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| Boarding vs. Owning Property | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 21 2009, 11:45 AM (632 Views) | |
| Delia | Jan 22 2009, 09:04 AM Post #16 |
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What ya'll say about taking in a boarder or two is spot on. It's very risky. I'm lucky that my situation has worked out so well. I absolutely adore the owners of the farm, we all are on exactly the same page in terms of horse care, and they are like family. |
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| Barn Girl | Jan 22 2009, 09:22 AM Post #17 |
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It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
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Don't forget another downside of having them at home... when they get hurt, YOU and you alone have to deal with it. I'm seriously wishing I was still boarding again right now, since I'm dealing with a seriously hurt horse (ruptured tendon) and he is a monster on stall rest. That said, I do generally like having them at home, but there are as many con's as pro's, really. |
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| FlashGordon | Jan 22 2009, 10:57 AM Post #18 |
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Hey thanks everyone for the awesome info!!!! I know a lot of you guys keep your beasties at home and I really appreciate everyone's perspectives. Hubby and I would LOVE to do it.... LOVE TO.... he wants a tractor. LOL. Is the timing right? I don't know... but all the info I've gotten here will definitely help us to make our decision! Also gives us some stuff to think about when we house hunt and view potential properties. (PS Barn Girl so sorry about your guy....) |
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| Witchy | Jan 22 2009, 12:21 PM Post #19 |
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I love having my guys at home. I had my horses at home when I was a child and then when I graduated from college I began to board, now I have my horses at home again for the last 10 years. I much prefer having them at home. It's a pain to go away and find someone to take care of them, but other than that, I wouldn't have it any other way. |
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| Trialbyfire | Jan 22 2009, 02:32 PM Post #20 |
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I have no idea what it's like to be a house/property buyer right now, but that might also be something in your favor. Buying a farm doesn't mean you *have* to have it animal-ready right away; or ever, really! We bought our farmette almost 5 years ago when the housing market boomed and then started to taper off. We owned a house in a really hot market and decided that the time was right to buy a rural property. We looked at only two farms and bought this one before we even listed our house for sale! But it was just the right time to sell our house and we made a good profit so suddenly a 7 acre farm was in our price range. The last thing I'll say is that living on a "farm" is really a lifestyle, not just a horse care issue. If you'd love living in a rural area, then go for it. You can always decide what to do with the horse(s) later. If you're iffy about living in the country.....then maybe not. We love it, but it's definitely not for everyone. Good luck! |
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| Delia | Jan 22 2009, 03:27 PM Post #21 |
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Very good point, TBF. I don't think we'll ever buy a farmette of our own, because Green Acres just isn't the life for Mr. Delia. He likes the horses and doesn't mind helping out with chores on the farm (he particularly loves the chain saw), but he'd grow to hate it if he actually lived there rather than close to the city. |
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| OTF | Jan 22 2009, 04:35 PM Post #22 |
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I'm loving these responses as much as Flashie probably is! Word of warning: when it comes to men (most of them anyway) and equipment, be forewarned. Tractors, chainsaws, manure spreaders, etc. -- they may start out with small and/or 2nd hand, but will quickly be lured into buying NEW, BIGGER, BETTER, etc. It's a disease!!! For which there is NO cure (except the 6 winning lottery numbers). THIS IS THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!!! |
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| Witchy | Jan 22 2009, 05:55 PM Post #23 |
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That is so true. My SO started with a little 17 hp Kubota tractor now we own 3 Cat 973's, 2 Off Road Dump Trucks, 2 Tractor Trailers, 4 Skid Steers and tons of other equipment. And he has the nerve to complain about my ponies and hony. Can I also mention that my arena is still just a big hole in the ground, even though we have all this equipment, because we don't own the right equipment to finish it, of course. |
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| Trialbyfire | Jan 22 2009, 06:08 PM Post #24 |
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Good gosh....with that list...what else do you need to finish it?? Yep, my dh has been buying "tractor implements" whether we need them or not. He bought a giant pasture drag last summer that we've never used; it was only $100 more to get an old water-holding roller that we've used...never. But he does love his PTO driven wood chipper! And actually, the BEST thing we bought were quick hitches for our arena rake and our brush hog. One piece goes on the tractor and the other side goes on each piece of heavy equipment. I can back up to the brush hog, lower my "quick hitch", back up a few inches and just pop it on without even having to get out of the seat. Sure beats the jockeying, and prying, and swearing that we had to do before to switch equipment! Especially the brush hog which is so heavy we can't move it by hand so you have to back up very precisely. Love my quick hitches!!
