3. Creatively Manage Other Obligations
While we can sacrifice some activities in favor of endurance riding, plenty of non-negotiables remain. Here are some ideas to get your wheels turning on how to creatively manage your work, personal fitness, and household obligations to free up more time and energy for endurance:
Task-Swap with a Buddy
Instead of trying to do everything on your own, look for a friend who can bear the load some days while you take over on other days. Be creative! This might look like:
- Sharing the commute so one of you can manage your side hustle while the other drives.
- Childcare swaps so you can ride on Tuesdays while your friend rides on Thursdays.
- Assigning dinner duty so your spouse cooks while you get horse time, then you cook while he pursues his own passions.
Outsource Tasks
If finances allow, consider hiring help with time-consuming necessities like grocery shopping, house cleaning, or care of an elderly parent.
Don’t write this idea off too hastily…think for a moment! Will you be saving money (say, on skipping dinners out in favor of riding) that you could redirect toward a time-saving service?
If your kids are the right age, look for ways they can help out at the barn. Can you pay them to clean stalls while you ride? Can they keep Old Reliable in shape while you’re aboard your Just-Needs-Miles Greenie?
Speaking of kids (and maybe your spouse), is it time they stepped up a bit more on laundry or making their own lunches? You can approach this as a much-appreciated opportunity for them to support your goals, rather than taking a critical tone.
Reorder "Found Time"
Many of us can find more time by waking up earlier. This time isn’t necessarily useful for conditioning horses, since we need to shower and get to the office. However, it can be used to complete tasks that would otherwise pull us away from the barn.
Early mornings are great for exercising, paying bills, studying…even grocery shopping at a 24-hour market!
Multi-Task
Multi-tasking isn’t always a great idea, but there are plenty of times when you can accomplish two things at once. For example:
- Work out with friends so you can get fit and catch up on gossip at the same time.
- Take calls while doing chores or driving to the barn.
- Turn a household chore, like batch-cooking for the week, into a date or family activity so you can enjoy time together while still getting something done.
Simplify the Necessities
Speaking of batch-cooking, I save a huge amount of time every week by making large quantities of dishes that can be served for dinner one night, then eaten for breakfast or lunch throughout the week – no further prep required.
Another way to save time on meals is to simplify your recipe choices. This can be a bit painful if you enjoy cooking, but highly nutritious meals can also be quick and easy. Sauté up some chicken or toss salmon fillets in the oven, steam some veggies or toss a salad, serve with rice, and voila!
You can even simplify your wardrobe. Many people apply “personal uniform” or “capsule wardrobe” concepts to create a minimal wardrobe of comfortable, interchangeable, easy-care clothing. (If you aren’t familiar with these concepts, a quick Google search will bring up tons of great resources.)
Once you’ve minimized your obligations and managed the ones that remain, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to condition that endurance horse while keeping the job that pays his hay bill.
4. Adopt a Smart Conditioning Schedule
If you are serious about endurance, you absolutely must commit to consistent conditioning. Getting the job done takes…you guessed it…more creativity and planning.
Block Out Time
Calendar specific time blocks to spend with your endurance horse. These might be the same every week, or you might need to establish them every Sunday evening for the days ahead. Either way, your mission is to identify exactly when you’ll condition your horse and then follow through by defending that time. Make it non-negotiable, just like getting to that doctor’s appointment or a meeting with your boss.
Consider a Lean Conditioning Schedule
Have you ever wondered how much conditioning is absolutely necessary? Can you condition an endurance horse in two days per week? Four? Personally, I’d put the minimum at three.
Assuming you are starting with a relatively unconditioned horse (new to the sport, or returning after an extended break), three or four rides per week is an appropriate minimum commitment. Six months is a good timeframe for preparing such a horse for a conservative 50 mile endurance ride.
If three conditioning three days per week is all you can manage, don’t make the mistake of riding harder because you’re riding less often. Your horse’s body must adapt gradually over weeks and months. Attempting to get him fit faster with workouts that he hasn’t built up to will likely lead to injury.
Unsure how to apply a 3-days-per-week conditioning schedule for your endurance horse? Grab my free guide.
