Friday, May 4, 2012

Horse Property - Do You Want to Own Your Own


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Do you want to own your own horse property? Many horse owners, who board their horses, long to have a place of their own, where they can keep their horses. The idea of looking out your window and seeing your horse has a special appeal. Feeding and caring for your horses yourself, can certainly increase the bond you have with your horse. However, there are a lot of factors here that should be considered before taking this step.

Let's take a look at the pros and cons of having your own horse property:

Pros:

You do not have to travel to get to your horse. This saves time and fuel.

Without having to travel to get to your horse, you should be able to spend more time with your horse and form a deeper bond. You should get a better understanding of who your horse is. It is hard to really understand your horse on a deep level when you can only get to the barn for limited periods of time.

You will have direct control over the care and feeding your horse receives. Some people have strong feelings about how they want their horses cared for.

Some folks dislike the interpersonal drama that can occur at boarding facilities. Having your horses on your own horse property, removes you from these issues.

You might be able to save money over paying board at a facility.

You might choose to board a couple of horses with yours on your horse property and help cover your horse expenses.

You can determine what you want to invest in the care of your horse and determine what you feel is the best fencing, pasture management, ec. on your horse property.

Cons:

Caring for your horses requires time, energy and commitment. You might very well find that you have less time to ride your horse when he is kept on your horse property. There is always something to do and that can eat up riding time.

Depending on what property you already own and what has been developed on it, you will have significant cost to prepare for keeping your horse on your own horse property.

Horses do not do real well by themselves. This means you will probably be looking for another horse or companion animal if you have only one horse.

Depending on what you do with your horse, you may want to create an arena or training area, which can be costly.

If you want to go away for a number of days, you have to find someone to care for your horses.

Many folks enjoy the social atmosphere at a boarding barn. If it is just you and your horses at your horse property, you do not have that same social experience.

If you are not an experienced horse person, you are more on your own. You can certainly connect with other experienced horse people when you have an issue, but it is easier when you are at a facility managed by someone else who has expertise.

Boarding your horse gives you a degree of predictable expense. You know what you pay every month. On the other hand, when you have your own horse property, you can be hit with unexpected expense. This is especially true when you are first getting set up.

If you board your horse, it is someone else's responsibility to select and stock the barn with Feed and Bedding as well as make repairs as needed and provide daily care. If you have your own horse property that is now your responsibility.

Decision time:

There are lots of reasons to have your own horse property and just as many to forgo that move and board your horse instead. This is not a decision to jump into quickly. It is certainly due plenty of time and thought. Look at all the variables from every angle. If you move forward with purchasing or constructing a horse facility, only to learn that you made a mistake and should have continued to board it is a difficult decision to reverse.

If you decide that you want to move ahead with having your own horse property you still have some big decisions to make.

Are you looking for a place with an existing home where you will build horse accommodations? Would you prefer to purchase an existing horse property and build a house? Do you want to find an existing house and horse facility in place? Do you want to start from scratch and build all you need on vacant land? Or perhaps, living where you keep your horses is not what you are looking to do and all you are looking for is a horse facility where you can care for your horses. Lots of different ways you can make this work. It is very important that you take your time and are patient as you search for what meets your needs. Make sure you have good discussion with all involved and get input from individuals you respect.

If you do not own property yet you need to decide to purchase either an existing facility or vacant land and build what you want. On a hole, it is less costly to purchase an existing horse property. You certainly need to do a careful inspection and know what improvements will be needed and what they will cost.

If you decide to purchase vacant land or you already own your property, you need to decide what development is needed. Do you want a barn with stalls or a run in shed to provide shelter for your horses? What kind of fencing is in place? Is it safe? What fencing needs to be added or repaired? What kind of shape is you pasture in? Water needs to be provided for your horses and you will need to have an electric power source. Where will you store hay, feed, bedding, tack and other supplies on your horse property?

You will need to make sure you have or purchase, buckets, storage containers, stock tanks and heaters for them in cold climates, horse keeping tools, hoses, wheel barrows, muck buckets,

You will also need to decide what equipment is needed. Items you may need include tractor, front end loader, mower, truck, trailer, hay elevator and arena drag.

You will need to decide what to do with manure on your horse property. Will you compost it and use it, spread it, sell it or give it away? Or will you need to pay to have it hauled away?

Make sure you consider local zoning codes and what surrounds the property you are considering. Get appropriate building codes and inspections.

Do not forget to gather medical supplies to provide first aid and care for injuries horses may incur on your horse property.

Make a list and develop a plan. Put your plan on paper. Always figure that you will not have as many funds as you expect and also plan on expenses being greater than anticipated. Running out of funds before your horse property is done is not a lot of fun. Share your plan with others whose opinion you value and get their thoughts.

For many folks, their lives are structured in such a way that they are much better off boarding. There is nothing wrong with this at all. It is often in fact, the smartest thing to do. For others, owning your own horse property makes sense for you and can lead to many years of pleasure.

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