Bringing horses home for the first time!! Advice please

[lauraea]

Hi guys,

Been a while since I posted! I'm looking for some advice and tips as FINALLY I am able to bring my horses to live at home for the first time ever.. I am super excited!

I've had horses for most of my life but always kept them on DIY livery, and more recently full livery as I work full time at a riding centre.

However moving forward my parents have purchased a property with land and I now have the opportunity to bring my boy to live at home and he will be joined by an older mare that I have a huge soft spot for and will now give a quieter life. (Ex bullfighting mare before the riding centre rescued her)

Obviously I have knowledge regarding feeding and all of the horses day to day care, but looking for tips and pointers of all the things to bear in mind before bringing them home... it's funny how much you don't think about the simple things when they are already provided for you on livery yards!

Any advice???

 

[Goldenstar]

You need to factor in time for maintence of the buildings and land all of this takes more time and money than you everything is suddenly down to you from getting rid of the muck to mending a drainpipe and it takes more time than you think.

 

[Auslander]

Two might not be the ideal number - have you considered what you will do if you want to ride, but the mare objects to being let alone?

 

[lauraea]

Hi Auslander, I had thought this through but I already know both horses well and they don't suffer separation anxiety. They are more than happy left alone providing they have hay to bury their heads in! Likewise I am able to ride and lead (I do this regularly with them at work) so it will be likely that more often than not they will ride out together even if I am alone.

 

[Hack4fun]

Enjoy them - there is nothing like having horses at home. They will settle in and learn the ropes, just take your time. As others have said, taking one out can agitate the one left behind, so take is very slowly. Just a few minutes and remain in sight for the first few days. Then a couple of minutes out of sight and back again and build it up over several weeks. I don't know if you are keeping them out 24/7 or stabling, but remember that horses are designed to live out in all weathers and often like living out in a herd so don't feel guilty if they are out.

 

[meleeka]

How exciting mine aren’t at home as such but a mile up the road. You need to be handy or have someone that is. My best birthday present ever was a cordless drill and saw!

You’ll need to fine a reliable hay supplier that can deliver the amount you can store when you need it and when you find a good one look after them and they will look after you. Ditto Farrier, vet and Feed supplier.

Do you have stables/shelter? You’ll need somewhere where there is a hard standing and lights for winter evenings.

I wouldn’t go back to a yard. I love the fact that I can chop and change their routine or which field they are in and because there are no rules, my ponies are much happier.

 

[Pinkvboots]

It's lovely having them at home it's the best thing I ever did I never want them on livery again, I only have 2 I bring them both in whenever I ride and they are both fine left in a stable with hay if I leave 1 in the field they just charge about screaming so I don't do it.

 

[lauraea]

Dad is my handyman! Recently retired so i've got to keep him busy With regards to hay, farrier, vet etc.. I am not moving the horses too far from where they are currently stabled and where I work, so all of the above will remain the same (but obviously giving me the freedom to change should I want to in the future!)

They will live out 24/7 which they are both used to.. the climate in Portugal is obviously much warmer and drier and the ground is sand. They have both lived on sand and been fed ad-lib hay for many years so this will not be any different for them. If I don't feel that there is enough natural shade or protection from any wind/rain in their paddock I am already prepared to have dad build them a shelter! (Only the best!)

I guess for me the most exciting thing is to be able to enjoy the horses in my own time again. Having been working on a busy trekking yard, some days I do not even find the time to give mine any fuss and I almost certainly never get the chance to ride them of my own free will. I am always riding with clients, a strict time schedule and a responsibility to be keeping all of the riders safe and happy (99% of the time I am looking over my shoulder or leading a novice client from my horse) - I can not wait to go galloping up the tracks without worrying about anyone else!!!

 

[Nudibranch]

I've always had 2 at home, only occasionally 3, since a child so that's 30 odd years and they quickly get used to one going out.

I envy your climate though! I can only imagine what it must be like without the winter mud, the battle with spring grass....I bet their hooves are fab.

