Does anybody keep their horses at home?

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Passionflower

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Im dreaming,wishing AND saving :o for my own house with land to keep my horses. i dont want to be on another livery yard after the one im currently at. i just want my own place where i can wake up and my horses will be there! But ive also seen people saying they prefer a livery yard which is crazy in my opinion ;) I want peoples opinions and experiences as right now im bored at work and can't help looking at house adverts, im jealous of people who have their horses at home :mad: :D
 
I'd only run a yard or have them at home. Love no-one poking their nose in and being able to just play with them without being watched!

Chronic fear of being watched when tacking up/riding/doing stuff with them (not just with horses though) so love not having people around!
 
Passionflower said:
Im dreaming,wishing AND saving :o for my own house with land to keep my horses. i dont want to be on another livery yard after the one im currently at. i just want my own place where i can wake up and my horses will be there! But ive also seen people saying they prefer a livery yard which is crazy in my opinion ;) I want peoples opinions and experiences as right now im bored at work and can't help looking at house adverts, im jealous of people who have their horses at home :mad: :D
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Yes I do. I had to wait until I was in my mid 40s though. I never gave up the dream and now they have been at home for 2 years. In that time we have had the worst snow I ever remember and a continually wet summer and now autumn. Still hanging in there though and despite no facilities I wouldn't change it. :)

Keep the dream. :) x
 
I moved recently and now have horses at home :D. I love it, I have the stables and one paddock at the side of my house so can see the boys while making my coffee and have another paddock in front of my lounge which I fab :D
I love it when OH is watching the footy I can go and escape with the horses. It would be nice to have other horsey people about sometimes but it's great that the horses are managed on my terms an routine and not having a yo dictate the way things are for example turn out
 
Hi
I keep my horses at home - was like you, used to keep horses on a livery yard, wasn't happy when I had 2 elderly horses at livery as one was very frail and didnt think he was being looked after properly.

Advantages are you can just pop outside whenever you want to see them, no having to get the car out. You do things your own way, no one can tell you what to do.

Disadvantes are there is a fair bit of extra work eg buying in hay, getting rid of manure, maintenance of stables, fencing, paddock etc (we have timber outbuildings that need painting every year), digging up ragwort etc etc. Also you might not have anywhere at home to school (unless you are lucky!)
I've not seen your previous posts so I dont know what your issues are at livery, but you will enjoy having them at home, the hard part is finding anywhere suitable and affordable.

Good luck.
 
I have mine stabled at home but the field is a walk down the road. I'm currently trying to move to have the luxury of my grasskept horses onsite:)

Taking holidays and days off is nigh on impossible, there is a lot of maintenance to be done, no social side if that's what you enjoy (I don't).

In order for us to afford it we are moving to a wreck of a house - it's going to cost as much to do the essential repairs as it did to buy it!
 
i dont really have issues at the yard but like above, people do watch and comment on everything you do. Id just like to wake up and they would be there! It's just odd things like people using your grooming kit or misplacing things which really get on my nerves, like if they asked for it id lend them it but without my permission it really annoys me, i just want my own house with land and stables! am i asking for too much? :confused: :D
 
Passionflower said:
But ive also seen people saying they prefer a livery yard which is crazy in my opinion ;)
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There are some reasons for this. I used to keep my old mare at my aunts and much prefer having my boy at a livery now. Problems included no school, no company out hacking, poor hacking, no back-up in case of problems / my sickness, no company for her etc. It was lovely to see her out of the window in the mornings, but didn't make up for the downsides IMO.

We have 4 people in the local area who keep their horse(s) at home but are loosely attached to our livery yard, they join in on lessons / outings, borrow the school, join us on hacks and put their horses on holiday livery here if needed. That is the best of both worlds and would be my ideal.
 
laura_nash said:
There are some reasons for this. I used to keep my old mare at my aunts and much prefer having my boy at a livery now. Problems included no school, no company out hacking, poor hacking, no back-up in case of problems / my sickness, no company for her etc. It was lovely to see her out of the window in the mornings, but didn't make up for the downsides IMO.

