To have a horse farm or not?

[Horseman15]

There are a lot of good opinions and info on here of what to expect. It IS a lifestyle. For me personally I enjoy being on the tractor (get one with a cab if you can. No matter the weather I’m comfortable and dry). I like the mowing. I get plenty of amusement out of my horses when I’m trying to pick up the maneur from the fields. My gelding is a pain in the butt! He’ll make me back up and drive around him. But honestly I think it’s hysterical! No matter what I’m doing they both follow me around and poke their noses in everything. I don’t really mind most of the work. When I’ve had a bad day they’re instant therapy. I love going out in the morning before work to give them a carrot and get kisses from them. When my gelding was injured I was able to see him 24/7 and give him the care he needed. When I got my mare she had behavioral issues that needed to be addressed. Having her home I was able to spend 5 minutes with her in the morning before work and go out numerous times to mess with her.

But as others have said it’s 24/7/365. Winter sucks, it’s not been fun but they were out 24/7. A barn makes life easier. I think the worst part of having them home is when you’re sick they still have to eat and be cared for if they are ill or injured. Yes, they’ve broken the fence, they can be destructive (my gelding runs around bucking and kicks the top rail fence regularly). Stuff happens.

If​ I’m only going away for a weekend I’ll make sure they have plenty of hay and water. I’ll clip all the gate chains to make sure they can’t accidentally unhook the gates (like my mare did yesterday). And I leave my cell number taped to the door in case there’s any issues. I haven’t gone away for longer, but I rarely have in the past. If I can’t find someone to sit I’ll simply buck up and pay someone to Temp board at their place.

It takes a little time in the morning to feed them. In the afternoon it doesn’t take me too long. I’ve taught mine to not care if I pick their stalls while they’re in there, including when they’re eating. I spend about an hour a day cleaning up and feeding them.

If you think you’ll save money over boarding, you will. That said, what you save you spend many times over on your own place. I spend so much more than I ever save. I’m still paying tractor, barn and arena loans. But those are 5 year loans. The cost of the property is a lot more than a single family home is. What you have to look at it is it worth your time and effort? For me when it’s all said and done with I love the lifestyle. I’m not big on the boarding drama, how a lot of places do things and having to deal with other people. In the end of it all of the money I’ve invested in my place is done the way I want. I won’t have to pay for other people’s places.

I like hauling out for lessons because it gives my horses a change of scenery, keeps them used to trailering and standing in a trailer for a while. The guy I prefer is 45 minutes away so it’s an all day prospect.

I have a lot less time to ride, but I enjoy my horses 1000 times more! It’s just a lifestyle choice I chose and love.

[Cynical25]

I grew up on land with animals and have such lovely memories! Those memories did not include all the never-ending work my dad did behind the scenes, about which I had NO true idea.

I’m approaching 3 years on my 6 acres with 2 horses and I desperately miss boarding. It IS delightful to see my horses everyday, and I enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells outside the hustle and bustle of the city, but it does NOT work for my life situation. I’m perpetually exhausted and the ROI is just not there.

I work a full-time job with a longish commute, and come home to another full-time job of mowing, checking fences, scrubbing buckets, doctoring horses, hunting down hay in a drought. I’m very lucky that my spouse does the bulk of the cooking despite working her own full-time job, but I still have to help maintain our home, do laundry, and also find quality time to spend with our 12 year old between carting him to sports. Assuming the ground is not soaking wet nor concrete hard (there is a VERY small window with clay soil), I might be able to squeeze in a ride or 2 per month, but then my joy is tempered by family member resentment of even more time spent outside. We are literally on a count down to High School graduation, since my son is thriving in this district - our property will be listed for sale that spring and I will happily go back to boarding with a covered arena and blessed fewer responsibilities.

[Bluey]

@Cynical25

I grew up on land with animals and have such lovely memories! Those memories did not include all the never-ending work my dad did behind the scenes, about which I had NO true idea.

