Same. Once we stayed overnight at the county fair. It was a big deal. Otherwise it was only for Pony Club - regional rallies and camp. Outside of that, we did a few C rated shows per year, or a few rated horse trials/events, both of which involved showing off the trailer.
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Your Mom gone at 61 is SO young. Iām so sorry. It IS a reminder to live like you are dying and I think and say it regularly. I showed a good bit growing up and was successful in my small pond so feel satisfied without the need to show anymore. Since I do financial planning, I realized too 15 yrs ago that I could NOT do clinics and show and regular coaching. There simply wasnāt enough left over money after saving for retirement AND not accumulating debt.
The cost of horses is shocking these days. For years now with multiple horses I see my friends and myself spending as much as $10k/yr just in vet bills. And thatās not joint injections. High cost dentistry and things going wrong. And yes, me too, horses bring me incredible joy. I do have a vision of trotting down centerline one of these years on my gorgeous mustang to āIām Too Sexyā by Right Said Fred. Iād like to see that happen and if I do I will post a video. 
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That is my issue. Both of my parents died fairly young, and Iāve already had one bout with cancer. I have no kids ā Iād love to ālive like I were dying.ā Iām not convinced I have a ton of āactiveā time left.
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Itās also from the other end, as a frequent leaser in the past. You donāt want to be accused of messing up a horseās training or causing expensive vet issues with your riding, again because of liability concerns. I used to enter into very casual verbal lease agreements with people and all it takes is one thatās gone sour to be wary about entering into one again.
On my local Facebook group, I still sometimes see people offering part-leases on their personal horses on their own properties that need to be legged up, or are very green, and while itās tempting given my current budget, even just because of personal risk and having tried out some rough agreements that didnāt work out in the past, I wouldnāt do so. Iām an old, breakable, untalented person.
But it sounds like young, talented, brave, experienced-enough kids (which I grant are the ideal volunteers) are in shorter supply.
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This is so true. When I was a kid there were half as many people in the world, lots of open space, people had a pony in a pasture or a couple of horses and we rode all over the place. Itās especially hard for horse people who have seen and felt the loss of land, seen it bulldozed never to come back. And if you say anything about population you are branded an eugenics crazy fascist. Itās coming. The change from even ten years ago is beyond depressing.
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Iāve been reading this thread and agree with many of your analyses.
Iām fortunate to have my horse at home. I definitely see the effect of increasing prices, both in the cost of caring for my own horse and the waning number of horses in my area.
I have a very typical ābackyardā barn. I have ample pasture, but my designated riding ring is only usable half the year and the rest of the year I ride in the pastures. I donāt have outdoor lights, and I donāt have hot water. The barn, though not fancy, does have good lighting, running water, concrete aisleway, and three safe stalls. I usually have people ask me pretty regularly if I have an open spot. I noticed that waning about a year and a half ago.
Now I have an opening for one boarder, just so my mare can have a companion and wonāt be by herself. I only charge the actual cost of expenses along with 4-6 shifts per week (or a $200/mo dry stall cost plus expenses). Barn chores take about 20 minutes, and there are 14 total shifts per week, so I think 4-6 is a sweet deal. I havenāt gotten a single nibble. The type of person who would normally be interested in this setup has, I believe, already been priced out of horses.
If I didnāt have my own place, I definitely wouldnāt be able to afford boarding these days.
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This is interesting.
I think people like you are seeking still exist and I hope you find someone.
But, I think we horse people have also created our own demise in some ways. Because of all the things you donāt have: all weather footing in an arena , arena lights, hot water, etc. āWeāveā convinced people they need those things to enjoy horses, along with many other extras.
If a potential boarder for you were to post on COTH and say, āIām thinking about boarding at a private farmā then went on to describe what you just described, undoubtedly there would be some posters trying to talk the potential boarder out of it, insisting they need more.
We have deemed so many things to be necessities as we complain about how expensive the sport has become.
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I donāt know. As an adult, Iāve mostly had my horses at home. I never had a real arena, a real barn, hot and cold running water or any of that stuff. I rode in the pasture or on dirt roads.
But, Iāve been boarding now for several years. Nice barn, hot and cold running water, a real arena, etc. And you know what? I like it. I really like it. I may not āneedā it to enjoy my horse, but I sure get a lot more enjoyment out of my horse now that I have access to all these amenities.
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Believe me, I get it.
But there are also trade offs.
Sometimes people seem like they want to have it both way: they want to pay the prices of 30 years ago but still have all the bells and whistles.
If we ādemandā all the amenities, the cost is going to keep going up.
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Thereās truth to that, but also consider location. The wetter you are, the less riding you get to do unless you have some sort of all-weather footing. And even then, itās dependent on whatās falling from the sky. Iām in western Oregon, and if I didnāt have a covered area to ride? Iād be lucky to ride 4-5 mos out of the entire year, and forget about competing.
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Iām not judging you or anyone who makes all weather footing a priority!
These arenāt bad things.
