Advice on keeping horses at home.

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HideandSeek

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I've always kept my horses on DIY livery but I've recently moved back to my home town after living away for some years due to work. My Step Father has offered me one of the fields on his farm for my horse and my children's pony.
The field is approx 4 acres so thats good. I will need to fence it all off myself and put some stables/field shelters up.
As I've always been on livery, I'd really like some advice on the most important things to think about if I take him up on his kind offer.

I've always done DIY so had to maintain my own fields, fencing, water etc so I'm confident I can manage the land.
The one thing I keep thinking about is, will the neddy's get too attached to each other as there will only be the 2 of them? Will this make taking one of them out to ride a really stressful situation and how could I ease this?


Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks
 
yes they can get very attached. I never leave a horse in the field on its own i always stable one of mine when I an going to hack out the other. They can neigh and cause a real fuss when you first start but the thing is to go a short hack say 30 mins then go back. once the left behind horse learns the other is going to return neighing reduces to a minimum. mine only neigh now when I first go out and on the return when they hear the shoes on the approaching road. they learn to live with it. the thing is consistency. if you only go out once a month you get nowhere you need to go out several times a week to teach the horse its friend will return.
 
When I only had two at home I used to bring them both in when I rode one its just safer knowing they are in, my two came from a livery yard to our house and they settled in fine without any problems I think if you get them used to being on there own for a bit from the start they are fine.
 
The same as the others have said, I always bring both of mine in and make sure the one that is left in the stable has something to eat to keep them occupied I find now they don't even bother neighing whilst separated but just to greet each other when I get back from a ride. Try and find some local people to ride out with as otherwise I found it could get a bit boring always riding out on my own :)
 
We tend to stable one if her field mate goes out (we have four, but they are kept as two pairs, as the draught mare and the cob fight :( ). The draught mare just eats, the appy screams the whole time, but that is more to do with her demanding attention than that her friend has gone out!
If you build shelters/stables, I can recomend using solar lighting, we have just upgraded ours, with two decent sized units, with four lights per unit. They cost about a hundred pounds for the plate, the battery and unit and the wiring for the four led spotlights that came with it and the wiring from the plate to the battery. It is as bright as when we had mains lighting in the building, cost a fraction of the cost to rewire to the stable and has no oncost. Think about how you are going to manage for water (will a rainwater collection system work?) and enjoy :)
 
Thanks everyone for the great advice. I will definitely stable one when the other goes out.
I was thinking about solar lighting, I think it's something we will have to get as I'm used to mains electricity.
Also considering a rainwater collection system, I've never used one before so I dont know if it will be suffcient but will definitely be looking into it.
I will be trying to find local people of hack out with. My children aren't at the stage where i'd be comfortable for them to come out with me unless my husband is with us on foot, so I'll be going solo most of the time which I dont enjoy as much.
Half of me thinks it's a great opportunity and will save me lots of money but the other half wonders whether it will be quite boring, just us on our own.
 
YorksG said:
We tend to stable one if her field mate goes out (we have four, but they are kept as two pairs, as the draught mare and the cob fight :( ). The draught mare just eats, the appy screams the whole time, but that is more to do with her demanding attention than that her friend has gone out!
If you build shelters/stables, I can recomend using solar lighting, we have just upgraded ours, with two decent sized units, with four lights per unit. They cost about a hundred pounds for the plate, the battery and unit and the wiring for the four led spotlights that came with it and the wiring from the plate to the battery. It is as bright as when we had mains lighting in the building, cost a fraction of the cost to rewire to the stable and has no oncost. Think about how you are going to manage for water (will a rainwater collection system work?) and enjoy :)
Click to expand...

I was thinking about putting solar lights in my field shelter; could you please post a link of the one that you had installed?

Sorry to hijack post OP.

