Work Life Balance is it possible?
For the first decade of the 21st Century there was considerable chat in high places regarding work/life balance. Every paper, magazine, book, television or radio program I read or listened to either discussed the lack of it or provided ways to improve it. So here we are 18 years further on and from what I am witnessing and hearing I don’t think many of us have it worked out yet. Most people I speak to are still so time poor they can’t seem to attend to just the basic tasks that need to be undertaken for a families survival let-alone riding and training at least one competition horse.
For me like many others ‘time’ is the most valuable commodity in my life. I never seem to have enough and mostly I don’t use it effectively enough. I am sure this would ring true for many readers. It doesn’t matter what we do, where we live or who we are, planning our time and prioritising our goals is difficult to do. When we add horse riding, training and competing to the already totally out of balanced work/life equation often the wheels just totally deflate.
While I am not a work/life balance expert I have found over the years that a strategy of ‘doing less more often’ has help me when time is limited and other pressures pull me away from my favourite pass time which is riding and spending time with my horses.

A trap many riders fall into
One of the common traps riders tend to fall into when time is short is to override when they get the chance. We seem to have some strange belief that by riding for 2 hours once a week we can make up for the other 6 days we were unable to ride. Or we try and fit too much into the infrequent rides we achieve. Both scenarios will often end in the horse being tired and cranky and the rider feeling dissatisfied, frustrated and disappointed in their progress.
What I also have worked out is that you can work a horse in 1 hour. While I love to have longer, if you are totally organised and committed to the task you can do it and get results. The key to achieving a more successful ride is to not overload your work sessions. Do less more often and you will find that you will progress faster than you think and your rides I guarantee will be far more pleasurable for you and your horse.

A typical one hour low loaded riding session may look something like this:  
Catch horse/quick groom and saddle/unsaddle in the heat maybe a quick hose etc 30 minutes maximum. This can be achieved if all your gear is in order, you know where everything is and you don’t get distracted. Have everything you need for every day riding in a box or crate etc that is right near where you saddle up.

Work horse; warm up 5 minutes, work 20 minutes, warm down 5 minutes. Your sessions need to be very focused and planned. For example one ride you might only focus on walk trot transitions and riding different size circles in walk and trot. You may repeat this ride for a couple of days or if you have been successful the ride before you might then include the same but put in some practice on serpentines etc. The key is to do less, but do it well, and not over load each session.

The other very important element is to not start something new in the work session right at the end of the 20 minutes. If you or your horse can’t accomplish it successfully you often feel you need to go for longer and then you run out of time. Or your horse gets tired and then gets cranky and you start to spiral down into that horrible black hole of feeling like a non-achiever. Also don’t expect perfection. You will be very unlikely to achieve it. Just look for improvement. Too often we stay on the horse for far too long redoing exercises etc to make it perfect. Be happy with a little improvement every ride and in no time at all you will have lifted your performance greatly. And finally wear a watch and make sure you adhere to the time you are allowed. In the beginning it might be hard but in time it will become easier.

An example of 4 sessions working with Gorgeous Guinness an Elementery Dressage Pony

As an example of working with my Elementary horse I might plan my 4 sessions something like this:
Session 1 work in trot mostly focussing on better positioning through the corners, keeping him in self-carriage as I come out of corners to set up for various movements. Working on using the short sides to create better movements out of the corner.
Session 2 work on trot work from session one and focus on now improving balance and position in lateral work due to better positioning through corners.  Work on achieving a more crisp transition into shoulder in or halfpass etc.
Session 3 after short warm up work on canter engagement and maintaining engagement over the back particularly in transitions in and out of medium canter and through corners etc.
Session 4 work on session 3 work and if good do a few canter walk canter transitions or work on collection and working turns on the haunches etc
If you feel on day 2, 3 or 4 there is not enough improvement on the previous rides work, redo the previous sessions work until you feel it is correct enough to move on.  Even with a plan you need to be flexible and listen to what your horse is telling you. It may take a few more days than you think but it will improve with this system and approach.  How do I know because I use it all the time and many of my pupils have also had success with this approach.

Know where you are going   
Obviously, you can’t do detailed grooming like pulling mains etc. And this does not take into consideration if you are travelling to your horse. But a good work session can be achieved if well planned. The key to making it work is to be organised and have a plan for each session that underpins your riding goals. Another tip is to set out a plan for what you want to work on or achieve for the month and then plan your sessions around these goals. Take a look at old dressage tests, what is the overall message from these tests that you can take into your training. Or study the requirements of the next level up and work out what you need to be able to accomplish in order to go up a level. While I have focused on Dressage training the same applies for jumping. Well planned short sessions working on simple tasks like; being straight before over and landing of a fence, practicing good turns for jump offs, or working on introducing particular types of fences can all be done in a short session.

To get more out of your rides you need to try and do less in each session but do it more often. By being extremely organised when you actually get to ride you can achieve great things in a short space of time if you can do it more regularly. This means you are away from your other responsibilities for less time. Yes it is still difficult to make that hour available but one hour is easier to find than 2 or 3.

Do less, more often and regain your passion for riding.

Cheers and happy riding.