But I think you guys are proving the point Iām trying to make (and failing).
There is more than one way to own horses, but weāve (general) come to be really insistent that everyone needs a lot of things that truly are bonuses.
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I think it depends on your horse and goals. When my gelding was 3 and 4 we did a lot of easy trail riding and the start of dressage foundations. It was all weather dependent though and Iām in an area where Dec-April can be dow right miserable.
I left a barn with extensive, beautiful, and well maintained trails with a very large nice outdoor arena to be able to have an indoor. Once we started getting into more training, riding around the weatherā¦and daylight was too much.
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I know youāre not, lol. And you are indeed making your point.
My last boarding barn sold. At this barn, we had 15 acres of field, paddocks, shelters in turnout. Concrete aisles, hot water wash rack, feeding room with hot water, large 12x14 stalls, heated tack room, nice size arena. So, in a nutshell, everything youād want. A group of ladies and one older gentleman. We are still friends today! That kind of place.
When it sold, a friend of mine said ācome stay with usā. She & hubby built their own barn at home. Nice size arena, good footing, stalls have paddocks off. Now come crashing back to earth. There is no hot water anywhere. Aisles are dirt. Mud is the name of the game, and a high water table do not help. Hoses are dragged around for watering, there are no spigots at key areas. Stalls do not have lights in them. It took me several months to adjust to this new reality after having been in barns for many, many years prior with much more amenities than I currently have.
So yes, I completely get your point.
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Years ago, a friend and I both boarded at the same ābackyardā barn. She had a prelim event horse who she competed regularly. We had no ring, no lighted riding area, no hot water, etc. But she was still able to keep her horse fit and going.
Years later, when we were both more financially sound, she moved her horse to a fancy training barn. She couldnāt believe how much easier her life was with all the amenities. But also, thereās no way she could have afforded that and the cost of competition in her younger years. And if she hadnāt been competing in her younger years, she never would have been where she was as an adult.
Thatās what I mean by trade offs. Everyone one of us would probably prefer all the bells and whistles if someone else was paying for them and maintaining them. They are good things. But not everyone needs them. Some people do, a lot of people donāt. Yet accidentally the narrative becomes āyou really need all the extras to enjoy your horse.ā Then the price shoots up.
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This is a very real issue. Many of us are older, very capable, and are seeing our barns turned over to someone whoās credentials are not what they should be.
I flat left a barn - literally packed my stuff up and left in one day with zero notice - over this issue. I could see the writing on the wall. BO was done being a BO, wanted to lease the barn out, picked some young 20-something who didnāt know what she didnāt know and more to the point, refused to listen to those of us who did. Knowing the BO was going to snowbird for the upcoming winter, I cut my losses right there and then. Left a months board in the drawer, packed up and moved.
Indeed, when BO returned in the spring, kicked the gal outā¦ glad I left that drama.
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I definitely agree (and I include myself) people are wimpier than they used to be!
But in my area, even a rough barn is going to cost a chunk of change, which can make people more resentful of not being able to ride months of the year.
It also depends on the horse-some horses are not great with long stretches of not being worked, being unshod, or even just being put back to work riding on trails versus the arena. And some riders are not great dealing with a horse thatās been off in a very stimulating situation.
Add in longer commutes, tighter budgets for vet care and feed and true necessities, fewer people have the time and wherewithal to do bare-bones horse keeping.
Iām not saying it still isnāt done! Just in many formerly very horsey areas, itās harder.
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I can ride almost all the time. Very high land, Sandy soil. My āringā is grass, so I save it to have a nice, cushy place to ride in the warm months when everything feels like concrete. No, itās not an all-weather arena, but few are the days when riding isnāt an option at all. Itās all a matter of comfort. Yes, you are out in the elements.
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I think the whole āwe ride outside all year 'round because weāre not wimpsā debate really, really depends so much on weather and footing. I can totally see how thatās the case in many areas of the country, and even in places which get hard winter, can be feasible depending on the ālay of the land.ā But that would absolutely not be the case for many barns in my area. There are lots of places with low-lying sandy soil that get lots of flooding and which freeze over hard in the winter without easy access to trails. Sometimes just making sure horses get outdoors time is difficult, much less riding at barns with no indoor arenas and rough outdoor rings.
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Baloney.
Most barn owners and managers arenāt rich and they work their asses off every day. They hire help because running a boarding facility of any size is more work than one person can do, even without regularly riding your own horse(s), or going to a multi-day show out of town once in a while, or just having a life and, oh, I donāt know, spending a few hours a week with your SO or your children.
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My area is similar to what @Amberley is seeing. There are a few decent barns that were bought by rich parents to give their kids a jobā¦but the kids donāt want to do the work, and donāt really know how to manage a barn, so they have trouble keeping staff and the care goes downhill.
There are also a few barns owned/build by wealthy people who DO know what they are doing, and those barns are well run, but very expensive.
Owner operator is not as common as it used to be, and quite often it makes better financial sense for the owner(s) to have city jobs, and pay someone to do the barn work.
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