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What do you wish you knew before buying a horse property?

Around The Farm
#81

I think renting a farm is a great trial run! I’ve been running my own small farm for 10 years now and I wish I knew that I would not have much time to actually ride my horse! My horse is 28 years old now and spent the prime of his life only being ridden about 3 times a week because I was working like crazy to set up this farm.

Before we bought the farm, we didn’t have much disposable income so I couldn’t afford to board my horses at afar that gave them the level of care I wanted. Moving them home meant they got much better care, but I was busting my butt to do it. Now that I have more disposable income, I would love to hire someone to do chores around here a couple days a week, but my riding horse is now too old to be actively ridden, and I’m not planning on getting another horse.

When we were tooling to buy, I said I would check the hydrological maps for any property to figure out if it floods in the spring. Then we got tired of looking at land and impulse bought a place that gets really wet every spring.

Overall, I love the farm and working with my horses every day but I wish I had more time to ride and I wish I didn’t have to spend a month ankle deep in mud every spring.

1 Like
#82

if I were to buy again rather than using a real estate agent I believe I would have a relationship with a divorce attorney as the property we bought was sold as a result of of a divorce, the property on the west was sold because of a divorce, the property on the east also was a divorce driven sale… all property transactions were under market priced for quick sale…

so, maybe get ahead of the game by knowing just whose property is about to be sold in distress would or could be a game changer when you have the cash in hand

3 Likes
#83

When I first read your comment about knowing a divorce attorney, I thought you were going to mention how our spouses feel about all the time we spend maintaining the farm rather than participating in the family :joy:

5 Likes
#84

At least for us (my wife and I) we sort of expected this as we first met while working as grooms for Saddlehorse farms… we kept passing one another as we took horses from the warmup rings to show rings. Everything I worked with was under harness where everything she worked with was under saddle. This went on for most of a summer.

Here we got the first horses for the kids, it just turned into an extended venture as the “kids” are now all around forty years old…but still have horses here that have been accumulated over time… the last that was sold was I guess 25 years ago, otherwise once something comes here it is here for ever

There is no need for a gym membership

6 Likes
#85

Yeah, my husband much prefers the outdoor work to any type of gym exercise. In the morning, after barn chores, he does pushups in the barn aisle, pullups on the cross piece over the round pen gate, then runs down/up the tall bluff on our property.

1 Like
#86

So technically not my home, but I keep my horses at my dad’s place, and when he bought the 5 acres, I was a teenage so did live there for several years (and it’s still a second home!).

I’m lucky in that I live in a very mild climate, horses live out all year and we have excellent grass, so one pony never needs extra feeding and the other only needs a relatively minimal amount through winter. I don’t even have a barn, they just have run ins in each paddock (currently negotiating with dad who owns the property to build some though, we do get very wet weather at times and it would be good to have somewhere dry!).

There’s always mowing. Lots and lots of it. In summer even 2 horses can’t keep up with the grass over the approx 3 acres of paddocks. Fencing. There’s always fencing to be done (I found substantially more so if the fences weren’t hot…at least the hot ones, they keep off and it reduces maintenance). We’re 9 years in and are at a point where the footing in and around the shelters desperately needs redoing and I suspect it’s going to be a bit expensive.

Definitely consider access. We have a solid driveway that runs through the middle of the property and gives access about everywhere, but there’s a few spots where even the 4WD will struggle to get to in the wettest weather. Dad frequently bogs the mower.

Agree with the safety aspect of riding alone that some people have mentioned. Was never a concern with my older pony, when the young horse was a breaker last year, I tried not to ride if no one was home, but if I did, I texted someone before getting on, gave a rough timeframe of how long I thought I’d be riding, and at what point to be worried if I hadn’t checked back in. My phone is always either on me, or videoing so still in the arena, and I have an Apple Watch with fall detection…hoping I’ll never need to test it!

1 Like
#87

We literally just bought 15 acres and brought our horses home at the beginning of this month.

There isn’t a lot that I wish I had known before making the decision, but here are some things that I wish I had thought through more clearly before taking the plunge.

  • Manure Management is a THING. We have three horses to your one and holy moly is there more manure than I thought.

  • Mud is a THING. I have had horses my whole life, so I know about how they make mud, but had foolishly thought that 3 would not make as much mud as they do.

  • Finding a source for good hay is important and requires a lot of legwork–and a place to store it where it is dry. (And a hay elevator if said place is a loft.)

  • Making sure that there is a place for vets and farriers to work with a horse is also a thing (though
    maybe not in all caps). For us, this required leveling and laying mats into our barn aisle (which was dirt) and installing cross-ties (no big deal) and a place for the vet to throw the rope over for the dental speculum (is that what it’s called?).

  • A place to store my tack that is convenient to where the horses are. We have a four stall barn and 3 horses–the 4th is now a “feed room” with no extra space for tack trunks or saddle racks.

