Stay on DIY Livery or move horses home?

[Sauerkraut]

Would you rather have your horses at a small Livery or at home? We got offered a farmhouse with open barns which we could convert into stables and a 5 acre field next to it. It's such a lovely little place but very remote (Dirt track to the house through 2 gates) and isolated. Needs a lot of work done which I don't mind but so many questions pop up in my head now . I need your opinions please.


We live in a beautiful newish built house and have our horses (1 horse and a pony) 5 minutes up the hill at a small yard. It is just us and YO with 2 horses who lives on site. We pay £20 per week per horse DIY. Hay as much as we need included. Now the winter started we get our horses in at night which means I am up the yard twice a day. I love doing the horses but having 2 little kids means that I'm at the yard earliest 9.30 am. After school we need to get home for Dinner and then need to get up to the yard everyday with the kids to get the horses back in if hubby didn't make it in time home to entertain the kids. My kids are 4 and 5 and even I would like them to be as much as possible with their pony, I don't want them to see it as a chore.

Now I can see the big advantage of having the horses on your doorstep as I would have at least 3 hours before the school run in the morning to muck out, feed and turn out instead of leaving it after 9.30. And having the pony right there when the kids come home from school would be much easier for them to jump on and ride.

BUT am I kidding myself and having your own farm, field and stable would be much more time and money consuming? Would I feel lonely with the horses? Would I regret having a 30 minutes longer ride to get to the open common?

Who has done the move and can tell me the up's and down's of it?

Thanks for reading all above, you already deserve a star

x nougat chocolate for everyone x

 

[brown tack]

Well my friend did something very similar to your plan. Took on a house with the option of having the horses at home. Was perviously on DIY with me at a yard and we helped each other out.

Took hers home, all fine though she missed the school so now hires one for £20 a pop.

Then her work increased, so now I'm grooming/riding for her at her home. It's abit out of the way for me, but her horse is too die for and she's letting me run him alongside baby horse, so there is something in it for me too.

But she also misses the hacks out, the company, someone to pick up the slack if your ill/late/etc. Hence I come in

 

[WelshD]

I suppose it depends on what facilities you would lose by leaving the yard, if it has a school for example would you miss that?

I dont have a horse but I do have animals on a rented field with stable block a couple of minutes walk from my house, I have always said I dont want looking after the animals to involve a car journey so anything outside the village was discounted, I need to know I can get to them even if its snowing and if I am sick my non car driving husband can take over

The cost of maintaining the land to a high standard is not massively unreasonable but fencing costs have been a bit of a killer but once its done its there for years, apart from that just a few repairs to guttering and stable doors

Check water connection to the barn and field though as moving quantities of water even small distances gets very old very quickly!

I'm waffling now (sorry..) but probably the best thing is to write a list of pros and cons comparing the two side by side, soil type, chances of waterlogging, cost of hay, electric and water availability, cost of fuel etc..

One thing to consider is that if you move to the farm and dont take the horses there is a possibility you could get snowed in and need the YO to deal with your two for you

 

[Rose Folly]

I was going to say it's a no-brainer. I've done both, and having your horses at home is the best!

However, I then re-red your post, and there were two things that struck me. A. that you have two small children and B. that your new house and stables are very isolated.

I think, in the children's interests, you should consider such a move very carefully. Yes, they will have their pony outside the back door, BUT children need friends and a social life, and it sounds as though the move up the dirt track to a lonely house will put that in jeopardy. Neither you, nor their friends' parents, will be wanting the children, even when they are considerbly older, trekking off up or down your lonely drive on dark evenings!

Also, I think the lonlieness might get to you. Stuck up the lonely drive with 2 small children and 2 horses may not be quite so magical when the novelty wears off.

When my chilld was small my horse was kept at livery initially in the village and then some 3 miles away, the latter obviously necessitating a drive, and he had to come with me if his father hadn't got home. it certainly was heaven when we acquired the land round our house and I could pop out of a night knwoing son was safe and warm in the house 10 yards yards from where I was doing haynets etc.

So far as YOUR situation goes, the answer might be for you to have a livery or two. With 5 acres and careful management you should be able to accommodate another horse, possibly even two, and this will give you income, companionship (both for you and your horses), back-up if you're ill or on holiday and possibly, children for your children to play with. I have 2-3 horses at grass livery here and wouldn't be without them.

Finally, and not unimportant, what does your OH want??!!

 

[Sauerkraut]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies! Yes I have started my list of pros and cons and it's getting longer and longer

I haven't got any facilities at my current yard apart from lovely stables, a great yard owner and 20 minutes to get on to miles and miles of common land. This would increase to 40 minutes if we move.

On current yard are no other kids nor ponies. Kids will start ponyclub next spring and will have a few friends from school there too. We live in a rural area and half of their friends from school live on remote farms. Our village exists of about 50 houses with hardly any kids so I don't think there will be any disadvantage for the kids to move to the farm. It's remote but just because of the dirt track to the house. It's 5 minutes from our village and 10 minutes to our next town.

Oh and at our school you see more 4x4 then anything else. And I'm not talking about posh range rovers which never see a puddle of road lol.

Yes I was thinking of getting a couple of horses on livery. Especially if possible kids with a pony but there is no demand here really. My yard owner advertised for quite a while to find us. I would definately put some adverts up at local tack shop.

OH is more excited then I am I think as he loves gardening and tinkering around but hasn't got the space at our house. He would definately sort out fencing and building stables too.

Talking about stables, any good ideas what to do with open sheds/barbs?! We have to stone barns which have the feont open. Farmer used to just put a gate at the front to keep sheep over winter in it. Plus side, all fields and shelters/barns already with water supply and electricity.

Waffle over, sorry I wrote so much again :/

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I would go for the horses at home option.

The isolated location doesn't bother me, but that's me, it might not suit you. My aunt lives in a farmhouse in Lancashire and you have to go up a steep dirt track, through two fields to get to it. An ambulance would never make it up there, so they are on the air ambulance list (never needed one luckily). They have three children and they have never let remote living be a problem. The children have done lots of social and after school clubs, it's just needed more driving about from the parents, so take that into account when you are deciding.