Hello. We’re planning to purchase 10 acres property so I can have a horse of my own that’s why I’m thinking ahead of time. My question is what do you do if you go on one week vacation? Who do you call? Does pet sitting service care for horses? Will boarding facilities take horse for a week only?
Totally depends.
There are people out there who “farm sit”. They’re often capable of feeding, waters, turnout, being around to call the vet if there’s an obvious injury or colic. Usually the best option if you’ve got dogs and cats, or other livestock.
Some people leave their horses out 24/7 with shelter, and enough hay and water to keep them going, and just have a friend or neighbour stop by once or twice a day to check on them.
Some boarding facilities will accept horses for short amounts of time, they’ll typically charge a daily rate.
Some people just never go on vacation because they don’t trust anyone else to care for their animals.
2 Likes
I have done both, having a farm sitter come out to feed as well as dropped them (2 horses) off at a boarding barn. I was much happier with the boarding situation as I knew the person was more experienced in horse care but the sitter did a good job as well and sent daily updates. Boarding was surprisingly cheaper since I didn’t have to pay extra for time and gas for a sitter to drive to my house twice a day. I did have to call around to a few barns to find one that had a daily rate (I was gone 8 days for that trip). A sitter may work better for you if you also have other animals that need care. For either of those options, make sure you get references!
Other options are having a friend or neighbor feed for you. Or, like GoodTimes said, if you have relatively easy keepers and good shelter, just leave lots of hay (round bale) out and have someone do health/water checks daily. This is much easier for someone who is willing to help but not comfortable with a lot of horse interaction.
1 Like
I’ve had horses at home for almost 14yrs now & have never foregone vacations.
In that time I have done anything from late nights with friends in the Big City, long weekends to 10 days in Asia & a riding vacation in Spain.
I have had a number of different farmsitters - some contacted through boarding barns near me & current guy works at the nearby feedstore. Your vet or shoer may also know someone who could work out.
I have even had non-horseowning neighbors feed for me because my setup is such that very little hands-on is needed to feed/water horses.
Horses have free access to stalls from pastures & come in by themselves for feed. Hay & grain can be put into stalls by opening the sliding stall door from the aisle & water refilled through a grill opening.
For longer trips I let my vet’s office know who may call & is authorized to request care.
I tell the non-horse-savvy to call if anything at all looks NQR.
I’d far rather pay for a unneeded farm call than let something go untreated.
I keep a list of phone #s posted in my barn: my cell#, names/#s for farmsitter, vet, shoer & hayguy.
1 Like
I have been lucky in the past to have knowledgable neighbors who did a great job. In another place there was a family down the road who we swapped farm sitting duties with when we went on vacation.
Many people use a farm sitter and that is expensive. I don’t trust someone I don’t personally know because I haven’t seen how they care for their own animals.
The last few years we just don’t go at all. It is just easier.
We have up to 5 horses at my house, typically 3 in 12 hours and out 12 hours with the other 2 out 24/7. I hire a local teen or someone who works at a neighboring barn to feed/muck out twice daily. It’s not all that different from me being home- not like I’m around to watch the horses all day as I’m at work.
There are some farms that offer daily rates, I find it more training facilities (people who break horses, race trainers, western or horsemanship trainers) who experience a lot of natural turnover that can take horses for short stays. For more traditional boarding barns, they will want a barn full of monthly paying boarders.
We have been fortunate to have my Dad be able to come take care of the horses. In the Winter, I make his life easier by putting out 2 round bales - WAY more than enough hay for a week - so he does not have to manage that.
My horses live out, coming in only for breakfast. This means there are no stalls to clean - more efficient for me full time, and obviously easier on any caretaker.
My barn is also enclosed in the pasture, which means there is no leading in and out, so safer and more efficient for whomever is feeding them. They know where their stalls are, Dad knows who goes where so he knows which buckets to put in which stall. When they are done, he just opens stall doors (exterior doors, so again, no leading required) and off they go.
He keeps water tubs filled each day. He is only here once a day, but we also have neighbors who are in eyesight of the pasture, so I let the trusted ones know when we are going to be gone so they can keep a bit of an extra eye out.
There are definitely farm sitters. Whether there is one close enough to you is the question. Interview and get personal references. Any of them should be willing to come to your place and do an in-person interview so you can see how much they actually know about handling a horse to whatever level yours require.
I would assume most boarding situations do not have immediate openings for X number of additional horses on a short-term basis, but it never hurts to ask. If it’s a barn you have a good relationship with, and it’s just 2 horses, that may be easily accomodatable. Maybe you will get to know some horse neighbors who might have a section of pasture your couple of horses can hang out in for a week. But, if they are that close, they may be willing to trade horse-sitting duties with you.
The more foolproof you can make your set up, the easier it will be to find someone without requiring a high level of skill.
I too let my vet office know I am out of town, and they have names and numbers of people who are authorized to request assistance and make decisions, in case I can’t be reached. That person doesn’t have to be local, but they do need to know what your wishes are.
I have a neighbor who comes once a day to check horses & check water tank. I put out round bales, so make sure a fresh one is put out before we leave. For a week they can go without their grain and live on hay only.