We have 4 people in the local area who keep their horse(s) at home but are loosely attached to our livery yard, they join in on lessons / outings, borrow the school, join us on hacks and put their horses on holiday livery here if needed. That is the best of both worlds and would be my ideal.
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Yeah i suppose thats the best part of being on a livery yard, like help when you need it
 
I could never ever go back to livery.
I love having the horses at home, it also helps that OH is horsey so we share costs, mucking out etc he tends to sort out hay etc because he likes chatting to farmers :D

Advantages for me

No driving to yards
No being told what to do
My horses come in and go out when i want
I get to choose my bedding

Disadvantages , for me there aren't any
 
Keep mine at home didn't have horses until had my own land to keep and bury them on. Nothing like being able to go and check them in what clothes and what time you want, couldn't stand not doing a late night check and skip out of them.
 
I have 3 at home and it is BLISS - I can pop out and check them in my PJs if I need to. The field adjoins the garden, there are 4 stables just outside my back door if I need them but the real pleasure is being able to let them live out all year with haylage in the field and have the security of knowing that they will always have somewhere to live. I have to move for work reasons so looking to find an equivalent set up near Oxford - my current place will be very hard to replace.. :(
 
We have ours at home. I love it, most of the time! I did send them on full livery when we went on holiday this year, and we were very tempted to let our yard out and leave them there!!

Advantages -
Convenience, everything on site. You can pop in for a warm/food.. Lovely seeing them at the end of the garden. No hassle, no falling out.

Disadvantages-
Not as cheap as you think. All the maintenance falls to you. You do a lot of painting/repairing/creosoting. You spend a lot on land maintenance or have to fork out for a tractor. You have to find cover for when you go on holiday or are ill..
 
i have mine at home and LOVE it - im an antisocial git anyway so would rather not be on a livery yard. horse time for me is me time - not time to be bit*hing about other horse owners - and that's all livery yard people seem to do :rolleyes: (or maybe ive been on bad ones ;))
 
I wouldn't go back to a livery yard, for all the facilities in the world. Yes, our fields have mostly been too wet to ride in this summer, so schooling sessions haven't been as easy but there are all-weather arenas available for hire in the district. Actually we haven't bothered and I guess that they are pretty wet as well.
We live in a horsey area, so can usually find someone to hack with if we want to. If you are looking for hacking partners, I can recommend contacting your local RC.
Sis and I sold out 2 houses to be able to move here, so there is always someone to take over, if one of us has to work late/go away etc.
As others have said, the maintenance is the downside of having your own property. There is always somethig that needs painting or mending or moving. My neighbours and I joke that we should have a skip permanently at the end of the lane, as we all hire them so often.
DO'D is absolutely right that affordable propety with land usually needs a lot of restoration - ours certainly did and it is an ongoing situation.
Honey - I've just bought a tractor which will soon pay for itself in muckheap moving.
 
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If you set aside a field area for schooling and fence properly you're fine. School planning permission isn't awful either and cost of putting in isn't extortionate (and would increase value of preoperty).

I'd only have them with decent off road hacking if at home or very open nice roads to off road (hate roads)

Help isn't an issue. I have plenty of friends and family with theirs at home and would just call on them. 24/7 turnout and happy with just a head count and basic check, so isn't too difficult. Anyone called on knows them well enough to know if character is not right as well as physical check.

Maintenance we've always done anyway, so no different. Cost of cresote every so often and fencing when necessary (always worth paying for decent lot first time round!) Ragworting isn't an issue, pulling is quite a simple task when you get into it (we had tens of acres of it almost every step) and once you get it down, it's really easy to keep on top of. Make sure any piping is lagged or you won't enjoy winter! Sort out where your muck heap is going and what you're doing with it (with easy access).

Plus side, waking up on a crisp winter morning to see them playing in the snow :) Pootling down at 2am because you fancy seeing them....
 
