Tell me the pros and cons. Tell me ALL about it 
The good, the bad and the ugly! Was it worth it financially? Are you able to ride more? Less? Do you get lonely/bored/lazy? Best question - Would you do it again?
Oh lawd⊠do a search! Each thread is either a âdonât do it, a lot of workâ Negative Nancy thread, or a âbest thing everâ Sunshine Sally thread :lol:
HahahaâŠcan I be both? If anything it is MORE expensive as an overall matter. Donât do this as a money saver unless you already live on horse property. Just the land and facilities doubled my purchase price. You can board a long time before spending $300k.
But I wouldnât trade having my horses at home for anything. And I love that the variable costs are lowerâŠI feel no guilt about keeping my retirees and raising a baby. So I can make sure my old guys have the end they deserve, and can buy young and raise it cheaper than I could buy, say, a four year old already going of the same quality (hay is super affordable here). Plus I feel like I bond with my horses far more when I see them daily. I love the close connection to their wellbeing that gives.
I ride more than when I boarded three seasons a year, but in winter, less because I donât have an indoor and we have a lot of snow.
I never get bored but I have never been one to chat and ride. I find it annoying when people chat at me when I am trying to ride. I do love to talk horses but have a fantastic boarder I can talk/text about our horses regularly. And COTH.
[QUOTE=TheJenners;8905428]
Oh lawd⊠do a search! Each thread is either a âdonât do it, a lot of workâ Negative Nancy thread, or a âbest thing everâ Sunshine Sally thread :lol:[/QUOTE]
Thatâs too funny. Ok I will search away.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8905433]
HahahaâŠcan I be both? If anything it is MORE expensive as an overall matter. Donât do this as a money saver unless you already live on horse property. Just the land and facilities doubled my purchase price. You can board a long time before spending $300k.
But I wouldnât trade having my horses at home for anything. And I love that the variable costs are lowerâŠI feel no guilt about keeping my retirees and raising a baby. So I can make sure my old guys have the end they deserve, and can buy young and raise it cheaper than I could buy, say, a four year old already going of the same quality (hay is super affordable here). Plus I feel like I bond with my horses far more when I see them daily. I love the close connection to their wellbeing that gives.
I ride more than when I boarded three seasons a year, but in winter, less because I donât have an indoor and we have a lot of snow.[/QUOTE]
Yeah it is that whole âOMG I just spent a sh!tload of money on acreage and a trailerâ and it cost more than my really nice subdivision home with custom everything and a pool LOL I have done self care and worked as a barn manager/assistant trainer. I am familiar with the work but not with the difference of having them at home financially. And if that would lead to me wanting to board by the first wet season.
I am 85% in âItâs the best thing Iâve ever doneâ camp. We bought land with an existing barn and rehabbed the pastures and put up new fencing; hubby wanted a big tractor with an FEL and attachments to support his hobbies as well so we did that right away - for us, it was a big cost savings.
I keep 2 horses and a small pony at home for around 6K a year, including vet and farrier. NOT each, thatâs all expenses for all of them. No way I could do that boarding, even self care board. I couldnât have three if I were boarding, even DIY boarding.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats seeing them in the pasture in the morning or when I drive in the driveway in the evening. Nothing beats knowing that they are cared for exactly the way I want.
The 15%? No barn social group, no riding buddies. Wasnât such a big deal when I started 9 years ago, but now my horses are hopelessly buddy bound to each other, and itâs a pain to take one out without the other. Would love to have some easily available built in riding buddies.
So, a couple of things to consider - how much does land cost in a commutable distance to you? And how big a farmette can you afford?
How competent are you with farm work? Driving a tractor, mowing, grading, weedeating, etc.? Have you ever done all your own horse care before?
What are your riding goals? Are they compatible with keeping horses at home, or do you need access to trainers, rings, a network of riding friends?
How frustrated are you with the standard of care with your boarding and how badly do you want to turn out, feed hay and bed stalls to your heartâs content?
How important is a ring and footing to you? Thatâs the financial dealbreaker a lot of times; putting in a decent arena surface of any size costs serious $$$. One of the reasons I am able to do it so cheaply is Iâm content with a few jump standards and poles in a flat spot in the pasture with good turf; it youâre not, it changes the numbers rapidly.
