Question for the older ladies that have horses at home. Was there a point when you realized you can’t keep up with caring for your horses at home? Did you move them to a boarding barn or hire help? I’m in my mid-60s healthy and working full time at a demanding corporate office job. I have two semi-retired horses at home and do all the horsey chores myself. Both horses have minor health issues due to their age (20 and 27) and ridden 2-3 times a week. Working full time it’s hard to find time to get them both ridden as much as I would like. Now add summer and I’m having an even tougher time getting riding and chores done in the heat. I live in the high desert and our temps get into the 100s. My husband is battling cancer so there are days he isn’t able to help me out with the chores. I’ve been tossing around the idea of boarding them for the summer and bringing them home in the fall when the temps cool down. But to justify the expense of boarding when neither horse is sound enough to be ridden more than a couple days a week. Pasture board is not an option as one horse is IR.
I’m so sorry for your husband and your family’s struggles.
I think given your age and stress levels, you shouldn’t feel bad at all boarding your two guys, if you can find a facility you trust.
The other option would be a college student who would like some light riding and cash in exchange for offering care, but that would be a unicorn find–someone competent enough to provide care yet who wouldn’t ride the horses too hard.
I understand your dilemma. I’m in my late 60’s and my husband is 76. Luckily we are both pretty healthy but I worry about the day when we aren’t.
If I were you and you can afford it, I’d consider boarding for the summer. You have a lot going on and a little relief would be good for you and husband.
Good luck 
If you can afford it, then do it. It’s quality of life for you as well.
I’m sorry to hear about your husband.
That can’t be an easy thing for you to have to deal with.
My own DH died before I made the move to my farmette (5ac) & brought horses home.
We’d boarded our 2 before that.
But I’m going for Devil’s Advocate & suggest looking for help & keeping your horses at home.
I’m 73 (HTF did that happen? 
) & have had 2 at home for 12yrs, added a mini 7yrs ago, so now have 3.
Riding horse, Driving mini & decorative pony.
Pony is 23, horse 21, mini just turned 9.
All in good health {knockwood}
I’m in the Midwest & Winter is the Worst time for me. Trekking through snow & cold 3X daily 
Though the heatwave we’re having - only high 80s, but heat is not my jam 
- is also not a lot of fun.
I had a Dressage trainer come to my farm bi-weekly until 2yrs ago when my budget for lessons went 
I still ride on my own, but have tapered off this year.
I’ve done my share of showing in the past, Hunters, Dressage & Eventing.
But more as a dabbler than seriously competitive.
I started Driving the mini when he turned 3 & showed him at annual County Fair & 1 glorious ADS show.
So if I ride or drive - trails with my Club - there’s no set schedule.
I have an indoor arena, but only about 3 ride/driveable acres. Enough for me, no goals, just fun.
That takes any pressure to perform off me & the horses.
So far, caring for them is doable on my own.
My personal limit is the day I can no longer manage a 50# bag of grain or bale of hay.
So far, so good.
I have a neighbor I call my Faux Grandson - he & his Dad are my hayguys - who’s available for things that require Manstrength.
Something I’ve learned to accept as my body lets me know I can’t do everything I used to.
83yo friend still has his 3 horses at home.
He drives frequently, trails mostly.
He has a HS kid who cleans stalls, but otherwise cares for the horses himself.
I setup my barn so horses have free access to stalls & from stalls to pastures.
So they effectively turn themselves out & in.
Bonus Points as they use stalls rarely, so I don’t have much mucking to do. Some days not a single pile in any of the 3 stalls.
If you can do this it not only makes your life easier, but non-horsey people can feed in a pinch.
My farm is no Showplace, but it’s workmanlike & suits me.
When I moved to another state several years ago, I had every intention of continuing to keep my horses at home, but one thing led to another and I ended up boarding. After having kept my horses at home for most of my horse owning life, I have finally discovered the joy of boarding. No more carrying 50# bags of feed, bucking hay, flipping nearly full water troughs for cleaning, or mowing pastures, which killed my back. It’s only in hindsight that I realize that doing all those things was becoming increasingly difficult as I aged.
On the other hand…
About 10 years ago, I looked at some property for sale. It was a small horse farm and the owners were in their 80s. I was so impressed! The owners had modified the farm as they had aged so that they could continue to care for their horses with minimal outside assistance.
For example, they could back their truck right up to feed bins that rolled under the tailgate so bags of feed could be emptied into the bins right off the tailgate. Slightly elevated water troughs with drain plugs so troughs could be emptied by opening the plugs, which you didn’t have to bend down to the ground to reach. Outdoor water spigots next to every water trough so you didn’t have to pull long hoses to reach. So, yes, it is certainly possible to arrange things to make it easier to keep your horses at home as you age.