I keep mine at home, and would hate to be on a yard.
I love not having people telling me what to do or not do etc.
I love going down last thing at night to give them late hay, check them over etc, and I can keep an eye on them from the house, or chat to them when I am gardening.
Its great being in charge of turn out, grass intake etc.

There are a few downsides I suppose - I have no company, and no help if something goes wrong or I am ill/injured. Also, there is a lot of work maintaining the paddocks, fencing, stabling, removing the muck heap etc.

But, if you get the chance to do it ... go for it, it is the most wonderful thing, and you really get to know your horses so well, being able to watch them/be with them all the time.

Good Luck. :D
 
Used to keep my horse at livery yards in North London and learnt alot about keeping and managing horses from the other liveries and yard managers/owners. Used to hack out alot by myself as most people would not want to go out on long hacks but occasionally people would hack out with me.
Then bought my own place with land. Can do what I want when I want to. I use contractors to maintain the grassland, hedges and fencing so this adds to costs.
 
Sprout said:
But, if you get the chance to do it ... go for it, it is the most wonderful thing, and you really get to know your horses so well, being able to watch them/be with them all the time.
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^^This.

The habits and quirks I knew about liveries horses from seeing them day in day out and over night, early feeding etc was amazing. Little things that they just never saw.
 
Yes we do we bought our place in our twenties its a barn which we converted and live in its around 15 acres of grass and now we have it's about 9 acres of woodland as well it's lovely we were lucky to get it.
At first we were penniless and lived of baked beans and corn beef its easy now very soon the mortgage is paid off completely and I can't wait .
We have spent lots over the year it's been our only home as a married couple we returned and had our first night in it after our honeymoon it's very special to me.
 
yes i do. it is great having them on the doorstep and looking out the window and seeing them. downsides are it is all down to you - all the field maintenance, poo picking etc and it can be difficult to get holidays. but do think it is worth it - i can have them out 24/7, feed when i like etc. would find sticking to rules at a yard difficult now. i also like that i always know where they are and they are only handled by me and OH. horses are a lot happier too!
 
Yes, mine are at home. But then I live on a farm! Am constantly having to justify to my farmer brother why I should keep horses there, he can't see them making money like sheep and cattle do :(

Had a conversation loosely based on this the other night with my mother. Before I joined on here, I didn't realise how many people kept their horses on some sort of livery. Where I live, everyone keeps their horses at home because nearly everyone is a farmer. If a child wants a pony, there's a place for it. Those who don't have land to keep a horse, don't have one. There's no livery yards, just quite a few riding schools that are always busy on the weekends.

Must admit, for all the benefits of having my gee gee's in the field below the house, the biggest drawback is not having anyone to ride with. Not that Big Ears and me don't have a great time together, it's just she can't chat back!
 
SarahThomas said:
Must admit, for all the benefits of having my gee gee's in the field below the house, the biggest drawback is not having anyone to ride with. Not that Big Ears and me don't have a great time together, it's just she can't chat back!
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Hi Sarah - if you are on FB try joining Riding Buddies - we need some more Welsh members. :)

http://www.facebook.com/RidingBuddies
 
Yes,
Lucky to find somewhere at last. This will be our first winter with them at home. Really enjoy speaking to them whenever I like and being whinnied at in the morning when they see me open the curtains. Spend more time with OH as at home more and he is a bit more involved. I've learnt a lot more about them too.
Ride out with someone who lives up the road so not missing social aspect and there are always shows to go to. No stables or school yet but I can cope.
Typical view from our garden:

94a3bb3d.jpg
 
I live in a normal terraced house but I rent the fields and stables behind my house

Its a good option to consider if you cant aford a place with land

An alternative would be to rent, if you are content not to be on the housing ladder you can rent a nice place for the cost of a mortgage on a lesser place
 
After years of paying to keep my horses somewhere we finally managed to rent a smallholding (huge thanks to Pipkin who found it for us). Waking up to this every morning, what more could you want?

2012-08-10-039.jpg
 
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