The amount of land you can afford and maintain changes the equation too - my old next door neighbor kept two horses on a tiny farmette, with about 1 1/2 acre paddock. She spent more keeping her horses at home than she did boarding, because she was spending a fortune on bedding, hay and paddock maintenance.
When she moved to a larger place with decent pasture, and room to store hay and bedding in bulk so she could buy in quantity, her costs fell to way below boarding cost.
Lots to consider, and YMMV.
ETA: Sorry, I see you answered the horse and farm care experience question before I posted.
Hi
I am weighting the same things right now. What I worry about is I will be priced out of being able to keep my horse with the cost of board raising. Where I am i think I cane get a few acres and put a barn up (small homemade typeâŠI am in Florida) for under 200K and board is around 400 a month ⊠that could go a long way on my own mortgage, but i love the company at the barn and the nice facilities that I wonât be able to affordâŠughâŠsuch thing to think about
I could NEVER go back to boarding now that Iâve had them at home! Yes, upfront costs are WAYYYYY more than youâd probably ever spend boarding - barn, fencing, paddocks, arenas all add up quick! But, my monthly cost to feed and care for them is substantially less than when I boarded. But, youâre obviously not âpayingâ yourself to take care of them every day, either
I do have one boarder, and what I charge her happens to cover the cost of hay, grain, and shavings for my other two horses, so thatâs a win-win! Plus, it gives me a social outlet and someone to ride with and talk horses with!
As for riding, I do ride less than I did when I boarded. At first, I didnât have a ring (big mistake, if youâre moving your horses home make sure you have a good place to ride or itâll make you regret your decision pretty quick!) and it sucked. It was winter so I had to haul to my trainerâs to ride which was a pain. Now, I have a nice ring but still donât ride quite as often because some days chores will consume your life For example, the other day we had the vet out, farrier out, a hay delivery, and I had to mowâŠso riding gets put on the back burner. But, I also have the ability to hop on a horse whenever I darn well please, so really, chores are no excuse. I just get lazy :lol:.
You mentioned possibly boarding during the wet seasonâŠI would absolutely recommend you board too, unless you have a nice all weather arena AND a sacrifice paddock with good footing at your place. Otherwise, youâll be miserable trying to trek through mud all winter and having nowhere to ride. Been there, done that, it sucks.
That being said, having my horses at home makes me truly happy. I wake up before my alarm every morning because Iâm excited to see their sweet faces. Chores become a relaxing routine and my barn has become my happy place, I wouldnât trade all the work for anything! I love having them home!
we went from boarding to keeping 2 years ago and no regrets. DH and I had talked about âsomedayâ having our own farm, and then when we had the opportunity to rent a very small place, we thought it would be a good opportunity to test the idea out. Less than a year later, we committed and bought our own place.
The not-so-good:
- If you want lessons, youâll have to haul out or find someone willing to come to you (be prepared to pay more). some trainers treat their haul-in students as second class citizens, and clearly prefer their program clients.
- Itâs a lot of work. Even with a smart, efficient set up, there are always chores to do. You have to prioritize riding if that is important to you (lots of threads on this)
- Buying/building the infrastructure you need to have aforementioned smart, efficient setup is $$$$$. I could pay full board for a long time with a good trainer if I factored how much my 30-year mortgage for the farm is costing me.
- You are tied to the farm. If you donât enjoy a lot of social life, vacations, etc, or if you have $$$ to pay barn help, youâll be fine. But if you really enjoy spending lots of nights with friends or taking in the city, youâll be frustrated by having to rush back to the barn to feed, turn in/out, etc.
- Thereâs no one to rely on handling vet emergencies/after care besides you. So if Dobbin colics, youâre the one out hand walking in 25 degrees and sleet. Or doing all the 3x/day rebandaging, or whatever.
