Yes. This is what I do. I tell them that even after I’ve met them in person in order to find out if they are a habitual non-payer or barn rabble rouser and to give me a chance to think about whether they’ll fit in. Life is too short to have people (or horses) you won’t get along with at your boarding facility (which is often also your home).
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And no, please don’t just stop by.
As a barn owner, people never stop by at convenient times. It’s always when I’m trying to do something super-fiddly or dealing with an issue. I also really despise people showing up thinking they can just wander around and/or into the barns and paddocks. I’m in charge of keeping others’ horses and belongings safe, random elements strolling into a barn is definitely not what I need. 
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I am not going to drop by any barn unannounced, I promise!
For perspective I currently live 7 minutes from my barn, my previous barn was 3 minutes away! I know I am alone in this utopia, but that is what I have become accustomed to. So while for many of you an hour is not an issue or major change it is for me. I have not ruled my trainer’s barn out totally but it would come with some pretty big changes in my riding routine. She also does not currently have boarders, she offers some adult lessons on her horses and recently retired from coaching a team. When she retired those horses dispersed and she now only has her own 3. I would be the only boarder and she has offered for me to come there but we both recognize the distance is a dilemma.
I am weighing all options and possibilities and am certainly taking my horse’s comfort into account here.
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It sounds to me like your trainer’s barn would be a good move for you & your horse.
It would be the small, private operation you prefer & you already know her standard of care.
Bonus in you can also lesson there.
How often would you be making the commute?
How badly would the 2h roundtrip affect your life outside of riding?
Would bad weather make it difficult or impossible?
I once drove 4h through a snowstorm (where the usual drive was 1h+), arrived too tired to ride, but that was a One Of.
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Agreed!!!
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Are you by any chance single and a renter? I was once reassigned to a headquarters 90 minutes from my then assignment. I loved the barn my mare was at, so instead of moving both of us, I moved me between her and the new position.
I actually made my commute to her slightly shorter, as I went to the barn 7 days a week. My new assignment was as a staff officer in a General Officer headquarters, so unless there was a crisis (read war, deployment, invasion 
), my hours were pretty regular and usually only 5 days a week.
Of course, that wouldn’t work if you own or have a husband/partner to consider.
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Hah! you sound like me, I am 6 miles from my current barn, am moving shortly and will be about 2 miles away.
Anyway, to your topic, I wish you luck. Much luck. My current barn is for sale. One of our boarders put together a spreadsheet to keep track of every single place they could come up with. There are over 60 barns on that list. Every single one of them is full, with a waitlist. Closed. Too far away. Too weird (!! the level of crazy astounds me sometimes). Too expensive. Or gone private, no more boarders.
It is insane. I hate it. The only reason I’ve got anywhere to move to is it’s a friend who built her own barn (private) who offered to take me in.
I wish you the best of luck.
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All thank you for the continued advice!
I am not single and we do own our home, which compounds the issue and the biggest reason I don’t want to drive an hour away each day. He is very supportive of my riding but I would have to conscious of the amount of time I rode if the commute was that long, now it isn’t an issue as I can still get in a quick ride and fix dinner! I commute 45 minutes to work one way but we carpool as he works 9 minutes from my office. My trainers barn is 45 minutes from my work so it really would completely change my lifestyle to move there. Once the housing market calms to somewhat bearable standards we plan to move but don’t know where. At that time her barn may be much closer and likely where I go, until then I need to find an in between barn as it could still be a couple of years before we are able to move.
My farrier gave me recommendations of two barns in my area and agreed a third could be an option he just isn’t as familiar with it currently. One option I would be replacing a boarder that is in the process of moving her horses as she herself moved 4 hours away but that has been on going for a while now. Not sure on the timeframe but maybe something I could work with. The second option is a very limited number of boarders barn that may or may not be willing to take on another. With time off and my barn being closed for the holiday weekend I have time to contact and potentially tour some places. All of these are within 15 minutes of my house and as far as I know allow outside trainers, fingers crossed!
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Not to be creepy, but like many posters in this thread, I’m starting to wonder if you live in my area! I’ve been putting out feelers for new barns (I don’t own a horse, so I have much more flexibility), and I’ve emailed several barns, none of which have returned my messages. I think the overheated selling market, barns closing due to rising overhead costs, combined with the challenges of extreme weather that can make just ordinary horse keeping difficult, have made it hard for everyone.
