Does anyone board part-time

[longlanefarm]

Does anyone board part of the year and have their horses home other parts of the year? Perhaps home in the winter and boarding Spring/Summer/Fall? Or just boarding for a few months at a time and home the rest of the time?

What are you reasons for doing so? Does anyone do this and not show?
Do you do training board? Weekly lessons? Training rides? How does your horse do with this set up?

I’m trying to see if this might a good option for me. I would like to get a new greenie horse in the spring/summer and but debating between trailering in every week vs boarding part of the year (for at least one year to build a solid foundation and perhaps more training rides).

I’ve never done such a thing before (only boarding OR home, never splitting time). My trainer is fine with the idea (actually suggested it), I’m just trying to hear of others experiences.

[GoodTimes]

Yup. My horse is boarded year round, but my mom’s horse and the yearling that we jointly own are at my parents farm from April - Nov and then they come to the barn that my horse is at for the winter. They live just over an hour from me, if they were closer I would likely keep my horse at my parents for the summer and board for the winter as well.
My mom doesn’t have an indoor at her farm and they usually go away for a few months at some point during the winter so it’s easier. During the summer she’s able to ride whenever she wants, the horses are out on grass 24/7 unless the bugs are really bad so “barn chores” are minimal, and she can trailer out to lesson if she wants.

She doesn’t show, but when her horse was younger she would ride him at home and I showed him in the AA’s.

Nowadays winter is his down time. My mom will drive down and we’ll ride together one day on the weekend. I’ll ride him one or two more days during the week to keep him going for her. Last winter my horse was off for 6 weeks so my moms horse got a bit of a boot camp with me.

It’s somewhat common in Canada for people who have their horses at home to board for the winter or at least one or two months in the spring before show season starts back up. I know people who ride in the snow on the weekends and then trailer to an arena after work one or two days per week, but that’s a lot of work and stress with bad weather in the winter.

[sophie]

My horse used to be boarded at a friend’s backyard barn where there was an outdoor ring that would freeze solid in winter or be covered in feet of heavy wet snow.
So, said friend and I boarded our horses for the winter months at an indoor, because our horses were young Ottbs who needed to be worked (or else…!). It was just easier to board there than have to trailer over in wintry conditions.

[leheath]

Lots of people in my area board in the winter to take advantage of an indoor arena and then move their horses home for the summer when an indoor arena isn’t needed for consistent riding opportunities. This includes people who are competitive and/or in training programs as well as those who don’t show and just ride for fun. Most of the seasonal boarders take at least some lessons while boarding, but probably aren’t in a full “training program.” I board year-round but move to a dressage barn in the winter (with the nicest indoor and dressage lessons, but no turnout other than a run for my horse) and a more jumping oriented barn (with a huge outdoor, jumping lessons, and great turnout for my horse) in the summer. My horse has never seemed bothered by the change of venue and is comfortable and happy in both facilities (but loves her summer turnout). I’m an eventer who hates trailering for lessons, so this is the best compromise situation for me and my horse.

With a green horse, I would 100% board at least for the first year to get a good foundation with consistent work and help easily available if you need it. However, if you are super committed to regular trailering and your weather is generally cooperative, then you could probably do it from home, but it will be tougher, IMO.

[walkinthewalk]

I am a trail rider. Now that I am retired but my arthritis has not, I would definitely board during the winter if I still lived on the OH/PA boarder — provided I had access to an ethical boarding facility:)

[horsepoor]

I’m doing so now - I only have an outdoor ring and between the rain and the wind, I don’t get to use it much in winter. I want to be able to ride and so the two rideable horses are going to stay at a boarding barn for most if not all of the winter. It is a pain to have to make the drive (about 45 min each way on bad roads with crazy drivers), but if I want to keep riding, this is what I have to do. We’re actually using this winter to decide if we stay in our present home and cover my arena, or move, preferably to an area more conducive to horse keeping.

[quietann]

It’s very common where I am (New England). There are boarders who go south for the winter at a lot of the “fancy” barns with indoors, and their places are often occupied by others, especially pleasure riders who want to ride year-round, while they are gone. On either side of this, it pays to have a very clear contract specifying move-in/move-out dates, whether the one who is gone for the winter needs to pay a fee to keep the stall for when they return, etc. My current barn charges a dry stall fee – half of board – to “hold” a stall over the winter, but if there is a “subleaser” so to speak, the fee is dropped to $100/month.

[walktrot]

Our barn generally has a few winter boarders, in part because they can ride in the indoor. It keeps the horse in shape and training can continue. The other appeal is that you can close your barn for the winter and take a break from the chores. The BO isn’t under pressure to keep the stalls filled year-round because the mortgage was paid off a few years ago, so there usually are a few empty stalls. We have one person who brought her gelding over in the fall a couple of years ago and is still there. The horse had a serious infection and she needed additional help with treatment and medications because she still works. She has boarded there before, but I think she has found life a whole lot easier, and there are a couple of people who can ride him during the week.

[Obsidian_Fire]

Yes, when I was much younger, before I had kids. There was a group of us gals, friends, one had a barn & property with an outdoor arena and we all boarded with her. Except in the winter when it’s so wet & dark that riding outside just isn’t happening. We either boarded out for the winter, or hauled down the road to a local indoor.
Horses didn’t care and we were all over the map in re: to level of training, who showed and who didn’t, etc.

It can work out very well.