# city life farm life.....



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I regret boarding , when i cannot go out of town or on vacation as i have no one to take of the animals while I am gone. That I have to make the time to meet the Farriers, take the hay delivery and be here most of the time. Not having the time to ride instead I had a lot of chores. Also not having anyone to ride with. 
i cannot go out to the horses to get away from home and stress , see other people and socialize .
I do not miss giving away my money to someone else and having to take their word on the care my horse gets. Having to deal with the drama. Having to listen to people what to do or not do with my horse. 

i would not go back to boarding at this stage in my life.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yes, there are good and bad points on both sides. Just from what you have written, it would seem a no brainer, so why the hesitation? In my situation, I concentrate on the good and just deal with the bad. Start actively looking. You say there is not much around, but buying real estate usually happens when you have gotten so frustrated you want to quit, then the perfect property comes on the market. Interview several local agents to find one that suits you.


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## kiltsrhott (Mar 11, 2012)

Well, I don't own my own farm, but by grandfather bought himself a farm a few years ago as a sort of retirement gift to himself. He always lived in the suburbs and dreamed of living on a farm. I commend him for following his dreams at 75. I moved my horses onto his farm and work off the cost of board, so it's almost like keeping my horses on my own property, but not quite. There are pros and cons to this.

The biggest benefit is obviously the cost (or lack of). I keep my horses there for free. I don't own the land so I don't have to pay taxes on it, and I don't have to worry about unexpected maintenance costs. It's cheaper than keeping them in my back yard for sure. If I did own it, there would certainly be expenses involved.

But the pros end there...

I still don't have any more of a say over my own horses' care than I would at a boarding stable, becuase it's not totally mine. So, they're still stalled at night when I'd like them to be out 24/7. This isn't an issue you'd have on your own property though.

The facilities are nice, but because it's not a commercial stable, some of the recreational features get neglected. Our trails are overgrown and our arena footing is terrible. We are FINALLY getting a sand delivery tomorrow, but it's about a year overdue, and I had to arrange for that myself, and miss two days of work to make it happen. (Yay for using vacation days to do work!) It's a lot of work to keep up with that stuff, and there are a lot of other more-important things to maintain, so features like this always ends up on the back burner. At a boarding stable, these things are usually better maintained because that's how they attract and keep business.

My husband and I put in a lot of hours working there, so we run out of time to ride. I try to ride my own horse at least 2-3 times per week, but that doesn't usually happen. We spend so much time working in the barn, filling ground hog holes, dragging the arena, etc. in additon to working full time, that time to enjoy the horses is minimal.

I miss having riding buddies too. My family members aren't quite as dedicated to the riding aspect as I am. My mom just likes having the barn, and her flashy Gypsy to dote on. My dad and husband are only sporadically interested. My sister is going through a lazy teenager phase, and I have a hard time getting her to leave the house unless I'm taking her clothing shopping. It gets lonely always riding by yourself, and not having any other riders at a similar level to ride with. It sucks a lot of the fun out of it.

It's also a huge undertaking to go away, even for a few days, because we have to find someone to take care of the horses for us. My husband's family lives about 2 hours away, so we try to make weekend trips to visit his family on a fairly regular basis, but it's tough when we can't just go. We have to worry about who's going to do stalls and feed while we're gone. We've had to cancel numerous trips just because we couldn't find somone else to take over the barn chores for us. We only see his family about 6 times per year because of the horses.

After this experience, I don't think I'll ever have a horse in my own backyard. It's a lot of work. It's still expensive, and there are so many things I like about commercial boarding that I miss. My husband and I plan to buy a house on a small lot and board the horses somewhere else. As soon as we can afford it, we're going back to boarding.

However, this is only my experience and my perspective. I can't tell you what's right for you. If you don't work quite as many hours as I do, or don't go on as many weekend trips as I do, or if you just have different goals than I do, then a backyard scenario may be perfect for you. You just have to weight the pros and cons of boarding vs. a farmette against your own life.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

If you can afford it, go for it! 

I live on a small farm, between us, my aunt & uncle, and grandparents (all live next to each other), we have like 45 acres. 

Its a lot of fun. But there's still work. Fixing fences, hay time, cows calving, feeding them, putting them away if they get out. But its still fun!! 

I would definitely want my children to live on a farm.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I grew up in the country with a lot of animals, including horses. I lived in the city for a while when I was at university and hated it. My husband and I bought a house about 30 min. commute from the city where we both work and had two kids on 13 acres. Horses are coming soon  My parents think we're crazy but have given up trying to talk us out of stuff. We're both white collar professionals who love to come home, take off the suits, and get really dirty. We garden, have an apple and pear orchard, make maple syrup and maintain a 185 acre woodlot (obviously we contract out some of that work!). 