But in answer to your question the most important thing for me would be fencing, especially if they can get out into the road. Is there a farm building nearby where you can store hay etc? And where will you ride? If the fields drain ok you might be ok for most of the year + if you are able to ride during daylight hours otherwise you might only get to ride on weekends.
 
I have two at home. Both come in to their stables when I am taking one out. The one that is left has a treat ball with some balancer nuts inside it, a stable mirror and a nylon stable grid across the top opening as I'm a bit paranoid about them jumping out whilst I'm gone. It took a while for them to get used to being left but now neither of them bother other than a whinney when we get back home. Both of them are fine when they are the ones being taken out alone for exercise- I pretty much always go alone & actually prefer it.

We collect rainwater but I wouldn't rely on it as our only source - the barrels have to be emptied and cleaned out fairly regularly.
 
Luckily they wont be able to get onto a road. The field is behind the farmhouse and the only access to the road is through a remote operated drive.
That's the other thing, during the week, I work until 4pm so in the winter I'm not sure how much riding we'll get done after school/work.
 
There is a lot more responsibility keeping a horse at home and it can be quite time consuming.
It can also restrict the number of people to hack out with until one finds new local contacts.
However the big advantage is that one can manage ones horse as one wishes.
 
When I moved from DIY to a field I had two. Both were fine about being separated but I decided to have a third (this was after a disastrous attempt at having a livery). I now have one ridden and two unridden. I also have four acres and found that I had too much land with just two.

My bigger problem has been getting help with them at times of illness. If I could have found the right livery who could offer cover when needed I would have gone with that option.
 
I keep mine at home and at the moment only have 2. As others do, both come in when one is ridden (though one would be fine staying out). Time wise, its much better, though mine are out 24/7 and the fields are too big to poo pick. There are also sheep and sometimes cattle in there which sorts the worms. It means no riding on weekdays in winter, but I'll take that over being on livery any time :)

Oh and best tip I can come up with - buy a head torch whether you have lighting or not. They're so useful!
 
it really depends on the horses and you know them best, what does your gut say?

2 of ours would not care, they may neigh once then go back to eating, but the 3rd i wouldnt want to leave out on his own for longer than a couple of hours.

we make sure all ours DO get used to being left alone right from word go so a few hours out alone is not a prob if the others are being ridden.
 
Agree with PS that your gut instinct will tell you a lot.

It sounds like you will be giving up some things to have them on the farm, like your hacking buddies etc. So make sure that you are making the right decision before you leap :)

I absolutely LOVE having my horses at home - i like to be able to see them all the time, keep them how I see fit, and it saves me loads of time in travelling. But I do miss the social aspects of being at livery, having someone to chew over a problem with, help when you are busy or poorly, just seeing other people outside work etc. I never expected to miss that quite so much.

(we have 3 at home, two fuss a bit about being left and then get on with it, the other makes a right racket and has to have a full grill over the top door to stop her from climbing out of the stable - they are all different!)
 
I think my gelding will be ok, he does take a while to settle but is pretty easy going, the pony is quite new to us so that may be a challenge in itself as he is still settling in now.
It's a lot to think about.
 
I have three geldings at home, two are quite happy being left alone in field when the others are away, the other is quite happy left alone in stables with hay. Do it little and often from the get-go so they get used to comings and goings.

Having them at home is a lot of work and responsibility. I absolutely love it and wouldn't have it any other way but it is harder when you're tired/ill or have ill family etc etc etc. Look out for freelancers etc who might be able to help out if needed-my biggest difficulty is getting away. We've managed one 5 day break in two years.

I actively dislike hacking in company but if you like it, make sure you are happy to give it up, at least for a while.

A good headtorch is a must even with good lighting-if you get one with a red light option, they don't get so miffed when you shine it their eye :p
 
re rainwater collection. We do this but its only usable in the winter as it goes green quickly in warmer weather. I takewater from home for the horse to drink.
 