I’m really starting to wonder what things will be like in more developed areas of the country in the next 3-5 years, if this continues.
After speaking with my trainer, she used to be at the smaller barn, so I am hoping I can leverage both connections and convince them to take on an additional boarder. Either way I do have more options now and will talk to them this weekend.
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I’m in NC, can narrow it down more via PM if you are also in NC.
Yes, the development is atrocious here and we are losing barn after barn to that. I also get the feeling people don’t want to run boarding barns anymore. More and more people seem to buy enough land for their horse(s) and maybe their best friend and that’s it. It is frustrating but I have hope there will always be something available, I have to hope right?
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Agreed. My mare is in a horsey area, at a really good, expensive barn, but if it closed I’d be up a creek, or looking further afield. Several of the barns in this very horsey area have closed, or gone private in the past few years, or don’t do winter board. My mare has a few special needs; she can’t be just tossed out on pasture and expected to thrive (rather, tossed out on pasture and expected to founder.)
Or I’d bite the bullet and bring her home, if boarding becomes that impossible. It would be really expensive, and DH is definitely not a fan of this idea, but if I had no other choices I would do it. A half-acre paddock (has to be permanent fencing, not electric per the town) and run-in shed could be put up pretty quickly, but making it “just right” in terms of hay storage, frost-free hydrant etc. would take longer. And then there’s the whole thing about whether she would do OK alone.
But honestly, on the worst days I think the horse industry is doomed around here, for all but the very wealthy.
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@Bugs_s_Mom I’m in New Jersey, which I think has many of the same issues and then some! It’s a high-cost-of living, densely populated state. I completely agree that boarding just isn’t desirable for lots of people, and I can understand why. It’s almost always run at a loss for the barn owner, nowadays, and the costs of maintaining a facility that boarders can ride at have increased (like a ring with decent footing and insurance), not just the costs of hay and shavings.
So it’s mainly the barns catering to wealthier clientele who are willing to pay for training and coaching at shows…and those barns may be running at a loss, too, for all I know, there just might be more money behind them. Plus, because of people’s schedules and levels of horse knowledge, I know that more falls in the hands of the barn owner than maybe in the past.
@quietann I totally agree. I mean, horses have always been for people of some means, to some extent, but being able to scrape by with lessons and half-leasing from my perspective has become difficult. Just in general, I feel like there’s two levels–really sketchy barns I don’t consider to be ethically run and higher level show barns, and the big in-between has been lost.
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In Quiet Ann’s and my part of the world, yeah. It’s sad. Even if you can afford to board, the options are more limited every year.
The only other thing I can think of is a co-op situation. Years (and years) ago, Kip Rosenthal used to write a column about horse-keeping in a co-op barn up in Santa Barbara.
As I recall, they had a community ring within riding distance, thus no maintenance they had to do. Plus, with the weather here in coastal SoCal, all year riding without an indoor wasn’t an issue.
There must be people in other parts of the country that also do co-op. More work for each owner, but with the right group of owners (and facilities to lease), it might work out.
@quietann I agree that around here the industry is going more and more towards those with plenty of means. As @Impractical_Horsewoman pointed out having horses in general tends to lend to those with more disposable income, but it seems to be getting worse where I am. I have had to seek other employment at least once because I had a huge vet bill that I couldn’t cover at that salary. It worked out in the end because I got a large raise and was able to move up the chain but the motivation was horse expenses!
@Fiesta01 I am talking with a co-op owner/manager currently. That situation is on the list but at the bottom, mainly due to being on the outer edge of my radius. At my previous barn (3 minutes from my house) we ran it as a co-op for a period of time because the owner had knee replacement and couldn’t feed. It worked well as I passed the barn daily to and from work. Did I love feeding nearly every single day, no, did I enjoy paying no board as a result…duh! I do know this was a really rare situation and I did all but 5 feedings out of 14 each week which I would not agree to outside of that distance again (if I ever agree to it).
I am definitely weighing all of my options and trying to determine what is best for both of us, mostly him and what I can live with. I know there is no perfect situation here and I am going to have to pick what stacks up the most in his favor and I can manage myself. I do worry what the scene will be in 10-15 years but for now I can find something that will work for us.
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