From: ae361@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Sonya Paetzel)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Re: Horseless Rider Needs Directions(s)
Date: 12 Nov 1992 17:41:25 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc10.ins.cwru.edu


Well, I am sorry I don't have a definite answer to your 
question - to buy land or board.  I can only tell you
what I have found over the years of having horses.
For about 5-6 years I boarded all of my horses.  The
good things about boarding are that you are in a place
where you have everything you need (ie, indoor arena, 
washracks, trainers, etc).  Because you aren't responsible 
for the horse's daily care (like feeding and cleaning stalls
and worrying about finding enough hay over the winter) you
have more time to do fun things with your horse like 
riding and just grooming.  And when things happen (like
the horse looks alittle off) there are always people 
around to help or give advise. I have found though that the
care in boarding barns is not as good as the care as

I give my horses at home.  I buy my horses the best
hay and grain I can get and clean my stalls 2-3 times
per day 365 days of the year....I don't know of any
boarding barns that do that.  If something doesn't get
done around the barn at my house the only person I can blame
is myself.  THis may sound silly, but in my barn I
do't let people smoke  even near my barn.  In boarding
barns you can't always be sure who comes around, so
you don't always know what is going on around your
horse when you are not there (I know, I am just a
paranoid horse owner!).  But there are also
drawbacks to having them at home.  No matter how
cold, tired or sick I am, I still have to take care
of my horses.  It is an endless job.  Believe me,
having horses at home sounds great until it is the
middle of January and you have to plow through 3' of
snow and haul water from the house (getting most of
it in your boots) or there is a hay shortage and you
only have 3 bales of hay left. But, if you can live
thru that and still stay sane, there are a lot of
positives about keeping them at home.  For one, it
does save a little money; at least on the horses, but
just remeber what money you save on the horses you'll
probably spend on the maintenence of the property
(ie, fence repairs, barn repairs, etc).  So you'd have
to weigh those 2 options out and see. Also, I tried keeping
just one horse at home but it was sooooo lonely. He
drove the neighbors crazy with his whinnying and
carrying-on. I finally had to find him a companion.I
found a paying boarder (which helped pay for my
horse's upkeep....but it did make more work for me).
But the best part of having horse's at home is 
looking out the window on a pretty day and seeing
them grazing in their pastures....it almost makes 
up for all the not-so-fun-times!
Since you are somewhat new to the horse world, I
would almost say you are better off boarding for a
few years.  There are just so many things to learn
about horses that it helps to have someone kind
of guide or supervise you.  And if you start showing
eventually, you'll find you have to board in the
winters anyways otherwise you'll lose3-4 months
of training time every winter.

But whatever you decide on, you'll find (or already
have found) that horses arent' just a hobby.......
they become your life and take up a considerable
amount of time.

Well, if you have any more questions, e-mail me;
maybe I can help.
Sonja
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian