Wait, WHAT?? How is this even possible? Is it haunted? On a SuperFund site? What a deal!
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Have not read all the comments, but please, please do not take self care boarders. This is not a good way to get into having horses at home.
While I am sure there are responsible self care people out there, my experience is that their horses are not their main priority. Run out of feed or hay…oh can you lend me some of yours? Bad weather – can you take care of feeding or turnout or blanketing for me? Horse is colicing – I can’t get there until much later, can you deal with it? Trust me, you will be doing lots of the care. I will not have horses going unfed or cared for. All my horses are on pasture board because I think it is better to have 24/7 turn-out. My boarders get feed, hay and the necessary care to assure they are thriving. They also pay a board price that covers the cost of feeding and caring for their horses.
You have to love manual labor because you will be doing lots of it. It is more than mucking stalls. And you will learn the painful lesson that even if you are willing to hire help, finding reliable help is hard for part time work without benefits. Set up everything so that you minimize labor and steps. You’ll get your steps in, don’t worry. Make it all work for you because you will be your own best worker. And buy good equipment to make your manual labors easier.
We did not take a vacation for 17 years. There may have been a long weekend or two, but nothing more. Getting a good farm sitter is not so easy or cheap.
If I had one or two horses, I would be boarding them elsewhere so quickly that the screen door wouldn’t hit my backside. However I am a breeder and have 15 horses at the moment. I am also lucky that IF Jr. wants to live on the farm as an adult and is a huge help. His dad and I are getting older; we discovered that we like going on vacation!
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What Ironwood Farm said X 100
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Oh I agree with you Ironwood…I was meaning have the OP be a self care boarder or really rent a small farmette to test the waters before buying a farm. I’ve had the lovely experience of renting stalls at a barn…and mucking someone else’s stall, throwing hay and water etc for their horse because I couldn’t stand see a horse left like that.
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I didn’t read through the second page of posts but you received some great information in the first few posts. I would just reiterate that it depends on three things: your goals/competition expectations, your budget, and your time.
I grew up as a young child with ponies/horses, took a 10+ year break during my college/young adult years, and then got back into them. As a child, I had horses at my grandparents farm but was never the sole person responsible for care. It was certainly an eye opening and life-changing experience and I continue to learn and tweak my management every year. I also work full-time out of the house and have a teacher-like/summer’s off schedule though I’m not a teacher.
At this point in my life I am not showing and have no immediate competition goals. I “ride” for pleasure. “Ride” in quotes because having horses at home makes it difficult to actually ride consistently. I am the one who does everything for the horses though my husband helps with big things, mowing, weed-eating, spraying, manure management, hay storage, fence repair, hauling, etc.
Every other thing to do with the horses is on me. Health (making those judgement calls on your own), grooming, feeding, other care, stalls, tack maintenance, barn keep, etc.
If I were competing or training heavily, I would board, even if it was only for a few months of the year. To me, it’s not practical to do it all on my own + serious training.
Budget. Boy, even if you’re not building something fancy, it’s expensive!!! Just ask my husband… He LOVES when I say, well this is just a one time buy…yeah, right. There’s always something you need to buy “once” plus everything you know you’ll just keep having to buy over and over (feed, hay, sawdust…). We renovated a very old and massive bank/dairy barn so had to do everything from build stalls to drill a well to revamp electrical. And it is only about 25% finished with all of that done. I have a round pen area and 20+ acres to ride but no out or indoor arena (outdoor is in the plans at some point).
Time. Obviously this goes without saying. Horses take up a lot of your time, x10 when they are at home. My husband and I love to travel. For me, I’ve been lucky to find a good horse sitter or my “boarder” friend who can care for the horses to my expectations when we go away. However, we still do not go away as often as we would like or used to. And no spontaneous adventures.
Also, time with spouse, family, friends changes. Just because I was hosting Thanksgiving dinner didn’t mean I could take a break from my normal barn chores. I do keep my horses out most of the time but they still need hay, water, mucking, and eyeballs on them, + feed times.
With all that said, as long as you grasp the idea that it is a COMPLETE lifestyle change and are on board with the above points, I would say do it.
