Making the move from the suburbs to the farm - worth it?

[Scandias]

So we have outgrown our current house in the suburbs and are looking to build/move in the next two years.

We are now horse owners which means we pay a hefty chunk for boarding each month.

So we are thinking about moving to the country so that we can have our horse with us in an attempt to save money on boarding and possibly taking on a boarder to further offset the higher costs of owning a small horse ranch versus living in the 'burbs.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Has anyone successfully moved from the 'burbs to the country? Do you regret it? What would you do different if you had to do it all over again?

[stb]

I just did this in November of last year. Love, love, LOVE living on a farm in the country and having my horse at home. Having said that, I’m not saving any money by not paying board. Between the cost of the farm, farm equipment, 2nd horse to keep horse #1 company, etc., it was probably cheaper to just pay board.

Living on a farm is a lot of work. There is always something that needs doing. So, you’d better like being outside and mowing and working on things. Personally I like that kind of thing (far, far better than cleaning a house) and really enjoy the barn chores.

I’m very, very happy that we made the move to a farm. I’m only sorry we didn’t do it 10 years earlier. It is fabulous. For me, I would have always regretted not giving it a chance, since living on a farm has been a lifelong dream for me.

Oh yeah, and buy the biggest, baddest lawnmower you can possibly afford. You won’t be sorry.

[ElementFarm]

ohhhh, there are so many threads discussing the merits of boarding vs keeping your horses at home. I’ll hit some of the key points:

1. facility: if you need an indoor, or an all weather-ring with full jump course, or other components, you’ll have to factor in the additional cost of putting those in, or hope you can find a place turn-key

2. availability/timelines: private farms may or may not be frequently available in your area. If you can’t find one, are you willing to build to suit (takes a lot of extra time and so much extra money)

3. time available: having the horses at home means being tied to the home. If you want to travel for work or pleasure, you have to find trusted folks to come mind the farm. Even an after-work dinner with friends has to be cut short because you have to go home to feed

4. hard work: not only does horse keeping at home take a lot of time, it takes a lot of work. Stalls, feeding, watering, mowing, blanketing, fence repairs, ring dragging, water tub scrubbing, and on and on and on. And if you want to actually ride your horse, factor that time in as well.

5. money: not only will the mortgage costs be presumably higher, but you’ll have a lot of start up costs. Even assuming the barn, pasture, outbuildings, are all exactly what you want (unlikely), you’ll likely need a tractor, a lot more tools, truck/trailer, and inevitably new boards, new footing, new stall mats, and new gates, as horses are rough on their things…
   Also, depending on where you live, feed costs a lot more than most people think. Hay is not cheap. And if you’re on city water, that can get expensive too.

6. if you take in a boarder or two, consider what their expectations are. And are you prepared to have a relative stranger coming on your property day or night? What if their horse gets hurt? consider extra insurance/liability.

7. LOVE: while all those points are deterrents for very many people. I love having my horses at home. After commercially boarding (in 6 states and 2 countries), I love having the flexibility of having my horses cared for my way. I pick food type and amounts. I decide what blanket I want on, and if I want them out in the weather or in. I can administer care and monitoring to sick/injured horses.
   I have a truck and trailer, and several good trainer options for shipping in. I have trail access a short trailer ride away, and several friends to meet up with for riding. I like having the ability to have more horses so that I can keep them all to the end of their days, and still have a riding horse or three.

just like a commercial boarding facility is never perfect, there will always be things you want to change about your own place – a farm is a never ending project, but if it’s a labor of love, then it can be well worth it.

[saddleup]

I agree with stb. I didn’t save any money when I bought horse property, but I still love it. I love having my horses on my own little place, but it is a ton of work so you’d better be prepared for that. Especially if you live where there is a serious winter to deal with. It’s not that fun to take care of horses in frigid temps and while slogging through snow!

I couldn’t do it without my tractor, so plan for those kinds of expenses, too.

I tried boarding a friend’s horse but it didn’t end well, and I certainly didn’t make any money from that experiment. But it is so convenient to have them a stone’s throw away, and I love seeing them with the freedom to move around all day if they want to, instead of being in a stall.

[Tory]

Oh boy have you opened up a can of worms:)

I absolutely love living on my farm and I absolutely hate living on my farm. LOL!!

There is nothing more enjoyable than having your horses right in your backyard. I enjoy every morning getting up and feeding them even when the weather’s crappy. Coming home after work and taking care of them is no big deal either. The horse chores in general are not that big of a deal for me since I was used to having my horses on self-care at boarding facilities.

