To board, or not to board...?

Question

Is it cheaper to pay like $200-$300 a month added to your house taxes and stuff
OR
to live in the country and keep a horse there?

The $200 - $300 are for boarding, sorry.

Answer 1

It's not a question of cheaper - it's lifestyle - as in living in the country vs town/city.

Advantages:: Convenience to your horse. Quiet privacy, good neighbors. Beautiful scenery.

Disadvantages: Long commutes to town job; schools in rural districts tend to be less equipped/diverse/etc. than city/town schools (with long bus rides). You don't have spare tires - you have spare vehicles. Plan your shopping trips carefully. Weather dictates everything. Loneliness. Emergency help is poor - rural fire departments are often called "cellar savers."

Advantages of town life: Close to everything and everyone. Spontaneous and lively, short commutes, access to better schools, museums, concerts, Emergency help readily available

Disadvantages: loud, expensive, dirty, isolation - no sense of community - there's a certain hardness to the people.

There's just as much crime in the country as in the city.

So think about where you - and your family - want to live and then decide.

Answer 2

Generally, it's cheaper to keep your horse yourself. You have to provide a pasture, shelter, and buy feed and hay, but you aren't paying someone else to clean the stall, turn the horse out, feed him, and do all the other services that comes with boarding. Buying the land is a one-time thing, too.
If you own more property, you will likely pay more in property tax and insurance, but I would choose the country and convenience of having my horse close by every time.
You need to be sure you have the time and dedication to properly care for the animal, though. Even if it's twenty below and the middle of the worst blizzard in history, you still have to go out to the barn to feed your friend and clean his stall, at least. One good reason to put the barn as close to the house as practically possible!
It's also a good idea to trade-in your econo-box car and get a 4 wheel drive vehicle, preferably a big SUV or truck. You'll need something to pull a horse trailer, should you ever want or need to take your horse anywhere. It can also be nearly impossible to get to and from town in really bad weather otherwise (depending on where and how far out you live). My first winter on my horse farm I had a Buick sedan and after the first big snow, I couldn't get up either hill to the main road! By January that year I bought a Bronco.
So, you need to weigh the pros and cons, and what will work with your lifestyle. If you would enjoy being "away from it all," and putting forth the time and effort to keep your horse properly, then keeping him on your own place might be for you. On the other hand, if nothing short of a fire will get you out of the house in bad weather, you should consider boarding him, at least through the winter months.
I've lived in the city and in the country. I believe the country is more peaceful, quieter, cleaner, and healthier than living in the city. I was raised on a farm, and I raised my kids on a farm. I think we are all healthy, reasonably happy, well-adjusted individuals. That's just my experience. Some people hate the country, but I love it. You do what's right for you, or what you might save won't make a difference. Good luck!

Answer 3

Umm well it was always less expensive to keep them on your property IF you are able to manage the time and dedication that it takes to take care of a horse. It's an all day, every day job. I was up at 5 am every day to get the horses taken care of before school and then as soon as I got home, it was working with them until dark, then homework...this was years ago but it's a LOT of time and a difficult thing to do unless you are experienced with horses.

Board around where I live is about $600 a month...unless you plan on pasture or co-op.

If I were to choose, the horses would definitely be on my property because that's my life. If you are unprepared to revolve your life around horses, though, I would suggest that you board for now.

Answer 4

I own 5 horses, so I lease a pasture in the country from a friend of mine and take care of them myself. I hate boarding anyway. The last place I boarded at never bothered telling me when one of my horses got hurt, they didn't think it was a big deal... And in my world it WAS a big deal. I have a permently lamed horse because of them. Naturally we didn't stay there long.

Remember you get what you pay for: The cheaper it is doesn't mean you're getting a good deal.

pasture lease is $200/month
grain $200/month
hay $150/month
water: (I don't want to know, we have to haul it in and gas is expensive...)
All in all, its cheaper to take care of them ourselves than board the horde. Mind you, if we owned the pasture we'd save $200/month. That will be in the next 3 years...