#88

Keep a list of the things you like about your rental setup and things that you would do differently. The right layout can make a huge difference in how easy/difficult your daily chores are, and in who you can rely on in an emergency. For example, if you can set up your turnout so that horses do not need to be led in and out of the barn or wherever they are fed, that would allow a non-horsey person to feed in a pinch if needed. Try to plan for very efficient turning in/out, haying, and watering. Keep at least a week’s worth of hay as close to where you’re going to feed it as possible, have an efficient way to feed hay, and consider installing auto waterers.

I think one of the most efficient and land-friendly turnout setups is a central dry lot area with gates to each of your paddocks, which you can open and close as needed to turn in/out or rotate the fields. The dry lot area can contain an auto waterer plus your barn and/or run-in shed, and should ideally have improved footing like stonedust or whatever is recommended in your area so it doesn’t become a mud pit.

And when you do go farm shopping, consider how the terrain might impact your ability to be efficient. I pretty much had to put my barn and field on opposite sides of a driveway, equipment shed, and little stream so I can’t turn in/out without leading. I eventually made up for that somewhat by building a dry lot with shed and waterer so the horses can live out most of the year (I bring them in for the day in the summer because it’s miserable). But ideally I would still like everything connected.

2 Likes
#89

Preach it, Sister!

1 Like
#90

In my view, keeping horses can be as easy or as difficult as one would like to make it. I board my two about 10 minutes away but do full care on them. In order to streamline the process, I bought large squares (3x3x8), throw a hay net on, and they go through one bale every 17-20 days. They have access to shelter and the ranch is set up with heated automatic waterers. I usually go out every day because I love spending time with them, but their care is pretty streamlined. And most importantly, they’re happy.

My DH and I are in the same boat looking for properties in another state. I recently stumbled on the idea of a paddock paradise / track system. (I read through about half the responses, so apologies if someone’s already mentioned this). We decided this is our ideal, and it can be done on a very small amount of land. There’s a great Paddock Paradise FB group if you’re interested in more information.

But… back to your original question: I wish I knew how much time I would enjoy spending with them and how happy it makes me to see the horses every day. I would have done this a lot sooner if I had known.

2 Likes
#91

Until I read comments about this it never even occurred to me that getting a vet out is not possible in many places. For me, it is a really important service which I am, by dumb luck, fortunate to have. It is also one of several good reasons to get a horse farmette in an area with like-minded neighbors, because those areas are likely to be served by feed stores, vets and other horse professionals, along with other advantages @clanter listed.

4 Likes
#92

The place I board has v-mesh attached to welded pipe fencing. The fencings consists of a single horizontal piece, a top rail, welded to the posts which are cemented in. This fence has been at this place for going on maybe 40 years now and is in excellent shape for the most part. The only problem area is between two smaller paddocks which were shared by two territorial mares who, I am told, would back up the fence and double-barrel each other. In that spot, the posts and top rail are fine but the fence wire is stretched; it could be repaired or replaced easily but the horses are gone and neither paddock is used anymore.

Welded pipe is very expensive and, in my opinion, not as pretty as some wood fencing but because of its durability, low maintenance and safety it would be my top option.

1 Like
#93

if used make sure the installer puts in slip joints to allow for thermal expansion, if not used the fence line can really get out of shape during an extreme temperature change (high heat or very cold)

#94

We must not get big enough or quick enough temperature changes here in Southern California. Also, the longest fence runs are not much more than 300’ so that may be why I have not seen that problem.

I also think that metal fences might not be the best in areas with very cold weather. A while back, I posted a question to COTH readers about whether or not they had ever had a horse get a tongue or lips stuck to frozen metal. One poster said her horse had an EYELID get stuck and torn. Aaagh! (Shiver).

1 Like
#95

What do I wish I would have known before buying a horse property?

I wish I would have known how bittersweet it feels to sell my farm after putting heart and soul and every spare cent into it for almost 20 years.

7 Likes
#96

A couple of things.

  1. don’t buy equipment (e.g., chain saws, weed eaters, etc.) from the big box stores. Go to the businesses that supply arborists, landscapers, etc. to make sure you get real heavy duty stuff. You’ll burn out the homeowner stuff real quickly.
  2. Buy a real tractor with a FEL but make sure its foot print fits where you need to go. Always buy a little more than you think you are going to need.
  3. If you don’t know how to do basic service on equipment (e.g. oil changes, hydraulic fluid changes, etc.), learn. If not you will spend a lot of money paying someone else to do it.
  4. A 24 volt impact driver, reciprocating saw, drill and air pump are worth the money. Make sure they are all the same brand so the batteries are interchangeable.
10 Likes
#97

great point as we have switch completely over to battery packed tools… overtime getting additional chargers has been a good thing, with three chargers several people can continue to work

regarding battery packs… do have small, medium and large capacity batteries as it sure makes life easier to use a smaller pack on a small tool as the very large batteries will weigh more than some tools (or at least you will think they do after holding it for a while)

3 Likes
#98

I can so relate to this (sadly); made worse knowing the buyers that got our place totally trashed it and now it looks like crap.

1 Like

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