Advice for first time barn owner

[2DogsFarm]

@candyappy

@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.

I have 5ac total.
I would love to have your added 1.5ac of dedicated pasture!

My house & lawns use roughly 1ac+ of that.
36X36 pole barn w/attached 60X120 indoor & approx 50’X150’ sacrifice paddock use up more.
Sacrifice surrounds the front of the barn, opens to pastures either side.
Small pasture is around 1ac & large field is close to 2.
So total grazeable acreage is closer to 3ac.

Large field is overgrown now & ”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹really needs to be bushhogged. But neighbor who does that has to repair his bushhog, so it is wildly overgrown, especially the roughs:(
Still, horses are out there, eating down the “good stuff”.
Smaller pasture is pretty well grazed down, but they spend time there too.
Even when both are in as good grass as they can get, I need to supplement with hay.
Hella less when there’s grass, but still needed.

All 3 are turned out 24/7/365, with free access to stalls (that act as run-ins).
They come in to poop :rolleyes: as evidenced by multiple piles in the stall they designate The Men’s Room.
On many occasions I’ll find all 3 in the cleaner stall, just hanging out.
16H TWH, 13H Hackney Pony & 35" mini.

:yes: Totally agree on having boarders coming & going on such a small footprint.

[Bluey]

@2DogsFarm

I have 5ac total.
I would love to have your added 1.5ac of dedicated pasture!

My house & lawns use roughly 1ac+ of that.
36X36 pole barn w/attached 60X120 indoor & approx 50’X150’ sacrifice paddock use up more.
Sacrifice surrounds the front of the barn, opens to pastures either side.
Small pasture is around 1ac & large field is close to 2.
So total grazeable acreage is closer to 3ac.

Large field is overgrown now & ”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹really needs to be bushhogged. But neighbor who does that has to repair his bushhog, so it is wildly overgrown, especially the roughs:(
Still, horses are out there, eating down the “good stuff”.
Smaller pasture is pretty well grazed down, but they spend time there too.
Even when both are in as good grass as they can get, I need to supplement with hay.
Hella less when there’s grass, but still needed.

All 3 are turned out 24/7/365, with free access to stalls (that act as run-ins).
They come in to poop :rolleyes: as evidenced by multiple piles in the stall they designate The Men’s Room.
On many occasions I’ll find all 3 in the cleaner stall, just hanging out.
16H TWH, 13H Hackney Pony & 35" mini.

:yes: Totally agree on having boarders coming & going on such a small footprint.

Funny that, “Mens Room”.

Ours have designated spots outside, generally in a corner, against a fence.
When we have really wet or blizzards weather, they stay under the shed and then use one corner there.
That corner is only used then, only time that is acceptable to whoever determines that.

[Libby2563]

Another thing to think about with regard to taking boarders is how their riding schedule might affect you. I have a small farm with 3-4 horses in one or two turnout groups, and unlike in a large boarding stable where horses come and go all the time, most of them end up getting attached to their little herd to the point that if you remove only one to ride, at least one other horse is likely to freak out. I have never boarded but I did half-lease one of my horses for a while and scheduling was frankly a PITA. The lease horse didn’t care about being taken out of the field to ride, but he was turned out with another horse who very much did care. So, every time the lessee came to ride, either it had to be scheduled around when the horses were already in the barn for me to ride or I had to go out there and bring both horses in, feed extra hay, and do extra stall cleaning after. Oh and don’t just assume that because your horses don’t act herdbound wherever they currently live, they won’t become that way when you bring them home! Something about that small herd environment seems to turn on latent herdboundness in some horses. I’m okay with working with/around that myself, but when you get another person’s schedule involved it can become a big inconvenience.

Another thing to consider is whether you will even earn enough from one or two boarders to pay for the additional insurance you will need. My homeowners insurance specifically states that I can only have my own horses on the property (which has actually served a GREAT excuse when people have asked me in the past if they can board their horses here!).

Oh and FWIW I only have 3 acres of pasture and there is plenty of grass, but only because I have sacrifice areas and cross-fencing so that I can rotate/rest the turnout areas.

[candyappy]

@2DogsFarm

I have 5ac total.
I would love to have your added 1.5ac of dedicated pasture!

