# From boarding to own property - tips?



## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Get a tractor.

I'd say the biggest differences are first, that you are always, ALWAYS, going to have to be there every day to check on and take care of your horses. Or delegate someone responsible, to do that. Second, that you need a manure abatement program (where the tractor comes in). Not just piling it somewhere, but storing it in an non-polluting way, composting procedures, proper dispersal. 
Third, you are now responsible for locating, assessing, getting delivery of, and properly storing your feed. Fourth, if you are lucky enough to have enough pasture worth conserving, you will need to learn how to not degrade your pastures. 

Good luck and have fun! I am getting ready to do the same thing -- although I rent my horse space, I have always been responsible for everything to do with management there so I have a leg up to some degree.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

- find a good, safe, reliable hay supplier
- make an emergency plan in case of natural disaster, etc. 
- if your property is smaller, you will need a manure plan
- have a trailer and reliable tow vehicle
- have a tractor or at least a 4-wheeler or utility vehicle. Not absolutely necessary, but they make life SO much easier. 
- find a reliable, knowledgeable friend or neighbor with whom you can swap chores or at least pay to do chores when needed. Perhaps the biggest drawback to having horses on your own property is that without said friend, you can't ever go anywhere overnight, or even for a whole day depending on if your horses have access to pasture or depend on you to feed several times a day. Said friend needs to know enough about horses to recognize when something is wrong. 
- make sure you have lined up a farrier and vet who will visit your property before you actually need them. It can take awhile to find these, particularly farriers as many now won't bother with a farm with only a few horses when they can stay busy with larger barns. In some areas, you may need to haul your horse to a larger barn on 'farrier day'.


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

Avna said:


> Get a tractor.
> 
> I'd say the biggest differences are first, that you are always, ALWAYS, going to have to be there every day to check on and take care of your horses. Or delegate someone responsible, to do that. Second, that you need a manure abatement program (where the tractor comes in). Not just piling it somewhere, but storing it in an non-polluting way, composting procedures, proper dispersal.
> Third, you are now responsible for locating, assessing, getting delivery of, and properly storing your feed. Fourth, if you are lucky enough to have enough pasture worth conserving, you will need to learn how to not degrade your pastures.
> ...


Great advice, thank you! The tractor part may be difficult as most sizes won't fit into the areas I need without driving skills far outmatching my own - but I do have plans of getting a gator or something equivalent to make transportation of feed, manure, and various other things a little easier. I don't mind so much the manual labor so stripping stalls with just the standard hand tools is fine for now but with more horses that will probably change fast... especially in the summer when it reaches the 110s+. I've done a lot of management with horses before (several of the places I've boarded were practically self-care at premium prices) so I have some experience to pave the way for me as well... but there are always twists and turns to everything and I enjoy hearing from other people as it gives me a different perspective on things I might have previously overlooked!



SilverMaple said:


> - find a good, safe, reliable hay supplier
> - make an emergency plan in case of natural disaster, etc.
> - if your property is smaller, you will need a manure plan
> - have a trailer and reliable tow vehicle
> ...


I hadn't considered that about farriers actually, that's interesting as I hadn't actually heard about that - makes sense especially in more rural areas. I don't foresee that being a problem as I will be keeping the same farrier and won't be living far away from the place I board at now. So even if he wants me to haul in, it will be inconvenient but not majorly so (thankfully both horses are fairly easy to load). I'm _guessing_ I should be fine as my house will be on his normal route from the barns/homes he services and his own place but I will get in contact with him to see what he says - so thank you for bringing that up!


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

As a current BM, a past boarder, and a former owner of my own horse property, bringing your horses home is a huge deal! Congrats!

Everyone has offered great advice already....be prepared to work more and ride less, in my experience anyways. Also if you dont have one already, work on getting someone trustworthy out to learn how you do things, feed, water, ect in case of any emergencies or even planned vacations. Finding someone you trust now, will save you a ton of stress when you cant take care of your horses for whatever reason. 

Good Luck and Congrats again!


