Dreaming of your perfect horse home? Melinda Folse, author of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife Horses, ponders horsekeeping…and what it takes to pursue it.
In a strange criss-cross of my blogosphere with my reality (and just in time for the second “Good Horsekeeping” post to extol the virtues of keeping a horse at home), last week I found my perfect horse place. Well, I didn’t find it, actually. A friend found it and insisted I come look. I couldn’t resist.
Now, mind you, I’m not in the market right now for a move. Things are pretty good. I have one of those a great boarding facilities and the barn community I always dreamed of for one of my horses and the other is over at my parents’ house, keeping dad’s horse company (and, I suspect, entertaining my dad with his antics) . . .so all in all, everyone’s reasonably happy most of the time.
And yet, the longing continues. Right alongside the curiosity. What would it really be like to have my horses right where I can see them from morning to night — and to spend time with them without a timeframe? This super-sized combo question drives us to keep looking at places we hear about, stomping around in all kinds of horsekeeping options from the aptly names Paradise, Texas all the way down to Stephenville, Hico and Hamilton. We even daydream about the Texas Hill Country near where our friends, the McCormicks, own and operate their fabulous ranch and retreat venue, Hacienda Tres Aguilas. (You’ll hear more about them in coming posts about the time I spent there last week and the difference a few lessons on or off their horses can make.)
So when my insistent friend made arrangements for us to go see this place, I went with no expectations. And, just like the list we’re advised to make in The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife Horses of all the attributes of our “ideal” horse, I have that same kind of list in my head to describe my perfect horse place. And last weekend, as if someone peeked at my list when they built this place, I checked off item by item as I walked around.
Decent house, check. (This house, unlike most of the ones we’ve found on places where the land and horse amenities are top notch, is actually quite wonderful and deserves its own list. In a word, it felt like home. So much for my poker face.) Solid barn AND good turnout spaces with shelter? Check. Nice, but small hayfield that would allow for ample coastal harvest for my horses? Check. Good, safe fencing and functional layout of pens and turnouts? Check. Water? Check. Quality gates and pens in good repair? Check. (In fact, I don’t think there was a single sticky latch or warpy board on the place) Enough land to get by with the house and pens and turnouts, and another 25 acres adjacent if we wanted more? (Which, of course, I do, but you have to be realistic somewhere.) Check. Arena with good footing AND lights? (I told you this was a wish list. For me, lights on the arena are the perfect antidote to both Texas heat and an erratic schedule.) Nice, big trees in all the right places? Check. Enough open space to ride and work horses? Check. Outbuilding suitable for an office/meeting space separate from the main house — with windows looking into the pasture to console me during deskbound days? Check. And a great big sigh.
I can’t even imagine what kind of financial gyrations it might take to make this deal happen — or if we’re even going to try — but if I had been clever enough to get myself into a position to write a check on the spot for this place, I’d be calling the moving folks right now. (I’m not what you’d call a coy consumer.)
So coming back to why we’re here . . . if keeping your horses at home is your dream, what’s on your wish list? If you’re already keeping horses at home, what is your best advice for those of us walking around with this particular yearning?
One of the things that scares me most about home horsekeeping is that I’ve never lived in the country. I don’t even know what I don’t know. Just like people who cut their teeth on a trailer hitch don’t realize how much they know about hauling horses that the rest of us don’t have any idea of, those who grew up on a ranch can’t begin to imagine the knowledge gap a couple of aging city kids might have in moving to the country. And yet, people do it all the time, with varying degrees of success. What makes the difference between a good transition to country life and a more challenging one? What can we do to mitigate the information gap?
Although I’m pretty sure this place is out of my reach for now, I can’t help but wonder what it is I would need to know if I had written that check. Comments, suggestions, advice, anyone? I can’t be the only one with these kinds of questions. What are yours?
I’ve had my horses on an acre suburban horse property with barns, arena, corrals, and safe metal fencing for 30+ years. It is wonderful to have them available all the time, however, it does require an experienced housesitter that has horse experience (which are hard to find as most house sitting services are small animal only)when you want to travel for work or pleasure. If your work requires a commute into town and you have to work late who feeds the horses? If your property is rural and remote that requires someone ultra capable to handle emergencies. The one thing I miss is having someone to ride with which you probably have in a boarding stable environment..plus the freedom to travel whenever you want, and not worry about daily feeding at specific times. I have a handyman on call as there is always something that needs fixing that is beyond my experience level. Cleaning my own stalls and corrals keeps me in shape and my internal alarm clock never lets me sleep in as morning feeding comes early each day. I couldn’t imagine not having them close by, but it requires a different level of commitment than boarding them.