I think it depends on the horses. Currently I have two at home. One of which I can leave in the field alone but not the stable and the other I have to bring in.
My retired horse really wouldn't settle for any more than half an hour, certainly i could never leave him alone in a field as he just jumps fences if he's really upset.
I think is usually workable though. What a lovely offer!
Another possibility to consider is loneliness!!! Although Id be incredibly dubious about going back to a livery yard and don't miss a lot of the experience, I do miss a coffee and natter or someone to ride with.
 
HideandSeek said:
Luckily they wont be able to get onto a road. The field is behind the farmhouse and the only access to the road is through a remote operated drive.
That's the other thing, during the week, I work until 4pm so in the winter I'm not sure how much riding we'll get done after school/work.
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Depending on what your horses are like, you might be able to get away with just electric. My fields back onto my house but I have post and rail around every field with mains electric on the inside otherwise mine would probably end up in my garden/patio.

I am lucky enough to have a floodlit manège at home otherwise I would only ride at weekends for half the year.

However as others have said being able to see their faces whenever you like and checking on them in your pyjamas is the best. Sounds as though you might be travelling to the field in any event, so unless livery yards around there don't have all year turnout/good facilities I would personally be on livery at least for when you first move there/over winter and reasses.
 
This is them, not sure if it works as a link, but if you go to amazon uk and put that in, it will take you to them.
15W Off-Grid Solar Lighting System with 4 LED Lights, Solar Panel, Battery and Cables - Complete Solar Lighting Kit They don't come with brackets for the panels, but I easily made some from angle, slotted aluminium from B&Q, they are now screwed onto the stable roof. I put the batteries/ housing in a stack of plastic boxes to protect them from the wet, with small holes drilled in the drawers to allow the cables through.
 
I'm pretty sure you can get security type lights which run off a car battery which might mean you can ride during the week in the winter. At a friends yard our lights ran off a generator which we buried to prevent it being stolen but we did have to lug water up there every day unless it was raining which was a bit of a pain in the bum and did make the morning routine longer.
 
They can get attached but it really depends on the horse. I regularly left a pony at home when I took my horse out to events / hacks and it was fine but I did leave him in the stable with loads of hay just in case - this could be worth considering. I now leave my sensitive retired horse on his own in the field when I take my other one competing, I used to put him in but now I can actually just leave him out and he doesn't seem to care which is amazing considering he's a stressy type but I guess he just trusts now that we'll come back. I would definately put the other one in though while you're out to begin with to see how they behave, you dont want them jumping out.

I'd recommend getting power in your stables if you can. I remember not having electricity and it was horrible, it makes such a difference in winter even just for something basic like bringing a horse in to change his rug is such a hassle by torch light! As someone has mentioned, make sure you have somewhere to store hay as thats a practicality I hadnt thought through enough when I had my stables built (1 stable currently has hay in it... I thought I could store enough hay in my tackroom but couldn't).
 
If the field is behind the farmhouse, can you not run a hose from the house for water to top up rain water? Obviously for most people renting a field this wouldn't be an option but seeing as it's your step dad's place he shouldn't mind you popping into the garden to attach a hose?
 
There is a tap quite close to the field which we would be able to run a hose from but as my step Dad has offered me the field for nothing, I don't want to use too much water and whatever I do use I would definitely pay for.
I guess I won't really know how they'll cope until I've done it.
I spoke to my step dad today and the field measure 4.1 acres so I would consider getting a companion pony if they were too stressed with being left alone.
Hopefully if they're stabled they'll be fine.
I think lighting is a must.
I may look into getting some lights for the field we'll be schooling in at some point so I can ride in the winter.
 
YorksG said:
This is them, not sure if it works as a link, but if you go to amazon uk and put that in, it will take you to them.
15W Off-Grid Solar Lighting System with 4 LED Lights, Solar Panel, Battery and Cables - Complete Solar Lighting Kit They don't come with brackets for the panels, but I easily made some from angle, slotted aluminium from B&Q, they are now screwed onto the stable roof. I put the batteries/ housing in a stack of plastic boxes to protect them from the wet, with small holes drilled in the drawers to allow the cables through.
Click to expand...