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

csimkunas6 said:


> As a current BM, a past boarder, and a former owner of my own horse property, bringing your horses home is a huge deal! Congrats!
> 
> Everyone has offered great advice already....be prepared to work more and ride less, in my experience anyways. Also if you dont have one already, work on getting someone trustworthy out to learn how you do things, feed, water, ect in case of any emergencies or even planned vacations. Finding someone you trust now, will save you a ton of stress when you cant take care of your horses for whatever reason.
> 
> Good Luck and Congrats again!


Thank you, I am really excited! Well, and nervous I'll admit. Nothing will beat being able to look out my back door and see my babies right there. Everywhere I've boarded it's been a literal nightmare to find any time to ride because either the facilities are all being used by the students or the horses are turned out into the arena and the BO is nowhere to be seen. It's a small place so the arena often has to double as turn out seeing as Southern Arizona isn't too pasture friendly without enormous water bills and most places are dry lots anyway. I know it's going to be a lot of work but at least I know what care my horses are getting and who knows... I might actually get to ride MORE because of it - no having to share the arena or having to pester the BO to answer the phone for a change!


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## ClearDonkey (Nov 27, 2016)

SkyeLen said:


> Great advice, thank you! The tractor part may be difficult as most sizes won't fit into the areas I need without driving skills far outmatching my own - but I do have plans of getting a gator or something equivalent to make transportation of feed, manure, and various other things a little easier. I don't mind so much the manual labor so stripping stalls with just the standard hand tools is fine for now but with more horses that will probably change fast... especially in the summer when it reaches the 110s+. I've done a lot of management with horses before (several of the places I've boarded were practically self-care at premium prices) so I have some experience to pave the way for me as well... but there are always twists and turns to everything and I enjoy hearing from other people as it gives me a different perspective on things I might have previously overlooked!


For the nearly the entire duration we had horses at home, we usually just had a little manure cart that could be pulled behind our lawn mower, and that worked fine (and that was with 4 horses!). One Saturday in the fall and spring would be our designated family poop picking up day, and we would all fill the cart up and then take turns dumping it. Once we started having problems with mud in spring, however, we got a little John Deere with a bucket to scoop up all of the slop and replace it with a topsoil and sand mix. Good luck, I miss having my horse at home!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Check, double check and then triple check those fences for breaks before you think you are ready for the animals to come home.
Every post, every board or wire connection is safe and strongly attached as it should be.
Make sure if you have a barn it is water tight, no leaking roof. Regardless of where you live it rains, and it will rain on something you need, can't easily replace or get to once the horses are in residence.
Water..make sure the water pressure to the barn is more than adequate.
Electricity if you have in the barn is all grounded for safety reasons.

Have a months supply of hay and feed on premise ahead of time as it is amazing how fast time gets away from you when the horse first gets home.
Work toward a routine but don't get crazy as you are settling into a routine that will need tweaking.
Make sure you know your zoning laws for manure disposal before you bring your horse home...not after when you get a knock on the door.

Honestly, if you were my neighbor and only did a manure pick-up twice a year I would be a pretty unhappy neighbor and you would know it. Manure lying around brings flies and brings stench.
Your horses will be happier with a more often clean-up routine so the fly issue is minimal.
More importantly...so will you. 
My horses are in my backyard and I love the "smell" but it can be powerful on humid hot days just because it is what it is.
Many people use fly predators to help with fly control...they need to be "established" before the issue is bad and establishing before the horse is home might be something to look into.

Plan on taking your last vacation before the horses come home till you find a reliable local someone who is knowledgeable and dependable to cover for you when you need time away.
No day is a sleep-in, lazy day...the animals need you no matter how tired, how sick or cranky you are...horse{s} get fed before humans in my home.
:runninghorse2:...


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

SkyeLen said:


> Thank you, I am really excited! Well, and nervous I'll admit. Nothing will beat being able to look out my back door and see my babies right there. Everywhere I've boarded it's been a literal nightmare to find any time to ride because either the facilities are all being used by the students or the horses are turned out into the arena and the BO is nowhere to be seen. It's a small place so the arena often has to double as turn out seeing as Southern Arizona isn't too pasture friendly without enormous water bills and most places are dry lots anyway. I know it's going to be a lot of work but at least I know what care my horses are getting and who knows... I might actually get to ride MORE because of it - no having to share the arena or having to pester the BO to answer the phone for a change!