I do not regret it at all. I love caring for my own horses and having them at home. I really can’t imagine life without them here. Even if I ended up boarding my main riding horse, I’d still want some pasture pets at home just to feed my need! Good luck, it’s a big decision not to be taken lightly.
I was just a boarder for 15 years but I did barn chores and care to reduce my board. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I was the person in the barn, holding a boarder’s horse for the vet when it was 15 degrees because the boarder was out Christmas shopping and couldn’t make it. Barn owner was often out of town or stuck at work. Or that time a boarder’s horse coliced and he was so upset he ran crying from the barn. Or that time the boarder’s horse was down on the ice and I was called to help get it up because the boarder was out of town. Or the time the boarder’s horse broke a leg and I was called because the boarder was too upset to come to the barn and deal with it. I own my farm now and I don’t want any boarders.
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Ok, no, just no. How on earth could anyone not be there. That breaks my heart! I would be sleeping in a stall if my horse was sick, I have actually done it, many times. I don’t board though. I have once after college and it was hell lol
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Neither of the above. If you want more info, feel free to PM me. I am not the seller or a real estate agent! Just a former neighbor who knows the property.
I don’t think I’ve ever made it out to the barn for one of my horse’s emergencies: mostly because I live far from the barn, but also because I completely trust my barn owner and her eons of experience over me to provide the right type of care my horse needs. Whenever I’ve moved into a barn, I made it clear to my barn owner what I expected her to do in an emergency and that she should act accordingly with what I’ve told her. I always show up as soon as I can to check up on my guy and thank the BO and whoever assisted them for taking care of him. I so appreciate my BO for this reason, but I understand why a lot of horse owners want to be completely hands-on with their horse’s care.
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It is great you have that trust relationship. I did board at an awesome place when I boarded and trusted my BO, but I just can’t imagine not being there to comfort them when they are sick. That being said I am really sensitive and emotional so that is probably why lol
I truly am privileged. One of my co-op members is a vet (large and small animal), one a vet tech, one a nurse practitioner, one a radiology tech, one worked for a large reputable OTTB rescue, and etc. I would trust any one of them with my life, not to mention my horses’. We have all stepped in as needed to help in a crisis, and even on a day-to-day basis. It’s not unusual to see someone who is not assigned to the shift helping out by cleaning a stall or two, scrubbing buckets, haying or helping bring in or out. And they all know that the rule is that missing one shift for any reason is (sort of) forgiven although I will NOT be happy. Missing a second shift means that the perp and their horse are out of here immediately. NB: Swapping of shifts goes on all the time and that’s ok.
Everyone strives to take care of each horse as if it were their own. No horse is ever left in a dirty stall, unfed, ignored. And all are vigilant about calling an owner if something doesn’t look right. Maybe it’s peer pressure or maybe just an exceptional group of women. :yes:
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I’ve been on both sides, and have been lucky to have done so! I think both have their pros/cons, but I won’t ever have my horses at home again.
My parents moved us from the suburbs to the outskirts of the DC area (MD), just about 30 miles from the city. I was 14 at the time, so I absolutely loved that experience. I had always taken lessons, but had never had my own horse. This allowed me to go from 0 horses to 3 very quickly. 
After college and working for a few years in DC with that terrible commute, I ended up moving out of my parents’ house and buying a house. I couldn’t do the wake up, drive to the farm, do the chores, commute, go to the farm, do the chores, drive home routine for more than a month.
I ended up boarding out at a fabulous barn about 15 minutes from my new house, and I don’t think I will ever have my horse at home again. That being said, you can take the girl from the farm, but you can’t take the farm from the girl… I still help my barn owner out with chores (mucking the 10 stalls, feeding the 21 horses and turn in/out for the stall boarders) sometimes just to help out and feel involved/get my manual labor in (skip the gym cough cough). I think it helps that I found a barn that is just fantastic. I’m also getting married and eventually will start my family so it helps where I am in life to have one less thing to worry about - I know my gelding is getting top notch care, even when i’m not there!
YES PLEASE DO SHARE!!!