Map Out Your Year
Your endurance conditioning schedule won’t look the same all year. By planning ahead, you can use this to your advantage.
Anticipate more conditioning time early in the season. As your horse gets fit for the first time, or after a long winter break, he’ll need at least three conditioning rides per week.
Later on, endurance rides themselves will give your horse a big conditioning boost. Plus, he’ll hold onto his fitness much better than we humans do. If you’re competing regularly (say, every six weeks or so), you don’t necessarily need to condition as frequently. This is especially true if your horse has access to lots of hilly turnout space.
When it comes to balancing endurance with other priorities, like family vacations, take advantage of your horse’s rest period immediately after endurance rides. Two weeks of leisure after a 50 is appropriate for him and free time for you!
Recruit a Rider
If even three days per week is too much, or if you have more than one horse to condition, or if you prefer your horse gets ridden more often, you might need to recruit a second rider.
One option is to pay someone to ride your horse. This can be particularly helpful if you can combine it with cross-training for your horse. Know someone who is good at jumping or dressage? Perhaps they can help your horse get fitter and more well-rounded at the same time.
Another option is to find someone you trust to put conditioning miles on your horse for free, perhaps in exchange for a catch ride down the road. How? Ask your riding friends. Maybe there’s a college student missing her own horses. Or a fellow endurance rider whose usual mount is injured. Or a rider in a different discipline looking to dip a toe in our sport.
Whether you recruit a rider or go it alone, there’s no time to waste. In fact, depending where you are in the world, you might be six months out from your season’s first 50 right now. That means you need to get started conditioning…even if it’s the dead of winter.
5. Embrace Winter Conditioning
Conditioning in winter means finding solutions to additional obstacles like short daylight hours and inclement weather. Let’s talk about how:
Buy Gear for All Conditions
You might be surprised how comfortable it can be to ride in wet or frigid weather, provided you have the right gear. Get ahold of warm riding tights, perhaps in a wind-proof fabric. Consider putting a riding skirt over the top. Wear a snug base layer with a high neck, topped with mid-weight layers and a Goretex shell. Ideally, use items you can unzip so as not to get sweaty and then chilled.
I like to ride in gear made for other outdoor adventure sports. Clothing cut for activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and cycling tends to work well for riding. It is often higher quality than most equestrian-specific brands, sometimes less expensive, and much easier to find secondhand. Hit up your local outdoor gear consignment shop for deals on quality brands like Marmot, Mammut, Outdoor Research, Rab, and Patagonia.
Find Good Footing
Winter conditioning is often thwarted by slick footing, but you may be able to find safe (if not exciting) conditioning options. My favorite is a two-mile stretch of gravel road that climbs a gradual hill, gets steep toward the end, and can be repeated several times for an excellent workout in nearly any weather.
Walking in sand or snow can be another great option. You don’t always need speed to put in a good effort!
And, of course, you may be able to access an indoor arena. Working on patterns, poles, collection, bending, or small jumps can provide excellent benefits for your horse’s body and mind.
Learn to Ride at Night
Yes, really! This is an excellent skill to practice, especially if you have ambitions of riding 100s. Riding in the dark may be scary at first, but it’s a lot of fun once you get used to it. Here are a few tips:
- Try easing into riding at night by starting at sundown and letting the light fate as you ride.
- Choose a familiar trail without hazards like traffic, barbed wire, badger holes, or cattle guards.
- Slow down to a walk until you’re comfortable trusting your horse to trot.
- Wear a headlamp, but try not to use it. Definitely don’t use the regular white light, which will disrupt your horse’s vision. Red or green light is much better.
- Double-down on safety precautions: Tell somebody your plan. Wear reflective clothing. Carry your phone (or satellite communication device if you’re off-grid) on your person, not in your saddle bag.
Does all this sound like a big commitment? Well…it is! But the accomplishment of a successful endurance season – 9 to 5 and all – is even bigger. You can do this!
Does Fear Interfere with Your Conditioning Plans?
Having a spooky or green horse, or just being uncomfortable riding out alone, can make conditioning on a tight schedule even more challenging. If that’s you, check out my three-part series on How to Overcome Your Fear of Trail Riding Alone.
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