With that said, the projects are the killers. Nothing is ever done there is always something to fix, there is always something you want redone, or an improvement to make.

Unless you have a lot of money that you can hire everything out and/or buy a property that has everything built to perfection you will be doing a lot of work. My husband and I have hired a housekeeper, we have hired landscapers for the yard, but we still do all the farm chores ourselves.

Be very careful about thinking that a boarder will bring in extra money. I have had two boarders since we bought our farm 7 years ago. The only one that was worth it was the retired horse where the owner paid me for full board and additional care and they were not involved at all. Unfortunately we lost that was due to old age it was sad to see our friend go. My second boarder was supposed to be on a semi self care situation. She provided her own food and bedding and was to come out daily to clean and feed. I was to help feed in the early morning and late at night. Unfortunately nobody cares about your place as much as you do. It is very frustrating to come home after a long day at your job only to find hoses not rolled up, Haddox not picked out, and hey strewn all around the barn. No amount of money is worth that everyday.

But do I love my farm? Yes overall it’s better than boarding, but it is not easy:yes:

[clanter]

add to the time for commuting and the care of the horses… we are in the city with our seven horses, commute to work is less than 15 minutes but I get up a 4AM to care the beasts (who are WAITING to be fed) … funny thing is the horses next door also talk to me wanting food.

[Tory]

[QUOTE=clanter;8648484]
add to the time for commuting and the care of the horses… we are in the city with our seven horses, commute to work is less than 15 minutes but I get up a 4AM to care the beasts (who are WAITING to be fed) … funny thing is the horses next door also talk to me wanting food.[/QUOTE]

LOL, mine are close enough to see the light in my bathroom go on in the morning. About 2 seconds later, I can hear the first whinny. Talk about spoiled ponies!

[Scandias]

Wow thanks for all of your responses so far

I’ve actually lived/worked at a farm in Germany in my younger years so it’s not totally foreign to me; I absolutely loved it; even when we had to get up at the crack of dawn in the winter to get the horses in from the field for lessons, it was the best time of my life.

My husband works on call and spends a lot of spare time at home puttering around the house so he would love to have more projects to do

I spend a lot of time driving to the boarding barn so it would be nice to have those extra hours back; I live and work in a small city which has a farm communities within a 20 minute drive so the extra time I would spend commuting would be less than the time I spend driving to the boarding barn every week.

I have a couple of reliable house/barn sitters lined up who could step in and “sit” for us if we ever wanted to go on vacation.

We are thinking about either buying an existing horse farm or buying land and building one of those barn homes, where the stalls are at the bottom and the living quarters on top. If we build, we would add an outdoor arena, round pen and two pasture areas.

We are just in the preliminary stages of this process so I wanted to reach out and get some feedback from people who have done it to see if there are any pros and cons that I haven’t already thought about.

I would think that getting utilities and cable can be challenging? I can probably count on low internet speed or no internet at all?

[clanter]

I have a couple of reliable house/barn sitters lined up who could step in and “sit” for us if we ever wanted to go on vacation.

the “If” should be in quotations, we have had ours here for twenty-five years, even with having others on call we have not taken vacation together

I must add I was in outside sales and in a tech support position that had me all over North America and beyond … I really did not want to trip any more

[Gainer]

All of the comments so far are valid. One thing I would add…I’ve always been in reasonably good shape. But I’m closer to 60 now than 50 and the physical work is starting to take a toll on my old body.

Since I live alone, I’ve hired some college guys to come and help when I have heavy lifting or hard physical work that requires a strong back. I honestly don’t know how many more years I will be able to continue doing all the farm work myself.

[ChocoMare]

[QUOTE=Scandias;8648554]

We are thinking about either buying an existing horse farm or buying land and building one of those barn homes, where the stalls are at the bottom and the living quarters on top. If we build, we would add an outdoor arena, round pen and two pasture areas.[/QUOTE]

While all-in-one buildings/barns are nice, please remember: we ain’t getting any younger and crap happens. Unless you have an elevator, think about how an injury to your back or leg(s) will affect your ability to get in/out of your home. Plus the insurance on those is quite high due to high fire hazard. Not to mention: hauling groceries up those stairs

If you’re gonna build, build separate barn, hay barn and home.

I moved onto my 10 acre farmette in September, alone, and I love it. My horses on my land for me to do as I please. It’s just enough for the horses and I but not so much that I can’t handle it. I do get help for the big projects and have to hire some out, but it’s budgeted in a Separate Farm Account.

