# Boarding Quesstions !! NonBorders Welcome



## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Hello Guys,

I'm wondering how many users on here who own a horse have ever used boarding services or currently board their horses?? Versus, How many keep their horses on their own land?? Do you think in a southern state boarding is in demand or do people usually have land to keep their horses. If someone owned a trailer, or board their horse somewhere, Do you think they would want/need somewhere to keep their trailer or would they keep it on their own land/driveway?? :faceshot:


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

I've never boarded my horses, unless time at the trainers is counted. I am able to keep my horses at home, and that's where my trailer is parked. 



Can't speak of anything happening in southern states as I'm here in Maine.


Most people I know that own horses prefer to keep at home, but not all are able and they use boarding barns.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I board my horses. I'm in Texas. There's a lot of land in Texas, but I'm in expensive Central Texas and I'd have to go quite a ways out of the city in order to find a large enough piece of land. Also, realistically, right now I am not a good enough rider that I could just have my horses on my land and go out and ride them. So even if could buy the land, I'd still board them. Although in the future I hope to be knowledgeable enough that I could keep them on my own land.

I think if I had a trailer that I would be allowed to park it at the boarding facility, but I'm nowhere near that level of horse ownership yet.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

When I travel for work, I always haul one or more horses, and keep them at boarding places. I use my trailer as my tack room wherever I am. Even home. I lock the tack room. I lock the hitch. Parking is a must have.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I currently have most of my horses at home and one out in training/boarding. I keep my trailer at home but if I only had one horse and she was boarded, I'd probably like to leave the trailer there. I have no trouble filling stalls when I offer to board, though I've gotten away from that in the last couple of years. Too much work, not enough return.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

I board because I don't have my own property to keep my horses. I also have a trailer and do keep it at the farm where my horses are at. I guess I could keep my trailer on my own property but it just doesn't make sense to have it at my house. I keep my tack in there and it's available to the horses immediately when needed. People are always looking for a place to board there horse here in N. Florida. 

Honestly, if I did have my own property where horses could be kept I would do that.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

I've always boarded. I don't have the time, money, or want to keep them at home, if I even had land, which I don't. I live in an apartment. I like being able to sleep in, if I need to go somewhere I can, ect. I pay good money to have my horse taken care of in my absence.

I don't have a trailer, but if I did, yes, I'd want to be able to store it at the barn.


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## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Thanks for your input guys this really helped!! How far would one only be willing to drive for board esp if it was a nice secure place??


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

humanartrebel1020 said:


> Thanks for your input guys this really helped!! How far would one only be willing to drive for board esp if it was a nice secure place??



Personally for myself, I like that my boarding place is close by. I can get there in 12 minutes. That is mostly because I like to do most of the care myself and I like seeing my horses as much as I can which is about five days a week. The other two days a week I am out of town so I couldn't see them if I wanted to. Lots of people can only see their horses a couple of times a week and would probably be willing to drive a little longer if they were certain that all was well with their horse.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

I don't want to drive more than 20 minutes. I'm there almost every day and don't want to waste my time driving. Plus, come winter, driving long distances at night in iffy road conditions is not my idea of a good time. My current place is 15 min, last place was 15 min, before that was 5, and before that was 20.


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

I board and I have a trailer, that I keep at the boarding place. I would simply not have the space to keep it at home.


I used to board about 45 min (one way) away. A place I knew my horse was taken care of and safe. Still moved my mare to a closer place, as I just couldn't deal with the long drive anymore. But I also work 60-80 hrs per week and have a family with small kids - so driving time is literally wasted time for me.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

As a kid I lived on Long Island.
I had my horses at a family friends home.
I did all the care myself and we kept the horse trailer there too.
As a young adult my then show horses were boarded at a barn where I took lessons and showed from...our trailer was then kept on site locked tight so no one "borrowed" it without permission.
As a older young adult I worked the barns and kept my horse where I worked...and my trailer was kept on site too.
The most I traveled was about 1/2 hour to get to the barn but many traveled a hour or more if you wanted to ride with a particular trainer or barn was very common...
As a barn worker, I traveled to different jobs sometimes 1 1/2 hours not because of distance but because of traffic congestion making travel slow...
When a paycheck is a incentive to make good money you will drive...
As a adult, today I live in Central Florida.
My horses are in my backyard as are my trailers....
Depending upon where you live you might need to travel easily a hour or more to ride with good instruction.
Most barns here have trailer parking space and live-on-the-grounds owners or barn help so a safe environment to keep a trailer is very possible.
With the amount of trailers and horses along with livestock here unless you have a extraordinary trailer to my knowledge no one messes with what is a common commodity.
From very rusted old to the newest of top-of-the-line you see all kinds and values on the road and in yards.


