Is A Side Hustle In The Equestrian Industry Actually Worth It?

For many of us horse enthusiasts, a “side hustle” of some kind helps us pay the board bill, the vet bill, the show entries – you get it – and the list of expenses goes on.

But managing an extra job, even part time, requires a good deal of discipline and structure. Heels Down Mag recently hosted a Zoom discussion about how to manage a side gig in the equestrian industry. There, entrepreneurs talked about how they keep from burning out, and how they juggle their jobs so it doesn’t become too overwhelming or take away from the sport and hobby they love so much.

Abriana Johnson, one of the hosts of the Young Black Equestrians Podcast, explained that she manages a slew of different jobs, and all of them together help her feel fulfilled.

“I don’t think I could do just one of those things and feel fulfilled,” said Abriana, who writes riding books for children, is a host of a podcast, works for a 4-H group and runs a nonprofit that uses horses to inspire kids to read. “It’s all related. All of it together is fulfilling.”

Because of this, she says, sometimes riding takes a backseat.

“It hasn’t been my priority,” she said. “You have to have realistic standards for yourself. If you don’t get to everything in the day, it doesn’t mean you suck. You’re not a bad person if you didn’t ride your horse today.”

Becky Shipps, who is the marketing director at Heels Down Mag, leased her horse out for nearly three years so she could focus on building her career.

“It had a happy ending for me and he ended up coming back,” Becky said. “I thought for a while I was going to be horseless.”

Becky said she had to take a step back and decide what was important to her at that time. She described her riding as being “at a standstill” at the time.

“I wasn’t advancing my riding, and I wasn’t working on my career. Something had to give,” she described. “I had to make decisions to put me in a position to go pro and be a better rider or to work on my career.”

In the end, Becky chose to lease her horse and pursue other jobs.

“It’s always a positive thing to work on your career but it’s not easy to lease your horse out,” she explained.

Becky manages a few different side hustles, but they are all tied to marketing or writing in some way.

“They all have to do with animals,” she said. “And it’s the same skill set used in different ways.”

Patricia Da Silva, the CEO of Ecogold and Heels Down Media, said it’s vital that people pick a side job that they are passionate about, but also be realistic on the investment it’s going to take to do it.

“Make sure it’s something you love. It’s way easier and you’re going to put the time and effort into it if you enjoy it. It doesn’t feel like work then,” she said. “If it’s your own business, make sure you have the resources to do it. It’s going to take money and time.”

Managing burnout, too, is important. Adding any new job to the schedule shouldn’t become such a daunting task that it actually takes away from your love for your hobby.

Patricia also warned that you’ll need to be able to balance this new part-time work with your usual day job.

“Make sure it doesn’t take away from your normal job – your ‘real’ job will suffer if you’re too busy,” Patricia explained.