I’m approaching 3 years on my 6 acres with 2 horses and I desperately miss boarding. It IS delightful to see my horses everyday, and I enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells outside the hustle and bustle of the city, but it does NOT work for my life situation. I’m perpetually exhausted and the ROI is just not there.

I work a full-time job with a longish commute, and come home to another full-time job of mowing, checking fences, scrubbing buckets, doctoring horses, hunting down hay in a drought. I’m very lucky that my spouse does the bulk of the cooking despite working her own full-time job, but I still have to help maintain our home, do laundry, and also find quality time to spend with our 12 year old between carting him to sports. Assuming the ground is not soaking wet nor concrete hard (there is a VERY small window with clay soil), I might be able to squeeze in a ride or 2 per month, but then my joy is tempered by family member resentment of even more time spent outside. We are literally on a count down to High School graduation, since my son is thriving in this district - our property will be listed for sale that spring and I will happily go back to boarding with a covered arena and blessed fewer responsibilities.

That is a very important post as a caution to anyone that has stars in their eyes about the idillic farm life, where horses munch happily in ever green, sunny valleys and we ride into the sunset every day.

There is so much to caretaking a place and their critters that is fine for many.
For others, with a full life of so much else to do, caring for a place and critters can become one more imposition, not a joy.

We need to decide if that is what we really want out of our life, enjoy owning a place and horses to take care of, or enjoy horses to do things with, like riding regularly and even training and competing.

As they say, for most people, it comes down to the old “we can have ANYTHING we want, we can’t have EVERYTHING we want”.
Life is a trade-off with what we want and how much of that we can handle without burning out trying to have it all.

[IFG]

I will add, you can design things to be easier to maintain. I have a small space, 1/4 acre dirt paddock that doubles as my ring. My horses are in/out 24/7 with access to shed row stalls. I have a heated trough, so watering is minimal. I hay in nets to minimize clean up. My fences are 5’ non-climb with electric on top. I have not had to do more than push fallen tree limbs off (and it bounced back up) over the twelve years that we have lived here. I do not own a tractor, so I use a wheeled cart to pick manure. So long as I prepare for winter in time, it is pretty smooth. My horse lived here alone for 8 years happily, then my daughter’s horse lived here for nearly 4 years. Now I am considering getting another horse, but my old guy seems to like being alone.

[IFG]

I should add, I grew up in NYC, and from my earliest memory, I wanted to live on a farm and have horses. It took a long time to get here, and it is not the rolling fields that I imagined, but it still makes me immeasurably happy.

[HungarianHippo]

Farm chores will fill a big chunk of your weekends (assuming you both work full time). Make sure you know how you feel about that. We don’t watch much TV or go into town for dinners very often. We have a few good neighbors who share animal care for each other, so that’s not too bad, but still, it’s hard to go away for more than a few days. A full week or more is an awfully long time to ask someone to care for your farm (for free). Paid farm sitters are very rare around here.

We don’t have kids, and keep 2 horses on 35ac, half in timber. A lot of it is hayfields, so we don’t have to mow them much. We have an ENDLESS need to clear junk trees and brush, repair fences, paint things, clean water troughs, drag the barnyard, garden, mow, etc. (An argument could be made that we’re not actually keeping ahead of Mother Nature-- the junk trees especially are gaining on us. Chopping down, limbing and bucking even one tree is a tremendously time-consuming task.) But in general we really just enjoy the work – like others have said, it’s a lifestyle and not “work”-- and we both chip in equitably. If one of you has to shoulder most of the burden, the farm can easily become a source of resentment.

Give thought to availability of GOOD farriers, vet, etc, in any location that you move to. With just 2 equines, that’s not going to be worth it for many farriers to come to your farm. And if your job is inflexible about work hours, then it gets very stressful when you have to stand the horses for your farrier every 6-8 weeks, meet the vet, hay delivery, etc. While people routinely take an hour here and there for child-related things like picking up a sick kid, horse-related stuff is often not seen as important.