I'm sure there is a need for places to store trailers, but there are storage facilities in many communities now that have vehicle rental space as I see campers, horse trailers, boats and boat trailers and all kinds of enclosed trailers in my travels behind commercial height fence with guarded entries and security codes needed to gain entrance to those facilities.
Is there a need for storage, _sure_ but it *is* available, easily found too..
:runninghorse2:...


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## Phantomrose (Jul 25, 2016)

I board my pony, as I do not have the land to keep him at home. The barn is about 15-20min away depending on traffic. He’s on full care board as well, because I work five days a week. With a boarding situation, I like that I can work, knowing that my horse is well taken care of. When I am off work, I will go to the barn, help out where I can, and spend time with my guy. It’s also good that the barn is 15-20 minutes away where I live, so it’s not a huge distance to travel there. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I live in Alabama and have done both; boarding a variety of places from nice to basic and keeping them at home when I had the land (was married then).


I much prefer keeping them at home, but my current setup where I rent the land works pretty good too. I can do pretty much whatever I want, but I do let the owner know if I am planning anything major (like a barn addition). 


There is no building code in the county, so no rules :Angel:

When I have boarded, the rate was quite low as I am not in a wealthy area. Expensive here is $330/month for full board including hay, feed, stall cleaning and daily turnout. 

However, every place I have boarded here does expect the boarders to help out. No way to stay in business without help. 

Trailers usually stayed on the property wherever the horses were, but sometimes I do keep them at home. Usually if I get in late and don't have time to clean out the trailer before bed. Easier to just take it home and clean it out in the morning. Generally I clean the trailer off the boarding property out of curtesy.


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

AnitaAnne said:


> I live in Alabama and have done both; boarding a variety of places from nice to basic and keeping them at home when I had the land (was married then).
> 
> 
> I much prefer keeping them at home, but my current setup where I rent the land works pretty good too. I can do pretty much whatever I want, but I do let the owner know if I am planning anything major (like a barn addition).
> ...



330 is an unheard of deal. That doesn't exist in my part of CA.


I live in the bay area near SF and board my horse now towards the east bay. We used to be on the peninsula where average, low-quality board is about 800-1000 dollars a month. Part-board, meaning they feed and MAYBE clean. Full care MUST include training in my area. So that will run you about 2500 a month, 3000 upper level. 1200 is the lowest i've found for full training/care.


My current barn is $540 for what i consider partial care: cleaning once a day, feed 2x a day, blanketing service, but turnout service is extra $$ and only consists of an hour of time in a round pen to chill. We have box stalls attached to runs. My horse is fed outside in her run and spends 90% of her time out there. She doesn't enjoy time out of her stall and after 5 minutes of hanging in the arena will stand by the gate waiting to be brought back in.


I was paying $475 for what we consider very rough board out here: only included feeding. Cleaning was an extra $100 a month. No turnout at all because the barn had almost 200 horses. Pastures were dirty, dangerous, and overcrowded. Facilities were terrible, but in that particular area Stanford was taking back their land and put a lot of barns out of business by shutting them down to use the land for adding onto the campus. So if you had no money you were SOL, because most of the SV moguls lived in this area and could afford the expensive horse boarding, so the prices reflected.



My friend pays 2500 for complete full care and training 3x a week for her horse. She gets state of the art facilities. Shows on the HJ circuit cost anywhere from $1000 for saturday/sunday to $6000 for the entire week. 



People don't always understand or have compassion for how expensive CA is, and it's only like this because out median wage is about $150,000 and that doesn't get you far.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Coal...
Those prices are _not_ just in California...
They are also on Long Island and many parts of the tri-state area...._in Florida too._
This is with mediocre named trainers...the really big names will put you in the $5000 a month plus range...and the barns are full for that cost with waiting lists of clients wanting in!
Ten+ years ago my gf was paying $850 for "full" board...it was pitiful care and poor quality food I would throw out not feed.
Turnout was a extra $5 a day for one hour of t/o on a dirt lot that was rut filled and small in size...
Horses are a luxury, period.
If you are in a very populated area where land value is huge then expect to pay large prices for mediocre care and lodging.
Sad but a fact you are seeing first hand.
:runninghorse2:...


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

horselovinguy said:


> Coal...
> Those prices are _not_ just in California...
> They are also on Long Island and many parts of the tri-state area...._in Florida too._
> This is with mediocre named trainers...the really big names will put you in the $5000 a month plus range...and the barns are full for that cost with waiting lists of clients wanting in!
> ...