I don’t want to run afoul of the rules here, so pm me if you want more info. 'K?
Ok call me confused. I get a feed in my email of houses for sale in the area approx. once a month. Don’t ask me why. Anyway, I was startled to see this farm listed at below $1m when last I knew it was around $1.4. Just did a quick check on line and couldn’t find it at the lower price so either web sites not yet updated or typo on the feed. None the less if you know the North Shore and are dying to take a peek, here 'tis:
https://www.pinnaclehouses.com/real-estate/467-sagamore-street-hamilton-ma-01982/72425995/62817716
I reiterate that I have no business or ownership interest in this property. My only interest is in getting a good horseperson into it!
But if your barn manager is out of town and another boarder calls you at 7pm do you tell them you are busy Christmas shopping and good luck? Held a horse in 15 degree temps while the vet stitched its eyelid back on. Best part was when the owner argued about me making the call to call the vet then argued with the vet.
:eek::eek: I’m not quite north shore (93 goes through my backyard) but I’d be willing to move if anyone wants to go halfsies on this!!!:lol::lol: That place is stunning, and to have access to all of those places nearby- eventer’s heaven!!
OP, back to the topic at hand: most points I would make have already been made. Assume that owning and operating/maintaining a farm will cost more than you think, consider your riding goals and whether you will be able to accomplish them from the facilities that you will have at home, and the feasibility of being able to trailer out for lessons, clinics, etc. given local weather, traffic etc.
I have my eventer at home. I do not have trail access from my house (have to trailer out) nor do I have an all-weather outdoor or indoor ring. This makes staying in shape year round impossible and cuts my competition season down considerably by the time we get back in shape come spring/early summer. There are definitely times that I wish I could afford to board at a barn with an indoor in my area, but I can’t, and even if I could, with working full time, balancing family time with my husband and toddler, and local/regional traffic, it would be a struggle to get there more than 2-3 days per week anyways.
Nothing is perfect, especially if you’re on a budget. Figure out your priorities- what you can live with, what you can’t live without, and assume that the rosey picture you have in your head about farm life is not completely accurate. I love having my boy at home, I love being able to make all of his care decisions and seeing him every day, but man it would be nice to have the option to hack out easily all winter and have easy access to a trainer without it turning into a half day production to trailer to lessons on the weekend. Good luck with whatever you decide!
I agree with most of what has been said. It really depends on your goals and flexibility. For me, while I wanted to move up the levels/compete, I also was keenly interested in becoming an all-round horsewoman. Moving them home and being the “sole charge” for 15 years forced me to really learn the ins and outs of horsemanship. However, there are just so may hours in a day and so it is difficult to provide both the saddle time and labour required to keep a farm running. And maintain healthy non-horsey relationships. During the time that I had them at home I did manage to train and compete, even without an arena. And at a certain point I did have a proper arena built, which was a luxury. And I did have awesome ride-out. However, it was still a challenge to find time to do it all. I board mine out now. And I LOVE it. I really don’t see myself going back to having them at home - ever. Unless I win the lottery and can afford to hire full-time/live-on-the-property help, LOL. At the same time, I don’t regret the years of having them at home. It turned me into the horsewoman that I am today and helped to open many doors for me in my horse-animal-oriented career.
- make sure you have a good network of friends or professional farm sitters to help out if you need to travel or are ill or injured;
- don’t take on boarders, even self-care. Unless you have a great facility you won’t be able to charge enough to make up for the increase in insurance costs for having non-owned horses on the property. And they are more trouble than they are worth. Ask me how I knew.
- figure out some way to be sure you actually ride. I’m usually too worn out after working all day and doing chores to do much riding.
That said, I would not go back to boarding. I like having my horses at home with me and I like having control over their care. I also did a lot of traveling in the few years before I bought my place so am okay with having most of my vacations be staycations where I work around the farm.
I have a couple of friends that do farmsitting when I have to travel for work or will stop by and feed the horses and let the dogs out when I have to work late. That was helpful when I had to have an unexpected surgery a few years back and wasn’t supposed to lift more than 10lbs or push a wheelbarrow for 4 weeks.