Oh wow, yeah then in your case you probably will get to ride more! Well awesome! And no, nothing beats seeing your horses out your window, in my opinion having my horses at home is the best!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I think others have already given you good advice, but I just wanted to say that I moved my horses home 1.5 yrs ago and am still loving every single day. I don't ride as much, but I get to spend time with them every day, several times a day. Sometimes, I just stand in the doorway of the barn, and hang out with them at the end of a long day. 

I hadn't had horses at home since I was a teenager, so I wondered if this was a sane thing to do. I have a demanding career, two kids, and a gazillion other things going on in my life. But I love every single day. I could never board again.


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## laffysapphy (Sep 25, 2017)

I agree on getting a tractor of some sort! We have a small kubota with a bucket on the front and an "arm" with a smaller bucket meant for digging on the back, as well as a dixie chopper for cutting grass. We also use the dixie to pull our spreader, which spreads manure around a pasture. One of the chains on our spreader broke last week and we ended up using the bucket on the kubota for manure, we just slowly dumped the bucket as we drove around, it's really a lifesaver! Having access to two tractors is great for pulling the other out when they get stuck in mud during the rainy seasons as well(we don't own a truck), gotta love Florida!
Access to water is also huge, we installed water faucets next to the gates in each pasture so we can clean and refill buckets as necessary. Someplace away from wind and rain, we have two stalls with runouts, as well as tents meant for cattle in our two large pastures. If you go with metal shelter I would get a lightning rod for it as well, you could be away from the horses when a thunderstorm breaks out. 
Make sure you have a vet and farrier before the horses get there, you never know what will happen. I had to call the vet out on an emergency two days after a new boarder got here because he got kicked badly by another horse. 
Being able to walk outside and see your horses is amazing, you're going to love it!


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

Thank you everyone, you've given me some great advice and things to consider! I've been looking at utility vehicles and gators most of this afternoon in between chores and posting/reading threads here. It is definitely up there on my priorities. I have a few contacts for emergencies because thankfully I've done a fair amount of networking before I even had any intention of moving. I'm feeling a little more prepared now but as always with horses... they like to throw even the most organized and prepared individuals for a loop or two. 



> Plan on taking your last vacation before the horses come home till you find a reliable local someone who is knowledgeable and dependable to cover for you when you need time away.
> No day is a sleep-in, lazy day...the animals need you no matter how tired, how sick or cranky you are...horse{s} get fed before humans in my home.
> :runninghorse2:...


Being a bit of hermit as it is comes in handy, lol - I don't take many vacations that aren't day trips at most. But thank you! We think a lot alike as I have three dogs, two cats, and various other critters that already have me whipped into shape on rising early and eating last. If I eat before them its only because I snagged a granola on my way to grab feed scoops. I don't expect it will be any different when the horses arrive and thankfully we will have a high perimeter fence because I suspect my morning feeding uniform will be pjs and paddock boots.



Acadianartist said:


> I think others have already given you good advice, but I just wanted to say that I moved my horses home 1.5 yrs ago and am still loving every single day. I don't ride as much, but I get to spend time with them every day, several times a day. Sometimes, I just stand in the doorway of the barn, and hang out with them at the end of a long day.
> 
> I hadn't had horses at home since I was a teenager, so I wondered if this was a sane thing to do. I have a demanding career, two kids, and a gazillion other things going on in my life. But I love every single day. I could never board again.