I think $5 (or 8 in my case) is completely overpriced for a small little round pen like you and I are describing! especially when all my horse does is stand and crib the entire hour...



Very much agree. However I feel us Californians tend to be pushed to the side and excluded from the conversation of prices in the horse world. Or we are lumped together with the infamously affordable midwest/some southern states which also isn't fair.


I'm certain the barns in Wellington are $$$! and virginia!!!!!!!!! I found one in Tx for 1200/mo and that shocked me!


I also found 900/mo full care at a dressage barn close by and my eyes boggled!!! That's cheap!


It upsets me greatly and I am insanely jealous of the people who get great care for very little. Then you have our areas where just a plain old stall slapped together with twine can cost as much as rent for an apartment.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

thecolorcoal said:


> I think $5 (or 8 in my case) is completely overpriced for a small little round pen like you and I are describing! especially when all my horse does is stand and crib the entire hour...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Don't be insanely jealous just move out. I grew up in S. California, spent eight years near Minneapolis/St. Paul area, lived 14 years on Long Island and worked out of NYC, and now living in N. Florida. 

California is an absolutely beautiful state and everyone loves the climate, or at least used to anyway. As one of my friends says, "Your paying for the sunshine" Minnesota is beautiful but you freeze your buns off in the winter. NY? well it's NY. I hated it and you couldn't pay me to move back there but there are people who wouldn't leave there if their life depended on it. Florida is sunny and warm but the heat and humidity in the summer is a killer. For me, it's better than freezing. If the cost of living here got like California, I'd be out of here, probably back to the midwest and freeze, but at least I would be living my life the way I want without stressing over money.

If I had to pay the boarding costs that you all do with the conditions that you put up with, I probably would not have horses.


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

LoriF said:


> Don't be insanely jealous just move out. I grew up in S. California, spent eight years near Minneapolis/St. Paul area, lived 14 years on Long Island and worked out of NYC, and now living in N. Florida.
> 
> California is an absolutely beautiful state and everyone loves the climate, or at least used to anyway. As one of my friends says, "Your paying for the sunshine" Minnesota is beautiful but you freeze your buns off in the winter. NY? well it's NY. I hated it and you couldn't pay me to move back there but there are people who wouldn't leave there if their life depended on it. Florida is sunny and warm but the heat and humidity in the summer is a killer. For me, it's better than freezing. If the cost of living here got like California, I'd be out of here, probably back to the midwest and freeze, but at least I would be living my life the way I want without stressing over money.
> 
> If I had to pay the boarding costs that you all do with the conditions that you put up with, I probably would not have horses.



Yeah it really is about location. Those who accuse us Cali people of being "snobby and better-than-you"s are 100% right, especially in my area. My population does tend to look down at the rest of the country. 



Not so easy to transfer to another state and find work, especially at the same payscale. It's nice that 150,000 here is the equivelant to 40-60,000 in somewhere like... nebraska. There are other factors to consider when moving to another state, such as political and whether or not one can tolerate a different thought perspective which can be challenging for a CA transplant, because the ideology shared in this state is the minority in other parts of the US. My family is mostly worried about the challenges in belief systems if I were to move out of state - they think i'd start a fight and get shot! LOL!


The next best place for me would be Sacramento, which is a bit slower and would be a nice stepping stone to another place in the US where our "bay area beliefs" wouldn't be approved or accepted :rofl: i'd personally like to go to KY! but again the job market is still not good in many places, but it is booming in SF.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

humanartrebel1020 said:


> Thanks for your input guys this really helped!! How far would one only be willing to drive for board esp if it was a nice secure place??


I used to have to drive 50-60 minutes one way to see our horses. They were at a great place where we loved to ride, but getting down there more than twice a week was almost impossible. I moved them to another place that's about 20-25 minutes away, and I'm out there 4-5 times now and I love it. There is another place that's even closer, like less than 10 minutes from me, but they have a LOT of horses on the acerage and you're lucky to get two hours of turnout a day, and not with the same group either. I would love to be so close to my horses that I could see them twice a day, but it's more important to me that they are on pasture 24/7, so I had to find a place that was farther out.

So I guess, to answer your question, I'm happy to drive 20-25 minutes one way, knowing that they are on pasture (but with access to stalls if they need stall rest or whatever) with the same other horses every day, just being happy horses.