The good:
- It is def cheaper to keep horses (per horse) once the infrastructure is there. So for us, we were maxed out boarding 2-3, but now that we have pastures and barn and run in sheds, we have a place for retirees, soft landing/rescues, and breeding (we now have all of the above in addition to our original 4 horses)
- It is priceless to see them grazing out back. YOU make the choices about what kind of food and how much. What blanket if any you want on, and countless other details including how clean do you really want your stalls (funny thread on that a week or so agoâŠ)
- More time spend with horses than driving back and forth to the barn
- Easy to go back and do something later (like ride a shaggy horse in the winter and instead of hanging out at the barn for an hour waiting for them to dry enough to blanket, you can throw a cooler on, and then come back out later after your dinner to brush and blanket)
- You have more alone time. Some people dislike this, as they miss the social atmosphere of the barn. But if youâre tired of sharing a small ring with lesson students, or a yahoo, or just too many other good riders to be able to concentrate on your ride, then having your own ring is fantastic.
- You get to know your horses better. Seeing their habits, how they spend their day, how the interact with other horses and their environment all give you more insight into their personality and preferences, and more warning if something is brewing and just NQR.
- Similarly, you will learn more horsemanship skills. And Handyman skills. And Agricultural Expert skills.
- You can bring your dog(s) to the barn. (some commercial stables allow this, but many do not, and my dogs LOVE having the farm to run and play.)
I think a HUGE delineator between people who love it vs hate is their location and their setup:
- I have had horses at home in places with real winters. I would not do that againâI would board somewhere with an indoor and staff to shovel out all the doors and gates.
- If you live in a horsey area, youâll have access to skilled horse-sitters, vets, trainers and farriers. Youâll find farriers who are willing to come out to trim 2 horses, and youâll have access to quality lessons and clinics so your skills donât plateau.
- If you have a very backyard setup with no formal place to ride, or no barn with adequate tack storage and amenities, you wonât be happy. If you have a smart setup so it minimize the time daily chores take so you have time to ride, youâll be happier. If you are stuck in a small, dark, muddy facility with no place to ride and no relief from constant repairs and labor, you wonât be happy.
- If riding is important to you, factor in a place, drainage, footing first. When you have 100 chores to do, ride first, then start on the chores (obviously not including emergency fence repairs, water, etc). There will always be work to do, but if you make riding one of the âmust-dosâ, youâll be much happier and not nearly as frustrated as OPs in other threads. I ride as much or more with horses at home, but with no indoor, Iâm impacted more by bad weather.
-It is MUCH easier to have horses at home if you have a supportive, better yet, helpful, partner. If DH/DW doesnât like horses, and will resent the look/smell/flies at home, or get mad/jealous at how much time you spend out in the barn, your home life will suffer. Some relationships need the delineation between Home and Barn. Make sure any SO is on board.
I love having my herd at home. But itâs not for everyone, and itâs certainly a lot of money to get the endeavor off the ground. For me, itâs worth it and looking out my window and seeing the grazing the sun, is priceless and worth the work and sacrifice.
Sorry that ended up being a lot. If you read the whole thing, congrats, and feel free to PM if you specific questions. There are a lot of farmette owners here, and lots of suggestions on materials/costs/setups.
ETA: this is the link to my blog where I mused about farmettes. A lot of the same stuff as above, but some different.
http://elementfarm.blogspot.com/#!/2016/09/horse-keeping-at-home-some-thoughts.html
is the farm thing going to be in the Celina area?
fire ants are pretty interesting to deal with and the clay soil is either harder than concrete or slick⊠also many of those wide open flat areas flood ⊠then there is the wind⊠unless its summer when its 110F then everything bakes, sort of like being in a convection oven I think
I love it, and would do it again. I have three horses now, and we are on our way to having two more, so In just a few years the cost savings of having them at home will outweigh the extra 100-150k we spent over a smaller property. Because I have grass pastures, from May to October I donât feed hay, and I barely feed any grain, so I probably spend 50$ a month to feed and house three horses :eek: The amount of time it takes each day for me to clean the stalls and feed is equal to the time it took me to drive to the boarding barn. I ride way more. It is so convenient to have them right out there, and when I had a private arena (we have a shared community one now) I didnât feel that the upkeep of the ring was very difficult. I also like knowing it is mine. I am not going to show up to the barn and find out i canât ride because there are lessons going on in the ring.