I will almost certainly be the same. Even if I don't ride it'll be a complete joy just to be able to spend time with them. I've had some god awful boarding situations so it'll be a breath of fresh air to be able to enjoy my horses without the possible threat of boarder or BO drama around every corner. Since I work for myself making tack and equestrian gear/accessories - I work from home so it's 100% likely that some of that work will be taking place in the barn .



laffysapphy said:


> I agree on getting a tractor of some sort! We have a small kubota with a bucket on the front and an "arm" with a smaller bucket meant for digging on the back, as well as a dixie chopper for cutting grass. We also use the dixie to pull our spreader, which spreads manure around a pasture. One of the chains on our spreader broke last week and we ended up using the bucket on the kubota for manure, we just slowly dumped the bucket as we drove around, it's really a lifesaver! Having access to two tractors is great for pulling the other out when they get stuck in mud during the rainy seasons as well(we don't own a truck), gotta love Florida!
> Access to water is also huge, we installed water faucets next to the gates in each pasture so we can clean and refill buckets as necessary. Someplace away from wind and rain, we have two stalls with runouts, as well as tents meant for cattle in our two large pastures. If you go with metal shelter I would get a lightning rod for it as well, you could be away from the horses when a thunderstorm breaks out.
> Make sure you have a vet and farrier before the horses get there, you never know what will happen. I had to call the vet out on an emergency two days after a new boarder got here because he got kicked badly by another horse.
> Being able to walk outside and see your horses is amazing, you're going to love it!


I actually had to look up what a Kubota was, lol. It's 100% John Deer or get out country here - I don't think I've seen anything else and if I had it was made in 1910 and parked in someones yard as a means of decoration, lol! I'm likely going to get a utility vehicle with some sort of bed - a lot of the land here is predominantly rock hard and clay so mud never really gets deep enough to get stuck in - it just gets slicker than snot which is not fun but doesn't ever last long. It takes a serious storm season for the ground to be wet longer than an afternoon here. One of the blessing and curses of living in an incredibly hot and dry climate. As for my vet and farrier - I've called and found out that I'm staying in their service range so I won't be having to switch at all. I'm moving two streets down and maybe 4 main streets further west from where both my horses are boarded at currently.


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## newtrailriders (Apr 2, 2017)

I went from boarding to having my horses on my own property a little over a year ago and their physical care has been much easier than I thought it would be, because they have more acres than they need and all the grass they need. Also, we don't have a real barn - just a very large run-in. They have 24/7 access to their pasture. I don't have to do much clean-up and there's no stench or flies. To tell the truth, the only reason I ever do a manure pickup is to collect it for my compost pile. We just have to move the water trough once in a while and switch up which gait we feed them at, to prevent mud problems. We have two gaits now and I wouldn't mind two more, just to prevent mud. 

There are times I'm tempted to get a third horse, but this lack of work and odor from not having too many horses in the pasture is really a nice thing.

The only problem I've had with having them here, rather than boarding them, is that the person I was boarding with was also a trainer and my horse was much better behaved for her. I've managed to spoil my mare and that's made riding difficult, to say the least.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yeah, in terms of equipment, you can make do with nothing fancy, but it sure is useful. My husband has a farm tractor and about 6 attachments, most of which I don't really know the exact purpose. Pretty sure he's just collecting stuff. But he likes to hook them up and use them, so I'm all for it. 

The things that I have actually found useful were the bucket on the tractor, for turning over a large manure pile. Since I only have two horses, and a fair bit of land (13 acres), we have 3 piles, one per year. If you do nothing to manure, it takes about 3 years to really decompose. But when I dump it with my wagon, it spreads out quite a bit, so it's nice to have the scoop to come in and turn it over into one neat pile. Also, the disk attachment was useful for turning over the soil and manure in the back pasture. The seed spreader also comes in useful. But honestly, I could probably manage ok without those things. Oh, except the snowblower, but you're in Arizona, so it's not relevant to you... but here, it's a life-saver. 

You will find it exhausting, and there are no vacation days. But it's so, so worth it. There's nothing I'd rather do than work around my barn every day. If I have to be away for a few days for work, it kills me not to be with my horses. You won't regret it, I promise.