Thank you �� I am not sure I will be able to do the complicated bit with the plastic boxes but this is now on my list!

If you have 4 acres that is easily enough grazing for 2 that you won't need a lot of hay (unless you are planning to stable?). And if you can work out the riding aspect then I would try out the field.

If the water isn't metered it shouldnt cost your step-dad anything. My water isnt metered and we have taps and auto waterers in every field. Carrying water is not fun.
 
I loved having mine at home but there were no other local riders and although I like to ride alone sometimes I came to hate riding alone all the time! Also what about when the weather turns, what's the hacking like? Will you miss not having access to a manège?
 
CBAnglo said:
Thank you �� I am not sure I will be able to do the complicated bit with the plastic boxes but this is now on my list!.
Click to expand...
Honestly it wasn't complicated :) A four stack of plastic drawer things from B&Q for 12 quid, one hole at the back for the wire to go through (a wood drill works well) and four at the side for the ones from the lights. I got the stack so that the unit was off the ground and kept out of the way of the young cob who tries to get into everything! I put ours so that I can turn the lights on from outside for last checks at night in winter :)
 
YorksG said:
Honestly it wasn't complicated :) A four stack of plastic drawer things from B&Q for 12 quid, one hole at the back for the wire to go through (a wood drill works well) and four at the side for the ones from the lights. I got the stack so that the unit was off the ground and kept out of the way of the young cob who tries to get into everything! I put ours so that I can turn the lights on from outside for last checks at night in winter :)
Click to expand...

If it's not too much trouble could you pm me a pic please? I am wondering how to attach the lights inside the field shelter and where I should put the "stack" as I have a pony who will get into everything (I have a ladder on the side of my shelter so maybe I could climb onto the roof and put it up there?)
 
After many years of having horses on livery, I now have my horses at home (well, it's a minute's walk away on the in-laws farm)! I have two large stables that face into the end of the Dutch barn. The stable doors are left open & they each have a large pen that they can choose to come out into to socialise. I love being able to do what I want, when I want with them - all the usual livery yard hassles are gone (turnout time, people borrowing things, etc, etc) but at times I do wonder if it's worth the other hassles!
These are my issues (not saying you'll encounter all or any of them):
I have no school & it's a nightmare when the fields are wet
I have no one to hack with & have to cross a busy A road or go round the farm every day - no fun on youngsters!
I can never have a lie in or a day of illness as husband isn't horsey & would struggle to do anything with them!
They get stupidly clingy, even if there's 3 of them
My father in law just doesn't 'get' horses - it's taken me 5 years & a nearly dead weanling to get through to him that horses tend to try to commit suicide if you plough/harvest/drill/spread tillage with a large tractor down the side of the stables .... a quick phone call so I can remove them is far less traumatic.....
Field maintenance is never ending...
My muck heap has to be removed each year as my father in law can't spread it on his arable land (one of those ridiculous rules)!
It's often boring on your own - there's no one to ask "what temperature is it going to be tonight? What rugs are you putting on? Does he look slightly lame? Anyone got any wine??! ;)
I never have anyone to do poles or jumps for me
There's no one to help - you'd be amazed at how many times I've needed another person & have had to manage in my own - However you do become quite inventive!!

There are probably a lot more things but those are my main bug bears!
Another thing to add is that i do think children come on more by having other children to do daft things with ponies with!! I know when I was younger we had a field for my ponies & it wasn't much fun even though my mum did lots of things with me & walked miles out hacking! I was much happier back on a yard where we could 'play' under the watchful eye of a yard manager. Just a thought....

If you feel that you want to give it a go, I would perhaps get everything set up over the winter & move in spring when the weather starts to get better, that way you get used to riding in the field etc before the mud, rain & cold comes back! :D
 
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