Well, 3 is my plan. Retiree, something going already, and a young horse. I can see fostering for the local reputable rescue to obtain another horse or two if I need to regularly leave one of “mine” home.
Goats are very cute, BTDT, no thanks 
gosh they used to get into EVERYTHING. Pigs are worse though. You can build a veritable animal Alcatraz, and goats and pigs will just end up on your porch eating the flowers/your lunch.
When we moved into our first rental with only 2 horses, I ended up getting a donkey within the first 2 months. Now we have more horses, and have even had more donkeys at different points. But I adore my donkey!
Then I’m the Exception to that Rule 
My 1st 12 yrs here I had 2 geldings (1st set for 5yrs, next for another 7). Added a mini 7yrs ago.
The only problem I ever had was with 1 of the 1st pair when his buddy had to overnight at the vet clinic. Even then, all he did was walk the fenceline & call occasionally.
I could take either away for as long as a weekend w/o a problem, as verified by my farmsitter.
Now when I take 1 of the 3 away for as much as a week, absentee gets thoroughly sniffed on his return. Then back to Business as Usual.
Agreed! At the end of my time boarding, I was buying 100% of my horses grain, paying for extra shavings/ buying and bringing in my own (as every single barn except one I’ve been at uses just enough to soak up pee which would be fine if they were out more but they weren’t), and buying between 30-50% of her hay (and paying a premium for it because I could only buy a little at a time due to storage constraints at the boarding barns). So really I was paying $600/ month in board + pretty much all of the things I pay for now with them at home (shavings, hay and grain) except I paid more for shavings and hay then due to my inability to buy in bulk. I haven’t run the numbers (I like to stick my head in the sand a bit there) but keeping them at home is a HUGE cost savings and I only have 2. We are wanting to move to FL and are having a tough time finding a place that suits our needs with horses and house and briefly discussed buying a “city house” and boarding but there is just no way I could give up the control of care. Not to mention going back to having to sacrifice on things like turnout time, size, number of buddies, amount of hay (or providing my own on top of board). I truly don’t believe we’d be saving any money by boarding and I would be anxious/ worried about finding an adequate barn and it staying open (the staying open part is a big concern!).
NC farm here. Boarded at a busy barn with a massive lesson program which was getting overwhelming. Lots of clueless public in and out and my gelding was largely retired due to permanent lameness from an old injury. I already owned the farm though. 5ish acres with about 2.5 fenced in and a run in / barn shed deal. Brought gelding home almost 2 years ago and have a care lease on a nice companion mare who could no longer keep up with lessons.
Fencing needed upgrades but serviceable as it was. I’m making improvements but am blessed with two docile horses who care more about their hay than messing with fences. No tractor but I clean the pasture daily and cost is for a dumpster with weekly pickup. Buy hay from former boarding barn and horses are only on a once daily ration balancer. No stalls (on the list) but they are happy to share the 12x12 shelter for NC’s definition of “bad weather”. Farrier and vet come here. Keeping things simple keeps the daily work to a real minimum including pasture cleaning. Think it’s an hour tops / day.
I work from home and as others have said, it’s well worth it to be able to take care of them as you want. I couldn’t go back to boarding at this point.
I recently had surgery with a 6 week recovery and no lifting weight restriction so had to rely on my bff and parents to come help. That was hard mostly to not overdo it but I made things as non-horsey people easy as possible.
I’ve had my farm for 5 years now. It took me two years to find it. I agree that you should try to find the best horse facilities because it costs way more to build than the value that the horse facilities add to the property. This means fencing too. It is A LOT of work (I have three horses). I hire a guy to feed and clean M-F (I set up the feed for him) and clean waterers. This helps me out because I have a full time job and allows me to start my work day earlier (I can work mostly remotely). I still save money, even with the hired help and I get to say good night to my horses every night.
What did you expect us to say? Bahaha
Just do it. The VALUE of having your horse at home, under your control, under your terms, is INVALUABLE.
I’m going to have to board my horses for 2 nights this week, since I do not have a barn yet nor clean/dry stalls after their joint injections Wednesday (and we’ve had the winter from hell). So I found a local barn with room for two nights. And… I’m already having anxiety about someone else checking on my horses for me, LOL.
You’ll make do with what you have and you’ll love it. I am on year 3 at our place. Lots and lots of projects left to go, but slowly and surely.
Is it, but often are you really going to need it compared to boarding FT?
I do it alone, I have an SO but he doesn’t live with me and is allergic to and scared of horses. As long as your SO still has the elbow room and finances for his hobbies equably, I think this can be put to bed (ymmv)
If you’re building, go ahead and concrete the WHOLE barn or shedrow and put down mats. My 36x36 barn can be a lovely shop because of its full concrete floor, it’s a Barnmaster kit so all the guts can be pulled out. Keep an eye toward non-horsey hobbies. My chicken coop is overbuild and can with very little modification also be a small shop or garden shed. I kept my arena size a little smaller than I wanted in order to keep it from getting too close to the house. I kept the yard larger in case someone likes landscaping. I did extra gates and created lanes for options like four-wheeling.
This is the god’s honest truth because…
I passed on a property farther south on the island than I wanted because I felt it was overpriced. Once my place was built, I was well beyond what the complete cute turnkey horse property was. Hindsight.
First ours was our kids playhouse/fort, then it was a chicken house, then the miniature horse stable and now is the home of the goats.
My chickens live in a Porsche. This is what happens when you marry a car guy.
This is such a great COTH thread!
There are so many variables to the ‘buy the farm’ idea… anyone considering it is going to be so far ahead of the game reading comments like these.