Here's my take on it. You need to think about what kind of lifestyle you want even more than how much each will cost. When I was younger and lived in apartments, I traveled the world (Milan, Paris, London, Brussels several times over), socialized, partied my butt off and just generally lived it up. That was then, this is now. I am in my 40s, have kids, dogs and soon horses and honestly, I don't want to go anywhere anymore. Happiness for me is just hanging around my property. Hubby feels the same way. But we're both solitary people. 

Sure, sometimes the kids complain (but I'm pretty sure that's a universal requirement to be a kid). All their friends live far away so we have to drive them into town about 4-5 times/ week for activities. We let them invite their friends for sleepovers even though it drives us crazy. They sometimes get bored. The logistics of taking them to school/riding/football/dance/drama can be a little exhausting. But we don't want them to miss out on anything and it's only for a few years until our oldest can drive.

More importantly, in my view, they are living a much more less stressful lifestyle. They are learning to grow their own food. They do not need constant 24/7 stimulation and can always find stuff to do in the backyard. They respect life and wonder at finding a rare Luna Moth or seeing fireflies glow in the night for the first time. I have seen both of them in awe of nature. My son can take out his telescope and look at millions of stars. My daughter can spend whole afternoons collecting snails in a bucket from the brook just for fun. They've helped me clear trails, plant seeds, make maple syrup, plant trees. They love the fact that we can have bonfires at night and have fireworks on January 1st right in our backyard! My whole family even comes over for that tradition. 

So for me, it's a no-brainer. I always knew I'd be coming back to the country eventually. But if you're the type who likes action, likes to travel, go out to nice restaurants, spend the day at the spa and if you like everything to be within 10 minutes of your house... then maybe keep boarding. If you want your kids to discover nature, are happy to stay home, and are willing to be a chauffeur until they can drive, take the plunge!


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## bauchtanz (Oct 14, 2013)

These are all good points! I work a very professional job and I look at this as a way to escape. Seriously. ..rather fix a fence than do a personnel evaluation. Because of my job i cannot go anywhere without knowing people. ...I don't go to movies....watch tv..... my idea of fun is quilting although husband says my idea of fun is plowing back 40 hahaha. 
I have determined that it might take me more than a year to find my place....but either its out there or its not meant to be.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

The first thing that jumped out at me was *a few horses and some cattle *and then *ten acres. *Subtracting from that ten acres the land needed for your house and outbuildings, doesn't leave much for grass. I'd say you'll be buying a lot of hay. That may or may not be an issue to you.

Kiltrhot and Acadianartist summed up the work and the trade offs rather well. My wife and I both grew up in the country. She on a rice farm, and I with horses and other critters. We've spent the last few decades in the military and then the suburbs in order to make a living. The one horse I've had in that time was boarded. We've elected to retire to about 30 acres in the tropics. The first thing that struck me was that I'm free from the eternal quest for hay. I still have the fencing, pasture rotation, water catchment, erosion, and other endless chores. But the key word for us is *retired*.


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## bauchtanz (Oct 14, 2013)

I think in our area....iowa...its about 2 acres per animal. ..any more than that and you have the situation where I board....20 acres and 9 horses can't keep up...so the grass grows long and they won't eat it. Then you have to brush mow it...or...as I plan...have 2 cows to eat longer grass and weeds. you are right....it would not leave enough land for hay tho...that is right. With the high price of iowa farm land its not as easy as it used to be to purchase land.....most is being bought by coorperations as investments. Family farms sell for well over a million now. Very different than before!


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

Go for it! I'm on a similar path. 

But please, please be considerate to your mother. Do you really not understand why she's not supportive? The farm life represents one of the worst times of her life. She was likely terrified of losing you, being able to feed you and worse. Losing the farm was likely much better than losing you... respect her hesitation, think about yourself in her shoes and try to find a gentle way to talk to her and ask for her support.


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## kateortamar (Sep 11, 2011)

I'm in a similar circumstance right now too. I think I would love to have land to keep my horses and for my kids to roam (like I did when I was growing up) but I'm not sure whether I want to take the plunge. I don't think I'll save money because board costs will just be converted to higher mortgage payment since around here it is a pretty penny for anything over 5 acres. And then I'll still have to buy hay and will be at the mercy of the hay market which seems quite fickle. I can't count how many times in the last 4 yrs my board has been raised because of "hay prices". Yet, I daydream. I think growing up in the country has made me more resilient and I think it would do the same for my kids. Helping to care and tend animals and the farm is better than being stuck to the Xbox or iPad or whatever else. I think it would be hard to sell if the farm didn't work out though. Not too many people have the kind of finances to afford a horse farm.


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