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Anxiety about bringing horse home

Around The Farm
#1

I’ve been around horses for most of my adult life but have always boarded until now. The boarding barns in my area have gotten so expensive, it was either get my own place or get out of horses, so here I am about to buy a small farmette and bring my horse home. I am excited and terrified at the same time. I’m not exactly young, but I’m pretty sure I can handle the work if I keep everything very small scale. I’m just freaking out a bit about stuff I might not be considering. I have some help from nearby friends, but they have their own places, so they’ll be busy with their own farms.

The place is 3 acres, 2.5 of which will be for the horses. There’s a two stall shed barn on the property. I’ll have to put fencing back up, locate a hay supplier, grain, shavings, etc and then I can bring him home. I do plan on getting a second riding horse once I’ve got my routine down since my current horse will only be rideable for a few more years, but in the meantime he will need a buddy. How do I go about finding a buddy horse who won’t flip out every time I take him off property? If I added a third, that would run both the cost and work up, so I’m really trying to stay to one. I’m weary of posting an ad looking for a companion horse and end up with some high maintenance, fence breaking, pain in the ass terrorizing my sweet boy. I could really use some advice on how to do this and any encouragement from those of you who have made this move.

#2

How about about instead of another horse, you consider a donkey, or a pony? (Or a pair of them?) Maybe even a goat?

A herd of two horses is tough. A good donkey may be less likely to turn into a herdbound idiot. A pair is an even better bet. And maybe is in line, cost wise, as one full sized horse?

7 Likes
#3

My horse is terrified of donkeys so that’s out. I don’t think my fencing will be goat proof enough. Maybe a second horse and a mini might work.

#4

All horses are different. When I used to board and had 2 horses, I kind of had them in my own pasture. (I was really the only one who rode every single day, so the BO let me have the close easy-access pasture. Now, my horses could sometimes still see the other horses but not always. For years, I caught both horses, and rode one while the other was tied to the trailer … which various horses!

Usually, it was Red and Shotgun. But then Shotgun was hurt for a while so I had Red and Romeo. Then I sold Romeo and the next year Red got hurt, so it was Dexter and Shotgun. LOL. So multiple combinations of two horses of they did just fine. When we finally got our own place, I just had Red and Shotgun and there were NO other horses anywhere nearby. Again, I would tie one to the trailer while I rode the other. They learn patience pretty quickly!

Now I’ve got 4 horses so pretty rare that anyone is alone. I have, on occasion, left one at home if I had to run the other three elsewhere. In that case, I put the one who will stay home alone in the round pen (safe spot).

So my long winded explanation is find whatever you need to for a companion animal (whether that’s another horse, or a mini, or whatever) and you’ll make it work and it’ll be fine!

Congrats on getting your own place!

1 Like
#5

I’ve worked through herd bound issues with my 5yo mare and 1yo filly by giving the one who gets left behind lots of extra alfalfa to munch on. The one left behind will hoot and holler but settle down once we’re out of ear/ eyeshot. Neither have issues being the one taken out.

Congrats on the farmette! It’s amazing having them home. Tons of work but soon it will be your new normal and you won’t blink twice at it. You’re going to get to know your horses so much better when you interact with them multiple times a day, every day vs. a few times a week. I’ve grown a lot in my own horsemanship too.

If you have the space and budget, buy a year’s worth of hay at once. It was one of the smartest things we did when we bought our farmette last summer. Makes life a lot easier when you’re not worrying about hay every few months.

4 Likes
#6

IMO you can’t. You just can’t be certain about how two horses will or won’t react being together 24/7 and then separated for events. You can guess the likely outcome is Buddy sourness (not always though!).

For the poster who said their horses were fine when tied to the trailer, I’ll add caution. It sounds like their horses could still see each other while being ridden (unsure if one was ever hauled out while the other stayed behind which is the real concern IMHO).

I had two at home for 4 years. Frankly it’s a PITA. Riding one at home in view of the other was fine. Taking one horse “away” on trails (riding at home out of sight of other horse) would result in some or more carrying on by the horse left behind and less attentiveness from the one being ridden. Taking one away to a show and leaving the other behind was okay - there would be a big fit by Mrs left behind for about 30min max. It likely helped a lot that the one always left behind lived at home by herself for a year AND was the old, most retired horse. I think my young horse probably would have gone through or over the fence (not due to more anxiety just because the older was more lazy).

It’s not impossible by any means but it can certainly be more inconvenient than you may like - one of mine was hospitalized, then on stall rest for a long while. I honestly don’t remember how we got through it. I think I ended up stalling both horses because they would both be upset if one was in and the other out which meant twice as much stall cleaning as was truly necessary.