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## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Wow thanks guys so much information i very much appreciate this. I currently live in new york and im looking to move To live different kind of life before i head back to make a move. I would never pay 3500-7000 unless its was Top of the line and most importantly clean and private and of quality. When i have that money i would have a top horse as welll. Have any of you ever had to deal with truck loads of loose shavings or bedding?? Ive only used compressed packaging but I heard of this i was wondering does anyone appreciate this method and how would you keep it dry???


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

You make it sound like people from the bay area are like being from another planet or so the rest of the nation believes. Take it from someone who's been all over the place, not so. I talk to people from the bay area on a regular basis and guess what? Not much different than the rest of the world. 

I had to laugh when you brought up Nebraska. That would be the last place that I would choose to live. No offense people from Nebraska but hot summers, freezing winters, flat, flat flat with tornadoes are just not my thing.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

humanartrebel1020 said:


> Have any of you ever had to deal with truck loads of loose shavings or bedding?? Ive only used compressed packaging but I heard of this i was wondering does anyone appreciate this method and how would you keep it dry???



Those shavings come from a dedicated horse shaving/bedding company.
Shavings are only pine shavings and from kiln dried wood much is shaved just for stall bedding.
We use to use...a business I think out of Long Island City area...
We never used stuff from just anyone as the wrong woods included from say a wood cabinet company could have your horses coffin bone sink right through the sole of the hoof and death needed to occur.
I _loved_ loose shavings...
We used those huge wheelbarrow that had a double wheel front frame...
One heaped load put in a 12x12 box was like adding 2 bags of shavings plus some more...cost effective.
We had a 3-sided holding bin made with concrete walls and a slab floor, once a load of shavings was delivered we covered with a heavy tarp to keep dry...uncover a corner when you needed fresh bedding, ours never got wet as it was above pitch of the land and graded so water did not accumulate.
Most big barns do loose as a load of average size would bed 30 stalls heavily for about 3 - 4 weeks.
Figure 2 bags per stall per week would barely get you through the week where loose you had plenty to work with left over.
Cost wise... $300 a load for loose versus $4.50 per bale/bag x30 stalls x 2 per stall x 3 weeks... = $810...then you need a dumpster for garbage disposal of bags...
Loose is economical and why barns do loose...when you can't get loose it is really expensive to bed well and many places skimp, they must.
:runninghorse2:...


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

I would stay with compressed bags unless you had a dry place to store loose shavings, You always have to be mindful of where they come from and what type of wood it is as some cause problems. For instance black walnut shavings would cause lamintis because they are toxic to horses.

A place that I boarded at once used the bags of pellets that you wet down to turn to shaving. The cost was no different than bags of shavings and easier to store than the 2 cubic ft bags.


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## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Wow Thats an amazing amount for a great price. Im gonna do more research on ways to store it . TYTY


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

humanartrebel1020 said:


> Wow Thats an amazing amount for a great price. Im gonna do more research on ways to store it . TYTY



I don't know what prices are today...do inquire about that.
Those prices were from 2012 that I know.
Bagged shavings I understand are $6 per bag on LI at Tractor Supply I saw on the website.
It still is cheaper to do loose, but it might not be so easy to get on a delivery roster depending upon location and you may now need to take a tractor trailer load versus the size of a large 10 wheel dump truck...
I'm not in the area anymore so businesses close and move or sell out...
Do your homework before committing to anything.
:runninghorse2:...


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Current place uses loose shavings. They store it outside in a giant pile with huge tarps over the bulk of it, held down by tires and boards and stuff. The edges get wet, but it doesn't matter that much. It'll dry eventually and they're still clean. The shavings in the middle are always dry. No idea on the cost.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Even for a great place, I would not want to be more than 30 minutes away. For a large indoor arena, outdoor arena and being able to ride trails without trailering to, I would pay up to $350, but it would hard to find such a place where I live (upper midwest). My current barn is 20 minutes away, a small indoor 120 X 80, regulation Dressage arena and large enough property (60 acres) that you can get a pretty good ride on the perimeter and criss-crossing a bit, but it's the same every time. I pay $250, full board with stall and horses on 20 acre lot which is the lowest around here for this care.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

thecolorcoal said:


> ...My family is mostly worried about the challenges in belief systems if I were to move out of state - they think i'd start a fight and get shot! LOL!...


Speaking as someone from Arizona...you are welcome to stay in California! Nothing personal. It's just I've had out-of-staters come up to me in McDonald's, total strangers, and start telling me what a stupid & replusive state I live in! It is a wonder some of them don't get shot. I've been tempted...and I have been known to respond by standing up and shouting, "*MOOOOVE!*"

Back on topic, I've had horses living in my backyard for the 10 years I've had horses. We're looking at moving (empty nest syndrome) and boarding might need to become an option. I'd miss being able to stroll out, scratch their faces and say hello any time I want.


