Now you have your own land to you want for anything else?

[CobSunshine]

So me and the bf dream of one day having our own patch of land and being able to open the stable style kitchen door which leads onto the paddock and have our horses greet us for breakfast. No 15 minute drive to the current grazing spot, no yard poltics, complete privacy and a real retreat away from the ratrace. We'd build field shelter, a hay barn, love outbuildings for a workshop etc, real country living. Rural, the two of us and the horses.

Its going to take a lot of effort and work to get enough money to even begin to realise our dream, but for anyone who's already achieved the above or even been lucky enough to be brought up with it - is it all its cracked up to be? Do you want for anything else? Or is it the utter bliss I paint in my head

 

[Jesstickle]

Well, for starters who is going to look after them when you have to go away?

Livery may be frustrating sometimes but having someone on hand to help you out in an emergency or for holidays (even if you have to pull in the favours) is pretty damn handy!

I also want my horses at home but that is just so I can have them live out and not have to do stables! Would happily have a friend livery with me to share chores I reckon. I'd be lonely riding by myself all the time

 

[CobSunshine]

currently grazed out 24/7 so no livery anyhow

Friends keep an eye on them if I go on hol though

I'd be looking for somewhere local to me of which there are many if I were to ever fulfil my dream.

 

[itsonlyme]

We're on our own now & tbh, Im finding it to be harder work than it was having them on diy livery. And they live out now, with a couple of shelters! Im hoping it's just cos it's winter time & we're sorting out the teething problems

 

[JFTDWS]

mine aren't at home but aren't on livery. Now I want more land, less mud, an arena, an xc course - endless things There's always something that would be nice to have

 

[SusieT]

Beat livery hands down. Making the decisions, organising where things go, knowing nobody else is nicking your stuff is all brilliant. You employ a freelance groom when you go away-simple!

 

[Capriole]

more land

But, yes, basically blissful

We went to have a look at a little parcel of land today, 4 looseboxes and 5 acres. I forgot how tiny 5 acres is
Still, it would be handy to have and its nicely out of the way yet relatively close to our other land. Id like to have an outdoor arena on it.

 

[FairyLights]

Yes,its fantastic. Beware the temptation to "want it all" and spoil it by having to work so many hours a week that you cant enjoy the horses. For example,for ages I wanted my own menage. Got to where it was possible,but I realised I'd have to work longer hours to pay for it,and would loose grazing. We have taken a simpler route,we have our fields stables field shelter and barn and do our own thing. we dont care that the neighbours are smarter etc. We enjoy what we have and live a simple life. Very enjoyable. One downside is lack of company,I am quite a solitory type so it doesnt bother me but it doesnt suit everyone. You are in charge of everytihng,from mending the fences to sorting out hay and straw deliveries.

 

[Mithras]

Be aware that if you have your horses within sight of your house at all, at anywhere approaching what they think should be feeding time, you will look out your window to find them mesmerically staring in at you, willing you to bring them their feed. Their eyes will follow you as you go from room to room. Never again will you get a long lie. They will also break into your beautiful hay barn, unless you fence it with high voltage electric fence!

But otherwise, its good! Its always useful to have a nearby livery yard you can put them to in order to rest your fields for a couple of months a year, so that if you go on holiday, they are already used to going there.

 

[Honey08]

We have our horses at home, and I grew up that way, so wouldn't change it for the world. It is hard work - there is so much land maintenance and yard maintenance, and its not that much cheaper really. But the privacy and space is wonderful. Nothing really goes missing, there is no drama, the yard works around your horses and your competitions etc. It is difficult to go on holiday, but we know a few grooms locally who do them for us - you just have to plan it all ahead and be organised.. We have a groom on Sundays so that we have one morning where we don't have to rush out and do horsey jobs. It also means that the girl has a proper job with us and is more likely to help us out if we go away..

Go for it, its a wonderful way to keep your horses.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Dunno how much space you've got in mind OP, but the absolutely ideal situation is if you've got enough for your own horse(s) plus enough space for a livery too: this means that you've got company for your horse; company on the yard as well; AND it helps pay the bills!!!

You've got to make sure you get the right livery though coz it can be a nightmare if you haven't. I've got the most wonderful livery: so its fab!!

 

[TGM]

We have had our horses at home for 15 years now. After many years of horses at livery I wouldn't go back!

But I am quite an independent person, so am happy to do the horses on my own, hack out on my own, etc. Although now daughter is older, and OH has got back into riding, plus we have a sharer, it is very sociable these days!

Love having the freedom to manage the horses as I want. Have always found it possible to get someone in to do them when I am away. We are lucky to have fantastic hacking on our doorstep and friends with arenas about 10 mins hack away. Only things I would really like to add is a 20x20 lunge pen for when conditions are too icy or dark to hack to arenas, plus a bit more hard-standing around the stables!