I am a house/farm sitter. It really depends on your animals needs. I have done the pasture horses who need a once a day check in to staying at the property the whole week twice a day feeding, waters, turnout, and stalls. Also have to think about if you have dogs, cats, goats, etc. The key is to find a neighbor or close by person who does not travel often and will be there in case of pop up needs. I usually get a call once or twice a week to help with breakfast or dinner.
Leaving a white board or list with vet, emergency vet, and make sure they have a CC on file with both vets and accounts. Vets are more likely to let you in quicker if the owner already has an account. Also leave the numbers of where you are going in case your cell phone doesn’t work where you are staying.
Personally I would have someone come take care of your horses at your facility. moving them can cause a lot of stress that is avoidable.
Lot’s of horse FB groups have postings for horse/pet/house sitters
I trade pet sitting with one of my neighbors. She doesn’t have horses, but did ride as a kid and isn’t scared of them or anything. When I’m gone, I make the horses as easy as possible: 24/7 turnout (with access to barn), full water tank and hay available if needed. They just don’t get grain for that time, and they’re all easy keepers who do fine with that.
Trusted friends and neighbors.
I don’t think I saw this mentioned, but if a horse ends up needing transport to a hospital, make sure you have someone lined up who can do that for you.
If you go the farm sitter route, hire them early and do 1 or 2 test runs before you leave for a week. A week isn’t a terribly long time, but it is long enough for things to go wrong. Your test runs can be a weekend away or even just an all day activity where you don’t want to worry about getting home in time to do the horses.
Be prepared to pay. Especially if you’re out in the boondocks. If it only takes me 20 minutes to care for your animals but’s and hour round trip to get there, I’ll want to be compensated for the travel. You can frequently find cheep teens to do it, so it’s up to you how much professionalism you want. Price will also depend on what you need which leads me to…
When you’re buying/building plan carefully for the worst case scenario. You may prefer for your horses to be in a comfy stall all night and on 8 hours of turnout on rotated pastures. But stuff happens. How do you set up your property so you can have that on a daily basis, but you can also adjust and turn them into “feral horses” if necessary? This isn’t just for vacations (because you may choose to hire a very competent sitter or board out) but if you get injured or sick or have a family emergency, you want options.
The goal should always be that someone can keep your horses alive without ever handling them. This isn’t always achievable, but it’s a good goal. Things to consider include water troughs (vs buckets), fencing so you can open and close gates instead of walking horses (not necessary daily but in an emergency), feed rooms that are well labeled with current meals listed, options to stock free choice hay (somewhere for round bales or hay nets for full square bales), and a way to muck without using machinery (as before, use all you want on daily basis!).
1 Like
Horse or horse’s should also be well trained for loading on trailer. They also need to be easy for someone else to load and unload. My horse loads in any trailer and for anyone,no fuss. Point him towards open door of trailer, put rope over neck in he goes. I leave my truck and trailer hooked up so in an emergency, neighbor can haul my horse to clinic. Neighbor has the spare keys for truck when i leave.
1 Like
If I want to go on a true vacation (far from home and gone for more than several days) I do so during those months of the year that are ‘good weather’ months. I never go away during the dead of winter or in late summer when it can be brutally hot. I would just worry too much that a blizzard or extreme heat wave could hit.
I already have dedicated barn help – a guy who’s been with me for years; feeds my horses in the a.m. whenever I need him. So I just line him up in advance to feed in the mornings while I’m away.
As for the afternoon feed, I’ve ‘trained’ my contractor/handyman in all things horse. He’s been working/building things on my farm for years (loves & knows my horses which is a big plus) and he does my afternoon feeding when I’m away. Bonus to having him is that if anything breaks (fence/water/electric etc) he can fix it. He also has a truck that can haul my trailer if need be and he knows where the vets are and who to call. I do pay him well to oversee things while I’m away; totally worth it for my peace of mind. In addition I have several horse friends who are ‘on call’ as back-up should anything unforseen happen…and my sister is within an hours drive.
My overall safety net is that my horses have fabulous run-in sheds – water hydrants by every pasture – horses are used to living outside 24/7 – feed and hay is set up for easy human/horse access. My whole set up provides for turn-key care.
But the most important thing IMO, is to network – start cultivating and then maintaining relationships with people who show a genuine interest in you, your farm, your horses in whatever capacity. Who knew that a contractor I hired out of the blue to build me a barn door would become my trusted go-to guy so I could take a vacation!
We have always hired farm sitters. But like others, I leave information with the vet and have a near-by horse owning neighbor of many years who can be called as back up as in, “There might be something wrong, but I don’t know if I should call the --vet --fencing guy–water company --etc.” And she and I have an emergency plan --if one of us is totally in a pickle, the other can and will feed for us. Horse-neighbor does a drive by or stop in to check on things if I’m gone over a week.
One thought --one horse-friend installed a security camera in her feed/tack room. Found her horse sitter (a relative) was only feeding once a day (supposed to feed twice) and was not feeding supplements as directed and (cough) had a boyfriend with her who mistook the tack room for a motel room —LOL —I asked her if she said anything --she did not --just never used the girl again --girl was over 18 . . .but not by much.