[Mukluk]

I have a very little place (barely over an acre) but it is in a horse community with a great equestrian center and over 50 miles of trails. It is a LOT cheaper for me to keep the two I have at home- and I like being in charge of their care. Plus their quality of life is much better (turned out most of the time) lots of nice soft dirt/sand in which to roll. Hay 24/7 out of nets. I work long hours but fortunately have a short commute. I also have a good horse/cat/goat sitter which is essential for needed vacations. I do every thing myself- until I meet a Mr. Right who loves to cook, clean, and shovel horse poop (ha ha). Renting a horse property might be a good way to see if it is what you really want.

[horsepix76]

My husband and I purchased a small 4-acre farmette last year that was set up for horses. It has a 3 stall barn, 2 acres of pasture and a 100x200 fenced outdoor arena with mirrors and lights. I do actually ride a lot more at home during the nice months than I did boarding, except perhaps before we had kids. I didn’t ride hardly at all over the winter. But then, I’m kind of a cold weather wuss, so I probably wouldn’t have ridden much more had I been at a place with an indoor.

I do ride at home by myself a lot. To feel a little safer, I use an app on my phone that notifies my husband when I get on my horse. If something were to happen to me, it will also send him a text that my phone has stopped moving for 60 seconds and I may need emergency help. Thankfully, we haven’t had that situation. I am also planning to get some outdoor security cameras and put one of them on my outdoor arena so that he could get online and check on me as necessary.

Its definitely a lifestyle change to have your own place. And it really doesn’t save any money over boarding (unless your board is extravagant) until multiple horses enter the equation. The most expensive thing for us is farm care. We like to go on vacation and it isn’t abnormal to pay between $500 - $1000 per week for someone to farm sit our animals, depending upon what type of care needs to be done. I don’t know about you, but an extra $1000 a week is a LOT for me and well over what I would have paid for a full month of board somewhere else. In other words, as others have mentioned, pre-planning for trips is a big part of the process.

That being said, as some others have also mentioned, I too LOVE having the space. My hubby and I built our previous home right in the middle of a suburban neighborhood and lived there quite happily for almost 14 years. Both of us wanted land, but it wasn’t a priority. However, I don’t think I could go back to that again. When this farm became available, we jumped at the chance to own it and I’m so thankful we have it – even when it was below 0 this past winter. LOL. Having space not just for my horses but for my kids to run around, explore and use their imaginations is so amazing. So far, it is worth it for us. But if you don’t think you want it and you’re not 100% committed, don’t do it.

[Grasshopper]

So we bought our 10 acres 10+ years ago, before kids and before our careers had really taken off. With two working-outside-the-home parents, two kids now (3 and 8), and no family nearby, keeping up with the farm is really really hard. And I have a super easy setup. We’re sticking with it as things will ease up some when the kids are a bit older, and we both like the space and not being 50’ from another house, but we do get behind on the mowing, the fence repair, home & barn improvements, etc.

I should note that my husband travels for months every year, which makes it harder for me. There are days I just want a nice little condo near school and work, usually when he’s gone. However, there really are upsides. For instance, my horses are happy and healthy, including my 25-year-old retired mare, and we could get the kids a pony without worrying about paying hundreds in board each month. My kids have plenty of space to run around outside, it’s quiet and peaceful when we get home from work, I have eyes on my horses twice/day, and there are weekend mornings when my husband kicks me out to get in a ride while the kids are eating breakfast. We also have a wonderful farmsitter for times when we are traveling.

If I were to do it again, especially with kids, I would look for/line up in advance the following: good farmsitter (and a backup); someone handy to help with fences/ barn repair/ mowing; tractor with appropriate attachments; reliable hay supplier and spacious hay storage (fewer trips required); streamline the setup to require no more than 15 minutes twice/day assuming things are going well (eg no injuries or gawdawful weather); fences and stall gates that keep kids out of horse areas; someone to come in as needed to bushhog/ spray for weeds/ remove and pile up pieces of trees.