Does anybody keep their horses at home?

I moved mine to the farm we are rebuilding just over a year ago.
I did it because I'd taken on a 3rd & money was tight & also the politics on the yard was starting to get to me (The horse I took on had a lot of problems which sent the 'experts' into overdrive)
It did take me a while to adjust to being in my own. Initially I was a bit lonely,I missed the social side of the yard & I didn't have any facilities.
But now I love it & couldn't go back :)
 
Ever since I was 10 it was my dream to be able to look out of my window and see my horse. It finally became a reality five years ago when I was 47. The stables were pretty much on the drive so when the gees were in I could sit in the living room and just watch them. When they were in the field I could sit in the garden and watch them.
Last October we started to rent a smallholding just up the lane about 5 mins walk and so we now keep the horses in the barn up there - there is more grazing up there too.
Being on a livery yard was OK and most of the people were very nice, but I rarely got to ride out with any of them as we never seemed to be free at the same time! There was a small family of idiots who made life miserable, not just for me but others as well, and that was the thing that finally spurred me on to make the move to 'horses at home.'

I have had to sweat blood to make it happen and I still have to work very long hours to afford it, but it is worth every penny. I don't get lonely because OH rides and there are lots of horsey neighbours, so always someone to ride with.

I absolutely love it and it is really is a dream come true.
 
I'm lucky enough to have mine at home, but have experience of being on livery yards. It really depends on what you're wanting. I don't have a surface at home, so in the winter I'm limited, but I have great hacking. But When I've been at a yard, there's always someone watching you, or thinking they're better than you. But at home there's just you and your horse, which is great most of the time, until you need an extra hand!

Hope this helps!
 
Yes I keep 4 at home, my daughter and I have two each (although they are really all for her in the future!). I wouldn't be able to afford more than one in livery. I do miss the social side and this led me to give up ten years ago. However this time I have my daughter, plus my neighbour rides one of them sometimes. I have also got a friend with a horse who we box to things together. Previously I didn't have transport or a horse that loaded. Now I have transport and 4 who load with no problems so we can jet off whenever we like :)
 
I'm currently looking at a property which has paddocks and a barn AND a full sized sand manege.. It ticks all the boxes but is a bit remote..plus side no through road.
It's great to read all your posts and happy tales :) I'll just have to get two horse's and a sharer I guess if I want company :)
 
I had my two on part livery in Surrey at a cost of £1200pm and as my health deteriorated I had 200 days in a year when I was unable to drive. It then made sense to buy somewhere with land so I could actually see my horses when I wanted. We bought our place with 6 acres in Jan 2012 and the horses have transitioned really well to living out 24/7. We've had an arena built as it was so wet last year I couldn't ride in the fields and although we have amazing hacking here it's not that safe for me to go too far alone. We are having a small yard built in the next month and are extending the house this year.
I love having them at home so I can pop out and see them any time and for me being able to split up chores and rest when I need to was the biggest pro moving from livery. We were lucky to be able to buy in the same area that all my friends livery in so I still see them a lot and can hack out with some of them so I don't really miss anything about livery. I have the field maintenance done by a very reasonable contractor and have good freelance grooms and amazing friends I can rely on when needed. However the biggest pro by far is how much happier and healthier my horses are living out and being handled by me everyday rather than a rapidly changing succession of grooms when on livery.
 
id love mine at home - only way i can see it happening is to rent somewhere with a house in the next few years....or marrry into money ( :D ) 2nd option is rather appealing at the moment lol! :D
 
We have ours at home (and have done for about 6 years now, before we always had them on livery) and I absolutely love it, it's so nice to be able to look out the window and see the horses, and it's lovely to be able to just pop out and see them / ride as soon as I get home from work. Late night check ups (cuddles!) are fab too.
The only disadvantage is that there is SO much more work involved when they are at home, there is always something that needs doing and because they are right outside the back door there is no 'break' from it. However saying this, I really don't mind! :D x
 
I never forget how lucky we are at Mum's. We live at the front of the yard. Behind the house one side are our 3 stables and then another yard with 5 stables - and mum rents the spaces out. Behind all this we have 8 acres.

So we get the best of both worlds! Mum can pick a nice group of people, we have company but she gets to make the decisions.

I'm so grateful for what we have :)
 
We finally managed to buy a house with land and stables about 18 months ago and I wouldn't swap it for the world! I have been on several livery yards and got so sick of the bitching and thiefing, my dream has come true.
I can see my boys grazing from my kitchen window. Also I am extremely lucky that my husband enjoys the pasture care aspect of having horses at home. He loves nothing more than fire the tractor up and go harrowing or rolling etc. If you can do it then do it, you won't look bag!
 
The right livery yard is great. I love my DIY livery yard. It's pretty small (only 10 liveries) so not too busy, we all get on really well, there's always someone to ride with if you want to, we have great facilities, plenty of people to help out if I'm away and usually a spare horse if mine is out of action for any reason. The YO's great and if there's a problem - from a blown bulb in a stable to broken fencing all we have to is mention it and it's fixed within minutes. There's also usually someone around if something goes wrong too as YO and her husband both work part time, but on different days.

I'd love to wake up to views of my horses and turn them out in my pyjamas, but the added responsibility on top of a demanding full time job, a husband who works shifts so isn't always around at the same time as me to help with bigger jobs and the isolation is a big turn off for me. I'm waiting for the house next door to the yard to come on the market so I can buy that and have the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the last time it was on the market it sold for £1.9m so I'd better get buying those lottery tickets.:rolleyes:
 
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