If you’re ambivalent about it, I would say don’t do it.
We’ve been at our (rented) place for 7 months now. Its hard. Winter sucked, we didn’t have enough time from move-in to prepare for winter.
Its hard work. If you don’t enjoy that type of work and structure of needing to do those chores, day in and day out, (I thrive on it, without “needing” to get up and do those chores I turn into a bit of a lump, even if I grumble about doing it!) then it probably isn’t for you.
Lots to think about! Besides everything above, will you need a garden tractor or real tractor? Implements? Trailer for tractor? Arena? Will you end up with more than one horse? We absolutely love ours. I love the land and solitude, watching our horses on pasture vs dry lot. I think my husband likes the equipment!
I didn’t read everything, but I agree with Miss Motivation. If you’re wary about having a farm and it’s not a strong desire, don’t do it.
I’ve wanted a farm, in Florida, since I was like 15. I got it at 28, and it’s amazing, it’s heaven, I love every bit about it - including the downs.
But you lose a lot of freedom in your non-horse life, it is a lot of work and a lot of hassle, especially up there in the midwest. I’m from Ohio, and absolutely refused to buy a farm there because I detest winter with every fiber of my being. Then after winter finally ends (some 4-5 months later) you get to deal with knee deep mud for two months. No thanks!
Having a horse farm is one of those things where it is a LOT easier if you have a bunch of money too. I know that sounds tacky. But there are huge expenditures you can make on equipment and year-round functioning facilities and hiring labor, snow removal, etc. that make your life so much easier.
You can do it without a turnkey property and a lot of extra money, but then you have to work a lot harder and you eat up your time to enjoy the horses. At least that’s been my experience. I think couples should really put pen to paper before buying a farm. Unless you have a lot of horses, it is usually much cheaper to board and gives you a lot more free time.
I think you have to look at what your goals in horse ownership are. Do you have access at the new place to instruction, farriers, vets, etc. or is competition not a goal? Do you like solitude or the social aspect of seeing others when you ride your horse? I really miss riding with other people and don’t like riding alone. I’ve actually had a couple times where I boarded my riding horse for training and access to an indoor, and had other horses and donkeys at home.
Been on my farm for 18 years now. Before that, DH and I and two small kids were in “rural suburbia” then moved to suburbia but it was mainly for the kids to be around other kids. Once they were high school age, we bought the land and it’s been a labor of love (mostly) for all those years. However, both DH and I KNEW we wanted the lifestyle even if we didn’t know all the ins and outs of horse keeping.
You have some idea of what it’s like but if hubby thinks it will “streamline” your life then you need to disabuse him of that notion pronto! Is he the type that likes to build/fix/figure out stuff? Does he like day/overnight trips? etc. etc. etc.
At the stage of my life when I had our toddler, I would never have considered getting a farm even if it were financially and otherwise feasible. Only when the kids got older, did we even start thinking/planning. Good luck!
OP, can you have your husband read this thread? Lots of good info from people who have lived it here.
Because while his intentions sound good, they are not all that well-informed nor do they seem to jive with how you are currently feeling. And I say this as someone who, literally, for her entire life, has wanted nothing more than to have my animals in my backyard and some acreage. Still pursuing that goal, but really important to me and SO that the layout is right as wherever we end up is going to be long-term.
A lot of it really depends on whether you’d be happy with that lifestyle? I love doing chores and spending my down time outside with the animals, but lots of people make the switch and find they are tied down more than they thought and don’t get to do the very thing they brought their horses home for, which is to ride…
I think the question is more basic than “do I want to keep my horse at home?” I think the important question is, “Deep down in my heart, am I a farmer?” I am. Now, that doesn’t mean that I’ve always lived in a farm - I had a period of time during my adult life when it just wasn’t feasible. And it doesn’t mean that I will always live on a farm, because I can see a time when, again, it won’t be feasible. But, I am undoubtedly a farmer, even when I’m living in a condo in an urban area.
In the long run, boarding your horse and living in a nice house/condo is almost always going to be cheaper, easier, and less stressful than owning your own place. So, unless you’ve got that emotional need to be a farmer, having your own horse property probably isn’t the best choice.