No matter if you build or buy existing, take your time. You need time to see how the land lays, if the plan “works” for you, is efficient, etc. Also, take your pre-buy time to watch how the land drains during heavy rain.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Gainer;8648604]
I honestly don’t know how many more years I will be able to continue doing all the farm work myself.[/QUOTE]

Make sure you have locks on the gates as I believe our horse would go out to find some new buddies and bring them back … they believe life is good with full maid and room services provided

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=Scandias;8648397]
So we have outgrown our current house in the suburbs and are looking to build/move in the next two years.

We are now horse owners which means we pay a hefty chunk for boarding each month.

So we are thinking about moving to the country so that we can have our horse with us in an attempt to save money on boarding and possibly taking on a boarder to further offset the higher costs of owning a small horse ranch versus living in the 'burbs.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Has anyone successfully moved from the 'burbs to the country? Do you regret it? What would you do different if you had to do it all over again?[/QUOTE]

Define “good.” Define “bad”.

If you read some of the threads in Around the Farm you’ll find lots of discussions on the myriad of issues that arise when you choose “home keeping.” They range from commute times to equipment requirements to maintenance and upkeep of facilities to need for supplemental labor and well beyond. Spend some time here and then you can develop some questions based upon your area and needs. You don’t note where you are. That makes a HUGE difference in feasibility.

G.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=Scandias;8648554]
Wow thanks for all of your responses so far

I’ve actually lived/worked at a farm in Germany in my younger years so it’s not totally foreign to me; I absolutely loved it; even when we had to get up at the crack of dawn in the winter to get the horses in from the field for lessons, it was the best time of my life.

My husband works on call and spends a lot of spare time at home puttering around the house so he would love to have more projects to do

I spend a lot of time driving to the boarding barn so it would be nice to have those extra hours back; I live and work in a small city which has a farm communities within a 20 minute drive so the extra time I would spend commuting would be less than the time I spend driving to the boarding barn every week.

I have a couple of reliable house/barn sitters lined up who could step in and “sit” for us if we ever wanted to go on vacation.

We are thinking about either buying an existing horse farm or buying land and building one of those barn homes, where the stalls are at the bottom and the living quarters on top. If we build, we would add an outdoor arena, round pen and two pasture areas.

We are just in the preliminary stages of this process so I wanted to reach out and get some feedback from people who have done it to see if there are any pros and cons that I haven’t already thought about.

I would think that getting utilities and cable can be challenging? I can probably count on low internet speed or no internet at all?[/QUOTE]

Reconsider that home above the stalls.

Not good for insurance purposes, not good for everyday living around horses, where you may just have some injury that makes stairs a bad idea.

At least consider a barn with a home attached, or a home with a barn attached, preferably separated by some kind of sun room, with firewalls.

Houses or apartments in barns have problems with dust, odors, insects and rodents you don’t have if they are clearly separated structures, even if close or attached.

Horses at home will mean you sacrifice horse time for farm chore time.
That is fine with many, gets old for others, that didn’t realize how much the socialization and horse care and training and general information you have at your fingertips in a commercial barn you may miss with horses at home alone, for you and your horses.

I would say, your question can be answered that it is 50/50 which is better, boarding or caring for your horses in your own place.
What you really want out of your horse experience will determine which way you may lean.

The beauty of giving this a try is that, if you don’t overbuild and overspend, you can always sell again later, hopefully at not too much of a loss, or maybe if the horse economy improves, at a small profit.

If you live long enough, you may just have to sell, eventually.
At least while you are there, if you enjoy the lifestyle of caring for horses yourself, you will be happy.

[Scandias]

Really good points about the combined barn/home structure; see I didn’t know that, so I’m glad I asked

I live in Oklahoma where land is relatively affordable; tornado season can be a little scary, so whichever set up we choose, it will need to be extremely structurally sound.

Husband and I are both turning 40 this year and are in pretty good shape for our age, so it’s one of those now or never decisions; we don’t want to wait until we are 50 and in declining physical condition.

[Kodidog763]

So, we do save money by having my horses at home vs. boarding. BUT… we already owned the property. We already owned all of the expensive equipment needed (skidsteer & tractor), as it is also used in one of DH’s businesses. The things we’ve needed to add (fencing & shelter) were paid for in cash, so they are not ongoing expenses.

I work from home, so taking care of the horses is easier. If I worked out of my home, I don’t think I would want them here - it would be just too much extra work with limited time to do it.

