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| My dilemma - the backyard barn; A possible solution? Last post... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 16 2011, 10:54 AM (1,065 Views) | |
| Trialbyfire | Apr 16 2011, 10:54 AM Post #1 |
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Here is my problem: I have 3 stalls. That pretty much sums it up. Not 4. So, I have 3 horses (two of my own, one is a boarder) and a two horse trailer. And no desire for a 3-horse trailer or to ever be responsible to bring my boarder's horse anywhere. But we are farm-bound because I can't take two off the property and not the third. And my boarder's mare has major separation anxiety. I have a 15 year old TB mare that I never thought would be anything other than a pasture pet. But she's rideable and safe, and might even be able to show at the local level if I could ever get her to the point where she was comfortable leaving the property (which she hasn't done in 4 years). Last year we bought a 5 1/2 year old paint mare that is well started and very cute (almost 7 now). But she lacks mileage, and the two shows we brought her to last year were very stressful for her, including the trailering, which became a nightmare. So I bought a new trailer, we've been working with it; ready to get out and about. To complicate things, I offer free board to my boarder in exchange for chores (which I don't really need) but also farmsitting when we're away. Which is fairly often in the summer as we have a camp in the Adirondack park. (Not exactly congruent with farm life, I know). So I see my options: Get a 4th horse/pony even though I don't have a stall for it. Ask my boarder to leave and find a weekend horse feeder/stall cleaner. Plan on only leaving my older TB home with the other mare, although could be problematic if my boarder shows her horse in the future. Maybe there are other options that I'm not thinking of? I realize we will never make it to the A circuit; maybe not even to the local C's either. But at the moment we're not actually doing anything.....which is sort of making me miserable. ![]() I think I know what I want to do, but not sure if I'll regret it or not. |
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| FlashGordon | Apr 16 2011, 11:25 AM Post #2 |
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Hmm that is a tough one. My first inclination was to boot the boarder. BUT it is so nice to have an extra set of hands for chores or times when you are away, as you said. Have you tried taking your TB off the property yet? Maybe give that a trial run first. If it is an epic fail, you may decide she's not gonna be going anywhere anyway! If she does well and you think there is potential for taking both her and your other mare out and about, well then you do need to do something. And I guess even if you aren't necessarily riding or showing the TB, you may want to take her along just to keep the younger mare company since she has anxiety in new places. Could you maybe take on a little companion? A small pony maybe? Of course I could be the complete enabler and say buy another fun horse for you and DDs to ride. Leave TB mare at home with boarder's horse. Problem solved.
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| hijumpin1 | Apr 16 2011, 11:33 AM Post #3 |
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How about a little goat for a companion? |
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| headlesshorseman | Apr 16 2011, 11:41 AM Post #4 |
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I like keeping the boarder....extra money and hands.... A goat would be nice they are very little up keep too...once in a while clip their feet...and worm...but they are pretty hardy....if the horses like him/her....and your fences are "no climb" type.... How about a mini donk or horse???? HH
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 16 2011, 11:52 AM Post #5 |
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Do goats really work as companions? I can just picture the goat terrorizing the entire herd and none of them considering it anything other than a living nightmare. (Then I'd have one more damn mouth to feed and get nothing out of it!) ![]() Flash, "epic fail" is such a descriptive phrase. I can actually imagine it could fit the scenario perfectly. ![]() Do any of you have horse/ponies but not have a separate stall for them? Honestly, mine are rarely stalled except when the farrier is here, but there isn't really any reason I couldn't just have those that are being trimmed in the barn and the other out. In my dream scenario, I have two horses that get on an off the trailer easily and often. We could trailer to my trainer's for weekly lessons so my kids get to hang out with the other kids without having to go back to boarding. We could trail ride with their boarders and go to little local shows. My youngest could ride the trainer's horse rather than either of the two greenies we own. But then I have to think about the farm sitter thing which used to be a real hassle. Maybe I need to sell the camp. (Haha, don't think I haven't thought of it.) Hmmm. Well, in the meantime I need to work on at least getting the one horse off the property on a regular basis. Maybe I'll try to schedule that and see how that goes. (Me trailering by myself)....haven't done it yet. |
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| MayaTy02 | Apr 16 2011, 12:14 PM Post #6 |
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well you could build a shed and have another couple or I like the mini donk or goat idea...also small pony, but he needs to have some access to shelter when the others are in their stalls during a storm or something.
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| Fish Cheeks | Apr 16 2011, 12:45 PM Post #7 |
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Build a shed! That's what we did. We also have a 3-stall barn and at one point had 4 horses. We built a run-in shed, called "the bachelor pad," where we put the 4th horse. It is in the middle of a pasture and we tape-fenced off a probably 30x30 paddock area that we could close off in bad weather. I recommend not building it on an Indian burial ground as we did...at least that's what the horses think! IMHO, horse math dictates that if you have two riders who want to ride together then you need 4 horses. Although we do now have 3 horses, since Tomato is fine being by himself...
