Getting our own place vs boarding - with specifics

[fivestrideline]

Thank you all for the insight (and encouragement).

There’s a mini farm near us on the way to work that might be for lease as self-care. It had crossed my mind to “dip our toes” into the whole thing by leasing the little barn - the owners handle mowing/weeding/dragging/etc but the rest is on the renters. It would be a baby step, but also would set us back in savings due to monthly expenses. And I’d need to find a companion for my gelding (not actually that hard, to find a care lease/boarder).

I’m debating the merits of the additional cost at this time vs the ability to try things and have my NQR gelding close enough to work him myself. I already have the truck and trailer, and the place is 10 minutes from my house. Still, I’m not even sure it’s for rent at the moment.

[clanter]

given you may be short term of five years or less maybe a barn kit would be worthwhile as it could be disassembled to be taken with upon selling if specifically excluded in the listing?

We have a neighbor who has a MD Barn, if they wanted or needed it could be easily taken apart to be moved or sold separately

Barn Kits | Over 80 Floor Plans or Design Your Own | MDBarnmaster.com

[fivestrideline]

Now THAT is intriguing

[rulex]

@lenapesadie

The lifestyle I’m able to give my horses couldn’t be bought at any price at any commercial board barn. My homebred is turning 11 on 4/1 and this is the best life he’s ever lived. It shows under saddle.

This is the reason that I want to be able to bring my horse home. And seeing the options for board of any kind steadily dwindling over the years.

[lenapesadie]

Availability of at least acceptable boarding is a real concern.

I of course spend some time managing property but I’m not sitting in the truck for an hour to an hour and a half every time I want to see my horse either.

[candyappy]

@fivestrideline

I’m well aware that horse necessities are rarely good investments. Hence the idea that resale has to be a concern. I’d rather find a place already setup and just fix it up - but if I’m building it’ll be something that can be swapped into vehicle/boat storage and fencing that can contain dogs/goats/whatever!

We have had 5 farms so far that we ended up selling due to job transfers. Not 1 buyer purchased any of them to use as we did. However, having buildings that you can easily dismantle stalls/ pens-- making it usable for other things was a selling plus in our case.

I am always in favor of people keeping horses at home, especially when they have your experience in managing barns for others. The pros far outweigh any cons and you have plenty of time to think about what you would like to have once you find a place.

[FromTheGalaxy]

Not sure what either of your work situations are, I know you mentioned the possibility of having to move in the not-so-near future. I will say that having a flexible job makes keeping horses at home much easier. There will always be the mornings you wake up and a water line is busted, or a horse is colicy and you are the only one to fix/take care of it. My job let me work from home for a few years around COVID and it made taking care of the horses so nice. Now I have to commute to the office, but my start time is pretty flexible and my job allows me to take off for appointments and last minute emergencies very easily. If you have a position that has a strict schedule it may be hard and stressful to keep the horses at home and be their sole caretaker.

That being said I love love love having mine at home. The numbers have definitely multiplied (went from 2 when boarding to 5 with a 6th on the way ) There are for sure times during the dead of winter or the hottest times in summer when I wish I did not have to go out and take care of the horses. But the level of care I can provide myself is above and beyond any kind of care I’ve ever received while boarding.

[eponacelt]

We’ve now had our farm for 13 years. DH is not a horse person, but he sees the horses as large dogs who just don’t live in the house. He’s always been willing to help out with them, and while I don’t take advantage of it, having him know the routine and be able to take care of everything when I’m not home is criticially important. Also important - making sure every horse I bring home (and there have been a good number of them, but no more than 3 at a time) has good manners or has them installed upon arrival. We don’t tolerate difficult animals here.

For DH, the farm was a godsend. His hobby is cars, cars, cars, and more race cars. We now have 2 large garages on the farm that are more than twice the size of my barn. He has 4 lifts and I don’t even know how many cars. The move here was good for him and me.

That said, we agreed that we’d never let the farm become too all consuming. I still wanted to make riding my priority and he still wants time with the cars. And we want time to be together (he bought me my own race car, so now I go racing with him too!) This agreement has stood and we work together on the maintenance of the property - the fences, the barn, the mud management…all of it. If I had to do all of that alone, I wouldn’t be able to manage, purely from a time perspective. It also helps that he’s VERY handy and can keep all of our farm equipment running and in good working order.

Good luck with your decision! If I had to do it again, I would.

[fivestrideline]

That’s a good point about work - we both work steady in-person jobs (7-3:30 and 8:30ish-5ish), but SO has a kind of flexible schedule. It does make scheduling vet and farrier mildly difficult, but I have had luck hauling to my farrier’s house on the weekends and scheduling vet for the last appointment of the day.