I love having them at home, as it let me take care of them in the way I prefer to do it as others have also mentioned.

[OverandOnward]

The dealbreaker for me - and especially with boarders - is the RESPONSIBILITY of being the barn owner / farm owner. Anything happens, guess who’s on deck. How to take relaxing vacations and still cover the needs and the unexpected at the farm? It’s kind of like adopting a lot of young children, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s especially a challenge if you are maintaining a demanding career … office located off the property, of course. There are days the BO/FO needs to be in two places at once. Not to mention that it’s awkward to tell colleagues that you aren’t available due to a crisis with a horse. Especially if you need to do it repeatedly.

I very, very much appreciate the good and responsible boarding facilities!

[Cat_Tap]

If it is something you want to do then you should, otherwise you will always think about it. You will love it for a while. The work won’t bother you for a long time but eventually you will get tired of it.

The best time was planning, fixing, planting trees. Now that I have everything I ever wanted it isn’t so much fun anymore.

As far as having the horses at home I used to worry about them all the time. Having a great time walking a colicky horse at midnight in freezing temperatures. Waiting anxiously for the vet for a horse that is in great pain. Cancelling a dinner date because the mosquitoes are making your horses run.

I have done it for 35 years now. Initially on my own and 18 years with DH who was a great help. Now am thinking of exit strategies but don’t know where to go.

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=Scandias;8648397]
So we have outgrown our current house in the suburbs and are looking to build/move in the next two years.

We are now horse owners which means we pay a hefty chunk for boarding each month.

So we are thinking about moving to the country so that we can have our horse with us in an attempt to save money on boarding and possibly taking on a boarder to further offset the higher costs of owning a small horse ranch versus living in the 'burbs.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Has anyone successfully moved from the 'burbs to the country? Do you regret it? What would you do different if you had to do it all over again?[/QUOTE]

Depending on how the real estate market does for the next few decades, it might be a good investment to put your board money into your own property. Who knows!! But it’s really a healthy option - believe me, you will never stop fixing things and mowing and cleaning etc. Lots of outdoor activities.

Downsides - it’s hard to get away on vacation. And you will not have the social interaction that you do at a boarding barn. Riding can become boring. You will need to buy a truck and trailer if you want to go anywhere, and some heavy duty mowing equipment as well (not sure of your location). If you have kids, you might not have neighborhood kids for them to play with.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[ElementFarm]

[QUOTE=Scandias;8648554]

We are thinking about either buying an existing horse farm or buying land and building one of those barn homes, where the stalls are at the bottom and the living quarters on top. If we build, we would add an outdoor arena, round pen and two pasture areas.

We are just in the preliminary stages of this process so I wanted to reach out and get some feedback from people who have done it to see if there are any pros and cons that I haven’t already thought about.

I would think that getting utilities and cable can be challenging? I can probably count on low internet speed or no internet at all?[/QUOTE]

if you can, buy an existing horse property. There are SO many horror stories of people trying to build their own. You may end up with your dream property. But the issue is that banks/lenders/insurances companies don’t consider barn, fencing, and rings as really ‘valuable’, so it can be very difficult to get financing to build it all. And a barn costs as much to build as a house, and an all-weather outdoor ring will easily run you 50-100K (depending on size, what kind of base/dirt you already have and how much grading it needs, and how far footing has to be trucked in). Also, safe and durable fencing (we prefer wood 3-rail or no-climb with a top board) can run $6-10 a linear foot, depending on where you live and how much work you are willing to do yourselves…

I agree that a traditional Huntbox design (stalls below, house above) can be very inconvenient as you get older, get injured, or have multiple trips of groceries to unload from the car. We do have an attached barn but both it and house are on ground floor, connected from a mud room into the tack room. This design is great because it gives the barn access to the house’s HVAC and hot water. A separate hay storage building is great, and is something you can relatively easily add after you buy a place.

If you can’t find a perfect, turn-key farm, I’d recommend buying a place with the barn/pasture setup you want and then build or renovate the house… that seems to work better than buying a great house with land, and then trying to build a barn and pastures. Not only is harder to finance, but often the land clearing or drainage, or whatever isn’t ideal for horse keeping afterall, something you’ll get a better feel for if the facility already exists…

as for internet, ours runs over phone lines and isn’t fast enough for DH’s computer games, but good enough for Netflix. We did live in a rural area for awhile where our cell phones didn’t’ even work… NOT worth it.