 

[lauraea]

I've always had 2 at home, only occasionally 3, since a child so that's 30 odd years and they quickly get used to one going out.

I envy your climate though! I can only imagine what it must be like without the winter mud, the battle with spring grass....I bet their hooves are fab.

Do you know what... after keeping and riding horses here, I don't think I could ever go back to the UK and enjoy them even half as much! I even question how I managed it all those years ago fab hooves, fab coats, no mud... lots of flies though!

 

[Hilltop Munchkins]

I have my horse at home and it is so amazing to look out the window and see them
Mine never used to have separation anxiety but since I got him a friend and it was only them two, he developed it! (other one breathed a sigh of relief when I rode mine out lol)

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My advice, for what its worth:

1. I don't know what your electricity and water situation is like, but if you're on mains for both, you can NEVER have too many stopcocks and/or turn-off points IME. Our water here is metered and comes from the nearest mains junction about half a mile away, and just after we moved here (about 25yrs ago) we had a massive (thousands of pounds ) water bill because we had a leak that we didn't know about! After that, I made sure that when/if I was putting in any water troughs etc that each would have its own stopcock so that if there was a problem, the water for that area could be turned off. Essential this IMO. Also, with electricals, you can NEVER have too many yard lights and/or mains power points. Note: sensor lights where the beam comes on if someone walks near it are a total PITA, they need constant adjustment and/or bulbs replacing - we bought a solar-powered sensor light which does the trick nicely for our top yard, might run to a similar one for other areas come the autumn.

2. Always, always, always, if you're gonna use leccy fencing (and it IS the most useful thing on the planet) make sure it is (a) as taut as you can get it (use tighteners) and (b) actually got power going through it. Nothing is more dangerous than leccy fence wire flapping in the breeze with no or very little power actually going through it. We installed a mains energiser unit, well worth while, you've then got a regular source of decent power. Tip: essential item is a voltage tester!! - this is true whether you've got mains or battery. If using battery-powered energisers, always without fail make sure you've got a usable spare - you don't want to be in the situation on say Xmas Eve where you've got a hairy mammoth threatening to tank through your leccy fence, and you're battery's given out. Always have a spare, and if you can run to it, a spare energiser unit too. Always very handy.

3. Make sure you've got a local farmer on your side and/or on standby for the little jobs like rolling & harrowing, hedge trimming etc, if he can do a bit of fencing too so much the better. Getting a good reliable blokey for these sorts of jobs isn't always easy, and if you've got a gem then keep them sweet: pay them cash every time, and a little bottle of something to lift their spirits at Xmas. Ditto your farrier.

4. If you have the room, consider a livery. But be VERY very fussy indeed as if you're living on site you have to have someone you can trust, basically. Be fussy, insist on references from both their YO and an independent person at their previous yard if you don't know them - but better by far to have someone who's been personally recommended to you. After a while of being in an area and keeping your ear to the ground, you'll get to be in the know about bad liveries. Always have an "isolation" area for any new arrivals too (essential IMO). If you do go the livery route (either full, DIY or whatever) then 'fess up and fill in an HMRC return; if you live in the countryside then someone's bound to know your business and will happily sneak on you to HMRC if you do have a livery, and its better to be up-front IMO than not to tell them as the consequences of this can be dire. Also, if you do have a livery, consider what insurances you may need too.......

5. Consider how you will interact with the local horsey community. If you compete in any discipline then you will get to know everyone else out there; but even if you're just a happy hacker, then as you see other people out and about you can always ask them to show your their fave rides. Keeping a horse at home can actually be isolating in the sense that you may feel a bit cut-off from everyone; in a busy yard you'd get a lot of other horsey people around you doing stuff and you may well miss this (but not for long, I promise you!).

6. If you're got your own place and have moved your horses back, then expect a certain amount of local curiosity about it. That's fine, that's what living in the country's like - you don't have to mind your own business, everyone else minds it for you; and conversely - you then mind everyone elses!! That's the way of it. Enjoy!! There's nothing like looking out and seeing your own Neds all chilled out and relaxed.