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

Acadianartist said:


> Yeah, in terms of equipment, you can make do with nothing fancy, but it sure is useful. My husband has a farm tractor and about 6 attachments, most of which I don't really know the exact purpose. Pretty sure he's just collecting stuff. But he likes to hook them up and use them, so I'm all for it.
> 
> The things that I have actually found useful were the bucket on the tractor, for turning over a large manure pile. Since I only have two horses, and a fair bit of land (13 acres), we have 3 piles, one per year. If you do nothing to manure, it takes about 3 years to really decompose. But when I dump it with my wagon, it spreads out quite a bit, so it's nice to have the scoop to come in and turn it over into one neat pile. Also, the disk attachment was useful for turning over the soil and manure in the back pasture. The seed spreader also comes in useful. But honestly, I could probably manage ok without those things. Oh, except the snowblower, but you're in Arizona, so it's not relevant to you... but here, it's a life-saver.
> 
> You will find it exhausting, and there are no vacation days. But it's so, so worth it. There's nothing I'd rather do than work around my barn every day. If I have to be away for a few days for work, it kills me not to be with my horses. You won't regret it, I promise.


Wow, three years? I'm wondering if that has to do with climate as manure here seems to disappear into dirt within 3-4 days unless you're feeding straight hay. Where I board feeds pellets and there has never been a manure issue that I've seen between all 26 horses, so I'm thinking I might just stick with pellets until I have a good system in place for manure disposal before I switch them over to a balance of both forage and pellets.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

SkyeLen said:


> Wow, three years? I'm wondering if that has to do with climate as manure here seems to disappear into dirt within 3-4 days unless you're feeding straight hay. Where I board feeds pellets and there has never been a manure issue that I've seen between all 26 horses, so I'm thinking I might just stick with pellets until I have a good system in place for manure disposal before I switch them over to a balance of both forage and pellets.


Interesting! I'm guessing the heat there really dries out the manure and it crumbles more easily. Things never really dry out here, so manure piles are a big wet mess (which is why mine are far away from the house and barn). But what do you do with the manure you remove from stalls? 

Not everyone here removes the manure from their paddocks. As a result, there are a lot of horses with hoof issues from standing in manure 24/7. Below is a pic of Harley at one of these facilities. We left after a month and a half because all the turnout looked like this. The blanket he is wearing was put on him by the BO because the horse he was turned out with kept biting him. Another reason we left...


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

He is much happier at home, in a nice, clean pasture with lots of room to run and grass to eat!


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

Acadianartist said:


> Interesting! I'm guessing the heat there really dries out the manure and it crumbles more easily. Things never really dry out here, so manure piles are a big wet mess (which is why mine are far away from the house and barn). But what do you do with the manure you remove from stalls?
> 
> Not everyone here removes the manure from their paddocks. As a result, there are a lot of horses with hoof issues from standing in manure 24/7. Below is a pic of Harley at one of these facilities. We left after a month and a half because all the turnout looked like this. The blanket he is wearing was put on him by the BO because the horse he was turned out with kept biting him. Another reason we left...


During the monsoon season it can take a little longer but in general things dry up pretty quick. My current barn spreads it out in the turn out/arena area with his tractor which speeds up the decomposition immensely and keeps the ground soft where otherwise it would be rock hard. I'll likely end up doing the same as where I am moving I will have to soften the ground up and build up some burms in case of the rare but possible flooding.

I can't blame you for leaving there, the care sounds suspect at best and the mud... god I'd be worried about my horses feet in that kinda slop. Where he is now looks like paradise! I'm so jealous over all that grass but Cid has a habit of choking when let out in proper pasture, so it's probably best we don't have that kinda green here, lol.

Your horses are beautiful by the way!


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

When I move my horses to a new place, I take the lead mare (everybody follows) around the perimeter so they know where the boundary is. I started tying survey tape on the fence to make it easier for them to see. I think they see the blue/purple the best. I don't want them to take off running and hit a fence. If we leave a way for a horse to get hurt, they seem to take it. We have a lot of moose around here and the ribbons seem to keep them from bashing through fences.


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## 98ramtough (Nov 15, 2016)

Coming from a guy that just got horses last year and put in everything recently to handle them. My best advise is plan on your entire lifestyle revolving around horses. Being gone for a day or night takes planning. Being gone for multiple days take even more planning. Get a good farrier lined up, and pay him in cash. I have found once you find a good reliable hay supplier and a good farrier, paying in cash in full right away puts you at the front of the line. I have just 3 acres and bought a newer spreader pull behind manure spreader. It worked out amazing well for us. We put the manure in it and spread it beside the roads as a weed barrier. I looked for a while to find a used one, new I think they are around $1k. To me it is worth its weight in gold. In the winter time, we pick manure up and put it in garbage bags and put it in a dumpster. I rent a dumpster for a couple months out of the year. Kind of sucks bagging and disposing, but I don't want a big manure pile to deal with in the spring with my small property.