 

[becca1305]

Ive been on yards on varying sizes and facilities for years before moving to keep the horses at home and nothing compares to it I enjoyed it more at home even before I had the manege put in.

Things you may miss-
Help with the horses if needed - easily solved by finding a good freelance groom .

Someone to hack with/ride with/share transport to schooling/competitions - in horsey areas its easily solved by finding the time to go and be friendly at your local yards

A manege unless you get one put in

The social side of things. Im a student and in the holidays I often don't see people for days and days as I get absorbed in horsey jobs and riding , even in term time Im only at uni 3 days a week so it can get pretty isolated and I have to make more effort to see people and socialise in the evenings.


The extra responsibilities for mending all the fencing, considering worming routines, methods of grazing the fields etc unless you already do this.




The concept of having liveries is a good one - I've considered it- but I find the insurance inhibitive for one or two liveries and not having insurance is a very bad idea as you can find yourself liable for all sorts. Im not sure how it works if you allow someone free livery in exchange for "favours" or some such arrangement however.

Id also try to get a decent amount of land rather than sticking to your minimums if poss as this makes life much easier. I have 12 acres between 4 horses, and one horse on a restricted grazing patch and whilst I could manage with less I wouldnt want to. The fields are well draining and soil of good quality. Having this much allows me to rotate fields and harrow instead of poopicking. I don't have to supplement grazing with hay/haylage unless I wish to in winter. I cut enough haylage off my own fields to last until the next cut at a considerable saving to buying in. It is possible to manage off much less land, but life is a lot easier and less worrying/stressful with more I find .

Also try and find somewhere with good hacking if you currently do a fair amount, its easy to think you will manage but unlike yards once the horses are at home you can't up and move them to a new place if you do decide its a compromise too far . If I had to stick to the official bridleways which were initially in place when I moved I would have been bored witless! however the lovely owners of the estate down the road who have always been more than gracious about riding on their land have opened miles and miles of bridleways to be used by all and ask that people give contributions to the air ambulance

Hope that helps a little it is a lot of work but its brilliant, particularly if you are used to renting land so you have already experienced all the work which goes in but now get the benefits of having them at home

PS. as for wanting for anything else I now want to move somewhere with a minimum of 30 acres have an indoor school, american barn (despite loving my old red brick stables they aren't as practical!), an undercover horse walker and a small xc course so yes I guess you can always want for more but whilst dreams are lovely Im very happy just to have my horses at the bottom of the drive insight from the kitchen window in their stables and most of the other windows in their fields so lovely to see them when you wake up in a morning

 

[ladyt25]

Well, my parents bought 12 acres of land in the village about 20 odd years ago now. It's not near the family house as such - you have to drive to get there (although it is possible to walk) but to be perfectly honest i can't imagine being on a livery yard! Have never been on a lvier yard bit then I was only about 10 when my parents bought the field. I would LOVE to have the land outside the house, that's be great. If you go on holiday you just manage - for us it's easy as my mum and dad and my sister are involved in the horses so we just don't all go away at the same time but, if we diid we have friends who can check on the horses - they are all out 24/7 in the summer. If they needed more care than just a check over each day then we know of various people who we could pay to do this so it is not actually a problem at all.

Ok, so we don't have the facilities some yards have but we can do as we please and personally i love that!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Well we do talk about what we'd do if we won the lottery but we are pretty satisfied really.
As others have said, you are responsible for all the land/fence/building maintenance, which can be a pain, especially in an emergency situation, which usually happens at a Bank Holiday.
You won't be on your own, you'll have your OH. We are in a horsey area, with horsey neighbours, who also keep their horses at home/nearby. We also joined the local RC, so have plenty of people to hack with/call on in an emergency.
After having a friend keep her pony here for a while, I certainly wouldn't recommend a livery. You get used to doing things your own way, without considering any-one else's routine, liveries are just a PIA, imo.
There is always some fairly minor improvement to make, even if you don't bother about big items like an arena, so you'll never have any spare money.
But I wouldn't go back to a livery yard if THEY paid ME.

 

[Ranyhyn]

We own a 20 acre small holding. Sadly currently there are no ammenities on there (only one stable, no yard, no electric or water) and no hacking. I love being able to see the horses out of the window, I don't love not being able to ride in winter because the land is too wet! I love not having to worry about people breaking/stealing/moving your things but I hate not having anyone to buddy up with...

So it's not quite always "perfect" however, had I a different horse - it pretty much would be

 

[WelshD]

I rent the three acres behind my house, it has a stable block, tack room and hay store

The one thing I do want for..... a horse or pony!

 

[Cocorules]

I have land but not close to house . Pluses are do your thing your way in my case much better hacking and plenty of others to ride with. Cons are no one to chat to while doing horses field maintenance and once you have chosen your land you are stuck with it so try not to compromise too much. Buy as much land as you can as you will want more


own land is great though