That’s a really clever idea, I might just look into doing that with my water tubs
best thing I believe we ever did was to hire a lawn sprinkler company in their off season to run waterlines to our barns and pastures. They came in with two trenchers, six workers and had all the pipe and fitting needed, I just supplied the six frost proof hydrants. In one day they trenched about a thousand feet installed the water line, buried the trenching and completed the whole thing in less than one day.
This also prevents wannabe swimmers from fouling the water/busting troughs with their cloddhoppers. Can be as simple as a few right-sized pallets stacked.
I think I would check in to having a handyperson who can take over the routine. There may be a retired person or a work from home person who could take over the routine care and small special projects. That way you can be flexible and have your friends at home. Your husbands cancer journey, we hope is a temporary blip in your journey.
Only you can decide if having the horses boarded is an ideal situation. Will it add a trip on to your day? Or will they become the thing you can see or do once in a while and they slowly slip into the background; out of sight out of mind.
I think finding a helping hand at home is the first step, for jobs big and small
second step is take a HARD look at your work life and be honest about what you must do vs what you do. How much are you doing that could be delegated to an associate? How much are they burdening you because of your Can Do Spirit?
Nothing new here, and not my ideas, but I learned from others and built these.
Troughs are 25 gallons and are elevated on stands. I picked the 25 gallon size because I can pick them up (empty) and move them. The stands are 4x4 legs with platforms to hold the tubs. The 4x4’s stick up so horses can’t easily slide the tub off of the platform. The platform has an opening in the bottom to allow for a screw-plug drain in the bottom I put into each tub.
The drains don’t work as I planned when there is a lot of grass or hay on the bottom of the water as it plugs the drain outflow. So if that is the case, I use a “shaker” siphon drain hose to empty the troughs. It’s the blue hose in the picture. I found it in the well parts section of my local Lowes. I can empty and rinse and clean the troughs without having to bend over or kneel, which is nice because my flexibility went south many years ago.
I installed a water valve in one trough. Because the round trough doesn’t have a flat surface for mounting I improvised by bending a piece of aluminum bar and bolting it to that. The green wire faintly seen in the water valve trough is a grounding wire. Horses would not drink out of this trough. I discovered it was because of stray voltage in the water from the underground power line to the barn which runs close by. It went away if I shut off the barn power. The wire runs from the water to a grounding rod hammered in next to the fence post just outside. That grounding solved the not-drinking problem once they learned that the water would not bite them. It took a few weeks.
those trough floats are great - saved me many a flood when I turned on the water and forgot it! The one thing I did which has been a big work saver was to redo my fencing with lanes so that I can just chuck my horses out the barn door and they make their own way out to the pasture.
Best low maintenance barn I have seen had roll up doors at each end of the stall rows and folding deviders - just drove the skid steer threw and pushed everything right to the manure pile.
I am set in my ways with my horses and would rather have them home in a messy barn than boarded out in a “nice” barn. Focus on keeping the basics of safe and happy horse and don’t sweat it if the aisle isn’t swept everyday or the fencelines weedeated, and honestly when it’s stupid hot nothing wrong with giving them a month off if they get decent turnout.
Someone like myself might be interested in doing chores in exchange for opportunities to ride.
That was going to be my suggestion as it would be my preference if I was in your situation. Even if it is just a few days a week it should help ease your burden.
This is so smart. I love the ideas surfacing in this thread, to make horse-keeping at home easier! I mean, it’s stuff that anyone could implement … not just those who are finding chores difficult in their older age.
Did you also build the platform stands yourself?
If boarding isn’t something you really want to do (or if it would strain your budget a bit too much for comfort), can you do things the other way? Can you provide horse room to a friend (or at least, a known quantity person) who needs somewhere to keep their horse, who is younger and willing to work off board in trade?
The benefit of this approach is your habits don’t need to change a lot, but as you find things more difficult, you can ask your younger person to do them. Plus, there is a 2nd set of eyes on the ground to notice things that might not be going right, which I always found useful.
When I had my horses at home, I often had 1 or 2 boarders as well. (Not for the work, but for the money. Two boarders paid the feed bill for my horses). But I can see how it would work in trade also.
Or, get acquainted with a good handyman/garden guy and have him come 1Xweek. He can do the heavy lifting, the fence fixing, the truck unloading, the irrigation repairing. Then you manage the other 6 days. If you don’t have any needs that week, let him weed/mow/fix the garage/there’s always something.