Answer 5

I would say its less expensive to board. You will be paying that much for Hay, Grain etc. So if you live in the country you will be paying that much for a months feed anyway or more. Hay is very expensive right now. People have been sneaking out to my barn and stealing hay. People are desperate. Also you will get to use ALL the equpment such as roundpen, arena etc. Plus bringing your horse out to the country you have to be wih constantly. At a boarding stable you dont have to be with your horse 24/7. People are usually there. There are other expenses too. Having a proper facility. Lets say you just have a thin wire of electric fence and the horse is young, the horse could get seriously injured if he decided to run into it, maybe thinking it wasnt there at all. You also have to clean up poop everyday. Not to mention horses are HERD animals. Meaning in the wild they are in a herd. A horse wont be happy by itself even if your with it every waking second. At a boarding stable theres other horses and its cheaper. If you decided to do boarding and you didnt do liability forms people could maybe die or get seriously injured around your horse or other horses that you board. They could sue you. Its all liablitiy issue there. I would say Boardings your best deal.

Answer 6

I don't know which is cheaper but I would rather have my horses on my property with me rather than boarding them. I love looking out my window and seeing them. They will stand outside at the gate and neigh till I feed them in the mornings. I get to see them whenever I want without having to drive somewhere or worry about other people being there. I will say, it is a lot of work to pasture them yourself though but well worth it.
Personally I would say if you can keep your horses on your own land, it's best despite the cost.

Barbara B -
WOW the country isn't that bad! I am in a rural part of Northern Ca and it is only 8 miles to Redding and it takes me 15 minutes to get to work on the far side of the city, a lot less than most people commute! My town is made up of only a couple thousand people and I live on 1500 acres but sheesh we aren't completely in the middle of nowhere!

Answer 7

Personally, beyond cost, boarding is much nicer in the long run because of the social aspect.

My sister has a farm and has welcomed me to use her barn and pastures for my riding but I still board elsewhere because it would be boring to be the only person in the barn, plus there are not enough stalls or insurance on her property to board others there. I just think it is more fun to have other horse people around to talk to, or to have exercise my horse for me if I am out of town and vice versa

Answer 8

I think the cheapest way to keep a horse is to pasture board it. Keeping a horse in a stall all the time is not natural for the horse. The only horses that are traditionally kept in stalls all the time are show horses.

Answer 9

As with the other people here, it really depends not so much on money, but on time and ability. There are plenty of people that could have horses on their property that choose to board because of their lifestyles.
So it depends on if you are willing to get up every morning earlier to feed/clean stalls/ water buckets, etc... deal with cold weather if you live in cooler climates, etc... Feed is another big difference - at a boarding barn, you are getting your feed included, but if you keep your horse at home, you will need to pay for feed, hay, shavings, etc... Having horses at home is a 365 day job. If you plan on taking vacations - you need to find someone responsible enough to take care of them for you, or else, arrange to board them at a barn that you trust while you are gone.

I have personally utilized both options in my life, having had my horses on my property as well as boarding. I enjoy the slack-a-bility of boarding, I don't have to worry about stalls/feeding, yada yada... I board now - all 4 of my horse -- but boy do I miss having my horses at home- depsite the work involved, I cannot wait to buy a small farmette to bring them all home again :) It is very comforting to be able to look out your window and see your horses, or hear them calling to each other from the paddocks when you're inside, and it's so peaceful living on farm property - just sitting on a chair outside the barn watching the horses.

There are many advantages to both boarding & home-keeping, likewise, there are plenty of disadvantages to both - so it boils down truly to what you are willing to deal with in your life.

Answer 10

You need to take into account that you have to make other arrangements like when you want to go on vacation, but if the horse is being boarded you juts notified the stables that you are going on vacation it not like trying to make sure that your horse is going to be taken care in your absence