It is so much easier having them at home. One of my horses colicked over the weekend, and instead of sleeping in the hayloft three nights in a row at a boarding barn, I could deal with it at home. Forget something in your house? Well, just walk back inside. Have exactly 45 min to get a ride in? no problem, I have time.
I also forgot, I love having neighbors far away, and I love being on a big piece of land. I have deer to watch, and an owl who lives in the tree behind the house. There are bats everywhere. My dogs are in heaven, they have a ton of room to run around and smell things and have a good time.
Well Iâm sitting here, reading this and playing games on the computer. In a few minutes Iâll walk outside and put the OTTB in his hay paddock (Disgruntled fat Pone is in another pasture) TB is finishing grain and alfalfa in his stall.
It takes him a good hour to eat Dinner1.0, but I donât have to leave him locked in all night for the rest of the hay, Dinner 2.0. My stall cleaning is 5% of the time and 5% of the shavings when I boarded.
Soon his run shed will be built and a new door to outside cut. So dinner will take as little time as I want it to. But right now Iâm happy to make 2 trips outside. Remember when you were a little kid, this is what I dreamed of.
The dog keeps nudging my arm, he has a clock in his head and says its time to let the boy out. The dog loves life here (except for that time with the gunshot wound and all thatâŠ) 
OK Iâm back. So, is this something you might like?
I do prefer alone time, if you donât that could be a deal breaker for you.
Read everything Elementfarm said, sheâs spot on.
Youâre getting great advice. I know a lot of people who have their horses at home and ride less - they never seem to get to it. Youâve got to really plan to ride and have a place to ride and be ok with riding alone and not having social time at the barn. You can do some things to make horsekeeping easier, but you will also have to deal with unexpected emergencies. If youâre in a horsey area and can find someone who can help out in an emergency (or maybe you can even find someone to regularly helpâout one day a week) life will be bettter. Do you travel much? Will you be able to find a farm sitter? They can be quite expensive. Itâs not a bad idea to have one boarder who helps with expenses or work, but technically you need insurance in that situation
As far as cost, it depends what youâll need to invest to build your facilities and buy equipment. Do you need a tractor? Will you be fencing many acres? How will you get rid of manure? Do you need a spreader or haul away service? Do you have rooom to store hay and bedding?
How many horses would you have? One would be lonely and need a friend. Two would become to attached to each other. Will one horse be ok home alone while you take the other one somewhere?
As was said before, read all the previous discussions on this topic. The same thoughts come out over and over again. It is a tremendous amount of responsibility and commitment but it is true that thereâs nothing like being the last one to see your horse every night and the first one to see him in the morning!
If you do it, I hope you have willpower or a really good intervention team.
Pennywell Bay, sad-case horse/pony collector âCome Live at My Farm Foreverâ tattooed on her forehead
One year ago this week we bought our farmette, so his has been my first year with living in the country and having horses home. So here are my impressions after year one:
Itâs definitely cheaper to board, no matter what you pay. Land is super expensive here, so there was a huge outlay of money to buy the farm. We occasionally hire help with the hard physical work, so thatâs an expense. Also, new tractor, zero turn mower, and UTV for farm chores. Donât forget the second horse to keep your current horse company:)
You are more tied to the farm, so traveling or going out is more of a production and, again, more expensive since you will need farm sitters.
You will spend more time alone - this can be good or bad.
The above notwithstanding, I love, love, LOVE having my horses at home. I even love all of the associated barn chores. This has been my dream since I was a little girl and Iâm finally living it. This is one case of the reality being better than the dream.
I love living in the country and having space around me.
I love sitting on the front porch and watching my horses graze while I drink a glass of wine.
I love caring for my horses and having total control of their care.
I love that my horses come to the fence to stare into my back French doors if they are impatient for their meals.
So, it is more expensive, more work, but is worth it for me. YMMV.
if you are looking in the Celina area do some research on the proposed extensions of the Dallas North Toll Road through that area⊠well any area north of US380.