Last year I felt super overwhelmed with our then one year old and a half acre to take care of. Today, I spent several hours outside with and without kiddo (she was sleeping) and things seemed less confining. I like my garden and tooling around in the yard. We’ll see how the next year or two feels and go from there.
Husband loves the idea of being away from people (as long as there is good internet!) and me having the ability to ride more… even if that means more labor.
Who knows where we’ll end up! Maybe I’ll be over the city convenience by then
Husband is super handy and hates leaving home. Haha!
It’s definitely a big lifestyle change to go from boarding to farm life. For me, it’s something I’ve always wanted and thankfully DH is on board with this. Make yourself a pros/cons list to see how it balances out for your situation. We’re still in the process of building our barn so I still feel like I’m straddling the fence on a lot of things. Here are my pros and cons:
Things I love about having a farm:
Things that aren’t so great about having a farm:
For me, the pros outweigh the cons. It takes some soul searching to decide what you really want and whether farm life is right for you.
I have much LESS time to ride owning my own farm. There is always a list of chores. I have to move poop, move hay, mow, spray weeds, weed wack, fix fence, etc. If riding is a goal, then I highly recommend a turnkey property with an all-weather arena (if you are in the south) or an indoor. Also keeping horses out 24x7 will cut down on your daily labor. Good luck!
@eponacelt We have the same husband! He was the one pushing to get a farm and he was also the go-to person at the old barn to get things done (put up fans, fix wheel barrows, etc.). He absolutely loves it here and wants to get into old cars!
That being said, there is such a sense of peace here knowing the horses are on our property grazing. It’s wonderful!
This is definitely my experience. Unless you’re the kind of person who gets as much satisfaction out of the chores as you do out of the riding, having your own place might not be the best option. The exception to this is having a spouse or partner and/or older children who are, by nature, farmers. My Dad and my younger son loved all that stuff. Loved the mowing, the fence fixing, the hay stacking, the cattle working, the tractor fixing… That frees you up to spend more time in the saddle. Sadly, I’m on my own, now. 
I understand your concern, it is never an easy task as you need to handle all stuff such as maintenance, feeding, water supply, shielding, barn repair…
Allons-y, evidently we are the same person. This is exactly how I feel as well. I moved to my own little farm 2 1/2 years ago, and I still feel like I need to pinch myself every day. From the time I was a small child I dreamt of having a farm and horses and at the age of 58 I finally got my wish. The reality is even better than the dream. It is glorious. I will say that going on vacation is quite the endeavor, but it’s a relatively small price to pay.
Apparently “I am a Farmer.” I have to confess, chores, maintenance, mowing, trimming, etc, etc are indeed enjoyable to me. I was just outside, talking to my plants, encouraging them to hurry up! Last year I planted a flowering Quince, a Texas Chaste tree, a Hydrangea, a Kousa Dogwood and three Black Diamond Crepe Myrtles. None of them gained much traction and are all recovering from the multiple hard freezes we had. They all survived and I am expecting great things from them this year.
It’s too windy to weed spray the fence lines, the pastures don’t need mowing yet, the horses are good with their hay and grass. I actually have no must-do repairs or work right now, so I’m enjoying some down time.
For my next time off work, I plan to rototill the garden (I know I’m late), dig some electric fence under the gates and install more electric tape. I consider that “fun”. I have no desire to go shopping, go out to eat, or anything like that. My friends know they can come over any time, but I might hand them a shovel or pliers!
TLDR? I am definitely made for this, YMMV OP.
I have my own farm now, but I lived at several boarding facilities over the years. There are lots of pros to having your own place and lots of cons too. I can only give you my experience and what is important to me.
If you purchase a place that is 100% move in ready, be prepared to pay for it. They are not cheap (at least where I live). After looking for quite some time at different farms, we decided on 10 acres with no horse facility. It did have a 100 yr old cow barn that was in excellent condition so I used this for hay and feed storage, tack room, etc… The ceilings were too low for horses. The house, garage, yard and fencing were all in excellent condition so we only had to focus on building the horse area.