[Jarpur]

@eponacelt

Also important - making sure every horse I bring home (and there have been a good number of them, but no more than 3 at a time) has good manners or has them installed upon arrival. We don’t tolerate difficult animals here.

Same here – I’ve never owned a difficult horse. Life is too short! Makes it so much easier to get volunteer help when needed, too.

We’ve had our own place for 25 years – my how time has flown. Had horses since childhood and boarded in many varying situations - pasture board, partial and full self-care, full board, paddock with run-in, no arena, outdoor arena, covered arena, wooden or metal barn, pole barn - so had a good idea of what was important to us. Good fences were number one.

Since one never knows when it might be necessary to have emergency coverage, I suggest having things set up so that a non-horsey, non-athletic person could easily throw hay and check water without requiring close interaction with the animals.

My husband was originally non-horsey (he grew to love them), but has his own somewhat pricey, time-consuming sport (golf), and grew up with a car guy dad working on Model A Fords, so possesses a certain base amount of handiness.

We broke even on the horse improvements (non-existent when we bought our place) faster than we thought we would. Not commuting out to a barn has been a significant savings in money and time – time and money now spent maintaining this place, but at least it’s time not stuck behind the wheel of a car, and there’s something to show for the money.

In our area, keeping one horse at home wouldn’t provide savings (although being able to manage care as one likes is priceless), but two or more starts making financial sense, as long as the facilities don’t get too elaborate. We would never have come close to breaking even on an indoor, for instance, which isn’t a must-have with our weather anyway.

[Pico_Banana]

It’s totally worth it. As others have said, do all you can to make it as convenient and efficient as possible. Sometimes it’s not possible with land/space limitations, but try your best!

My husband is not horsey, but he is able to take care of them quite well with clear instructions. And definitely try to figure out a way to make turnout super easy, i.e., opening gates. If that fails, consider having some kind of perimeter fence so that if a horse gets away from him between stall and paddock, it’s still contained. For two of my stalls, turnout can be opening gates, but two stalls require taking the horses out. Although I don’t have a true, secondary perimeter fence, I was able to put fencing in some gaps to create a stop-gap.

[clanter]

@Pico_Banana

consider having some kind of perimeter fence

this is a necessity in an urban sitting as horses are considered attractive nuances, a perimeter fence is just the beginning of the special needs to limit access to the horses and other stock. We ended up double fencing the public facing side of our property to provide a gap between the public side and the stock (also helps some keeping the coyotes out )

[Texarkana]

I know you say buying a house in the next year is the goal, but you may consider seeking a farmette for rent.

Then your DH can get his feet wet and you can see if the lifestyle works for both of you.

[fivestrideline]

Definitely keeping our eyes open for such a miracle- nothing so far close enough to work. Lots to be had near Tryon, but we are far away from there

[Texarkana]

We rented 2 farms before purchasing ours due to moving/knowing we weren’t in a permanent location.

One I found via Craigslist many years ago; it wasn’t being advertised as a horse property.

The other was word of mouth through acquaintances.

Our rent at both was very reasonable; equivalent to renting non-horse properties in those areas.

I just say this because they are out there if you dig; often all you see advertised are the large and/or pricey facilities.

[ElementFarm]

NC farm owner here. I think the costs of farm ownership outstrip boarding costs unless you have 4 or more horses. For 2-3 horses, it’s not worth the hassle if your primary goal is just to save money. However, if you’re motivated to have specialized care for an elderly or special needs horses, the flexibility to ride on your own at home, the freedom to care for them exactly as you choose, etc, then there’s really nothing like having your horses living in your backyard!

It sounds like you’ve really thought through pros/cons, and know what you’re getting into.
Keep in mind, as others have mentioned, horse amenities are always undervalued. This means you get way more farm for your money if you buy something that already has a barn/fences on it, even if the house needs a ton of work, than building the horse facilities from scratch.
Also, as others have stated, in many areas of the country, having multi-purpose outbuildings will really help value and potential re-sale. A center aisle barn that is actually a 36x36 pole barn that could be a garage, man-cave, hobby/toy barn, workshop, storage, furniture stripping, etc -space will help if/when you ever need to move. Having two such structures means you can have one for your horses and your DH can have one for his motor bikes and other hobbies so his vested interest in the property is equal to yours.