I was on the North Texas Council of Governors back several (well many) years ago and several proposed routes ran through the Celina
With the direction Dallas is rapidly expanding if you are in that area you would soon become like what happened to us, we got surrounded by the city.
http://www.co.grayson.tx.us/users/RMA/ProposedThoroughfareResolution.pdf
and page 9 of this has the east-west proposed routes of the outer-outer loops
http://www.nctcog.org/trans/spd/roadway/oloop/rol_executivesummarynov2011.pdf
looking at you board ID name, would you be working at Legacy Dr in Plano?
Everything McGurk & ElementFarm said :yes:
Iâve been at this (solo) for 12yrs & would not go back to boarding.
Iâd probably be the Boarder From Hell if I did.
I had done some WS time, so I did not go into it clueless.
And the RE Boom let me sell my Big City 2-flat for enough to buy 5ac with a decent house, then build my own barn w/attached indoor.
I was mortgage-free for the first 5yrs - then refi deals got me.
I still owe less than 1/4 what the house/land is appraised by the County (for taxes).
And, unlike some, I have never been a prisoner of the farm.
The first few years neighbors did my farmsitting, then a couple of paid farmsitters & finally the guy who is a partner in my local feedstore.
He didnât want to charge me, but I refuse to have someone visit 2X daily for nothing - so we settled on $20/day < MAJOR Bar-gain!
My horses are out 24/7 with free access to stalls, so no turnout/bring in is needed, but farmsitter also has to care for a small flock of chickens & barn cat.
Still, Iâve manged to take at least one annual trip - to visit friends or family (East & West Coast) even for some Euro vacations. Longest time away was 10 days in China.
Many long weekends too. Good neighbors fill in on those, so no $$ needed.
I feed for them on occasion, so we look out for each other.
Winter can be a B-yotch here in the Midwest.
But itâs something I can still manage, even if I donât like it.
Same Good Neighbors plow my driveway & a path to the barn so Iâve been able to get by w/o a tractor. Riding mower tows a dumpcart & it suffices.
As much as I covet a subcompact with a FELâŠ
I do make riding a priority over chores.
And Iâve been fortunate to find a great trainer who comes to my place.
I average 2 lessons a month, depending on both our schedules.
I rarely miss having riding buddies.
In exchange for a drama-free barn & a chance to know my horses intimately I can give that up.
And a neighbor I met about 3yrs ago, just down the road fills the spot nicely.
She generously loaned me her pony to drive at Fair & her TB to ride in lessons when my own WB was lame.
She now shares my trainer.
When I need to Talk Horse, sheâs there, when I need Me Horse Time I have it.
I think it depends on a few things.
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What kind of boarding is available in your area? What is your weather like? Do you need a heated indoor or are you happiest trail riding? Is there safe, good boarding available for a reasonable price?
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How much money do you have? How much time do you have? If you donât have a lot of time do you have money to hire people or buy the equipment needed to make your life easier? How expensive is land and homes in your area?
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Are you a competitive rider thriving in a busy training and social program or a DIY enthusiast who likes solitude?
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Strongly agree with Element Farm on considering what your SO thinks. At least if you want to stay together. For the first three years my SO was pretty unhappy with our fixer-upper. We couldnât immediately afford an equivalent house with land and had to buy a fixer upper to move out of town. He resented it, and the additional drive, even though he didnât think he would initially. He has summers off and drives into town every single day to go work out, be social and escape the country. We put a lot more miles on vehicles living out here. He does not help with daily chores, but is willing to put up hay, mow and weed wack occasionally & help with building projectsâwhich is a pretty big deal.
I have my own acreage. Iâm probably going to board my younger mare starting next month though so I have access to an indoor. This leaves a weanling and old horse at home, along with my donkeys. I like that I can breed occasionally (a passion of mine) and retire oldsters. My horses live out 24x7 with run-ins, but the reality is my horse life wonât be complete until I get an all-weather, awesome footing riding arena at home with lights and a tractor/fancier-than-my-current-chain drag. Our weather and riding on grass just isnât cutting it for me. My goal is to get the sub-base and base done next year.
Itâs been a 4 year process to do everything from scratch (including fixing the house). If I had started with an additional 200k in checking right off the bat my life would have been better. Our acreage market has boomed in the last five years, so at least if I want to sell I will make a profit.