My house & lawns use roughly 1ac+ of that.
36X36 pole barn w/attached 60X120 indoor & approx 50’X150’ sacrifice paddock use up more.
Sacrifice surrounds the front of the barn, opens to pastures either side.
Small pasture is around 1ac & large field is close to 2.
So total grazeable acreage is closer to 3ac.

Large field is overgrown now & ”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹really needs to be bushhogged. But neighbor who does that has to repair his bushhog, so it is wildly overgrown, especially the roughs:(
Still, horses are out there, eating down the “good stuff”.
Smaller pasture is pretty well grazed down, but they spend time there too.
Even when both are in as good grass as they can get, I need to supplement with hay.
Hella less when there’s grass, but still needed.

All 3 are turned out 24/7/365, with free access to stalls (that act as run-ins).
They come in to poop :rolleyes: as evidenced by multiple piles in the stall they designate The Men’s Room.
On many occasions I’ll find all 3 in the cleaner stall, just hanging out.
16H TWH, 13H Hackney Pony & 35" mini.

:yes: Totally agree on having boarders coming & going on such a small footprint.

Well that explains it. I would rather they come in to poo, then they don’t have places they won’t eat because of the designation of “bathroom area.”

[mmeqcenter]

In the midwest one of your biggest issues, IMO, is going to be MUD management with 2-4 horses on small acreage. I highly recommend a dry lot (or two) made with a compacted aggregate of your choosing, grid stabilizers too if you can afford them, which I’d expect to use a LOT in November - February, and probably exclusively use March-May. Literally the knee-deep mud of spring in the midwest is one of many reasons I chose to move to Florida to buy my first farm. It will be a particular issue at gates and areas of congregation, like water troughs and feeders. I’d put down mats in these areas.

[2DogsFarm]

@candyappy

Well that explains it. I would rather they come in to poo, then they don’t have places they won’t eat because of the designation of “bathroom area.”

:rolleyes: Well… since I’m the one who ends up picking (I kid you not) as many as 10 piles of varying sizes from a single stall, I would prefer them to create the inedible roughs outside.
When I mowed pasture (have since left that to annual bushhogging by neighbor) I just mowed the roughs along with their freight of manure down. I called it “mulching”

[TheJenners]

@wildlifer

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.

This. My farm owns me for several months out of the year, but that’s because I do enjoy a nicely mown yard and have a large garden, and landscape plants (plus chickens and dogs). I have nine acres but keep almost four in hay to cut down what I need to deal with - someone else does the hay and I usually get like 60 cents a bale when it’s all said and done (400 bales this year! I got a grill!). Plus no more big projects, arena was done this year. I do have the fencing to fence the lower bit and think if I threw a shelter down there, and fenced the bottom 2.5 acres, I could board a couple horses… but then I think of what candyappy said and go naaahhhh.

@candyappy

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.

[Weezer]

It sounds like I am the one person who is happy with my boarder! Sure, there were some frustrating times of adjustment for both of us, but it’s been working out really well for several years. I posted an ad for board for a retired horse and was clear to everyone who came to see the place that their horse would be treated like family but the facilities are basic and they would be expected to help out and take responsibility for their horse on occasion. Several people walked away before I found a laid-back boarder who fit in beautifully.

I do agree with the statement that you will fill your barn to capacity so get rid of extra stalls!! I built a small barn with three stalls so I would not have room to take in that sorry rescue pony, etc.

One more tip - make friends with your neighbours! There will be times when you will need their help and chasing a loose horse through their yard is an awkward first meet!

What an exciting time for you!

[ayrabz]

I’m afraid I’m in the ‘no to boarders’ crowd. Your spot is going to be specific to manage for the horses you DO have. But what I would? consider if it fell in my lap…was a friend who may not have her own horse right now…or maybe even a farm sitter you enjoy/like…(believe me, start looking NOW…you will have times you’ll need one) If you wanted your other horse groomed or ridden per your schedule, per your time /days insistance, per your rules PERIOD. not them paying board. as in: if its convenient for you one day, fine. If not, then not. You may enjoy a horse pal sometimes, and some help once in awhile.