# whats the hardest thing ..about having your own farm



## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

the most thing i hate about owning my own farm is doing every thing on my own....my 16 year old rather watch t.v and my husband works most nights as a corrections officer and the 2 little ones are way to young to be out helping around horses....thank ogd i have no boarders right now so it's just easier to take care of 4 horses, a calf, 4 pigs and some chickens


----------



## krissy3 (Jul 18, 2010)

KANSAS_TWISTER said:


> the most thing i hate about owning my own farm is doing every thing on my own....my 16 year old rather watch t.v and my husband works most nights as a corrections officer and the 2 little ones are way to young to be out helping around horses....thank ogd i have no boarders right now so it's just easier to take care of 4 horses, a calf, 4 pigs and some chickens


you forgot about the 3 kids , husband and yourself. I knowits a lot of work, on the other hand, the work keeps our bodies strong. Nothing beats ahot shower when all your muscles ache from a hard days work, but I hear you , it would be nice to have some help.


----------



## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

Not being able to freely "take off" on a day trip or vacation, or anything really - not even when family calls and says "Hey, we are all meeting for dinner, why don't you join us?" Well - we probably won't join you, at least not in a timely fashion, because your scheduled dinner falls precisely during the time we are doing evening chores. We do all of the work at our facility ourselves (there are only the two of us), and it is very hard to find people who can be trusted to take care of 13+ boarded horses as well as we take care of them ourselves. Since we aren't willing to risk it, we just don't go. We are lucky right now, in the sense that we have two couples boarding with us now whom we'd trust with the horses. Granted, NOBODY cleans stalls to our liking except us (I should start a thread on here: how do you effectively clean a horse's stall?). However, the issue then becomes "Okay, we have to pay for the vacation ANNNNDDDD probably just as much, if not more, to employ good, dependable, trustworhty people."


----------



## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

Not having the money for your own farm equipment. We have about 6-7acres of hay field and we have someone come out and cut it and bale it (at a cost) , but cheaper than the equipment needed. We then have to hook up my husbands 12ft. trailer and stack the bales on it and take it back to the barn and unload it. What a pain and boy a workout. Our paddock where the horses are in is full of mud/crap and cant get it cleaned out because we need a tractor/bucket. Most of the farmers around are too busy with their own life to help. Not knowing how to put electric fencing up myself. We took 1/2 of our hay field and set up an area for our horses but none of us really know what we're doing. My husband could care less about my horse life and tries to stay away from it as much as he can. We dont live on the farm, its owned by his mom. Not like I can go out and just do what I want. Sucks. But we do get by and can only dream of the things we could do better with equipment.


----------



## krissy3 (Jul 18, 2010)

leonalee said:


> Not being able to freely "take off" on a day trip or vacation, or anything really - not even when family calls and says "Hey, we are all meeting for dinner, why don't you join us?" Well - we probably won't join you, at least not in a timely fashion, because your scheduled dinner falls precisely during the time we are doing evening chores. We do all of the work at our facility ourselves (there are only the two of us), and it is very hard to find people who can be trusted to take care of 13+ boarded horses as well as we take care of them ourselves. Since we aren't willing to risk it, we just don't go. We are lucky right now, in the sense that we have two couples boarding with us now whom we'd trust with the horses. Granted, NOBODY cleans stalls to our liking except us (I should start a thread on here: how do you effectively clean a horse's stall?). However, the issue then becomes "Okay, we have to pay for the vacation ANNNNDDDD probably just as much, if not more, to employ good, dependable, trustworhty people."


Boy I hear you on that one. I dont trust anyone with my horses. Everyone here treats my horses like they are kids ponys, and when they are broken you send them to the butcher and get a new one:shock: They have no idea how much thought and effort I put into my horses to keep them healthy and fit. We own a hotel and just yesterday a guest asked if his daughter could ride my miniature show horses. I said no but she can pet them nicely, he told me it was unfair to his daughter to have them and not allow kids to climb all over them... some people are absolutly clueless.Please write a topic on stall cleaning . Id like to rate myself, see if I am "up to par" .


----------



## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

I am very, very lucky. 

There is nothing hard about having my horses at home. 

Everything about the arrangement here is infinitely preferable to boarding or leasing a facility. 

I guess sometimes I'm doing farm work instead of riding, but honestly, that was true when I was running someone else barn too, so at least now I'm working for me.


----------



## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

I agree w/ leonalee. . . .scheduling "away time" can be a bit tricky. Where I live, wintertime chores are periodically an adventure, as well! But, I wouldn't trade it for boarding!


----------



## They Call Me Pete (Oct 27, 2009)

We don't own horses (yet) but have about 20 chickens so I agree with away time but we just enjoy hanging out at home.


----------



## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

We're down to just a few chickens, the 4 horses, 5 dogs and an ever changing population of barn cats. I've cut my garden down by more then half. 
I have to agree with everyone else about the "getting away". It's also tough keep up the older we get. We like to keep our horses ridden. Every morning starts with a ride, weather permitting. Many times that's it for the day :wink::lol: I'm wore out. 
My father in law is terminally ill and a 2 hour drive away. My husband goes, just about every weekend, to visit with him for the day while I stay home to do chores. I finally made it to see him this last weekend but it was a rush trip. 
I love the country life and hope to stay here forever, but I can see a future where our own old age and poor health will make it tough to keep up.


----------



## mliponoga (Jul 24, 2010)

I would have to agree and say the hardest thing is getting time away. My parents live 3 hours away and it's very hard to get away for a weekend. Luckily we can do it, we just fill up all of our water tanks, throw a ton of hay, and can leave for a couple days. But it does hinder us still from doing a lot like going away even overnight. We have to turn down a lot of offers on doing things with friends, family, etc...that's why we keep our horsey friends closer than anyone though, they always understand and we make accommodations to each other to allow for it. Plus, I'd rather go out with horse friends on a long trailride than go to a party anyday...


----------



## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

^^^ OMG I grew up and went to High School in Imlay City class of 1976


----------



## mliponoga (Jul 24, 2010)

Nice!! We just moved here about 4 months ago, me from northern MI and my girlfriend from Grand Blanc. I love it here!!


----------



## All4Crystal (Aug 19, 2010)

Well we only have 5 acres so it's not a lot of work. My son is 14 and he helps and my husband helps a lot too. So if I don't feel like going out there in a bad weather my guys do it for me.  I never have to mow, becase my son loves to do it.
I love working on my garden and my husband actually helps to till it in the spring. I just do the easy stuff. 
I guess I'm pretty spoiled lol. If I wanted to leave, I know our neighbor would be willing to help me out.
I don't ever need to go anywhere though, so it doesn't matter to me.
I love absolutely everything about our property and animals. I wouldn't change a thing!


----------



## soileddove (Jul 27, 2010)

I milk 14 head (at the moment, it fluctuates between 5 and 20) every morning and night. Milking isn't really my source of income, as they're show cattle so they're raised to be sold to breeders. Anyway, since most of the cattle are worth money, I'm really crazy about who can milk and take care of them, so yes, I definitely agree that it is hard to get away. I also own 2 goats, dogs, 4 horses, and a few beef cattle.

Another thing I find difficult, is bad things just seem to happen all together. Sometimes I feel in over my head and having a good part of your income depending on living animals that may or may not always be consistent can be a struggle. 

Its also hard to do chores with cranky kids when my boyfriend cannot be there to keep them entertained inside. Actually, it gets difficult with the kids (2 and 5) and chores on a good day I guess. They listen well, but they are still new to having animals, so I tend to worry.


----------