For more than ten years I’ve ha my two horses on 14 acres. They are on pasture with a run-in shelter 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so going some place is not a problem. I just ask a neighbor to count them once a day, make sure their trough has water and make sure the electric fence is still on. If we’re going someplace in winter, I leave a round bale in the pasture.
What I would say to someone considering the move from a boarding facility to a keeping horses at home is prepare yourself for the cost in time and money of maintaining land and buildings. A pasture is a lot of work. It has to be fertilized, mowed, dragged, sprayed, and possibly irrigated. That takes a lot of equipment and a lot time. What I find is that more often than not, a beautiful weekend gets used up taking care of the place rather than riding.
But is it worth it? Oh yes. I would rather live in a single wide trailer and have my horses with me than board them. Your mileage may vary.
I am living this dream with a few exceptions. I am retired 69+ years old and sold my home in Southern California last December. I too had a boarding facility within walking distance to my home, but I also had the ache to have my Icelandic horse on my property, especially now that I had a lot of free time, and my daughter and son-in-law had been urging me to move closer to them and my grand daughters. They live in the farm country of Nebraska, so throwing caution to the wind, I ended up moving sooner then I ever thought I would.
I found the perfect piece of property, or so I thought, just under 4 acres, with a very large modular home and fully finished basement, a garage that needed a lot of work, a finished workshop that I could use for hay storage and tack room, a funky old barn, that I thought could be redone, and a corn crib that I could use for a temporary shelter the back 2 acres could be used for pasture, turn out or whatever. I had the area around the corn crib fenced, and moved. My horse, the hay and my furniture all arrived at the same time. After everyone was settled I spent the next 6 months trying to get things done, and here it is the 1st of September and so far the only accomplishments have been the deck on the house, and the garage . After begging and pleading it became obvious that there wasn’t enough money to redo the funky old barn and corn crib so I bought a prefab shed row barn that will be delivered next week,and then sadly to say I will have the barn and corn crib torn down. The only plus to that is that when I had the corn crib area fenced I made it large enough so that I could use it as a riding arena. I am using the back two acres for pasture and manure spreading.
The thing I miss most about my previous arrangement is that here I am surrounded by corn and bean fields, closest neighbor about a mile away, and there’s no one to ride with or watch my animals if I decide to go away. The biggest plus is that every morning, afternoon and night I am greeted with that sweet whinny that I am sure says “I am also happy that we are together”.
Was it scary making the move I can honestly say NO and I would do it again and again. I found out that as long as Thor has water and an area to graze that there is no set time table for feeding, riding can be either early in the morning or later in the evening, and where we lived in California he needed shoes, here he can be barefooted, now if I could only figure out what to do with the wind!
So if you have the urge and can make it work for you all I can say is do, the benefits will surely out way the negatives.
Jan Gray
Smithfield, Nebraska
I’ve lived a modest dream on a farmette of 5 acres in bigger. Va horse country since 1988. Previously I facilitated other’s horse dreams by horse and housesitting at busy families second homes. And I also worked as everything from a nightwatch for foaling, a lay-up and yearling barn manager, an exercise rider for foxhunting staff and point to point schooling rider. So there’s been many an i Tsleway raked is my signature criss-cross. The most important tip I’d pass along to dreamers is that with the possible exception of thoroughbreds, horses are healthier and happier in runin and out by choice situations. With textured rubber mats in the run in shed the clean up work is dramaticly reduced. Rotating fields and harrowing also keep your time for riding from being cancelled by chores. I could write a book of lessons the different breeds taught me in m life. The lesson they’d agree most on is “Don’t box me in or isolate me.” You could help your farrier considerably and your Vet and riders if you remember not to give them ab frustrated or anxious animal that’s been separated from herd and boxed 24 hours,
They’ve about said it all. I’ll just emphasize the fact that your time is no longer your own, and there’s a whole lot more to horses than just riding. A man was once asked what he liked best about sailboat cruising. His answer was “You’ve got to like it all the best.” Just as true with horses, but nothing beats my mare calling to me every time I go out the back door!
It’s important to keep in mind that everything has a trade off, and the grass can look greener on the other side. I have my 2 horses in my backyard on an acre on the edge of a small town. I do not have enough land to properly manage my pasture so I feed hay year round. I love looking out the kitchen window while washing dishes or sitting on my deck and being able to watch my horses peacefully grazing. I can rest easy that my horses are getting the best care because I don’t have to entrust their care to someone else. It is cheaper for me to keep them at home than paying for board. I don’t have an indoor area so I can’t always ride when I want to, but I would not trade having them at home for anything.
The downside is always having to find some competent, responsible person to do chores when I want to take off for the weekend or go on a vacation or will be home after dark in the winter when the days are short. I miss having someone to ride with, the benefit of an indoor area, and the camaraderie of other people who share my passion, and from whom I can continue to learn.
