Hello! We are currently in the process of getting a small 5 acre lot already set up for horses. It does have a small indoor as well. Pretty much plan on having my two guys and maybe board one or two more.
What are your tips/ suggestions for a first time barn owner? Location is Midwest
Don’t board. Not even friends. They will quickly become NOT friends. Boarders are mostly cray-cray. I can only think of two - including me - that were/are not.
Pay close attention to where the rain goes, and don’t board any horses. Drainage matters!
any extra stalls, tear them down/convert into tack rooms/feed rooms as a horse will find its way there since your have the extra space
How nice, your own place to manage, can’t beat that!
I triple state no boarders, unless that is your business.
Not worth the cost, insurance is high and very important.
Then there is the worry and aggravation of caring for extra horses that are not yours.
At least try without any boarders first, so you have time to see how things go with just your horses.
When you plan barns, sheds, pens and pastures, think exactly what you want and will do.
Do not fall in love with the IDEA of what you wish, but the reality of what you want.
Is that to have horses to ride, big pets to care for, how much of each.
If you want to ride more, then make it all turnkey and easy.
If more to enjoy and care for them, you can spend more on the ground, taking horses here and there.
Then keeping things neat and doing all maintenance chores at leisure.
Best if counting there will be times you can’t do chores yourself.
Have things organized so someone else can care for your critters.
Best if they can do so quickly and without need to go in with the horses directly, in case it is someone not that experienced with them.
Don’t forget to take many pictures, of before and after and of everyone having fun during the building process.
{Waving from the MIdwest too!}
EVERYTHING @Bluey said! :yes:
Does that 5ac include the barn, indoor & pastures? Is there a house?
Even if it is just the horse facilities, you are going to be needing hay pretty much year-round for your 2 horses.
Add boarders & you are guaranteed to be feeding hay 365.
And spending a LOT of time maintaining pastures.
If less than 5ac in pasture, 2 horses are going to do a pretty good job grazing them down.
More horses & you are going to have very little grazeable pasture.
I have kept 2 horses - added a mini 4yrs ago, so now 3 - for 16yrs on roughly 3+ac in pasture of my total 5ac.
Including 36X36 3-stall pole barn w/attached 60X120 indoor. My house & lawns take up the remainder.
Horses have In/Out from stalls to pasture 24/7 & I feed hay all year. Much less when there is grass in the fields, but never a time when pasture alone is sufficient.
Not to mention the headaches having boarders inevitably brings.
Search this board for stories that will make you rethink boarding - especially on such a small acreage.
I have a friend with a smallish boarding barn - 20stalls - & the stories she’s told me only reinforce how craycray boarders can be.
Examples:
*the woman who insists there is foxtail (there is not) in the hay & handpicks each flake served to her horse
*the boarder who arrives daily @ 6P , turns her horse & 3 of her friends’ into the indoor for 3h then brings them back in & leaves @ 9P
All boarders’ horses are turned out from 7A to 5Pm then fed hay & left in for the night. Hay is provided in pastures as well.
So this widget arrives shortly after horses have been fed their PM hay, takes them away from it for 3h for ???
Added liability insurance & repair costs have to figure in too.
Enjoy your property (as I do) for yourself & your horses alone.
Leave boarding to those with deeper pockets & stronger stomachs.
Ditto, ditto, ditto. And five acres isn’t much with more than three horses anyway. There are LOADS of good threads to search here. Not only watch for rain/water flow, but be cognizant of snow drifting if you’re in an area that gets snow. Make sure you have plenty of good lights, ease of access to water for the horses. Set your place up for your inexperienced aunt to move horses around and run the place - just in case. And just to be clear: Don’t board.
5 acres isn’t worth the extra liability expenses for a boarder!! If you need a companion animal for the 2cd horse if you’re leaving with the other one get a goat or a donkey.
Well, I would encourage you to keep an open mind re: boarders, as there are some nice ones out there; as long as you yourself keep things adult and are clear in your written expectations, and then enforce those expectations, like a grown-up, it might be okay. And, private barns can be a lifesaver for horse owners who can’t swing their own property but want more individualized/honest/informed care than can be found at some boarding barns.
But, five acres is pretty small; you’re going to have alot of manure management and hay management, as others have said, and your fences will get alot of wear and tear. Plan thoughtfully for easy mucking, easy hay delivery and storage, and maybe consider a paddock paradise system to keep the horses moving on small acreage, vs. destroying one area. Pay attention to what areas will get icy, and what you’ll do with snow that slides off the barn/indoor roofs. And have fun! So many of us dream of having a small farm; good on you for making it happen.