I didn’t have horses at home after 55 – we moved, I didn’t have horses period for a time – now I lease at a barn and I love it: the work does not have my name on it. But I’m not even an owner anymore, so that perspective may not count.
I find as I get older my tolerance for heat has decreased. I once could stay on the tractor all day mowing - now, after a few hours, I’m overheated and woozy. Same with fence repairs - could spend hours out working the fence lines, pulling weeds - whatever, but now a few hours in the morning while it’s coolest and then I’m done. Hubby is seven years younger than me but I’m fitter and have more stamina for such chores than he does - so that worries me a bit too. I think the day when neither of us can lift a couple of feed sacks and carry them where they need to go will be the day we sit back and reassess.
Current horse count is two, and they are out 24/7. They come in twice daily for feed (Ration balancer and hoof supps) and welfare check, but after I drop the feed in their buckets there’s nothing else to be done. They eat the same amount and about the same rate, so they don’t waste time trying to get to each other’s feed. No one has to be locked up or in to keep mealtime peace - so nice! It’s the simplest setup I have ever had by far, and like @2DogsFarm said, most days stall are left clean. I never realized what a huge energy and time suck cleaning stalls was until I didn’t have to do it any more!
Biggest energy expense right now is keeping water troughs full, and for now I am not utilizing anything automatic. I just like to see how the water consumption is going. Only one trough is too big and heavy (when full or half-full even) for me to dump myself, but hubby handles it just fine. I do like the idea of installing drains though - can redirect the dirty water to trees and lawn using a hose!
But yeah, I’m starting to keep track of what I can still do easily, and what presents a challenge that didn’t used to. Mowing is my jam, and not being able to stay on the tractor for hours and hours at a time is a big reality check. I’m blaming it on the heat wave we’re currently experiencing though - feels like temps in the 110’s? That’s just crazy!
I’m 71 and have 3 at home. Horsekeeping in spring, summer and fall are pretty easy for me, but winter just about killed me this year. So much snow, and it made taking care of them miserable. I’m contemplating boarding them next winter just so I don’t have to make the treacherous hike down to the barn and deal with all the snow and ice. But we had record snowfall and cold temps this year. Hopefully that won’t happen again.
I have automatic waterers, they’re out 24/7 unless it’s storming (I’m a bit paranoid about lightning since a friend lost three to a lightning strike one summer), I can still lift a bag of grain and move hay with my tractor.
But I’ve done the math. One horse is 17, one is 15, one is 11. The oldest horse I’ve ever had lived to 27. When I’m down to one horse I’ll either board him or have someone else board their horse here, with the deal that they’ll clean the stalls and feed for a reduced board rate. If my next door neighbors still have horses I might even keep one at home since he’d still have buddies over the fence. But they’re older than I am, so I have several plans to consider.
That said, I don’t ride nearly as much as I did when younger. I’m in good shape, but after doing the daily chores I often don’t feel like riding. I’ve had them at home for 20 years, and I love it…but sometimes I’m just tired.
A few more things to share about making horse barn upkeep easier as I get older:
A canopy is one of the best accessories I have added to my tractor. It makes mowing and arena dragging in the sun much more bearable. Far, far better than just wearing a hat.
Another best tractor accessory is a set of pallet forks. I can slide hay bales that were loaded for me at the store right off the back of the truck directly onto the pallet and move the load into the barn aisle. And in the barn I only stack three bales high, because I can no longer lift a bale any higher.
As for feed sacks, I switched from Gro-N-Win ration balancer in 50 pound sacks when I discovered they also bag it in 30 pound sacks. It is a bit little more expensive by the pound to buy it in the 30 pound bags, but they are much easier for me to handle.
And for handling manure I bought myself a Kawasaki Mule with a power dump bed as a 70th birthday present. I haven’t lifted a full muck bucket in years.
I also have 3 board wood fencing, and no longer buy 16 foot boards for repairs. Two 8 foot boards are much easier to handle, so even if a 16 foot board gets broken, it gets replaced by two 8 footers.
By far the best time saving move has been going to 24-7-365 turnout, and sowing winter rye forage grass every fall. I am in a temperate climate, and the winter grass is so good that there are weeks when I do not need to feed any hay at all, just grass and a ration balancer. No stalls to muck out and no bedding to buy. Horses eat in the stalls standing on the rubber mats and wait to poop and pee and drink water outside.
One thing I kick myself for was taking French and Latin in high school and college rather than Spanish. We have plenty of Hispanic folks looking for work doing odd jobs on horse farms, but communication about what I need done is a problem.
Where do you buy the winter rye forage grass? When in fall do you weed and where are you located? I’m wondering if this would help my field in winter.