I hate muddy horse areas. I was fortunate to have a tractor so I put a gravel base below all the run out area and horse shelter. The horses will get a little mud outside the shed, but not much. Inside the sheds I put a gravel base down, then used rubber mats and put pine shavings ontop. In the wettest times, it is dry in there and easy clean up. Plan on spending some money.... I have found Horses are crazy expensive!


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## twixy79 (Jul 8, 2017)

Congrats on the big move! My husband and I are looking for a home where we can bring our horses home with us as well. It is sad to say but we are looking for a home for our pets, and not so much for us. We are simple, need space for a big bed, need closet space for shoes, and need heat because we live in Maine.

Right now we have 5 acres of woods which are not level, so leveling the land would cost more than it is worth... 

I am going to follow this so I can keep up on your updates, and learn from your experiences.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

SkyeLen said:


> During the monsoon season it can take a little longer but in general things dry up pretty quick. My current barn spreads it out in the turn out/arena area with his tractor which speeds up the decomposition immensely and keeps the ground soft where otherwise it would be rock hard. I'll likely end up doing the same as where I am moving I will have to soften the ground up and build up some burms in case of the rare but possible flooding.
> 
> I can't blame you for leaving there, the care sounds suspect at best and the mud... god I'd be worried about my horses feet in that kinda slop. Where he is now looks like paradise! I'm so jealous over all that grass but Cid has a habit of choking when let out in proper pasture, so it's probably best we don't have that kinda green here, lol.
> 
> Your horses are beautiful by the way!


Thanks  Yes, I like to think I've created a little paradise for them. But just to be clear, in the first picture, it is more manure than mud that Harley is standing in. This is what happens here when people don't pick up the manure. It just turns into a huge messy slop. It's heartbreaking. I pick up every last bit of manure in my paddock, and spring pasture (about 3 acres), but the two acres at the back which I use as a late summer/fall pasture just get disked (so the manure gets churned into the ground) and re-planted in the spring. But I only have two horses, so that's doable.


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## SkyeLen (Mar 28, 2017)

twixy79 said:


> Congrats on the big move! My husband and I are looking for a home where we can bring our horses home with us as well. It is sad to say but we are looking for a home for our pets, and not so much for us. We are simple, need space for a big bed, need closet space for shoes, and need heat because we live in Maine.
> 
> Right now we have 5 acres of woods which are not level, so leveling the land would cost more than it is worth...
> 
> I am going to follow this so I can keep up on your updates, and learn from your experiences.


Thank you, it is very exciting and a long time in the making. Finding a property that works can be a hassle and can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. We ended up losing out on 3 different places that would have been even more perfect than where we are going now, mainly because it already had a barn and everything in place. I'll actually be building from the ground up. Expensive but I get to have things my way, so I guess that makes up for a hurting wallet, lol. I'll hopefully be posting the progress likely here and/or on my member journal and if I find any cool tips and tricks around the barn I won't hesitate to share!

Good luck on finding a property that works for you, it'll be a blessing when you finally find it. 



Acadianartist said:


> Thanks  Yes, I like to think I've created a little paradise for them. But just to be clear, in the first picture, it is more manure than mud that Harley is standing in. This is what happens here when people don't pick up the manure. It just turns into a huge messy slop. It's heartbreaking. I pick up every last bit of manure in my paddock, and spring pasture (about 3 acres), but the two acres at the back which I use as a late summer/fall pasture just get disked (so the manure gets churned into the ground) and re-planted in the spring. But I only have two horses, so that's doable.


Wow, that's even worse. Those poor horses, I'd be out every day picking the fields. I did that a couple times with my ex in Scotland - it kept those pastures pretty pristine but the gates were a muddy mess just due to the moisture levels and being a stone's throw from the coast.


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