Hello
We just got 5 acres too! I am in Florida so horse keeping is a bit different. That will be plenty for 4 horses and even a mini if you need a buddy. What I did when I had 3 acres was I had a small sacrifice area for them and rotated them on the 1 3/4 arce pasture. I also had a small 100 x 50 riding area ( small I know but was useful) The horse got out on pasture 3 or 4 days a week for several hours. Then I had my house and a decent size yard. In florida you just learn and except to feed hay year round and pasture management is very important as well as manure pick up. This worked out well for 12 years for me with 3 horses. So getting 5 acres is huge to me! lol Good luck!
PS
As others have said Boarding on that size property would most likely be more of a headache and work then its worth.
I have 5 acres, 2 horses and an arena. I boarded once and that was more than enough. :eek:
Four acres are pasture which is split into 3 large turn outs and 1 sacrifice area. My barn has doors that open into 2 of the pastures and I have gates placed so that rotating is easy. My old aunt could feed and turn out and never have to touch a horse. We have a dumpster service for the manure and a small shed for hay.
Good luck and enjoy having your horses at home. I do!
deleted because I did not read that it was already set up for horses… and I agree, dont board, at least until you are well established in your routine. .And, have a really good contract…
Congrats! We bought our little slice of horsie paradise 2 years ago this month.
We dedicated 3 acres to horse paddocks and split it into 3 paddocks - 1 winter/main paddock with two grass paddocks that back onto the main paddock that we can just open the gates to let the herd out. Another half acre is going to be put in next spring which will be nice. All of the paddocks have shared gates internally (we can open all of the gates and mow, etc.) and externally. This has been very convenient. Manure management has not been too bad yet. We have sandy soil and cleared the land so we are still building up the back paddocks every year with manure compost and pasture seed, so need the manure to spread. We have just over 7 acres and have 4 horses and it’s very comfortable but beyond 4 would be pushing it for us.
Initially we bought two 12 x 32 row barns and placed them facing each other. This was going to be temporary until we built a barn but we realized they are all we need, so we are going to put trusses over the aisles and put a roof on, gates on the ends of the aisle and rubber pavers for the aisle and it will be perfect. The horses have two 12 x 16 run ins and trees in their main paddock for shade so being stalled only happens for the vet and farrier visits. Water and electrical were ran to the row barns and were definitely a necessity. I’m glad we didn’t rush into building a closed barn and having that extra expense. Living with what we had for two years has helped us identify what we really need. Two years in now and the only thing different we would do is the location of the row barns but they can be moved.
Hay storage is very important and our situation is temporary right now. Two metal carports with a huge hay tarp covering two structures is working for us right now but it is ugly!
I guess my point is, live with your set up and property for awhile and see what works before investing a ton of money. I was surprised at how much I like the row barns.
Also, the drinking post was the best investment ever!
If you decided to take on a boarder or two, be crystal clear on what you will and won’t provide. (this might require some soul searching beforehand)
Do not even entertain the idea of providing a boarder with something you can’t do/won’t do/don’t want to do, not even temporarily.
I think the biggest mistake barn owners make that almost guarantees them crazy boarders is they try to market themselves to everyone and anyone. They equate success as a barn owner with having a full barn, so they sell themselves with empty promises they can’t keep or they sugarcoat the truth so they won’t scare a potential boarder off. Sometimes I don’t even think they realize they do it, they are just trying to be people pleasers in the moment.
But you can’t make everyone happy. If you are calling this farm your home, vet your boarders like you are entering a relationship with them. You don’t need to kiss every frog that comes along! Be 100% truthful: this is a typical clean stall, this is a typical clean bucket of water, this is how the horses will be turned out, this is exactly how much hay and grain I am willing to feed, this is the daily routine, this is what I expect of you.
If everything is spelled out in advance with quantities and numbers as appropriate, it’s much easier to handle situations that may arise. When you make statements like, “we feed the horses whatever they need, turn the horses out all day in compatible herds, make sure the stalls are always clean with plenty of bedding, and blanket horses as needed,” you open yourself up to mixed interpretations and varied expectations.
A boarder not choosing your barn is not rejection; it’s sparing you future headaches!
I’ll be a dissenter here :lol:
If you get a non-crazy boarder willing to put in some work, they are worth their weight in gold.