Keep in mind, start-up costs for a farm, even if the existing barn, fences, and arena are perfect, are still formidable. Tractor, tools, labor, repair, all cost a ton. Hay is $$$, getting it delivered and stacked even more so. A tractor w/ FEL costs the same as a moderately nice car. You’ll want a bush hog or other farm-scale mower. Grass seed and fertilizer costs are annual needs.

I found that 2 horses was a nightmare. Even experienced show horses grew so bonded and buddy sour that they’d go through fencing or run around and hurt themselves when separated for riding or care. As soon as I added a third back into the mix, order and peace were restored. That’s not always the case, but it’s something to keep in mind when you’re planning # of stalls and pasture spaces.

A farm can tie you down, but there are lots of ways to maximize small spaces and efficiencies, and minimize contact with horses while still able to provide basic care, in case you need a non-horsey friend, neighbor, or family member to step in as caretaker. I live in a really horsey area which means I have great access to farm sitters and good vets/farriers, but if that’s not the case in your part of the state, do your best to research the least bad areas, and try to find the best your area has to offer.

ETA: After years of boarding all over the country (and some overseas), we moved into our first ‘starter’ farm about 9 years ago with 3-4 horses. Now we’re on our 3rd farm, own 8 horses and board 2-3 other. It’s no longer a hobby and now qualifies as a lifestyle. If you let it consume you, it will. But it’s also possible to set things up so “you run the farm”, it doesn’t run you. I think I ride about as much at home as I did when I boarded, but I do make sure I prioritize my riding time.

[cilla1]

Another vote for buy the farm. I’ve boarded for 20 years and moved horses home 15 years ago. SO is a car and bike guy too (we need to start a new thread, why horse ladies date car guys lol) but he loves animals and has no problems in helping with barn work. He has his own horse too but he’s not a horse guy, he’s his mare guy…I literally saw them fall in love over a fence.
Barn chores can be hard sometimes but the satisfaction is unpayable. For me the worse thing is finding a reliable farm sitter in case of need so the only advice I give you is don’t buy the farm if you’re planning to travel a lot. We are fine with a couple of holidays per year and maybe three or four weekends out, we usually leave my parents in charge with the help of a girl.

[stb]

My husband and I bought our own small farm 7.5 years ago. My husband is not horsey but he does like to fix things and drive a tractor - both of which are invaluable. The horse infrastructure was already here, but we have renovated the (very small) barn, gutted and renovated the kitchen, and done countless other projects over the years.

I absolutely love having my horses here at home. It has been a lifelong dream for me and the reality does not disappoint.

Getting a good farm sitter in my area is really, really tough. It makes traveling difficult and we don’t do it as much as my husband would prefer. They are also exceedingly expensive - but so is everything attached to having a horse farm. Upkeep for the farm is very expensive as well. There is always something that needs to be repaired, replaced, or repainted.

My area is coming under intense development pressure. We are pretty close to town and not too far out into the country. Makes for a very easy commute. Hobby horse farms in my area are few and far between, and they have increased in price at a higher rate than a comparable single family home due to their scarcity. So we should get a very good return on our investment when we sell - but upkeep in the meantime is no small expense.

I also live in an area where boarding barns are few and far between, have long waiting lists, and priced accordingly. The barn just down the street from me is currently $1700.00 per month. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about boarding.

I feel very, very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to realize my dream of my own horse farm. Pinch me.

[Weezer]

My experience is that if you have a full time job and a non-horsey life partner who you like to spend time with, and a horse farm to maintain, there’s not much time left for riding. So I would think about whether your priority is to focus on riding, or enjoy having the horses at home. If the priority is riding, you may be able to find a good boarding arrangement for your current horse in someone else’s backyard set up. Your vet of farrier might be able to recommend someone who will love your horse as if it’s their own. I think horses tend to get better care in that sort of set up (if the person running the place is a true horseman and is compassionate).

If you decide to go the farm route, plan on your SO not being involved in doing any of the horse-related work. My husband agreed to moving to a horse property because I promised he would never have to do any physical labour associated with the farm. I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve asked for help over the last dozen years. Before I retired my horse, I’d ride only a couple times a week - much less than when I was a boarder. No kids, but 2 hours round trip of work commute ate up lots of my time as well. On weekdays, there just wasn’t enough time in the day. Of course, now that I’m mostly working from home, my old guy is no longer up for hauling me around.

[clanter]

@stb

Getting a good farm sitter in my area is really, really tough.

My daughter does some limited farm setting for a few clients that have extensive varieties of animals/pets. These clients prefer to pay the rate of boarding costs to her to farm set the animals rather than actually boarding

Daughter does work part time for a local respected vet as a tech that is how these clients found her,