I’ve done every combination of board/farm/hybrid and they all have merit depending on where you are in life with work, finances, partners, and time.
Right now, I’m retired in a horse community after selling my large boarding stable. I actually bought a barn to put up on my place here, but the community barn is literally next door, so I have a great combination of freedom to travel and my horse where I can see him out the window.
I figured out that I could pay board on my little scooter horse for 8 years for what it would cost me to install the barn I already own… so it’s likely to never get put up.
There are a million ways to approach housekeeping… just try to be realistic about your own resources and needs, look high and low if you consider buying a farm, and hopefully you’ll end up with the perfect situation.
Finding quality help is soooooo tough right now and has been for the past 3 years. When you own you’re tied down.
I will say that I get to ride during the day several times a week when I WFH and weather and my meeting schedule align. I work alot of hours at night to more than make up for whatever daylight hours I spend on the horses. My horses are SO HAPPY!!! SO HAPPY. They have stalls with runs, pasture turnout, feed hay 4-6 x per day (depending on grass) and a nice quiet place to live where they are the royalty. I choose my own feed, hay and bedding. The stalls are kept clean. The horses are not left out by themselves EVER. I can ride in daylight hours when my work schedule allows. Yes, I have 3 months a year where I can’t ride (no indoor). But I don’t have to rush to the barn in an hour traffic at night to get riding done by 8:30 so I can leave by 9 when the barn closes (or an hour earlier for other barns. I get to ride in a groomed arena Every Damn Time, not a trashed arena at the end of the day. I get to buy the best hay from a local farmer that lasts for a year, so no changes. I get to feed some supplemental alfalfa. I get to park my horse trailer for free. My horses get their blankets adjusted according to weather and not convenience. I have my own laundrey room and tack room. I do miss some friendships and going on vacation without a lot of tricky arrangements. But the pros outweight the cons for me…
we are in a loose confederation of similar horse owners who all keep their horses at home. We will cross cover for each when or if needed. We did devise a payment method (if needed) in bales of hay or bags of shavings most often we as a group just cover as needed without the need to “pay” as no one abuses the system,
A major advantage is the support in times of trouble or despair.
At least here, backyard horses are on the increase as developers buy out the local boarding barns. With no other option if the owner does not want to place their horse in a boarding barn fifty miles away they are seeking homes here that can have a horses
You realize we need pictures 
@Miss_Motivation Where are you & how soon can I move there? 
@ComingAttraction Depends on how much help you need. Even when I worked, caring for 2 was not a problem.
Not tied down either, as I had dependable farmsitters - current guy is part owner of my feedstore.
I’ve taken regular vacations - once 10 days to China - & have taken my mini to The Ntl Drive for 4 days every Fall the last 6yrs, leaving horse & pony home.
I’ll put this out there, for anyone thinking about it… If you could stand living in quiet, clean, private, pastoral surroundings, semi arid (no mud other than a few days of spring break up), unlimited clean water supply, fresh air and a sky full of stars at night, 4+ hr drive to decent h/j horse shows, and your own hay fields, pastures, indoor arena, decent house, many barns and outbuildings, irrigation rights and system, etc, in Canada, our neighbour’s farm is still for sale. Horses live outdoors year round here, and we get all four seasons of the year. It’s priced about the same as a semi decrepid older house on a lot in the city of Vancouver. Offers are always a possibility, and recommended. I’m looking for occasional trail riding companions who are fun, pleasant, adequate horsemen, and not crazy. You will never have to buy hay again. Instead, you will be selling it. High speed fiber optic Internet connection coming this year, so working from home remotely is a possibility soon. Suitable for energetic people, who enjoy outdoors lifestyle. PM me for MLS listing, there’s a video tour of the farm and our beautiful valley. I’m not a real estate agent, just the neighbour.
Can someone from the US just… Move to Canada? Is there an requirement to get some sort of right to stay beyond owning land?
I can’t tell you what is required, since I’ve never had to do this, being fortunate enough to have been born Canadian. But people do it all the time. Some move here, live here, and retain their American citizenship, and own property. Some change citizenship to Canadian. I don’t know why some retain foreign citizenship, and some change citizenship. You’d have to ask them. People from all over the world move here, live here, and own property. We get a lot of European people who move here, because what we have here is no longer available in Europe… True wilderness. People who are tired of people.
One of my best friends as a child was an American. Her family moved to Canada because their sons (her brothers) were going to be drafted and sent to the Vietnam war, They moved to Victoria, and bought a farm, and all their horses (a whole herd) arrived in an open tractor trailer.
Caveat here: I’m not Canadian and have no interest in living anywhere farther north than Tennessee. BTDT
It used to be quite easy to get visas to live/work/etc in Canada as an American. However, due to COVID, the previous US administration, and various other issues, Canada has tightened up the immigration requirements and border restrictions to US citizens specifically. I believe things have loosened up a bit, but it is nowhere near as easy to travel/live/work internationally in general and in Canada specifically.
More to the point, I’m from Florida. And lived in Wisconsin. Give me summer heat and mild winters please! But I’m sure someone else would be willing to brave the winters in favor of some solitude.
I’m from Georgia/Mississippi/Alabama and lived in Wisconsin too… Weird! I want to retire to a different state with better real estate prices so I can sell my farm and buy another at a price that won’t require me to work more than I want, and I can’t find anything with weather I want other than moving back to heat and humidity. My Dad does not want to move back to the south but SO and I want warmer and drier. I want easier horse management and less mud and gardening and a pool, because with those things who needs to worry about farm-sitters! I’d never leave!
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