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

Woah whoa wait a sec california girls...
I've boarded horses in CA for 15 years now and I'm singing a different tune!
Over the years I have boarded at full service barns that were $800 to $300! (No training included, that's extra)
I live in the bay area too and I pay $700/mo for my 2 horses! This includes feed, feeding, and cleaning! When I lived in Santa Cruz around 5 years ago I was at a a la carte barn where I paid $200 for the stall and had to supply my own hay. That horse was large and ate $200 of food a month, but that was not typical! Most people paid about $350/mo for feeding, cleaning and purchasing their hay! This place was right on the beach! Or did you want to board in the redwood forest? Again, about $350/mo. 
I grew up in southern california where there is a lot less horse real estate than up north. Everyone and their mom has a horse and ships out to thermal every year, this isn't considered the cheap place to keep horses, BUT I had one of my horses boarded in full service for $325/mo and he did great there! A little over 10 years ago I pain around $1500 for full service and full training at a show barn. The prices there have since gone up at least $300 a month, if not more. 
The most expensive barn I boarded at recently was near Santa Barbara and that was about $450/mo, but again that was my old horse who was larger than average and ate more than most horses do. You just need to shop around, and have good communication with the people who own the property you will be keeping your animals at. I don't think what I've managed to find is typical. I have a lot of friends, references, did a lot of networking, and I get the "good boarder" deal, but I am not that pretentious california equestrian elitist, I just let my riding and horses speak for me. I think typical in CA would be an average of $450-500mo. That said, if you only look at the places that advertise online in the bay area be prepared to fork over $800/mo for a box stall...

To go back to the topic-
I've not been in a financial way to buy my own property, though that is in the works. I will absolutely keep my horses at my own property, unless I'm having them in training, or planning to show them for the season, then I will likely board them at a facility. If you think about horses 24/7 and live alone by all means keep them at your property. If you think about horses 24/7 and have a spouse, help them out and board somewhere


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

bsms said:


> Speaking as someone from Arizona...you are welcome to stay in California! Nothing personal. It's just I've had out-of-staters come up to me in McDonald's, total strangers, and start telling me what a stupid & replusive state I live in! It is a wonder some of them don't get shot. I've been tempted...and I have been known to respond by standing up and shouting, "*MOOOOVE!*"


As someone from california I think we could both agree people from out of state should stay out of our states, but in CA, mexico isn't considered another state hah! I personally think Arizona is one of the prettiest states. My brother went to UA, but he wasn't the person causing a ruckus I know that. 
I'm not sure how it is there, but we get a lot of people form other countries(again mexico being the exception) who move here, which is great, to a limit. Now all the homes being built up in the hills and mountains and in the middle of nowhere where there's no water won't be for people who were born in cali. I'm just saying what I see, not necessarily a reflection into my self here...


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I've always boarded, but I switched to a private, self-care barn because of all the drama at my old boarding barn. It seems like most places are full of drama & I got sick of it. Self-care is not always easy, but I enjoy it.

However, my horse is being boarded at my trainer's facility (she was there for training initially) & I like it there. It's nice not having to worry about having to feed, & I am enjoying the amenities it has to offer, & I know my horse is taken care of. It's not cheap, though. LOL. I'm contemplating going back to my private barn or staying there... :lol:

Distance? Well, since I commute to work, nothing is less than an hour away...always been that way, so I'm used to it. *shrug*

The private barn is about 30mins from my house, & an hour from work.

My trainer's farm is about 25mins from my house, & an hour from work, maybe a little less on a good day. LOL.

It's worth it though.

Later in life, I do want to get a property where I can have my horse, but for now...it works the way it is.


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## Jolly101 (Jul 2, 2018)

I’ve always boarded my own horses. Can’t speak for the Southern State, but I know there are many in my area that board. Reasons vary from don’t have land for a horse to it’s easier and less time consuming. Space for a trailer is definitely a bonus! I know lots of people here like to keep their trailers on site and sometimes use it for extra storage haha


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## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Perfect guys Thanks for sharing !


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I boarded my horse as a teenager. I think the furthest I drove was 45 minutes to get to him. That made it really hard but it was a great place with indoor/outdoor rings and a covered round pen, plus turnout. There were tack rooms and wash racks. I kept my trailer at my house and I cannot remember if there was trailer parking there or not. I think there is usually a small fee for trailer parking.

Now they are all at my house and of course, the trailer is parked at my house.


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