2 Likes
#7

Where did you store that much hay? I was thinking of adding a separate shed for hay storage, but I doubt I’d be able to have more than 3 months on hand at any time. There is a hay loft over the shed barn, but I just don’t see myself being able to climb a ladder and dead lift 50lb bales.

#8

Our barn is 60 or 70ft long. If you split it into thirds looking at it north to south, the western most 1/3rd is the tack/feed room and their two stalls, then the 2/3rd is the center aisle. The eastern most 3/3rd is 15% grooming/tacking area and 85% hay storage. There’s also technically two lofts, one over the back ~20% of the hay storage and one over the back ~25% of the center aisle, but we don’t use either of them.

Our barn is very tall and I don’t know how wide. We are able to stack the hay probably 7-10 bales tall and 5 bales wide.

We’ll be putting stall number three in what’s currently hay storage and rebuilding the lofts so they’re safe to use and expanding them over most of the center aisle.

I would for sure try to swing a shed to maximize your hay storage if you can. It’s seriously a huge weight off my shoulders not having to worry about hay.

#9

Re: dead lifting bales… the muscles come quick!

1 Like
#10

I don’t think you ever know for sure if a pair of horses will bond into herdbound ninnies until you put them together. Even the most secure and independent horse can meet a friend who becomes their everything. :woman_shrugging:

I’ve seen several organizations advertising creative companion horse or foster situations. For example, SRF has the CHAPS program where they give you a (very) small annual stipend to take on a pasture sound only horse. Many organizations pay part or all of the expenses for a foster. That might be a way to bring a companion home without a lifelong commitment for when your situation changes.

6 Likes
#11

I recently (last July) brought horses home to my new to me property which was previously set up for horses/livestock but needed some work. It has been a learning curve and a lot of work but so much fun. There is nothing like seeing your horses outside your window and getting to spend so much time with them.

A few things that I have really enjoyed about my set up and some things I have learned along the way:

  • They have a 1 acre pasture with their shed, hay, etc. which is connected to a 3 acre pasture where they get turned out during the day when not too muddy. Having the pastures connected makes it so easy to bring them in (they usually wander back themselves for dinner).

  • Having a holding pen inside the main pasture. This allows me to separate my horses for feeding time, and because both feeding stations are accessible from outside the fence, they can be fed without any handling involved which is really nice for when someone needs to watch them.

  • Automatic waterers - hate them right now because with our -15 degree weather I have had some freezing issues, but for most of the year they are great and the horses love having cool, fresh water.

  • I agree about buying as much hay as you can - but definitely try some before committing to a whole load. I made the mistake of buying some right off the field and it ended up being weedy/poor quality. It took me a few tries to find good quality hay and when I did - I bought all that he had.

  • Make a drainage plan and really think about mud management. This is something I am hoping to tackle this summer. It is amazing how much just 2 horses can tear up and destroy pastures when they are wet. I am planning on putting in some kind of gravel for heavily trafficked areas to try to cut down on the mud.

As for the companion horse, I was in that exact same situation and I adopted a BLM mustang. Obviously it’s not for everyone given the fencing requirements and training involved - but the adoption fee is $125 and after a year the BLM pays you $1k. My guy has worked out great, he’s pretty low maintenance and such a sweet, fun horse to have around. However - I have no answer to the buddy sour issue and if you figure it out, please let me know :sweat_smile:. My guys are inseparable and it is inconvenient.

One other thing to keep in mind with a companion - ideally try to consider dietary needs. Having an easy keeper mustang with a thoroughbred has been a bit of a pain - manageable because I can separate them for meals but hay wise they kind of have to be on the same program.

6 Likes
#12

I used to know someone who three horses, two ‘campaign’ horses to show (a veteran and a greenie) and an ancient retiree Companion Horse (in this case the aging horse from her youthful days).

She would take all three of them to show or to school off-property. The Companion Horse stayed on the comfortable trailer, eating, of course. She rode one campaign horse at a time, while the other stayed with the Companion.

If it was an overnight / multi-day affair, there were 3 stalls and Companion came with. Same arrangement.

Companion could of course get out for a walk or a graze when the two campaign horses were chilling together at the trailer or the stalls.

I’ve heard of other people with a similar set-up with a pony. Or any calm, unbothered, copacetic equine in the role of Companion. A small enough pony could share a stall with a horse, so only two stalls needed. In fact, it can sometimes be surprising just how many companion horses are at a competition and aren’t there to show.

The one caveat is that they all have to get along, and be ok to stay at the trailer or stalls with their equine friend and little human supervision – especially the Companion. Sometimes our horses aren’t on board with our ideal vision of their reality.

#13

I also moved my horse home for the first time and had similar anxieties about finding a buddy. I initially put out feelers for a free lease for a mini or hardy pony. In addition to wanting to minimize buddy sourness, I also didn’t want anything too high maintenance and also wanted something safe that I wouldn’t have to worry about letting non horsey DH handle when I’m not around.

