Purely hypothetical because I have had my own farm and horses for years but…
In a tight boarding market how does one buy a horse and find a place to keep said critter these days?
Back 30-something years ago when I bought my first horse there were several options and no hoops to jump through. Doesn’t seem like the case so much anymore with waiting lists, mandatory lessons in some instances and needing references and such…
I kept my gelding at the same barn for over 25 years, but always had an emergency backup list of places just in case the barn closed. I found these places by word of mouth, signs at local feed stores, etc. He was put down 3 years ago, and this spring I started lessons at a large lesson/training barn. Now I’m leasing a horse at that barn. This is a barn I would have never considered in the old days, but things change…
Since land is at a premium these days in certain areas, so many of the old farms/boarding stables are gone. They sold off years ago to housing/shopping center developers, or land became athletic fields for schools or parks that don’t allow horses, etc.
The barns that remain – again depending on where you are – are really at a premium too. They can do whatever they want to make money (mandatory lessons etc.) and will only take in boarders who can afford $$ their ‘program’.
Few and far between are the Lazy J type boarding stables that don’t care if you show – don’t care what your riding style is – don’t care what your ‘image’ is.
I have my own place too – have kept my horses at home for years – but I do miss boarding – like it was in the old days. It was fun.
Boarding was tight in my suburb even 40 years ago. I found an empty stall in a self-board backyard, and then had a month to buy a horse. It all worked out well!
These days in a tight market for a returning or beginning rider, I’d suggest taking lessons or leasing at a barn or barns, and then working towards full ownership with the guidance of the trainer or barn manager.
If you were coming in with a horse from another area, you’d probably want to contact all the likely barns well in advance of the move, just like you’d do for finding an apartment rental, and asking to be put on their waiting list.
In any case, even in a tight market there will be turnover, and there will be a little slack at the outer edges of a market, for instance when you get a little too far to be a reasonable drive for most people, but you can put a horse there on pasture for a month or two while you shop for a more reasonable location with full board and an arena.
Most people buy a horse in the barn they were raised in, then learn to grow. There are a lot of barns that start up-downers and have space for horses later. Or sell lesson horses to kids.
I can’t board that kind of rider because I am a private facility and need a fairly knowledgeable owner to make it work, but there are several such barns in my area.
ask your farrier about local barns, use farrier and vet as references. If you have not had a horse in a while, use your small animal vet for references.
In my area, first time horse owners often seem to make that purchase after already being established with a local trainer or having a relationship with a local barn (perhaps where they were leasing). Then, they board their new horse with the trainer.
As a BO I see that there are always new places cropping up that think that they can open and run a boarding stable for less than what the long term players charge. Most of those new places end up either deteriorating rapidly in terms of care/amenities or closing as the owners get a better feel for what it actually costs IRL to run a facility. I think a lot of new people also start out at places like this and then end up moving to better places as the opportunity arises.
I found a stall, put down a deposit and then informed DH that since I had a stall I had to find a horse. (Fortunately it was not a big surprise, just the timing of it was a little sooner than either of us had planned.)
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