For you city people out there looking to make a transition to country living, keep in mind that no one will pick up your trash, or plow your lane in the winter. If the power fails in a storm you have no water. You will have to drive your kids to town for every school activity and when they want to see their friends. You are a long way from shopping and the grocery store. If you work in town, commuting can remove hours from your day. You will spend all your spare time mending fence, chopping weeds, pruning trees, mowing lawn, maintaining pastures, hauling manure, and cleaning and repairing buildings. Unless you can afford to hire help, or you have lots of family support, it will take over your life. It is not for the faint of heart.
I’ve had my 4 horses at home on 5 acres for almost 20 years now, and I would make that same decision again in a heartbeat. Sure, there’s lots of work to do – that is not directly related to riding them – almost continuously – rain or shine, cold or hot, but having your horses in a place where you can interact with them anytime really changes the relationship you have with them.
When I boarded my mare last year for training, I spent the time at the stable getting ready to ride, riding, and cleaning her up after the ride. Now, I can run out for a few minutes to just say “hello” or give my young mare a quick bath on a hot day while dinner is cooking or even squeeze in a groundwork lesson before work. I can pull up a chair in the pasture and read while they graze around me. I can climb aboard bareback and walk around the field. I don’t have to condense my time into an hour or two when I can get to the stable.
The horses see me as a provider not a visitor, and I hope they count me as part of the herd. Catching one is never an issue because most of the time, I am doing something they like – feeding, bathing, or turning them into another field. The best part is the closeness I feel to their lives – waking up and seeing them in the morning right outside my window and going out at night to check on them before I go to bed.
My horses don’t live in luxury, but they are part of our family.
Well, you’re all living the dream I’m chasing. At the ripe young age of 61, I am bound and determined to own my FIRST horse and have him or her with me at home. I haven’t quite convinced my husband, but he’s gradually getting used to the idea of actually selling our home and looking for horse property. My kids think I’ve lost my mind to even consider turning our entire life upside down for this. There are no words to explain, but you get it. I have a horse sitting business, so there’s no shortage of wonderful horses to love on, but having your own is far different and rewarding.
Wish me luck! Life is about to get VERY interesting!
For those of you looking for responsible experienced horse sitters, check the bulletin boards at your local feed stores. Then check references!
Chris Navratil
Diamond Springs CA
Back in the late 1990′s when I was taking serious riding lessons and dreaming of having horses on a farm in Wisconsin some day, the owner of the facility told me it was crazy to want your horses on your property because there is no time to enjoy them when you work full time. Fast forward to 2012, 45 acres and 3 horses for 5 years now. They were boarded for 4 years at a wonderful place, but I still had an ache to have them outside my windows. There is a downside tho, The work never ends. When you board, you only have to spend time working and riding your horses. When you have horses at home, there is a lot of work that goes into their care and farrier and vet bills may be higher because there isn’t a group rate. The nice thing is that is gets you outside in sun, rain, sleet, and snow because you have to. It beats sitting inside any day. Today they are my lawn ornaments eating my yard so I don’t have to mow it and it;s a beatiful sight!
I definetly agree with all the above comments. I am 52 years old and have a 7 acre farm. 99.9 percent of the time I LOVE it and .1 percent groan a wee bit about the “work, weather, time, equipment failure, weeds! A farm is work and 24/7 365! But even when I am doing the weedeating, bushogging, poop picking, etc. my boys (geldings) are right there to say hello and thanks. It keeps me young and moving! My vote to anyone thinking about buying a little farm —– DO IT!!!!
Thanks for the encouraging words horselover friends. I have dreamed of having my horses at home for many years. Now, when I’m 66 years old, I just bought my dream. I know it will be a lot of work and often challenge my ability and knowledge but I hope it will also be the rewarding experience I have dreamed of for so many years. Move in time is still a month and a half away and I have my “Oh my gosh what have I done!” moments, more often I am just excited to get started on this adventure.
I will not tread anything with living with my horses! Had my first horse 11 years ago & boarded her 5 minutes away from home. Then we got a 3.3 acres mini ranch property in almost the middle of the city. Now, I have 2 big horses, one comical mini & a foster horse which is about adopted out and another foster horse is coming soon. Of cause there is a lot more works, you have to get up early to feed them, groom them & take care of their needs. Mucking manure, raking arena…etc., We don’t have pasture in southern Arizona, so we feed hay year around, nowaday, the hay price is sky high! But when you could just look out the window & see them in the arena resting or eating and you could just sit by your horses & read. Everytime you go out the back door, They winneyed @ you, especally during the feeding time. I will yell back “hold your horses!” And you have a clsoe relationship with your horses, nothing could beat it! Living with horses keeps you healthy, fit, & keeps you young. I promise you, Joan Walker, you will never regret what you have done. Good luck & enjoy your horses at home!