This process did cut into my riding time. While I could manage a ride here and there, I didn’t feel that I really had the time or money to compete. But this was okay with me. It took a total of five years to get everything built that I wanted (would have been nice to have all that money up front, but it is what it is). In the time waiting and working on getting my farm the way I wanted it, I decided that this would be the best time to breed my mare and let her enjoy a pregnancy where she could get fat and furry. I now have a real barn (used Noble stalls until barn was complete), indoor and outdoor wash rack, concrete base manure pile, paddocks attached to stalls, 9 acres of wonderful grass turnout, lots of LIGHTS and hot and cold water in the barn. But most important to me is that I have 3 very happy horses.
My pros in no particular order-
My cons-
If you could rent some place, I would highly recommend it. There are people who love to do all the work involved in caring for the horses and there are people who would rather board. Better to see which one you really are before such a large purchase.
might want to project that to the end … if we did not have horses at home then we would not have spent the half million dollars in care/feed and upkeep over the last thirty plus years (well at least not spent it on our horses here LOL)
that money would have been a welcomed boost to our retirement plans
I had horses for about 10 years before getting my own property nearly 17 years ago. I boarded in several facilities - from full care to pasture only. For the most part, my horses were ok. There were a few differences of opinion with barn management. Other boarders were a mixed bag. Being able to ride and really focus on riding was problematic. To me, the politics of boarding was a bigger problem than the care.
When we moved to the farm, I was working a full time job in the city - which meant a 50 mile commute daily. My husband worked at home. I got up at 4 a.m. to feed horses before leaving for work. We bought a tractor, learned to repair and replace fencing, maintain the pastures and arena. We learned to haul and stack hay. Some days I only got to see my horses in the dark.
I did not miss the social aspects of boarding much at all. I did not miss the city, although I did miss the convenience of having access to several grocery stores close by. My husband said that he felt he had been preparing all of his life to live on a farm. Our horses are happier and healthier. They are out on pasture, but come into the barn for feeding a.m. and p.m. and can be stalled if it is really cold and wet.
Some people may not be suited to this lifestyle. It is a significant commitment, and it can be relentless - the animals have to be taken care of 365 days a year. It is difficult to find a trustworthy farm sitter (I absolutely love mine). I have been fortunate to have a good vet and farrier, both of which have been good resources. I think that taking care of the horses and maintaining this property has been good physical therapy for both of us.
This. I had a 15-acre farm, and I did love having my horses at home. They looked great, they were happy, and I was able to ride nearly every day, weather permitting (so, generally, not at all in the winter). But it is a labor of love, and an absolute lifestyle commitment, unless you can hire a full-time staff.
For the first year on my farm, I did the work myself (my husband was working long hours and commuting an hour each way). After that, I got a little smarter and hired PT help. Of course finding competent, reliable help is another thread of its own, even if you pay generously (i.e. total nightmare). I also ended up having to hire help to accomplish a lot of the maintenance: my husband wasn’t home during daylight hours on weekdays to help, and he didn’t want to spend his weekends doing manual labor. So things like snow removal, fixing fences (you will do a lot of this), installing hotwire, anything I physically couldn’t do myself, I had to pay to have done. We also opted to hire out the mowing and weed whacking rather than purchasing a sufficiently sized tractor and other equipment. Though we did end up with a Polaris with a hydraulic dumping bed and a small manure spreader, which were immensely useful tools.
After a cross-country move, I am now enjoying city life and having my horses boarded again. I don’t have to be there for them all the time, and honestly, I don’t want to be there every day. I once went something like 6 months of doing all of their care 7 days/week without a single day, or even morning, off. No thanks. There may now be details of my horses’ care that I wish I could change, but one thing I learned having horses at home (even though I cared for mine like show horses, which is what they were accustomed to), is that if they have hay, water, and shelter, they will be fine. If I were to have a farm again, I would make sure I had enough acreage to put in a shedrow-type barn with a one-acre attached stone dust paddock, and the rest grass, and mostly just have the horses living outside. As an aside, one thing I did love and find surprisingly zen was dragging my ring, fields, and gravel driveway.
And I must emphasize, as BeeHoney said, winter is 100 percent miserable with a farm, and the horses love to choke or colic when you’re supposed to leave for something important.
I would also add that between the mortgage, the maintenance, the hay and bedding, the equipment, etc., I wouldn’t count on a cost savings. It’s more about having control over your horses’ care and not having to deal with other boarders, if those are priorities for you. YMMV
TLDR: Don’t do it unless you have a burning desire for the lifestyle. 
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