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| Witchy | Jan 22 2009, 06:15 PM Post #25 |
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We need a bulldozer and lots of footing and someone with more skill than the DH to do the finish work. Come spring, I'm just writing a check to someone to have it finished. I'm a bit tired of the, "I'll get to it" thing.
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| Fish Cheeks | Jan 22 2009, 07:57 PM Post #26 |
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True dat! Let's see - we started out with my truck and trailer and two horses. That was four years ago. We now have: 1 Kubota Tractor 1 Manure Spreader (only used twice, I think) 1 Box Scraper 1 Harrow 1 Dump trailer (I got it for him for Xmas - what a wife!) 4 Horses 2 Horse trailers (my original 2h BP and a new 2h GN) 2 Trucks (my original F250 and now a GMC 1 ton dually with a flat dump bed that we bought from our neighbor) I just got off the phone with Mr. Fishy and he wants to buy a tiller for the tractor to work on the pastures. It kinda makes me go |
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| Sing Mia Song | Jan 25 2009, 10:19 AM Post #27 |
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I'm from the Government and I'm here to help.
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I love my farm, but I might not have done it if I knew just how much time and expense it would take up! I have 12 acres, and we have the requisite truck, but a tractor is not financially in the cards, and won't be for a while. DH is a cabinet-maker, and therefore a wood snob. My 2 acre front paddock is 5 board fence that took us MONTHS to put up (and, I'll tell you, damn near wrecked our marriage in the process). It absolutely had to have rounded corners, had to be geometrically perfect, and DH had to clamp up the boards, stand back and look at them to make sure they were aesthetically pleasing. The back pasture is six acres in 2 strands of electric tape on heavy duty green stakes. It took a couple weekends. I prefer it to the front paddock because I own a beaver horse. He does not DARE touch it, while he thinks the front paddock is absolutely delicious. If I had to do it over again, I would have put more of my property in pasture, as it falls to me and me only to mow (with a 46-inch deck on a lawn tractor). I would have a relative tiny yard, and let the horses mow the rest! It's a point well-taken that there are no days off. Right now, I am sick with a cold, but I have a horse on layup that requires IV antibiotics twice a day, wound flushing and packing. I have a 90-minute commute each way, and there are times when I come home that I really just want to collapse on the couch with a beer. That said, I can't picture myself living in the city, or even the 'burbs. I love that when I come home, it is quiet, peaceful and pastoral. I've considered selling the farm and moving closer to work, but I have two horses buried on this property, and the idea of leaving them behind really stops me in my tracks. I know that they are just skeletons in the ground, but...this is their resting place. I don't want their graves to get paved over for an access road to the property behind me. Maybe after I'm gone, that'll happen, but right now it's a possibility that chills me. |
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| FlashGordon | Jan 25 2009, 11:54 AM Post #28 |
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Thanks guys for all the input. I'm glad you all shared both the positives and the negatives! I want to know the realities so that if we do take the plunge, we'd be doing it with eyes wide open. We just spent the last 3 hours driving by various for-sale farm properties. We keep coming back to the 8 acres w/ 3 stall barn and multiple pastures. It is a beautiful piece of property, and Mr. FG's office is moving to a location that would be only 15 minutes away! But...no house on the land!!! LOL. Mr. FG seems more and more interested in it each time we go by it, but the lack of human housing is a stumbling block... the cost of the land, barn, etc. PLUS the building of a home would be prohibitive, I think. Ah well we'll just see how things pan out. I am lucky to have a horse, and to be able to keep it at all, so even if we don't end up on "horse property" I'll be ok with that. |
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| Trialbyfire | Jan 25 2009, 12:06 PM Post #29 |
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How odd! Had it been split from another property with a house? Because other than the lack of house (minor detail, right?)....it sounds really nice! My property is 7 acres with a 3 stall barn and about 15-25 minutes to my dh's office downtown (15 on a Sunday morning, 25-30 on a Friday at 5:30pm)...I think 7-8 acres is very manageable; even if we didn't have a tractor we could probably manage it. Hmmm. OK, well, keep looking. But. You never know. The market for vacant land is dead right now because it's very difficult to come up with the $$$ if you are not going to build a house (we looked at 30 acres across the street and we would have to put up 35% of the full purchase price in cash.)....so if the seller isn't getting any bites....they might be willing to negotiate [a lot] on the price.
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| FlashGordon | Jan 25 2009, 12:32 PM Post #30 |
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I know a lot of you guys keep your beasties at home and I really appreciate everyone's perspectives.
Love my quick hitches!!


7:51 AM Jul 11