It took a few months and I passed on a few that were offered including a free lease on a donkey. I was very upfront that I was looking for something that wouldn’t get too upset being left behind several times a week. Eventually the right older pony came along and I bought him. I’d say it’s been as smooth as I could hope for.

Funny enough it’s my mare who gets the most upset when I take the pony away but all she really does is call a bit. Neither get worked up about being the one who leaves which I’m very grateful for.

The neighbours have horses whose pasture runs along mine so I expect that helps too. But as others have said, there’s no sure way to know how it will go when you put two horses together.

I also briefly considered taking on a boarder as a companion, but really didn’t want the added stress while I set my place up and figure out how I want to run things. And I will say I’m very glad I didn’t go that route to start.

2 Likes
#14

Depending on where you are, delivery with stacking in the loft may be an option.

I purchase all my hay for the year in one go. They bring an elevator (two actually) and put it in the loft for me.

Not having to worry about hay is huge hugs huge stress relief. And buying one time also allows me to target when a) I’m able to get the best price and b) when I’m able to get the best hay for my needs. There have definitely been bad hay years when there’s no second cut to be had after February.

2 Likes
#15

Just want to +1 this. I volunteer at an equine rescue that is always looking for foster farms. If it stops working, you can return your foster and I’m 99% sure the rescue covers non-routine veterinary expenses. It’s a much lower commitment than buying something.

2 Likes
#16

I think it is pretty normal for such a big and exciting change to cause lots of - what if - thinking.

I know horses are herd animals and prefer buddies but depending on your horse, it might work out fine to just have one horse at home.

This for sure, if you can figure out storage.

1 Like
#17

Horses are herd animals but don’t “need” a buddy so I wouldn’t add an extra mouth or extra responsibility right off the bat.

4 Likes
#18

You won’t know this until you have him home.
I boarded my TB for the first 15yrs I had him.
Before that he was at the track.
Never raced (too slow), but ponied for the husband/wife trainers I bought him from as a 6yo. So never in his life pastured solo.
He was always turned out with a small group of geldings & when it was just him & DH’s horse in a small pasture, there were always other horses in sight.
I brought him home along with my new (had him just 6mos) TWH.
Then I went camping for a weekend, taking the Walker.
I checked in with the farmsitter the first evening & she reported TB was fine, no sign of anxiety.
Same every time I left him Home Alone.
There’d be a Major arched-neck Sniff-fest when I brought his buddy home, but then back to normal.
OTOH, when TB had to overnight at the vet clinic, Walker spent the evening pacing the fenceline, calling.
It was Summer, my BR window was open, facing the barn/pastures & I could hear him.

This is my long way of saying your horse may be fine solo.
Or not.
You won’t know until you try.

At your new place, are there neighbors w/horses?
That may be sufficient.
My 2 geldings used to watch a neighbor’s mare in their pasture. A good 1/4 mile from my farm, but in sight.

ETA:
YES!
To buying your years’ worth of hay.
I buy 1st cutting orchard grass with some timothy & all 3 of mine are in great shape.
Verified by my vet.
Pony might be in too good shape :unamused:
Friend seeing him the 1st time asked “Is she in foal?”
No, just the World’s Roundest Hackney. :roll_eyes:
I store 300+ 45-50# small square bales inside my 36X36 pole barn. On pallets, one side of my aisle across from the stalls.
They take up a space 24’Lx12’Dx8’high

2 Likes
#19

Another vote for “trying” to keep just the one horse without saddling yourself with another. It may go just fine like that. If not, try a goat. Far cheaper, and can do the job well, if it works out.

Congratulations on the effort to do this. I’m one who has always done this, kept horses at home. And done all the work. Yes, if you use a hay dealer, they should unload and stack the hay into your barn for you… set it up so that it is easy to do this, if you can. If you buy hay directly from a hay farmer, it may be cheaper, but there is more work for you. Funny aside… we used to use hay dealers, but now make our own hay, so I pick up the small squares off the field, and stack them in the barn myself LOL. But I use a tractor to do this (to carry the bales off the field, and lift them onto the stack 5 at a time), so, although it takes a while… it isn’t hard to do. Our main crop is round baled, so that is all done with the big tractors.

I just wanted to say… don’t be afraid of the work. Work is GOOD for you. Work makes you strong and healthy. Lack of physical work makes you weak. Think of the money you save on a gym membership LOL.

Good luck!

5 Likes
#20

Around here that’s not the way it works.
Yes, some include unloading & stacking in the delivered price per bale. So cheaper if you unload/stack.
Others discount if you pick up from their storage, or unload & stack yourself.
Most prefer to unload & stack because they’re faster than the average horsekeeper :roll_eyes:
Added charge can be as high as $1/bale for delivery.

3 Likes

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