If you find one who is low key, isn’t gonna complain about much, and wants to work to reduce board cost, then when you go out of town, or have something you gotta do, or are sick, you always have someone on call that knows your barn and horses and can take care of them. That’s pretty priceless.
But, I wouldn’t advertise full care.
Also, if your pasture is 5 acres in size, I currently have 5 horses on a 5 acre pasture and have to mow like crazy because they can’t graze it fast enough. So I think depending on location, that size may work just fine.
@StormyDay :yes: Agreed on the Good Boarder - but they are like unicorns & sometimes like those Gremlins where if you feed them after midnight… :eek:
Better to cultivate horse-owning neighbors.
That said: I had my 3rd Generation Breeding/Showing/Horses at Home neighbor feed for me ONE NIGHT when I was away.
Came home to find 3 sets of hoofprints - sized appropriately for my Herd of 3 - leading from the front gate to the barn, up to my back yard, which is unfenced & leads to a fairly busy road. :dead:
My horses were in their pasture, no harm done, But neighbor never mentioned the Oops (& I did not ask - men have their Pride :rolleyes:)
If OP has 5ac of pasture only, then sure, more horses than her 2 could get enough forage.
But if house, barn, indoor, lawn, etc are eating up some of the acreage…Not so much. :no:
Understanding water & soil are important. Learning about good land management is about learning to use the natural services & capacity to their fullest extent & there are lots of great pre-existing resources already out there, so if it’s not something you’re well-versed in, seek those out. Google is a good place to start. There are also great resources on this board & I am one of many who are happy to answer more specific questions as you get into the details.
Please, if you have natural water bodies on the property, protect them from livestock & runoff. I can’t overstate the importance of this.
The lower density of horses on a property the easier your management is, especially on smaller acreage. Carrying capacity of land will vary substantially with region, soils, grasses, as well as the fact that some horses are just harder on pastures than others. A fence-walker who loves to play galloping, skidding, extreme games will be harder on the land, even if smaller, than a chill critter who meanders quietly about & that can change how you manage. For example, I’ll let older horse who is very mellow in the pasture sooner after rain than I will the young one who likes to do a bunch of said galloping & skidding.
DO have sacrifice paddocks. This is one of the best things I did – even if you don’t have the luxury of designing the farm yourself from scratch, you can still add them. Quality modular electric fence systems have made this so much easier these days. And be willing to sacrifice them, it’s what they are for.
Horses don’t need stalls, they really don’t, 99% of the time. You & the horses will be happier allowing them to stay moving. Horses really are waterproof & really can produce their own body heat. This also allows you easier implementation of the final & most important rule –
And the biggest one: you don’t have to let a farm own you. I run my 10 acres by myself, but I do what I WANT to do first. That grass will always be there needing mowing later & whatever is broken (farm rule: something is ALWAYS broken) ain’t gonna fix itself, despite my fantasies, it will still be there too. If you are lucky enough to have a sound horse to get on right now, DO IT RIGHT NOW. And do it first before you get tired. My farm won’t win any Better Homes & Gardens awards & it would give a full-on heart attack to an HOA lawn dictator, but it’s full of amazing wildlife, the horses are happy, healthy (well, as much as being giant animals with a death wish ever can be), and safe & I am not a slave to dumb vegetation or aesthetics any more than I want to be (I work full time & before the virus, I traveled quite a bit for work).
@2DogsFarm It must depend on where you live because I have 3 horses and a cow on my 4.5 acre pasture and they can’t keep up with the grass. Add to that my herd of 24 boer goats spent their days on it as well ( before we got their own pasture fenced) and we still need to brush hog it 2x a year.
I think the worst part about opening up your place to boarders is them coming at any time and your lack of privacy. 5 acres doesn’t give you any room to get away from them or the people they may bring with them.
Don’t board, just too many potential issues and costs involved, besides I guarantee you will own a 3rd and maybe 4th horse before you know it. 
This is really great advice. We bought our first place 10mths ago and love it - it’s hard work but it doesn’t have to be all consuming.
Like everyone said - before making changes and/or spending lots of money live there for a while and see how it works.
Boarders - a friend’s retired/not in work horse might work well. I had two horses of a friends over late summer/autumn and it worked out perfectly - one in foal mare and one recovering from a ligament strain - both with lovely natures and low maintenance. She popped by to see them every few days, I chucked them some hay on the other days and gave them some skritches and cuddles. They went home when it started to get wet. I charged her a pretty low amount but the arrangement worked really well for both of us.
I don’t want an actively riding boarder due to the way the property is set up we’d have no privacy.
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