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 16 2011, 01:32 PM Post #8 |
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Thanks for the ideas! The shed idea could possibly work if I ever came along the perfect pony. Hmm. I think that at the moment I'm feeling like I don't get anything out of my boarding relationship and that is probably part of my problem (today). It's been a long winter and I feel that the 3rd horse (and boarder) are more work than they're worth. Add to that the whole trailering & traveling problem, and it seems to me that the answer is clear. But, in a month the "camp" season will be upon us (basically Memorial Day to Columbus Day) and it's so nice not to have to try to plan ahead and hire a farm sitter. I could add that I never wanted this stupid camp and my in-laws basically forced my husband to buy it (from them)....but that is another whole story. If only my boarder had a trailer and a really seasoned show horse. That would make things better. But I have the opposite. Well, at this point it would be unfair to kick her out since our riding season just started. But I will think about things....she made a comment recently that she misses being in a bigger barn with a trainer on site and horses always coming and going....it's possible she's thinking about moving, too. (But of course I'm going to look for the pony anyway.) You never know.
Edited by Trialbyfire, Apr 16 2011, 01:33 PM.
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| JanM | Apr 16 2011, 03:25 PM Post #9 |
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Maybe build 2 stalls on the end so you can move the end doors out, and just have to put 3 walls and use the existing end for the other wall. Then get a pasture pet free from somewhere (probably people will offer you about 75 free companions), and problem solved. And in today's economy are you sure owning the camp makes sense? You might discuss it with your accountant and insurance person and decide if it's worth it. |
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 16 2011, 04:21 PM Post #10 |
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Hmmm... I'm not sure it would be very easy to add on to my barn. I've thought about it before but I think it would require a new roof as well as walls, etc. Sounds really expensive! Definitely cheaper to do a shed, I think. Here's a picture of my barn in the snow this past winter: ![]() As far as the camp, real estate in the ADK park will never lose value, so that's not the issue. It's just that once upon a time, we considered buying our own camp (since that one was being used by the in-laws as their summer place and would-be retirement home), but eventually decided to buy a farm instead. It's really hard to maintain a farm and a summer home...but dh really wanted it (he basically grew up there). So I try to be understanding.....but it's hard.
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| headlesshorseman | Apr 17 2011, 05:01 AM Post #11 |
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Pretty barn...I like it..... I built a "car port" type stall at the end of my barn....it's a roof that's it...and then in the winter I can put up 3 sheets of ply wood as a wind break..then just unscrew them and POOF IT'S GONE...it then provides shade and shelter from rain...what is nice is maybe someday I will actually SELL a horse or 2 and that can become trailer cover....hay storage....tractor space.... Good luck HH
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| JanM | Apr 17 2011, 05:33 AM Post #12 |
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I misunderstood about the 'camp' I thought it was a summer camp or something, not a vacation place. You still might be able to put an extension on the barn, but it might not match the rest, but it would be useful for storage if you want to do that instead. You might be able to find a kit that would put an extension with a stall on one side and a tackroom or storage room on the other, and you buy the kit and find someone to assemble it-that would be cheaper than having the whole project done and paying the manufacturer the install fee. |
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| headlesshorseman | Apr 17 2011, 06:58 AM Post #13 |
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![]() This is what mine is like...totally open and the back is covered during the winter months... Isn't this nice????If you go off the back of your barn or any side but north you will only need 2 walls/sides...so that will help on the cost... HH |
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 17 2011, 07:10 AM Post #14 |
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Ack, you mean like for other people's kids?! Egads, that would be a nightmare!!! No, it's just ours, and it's nice. But it's a lot of work too. HH, yes, that little run in shed/stable is quite nice. There is a place near us that also makes similar structures and we got a shed from them a few years ago. I wanted to move into it all by myself, but instead it holds all the garden stuff. ![]() Unfortunately there isn't any room behind my barn -- there is a lane about 16 feet wide and then it drops off steeply into a ravine, which will be made into a pond this fall. So going out the back is definitely not an option, although if it were flat back there I would do it. We bought another 2 acres behind our property and if it weren't for the ravine/pond we could connect another pasture. But dh is going gaga about this pond idea. He's such a guy. I think an addition on the barn would have to go where the hay shed is, and the hay would have to go elsewhere, or I could make a shedrow lik you have off the side of the hay shed and fence that into the rest. New doors was on the wish list this year, though. So no addition at the moment, I think. Grumble, grumble. I see only one good way out of this and it's to drop down to two horses, which honestly, wouldn't bother me. The real problem is my boarder and I feel bad about it. (Probably if I liked her horse I wouldn't mind so much. She's DUMB as a box of hammers). Which probably isn't a bad thing for a riding horse in many cases (she's "honest"....probably because she can't think of anything else to do but follow directions) Tough to have a dumb horse around, though, and my idiots named her "boss mare" so it's like the blind leading the blind around here.
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| JanM | Apr 17 2011, 10:10 AM Post #15 |
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Yes, I had the image of you roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories around the fire, and I'm glad it's not that kind of 'camp'. If you started taking both of your horses to shows, and just taking one as a companion that might work, but if the boarder horse goes nuts or causes damage then I think the boarder horse will have to go. It's nice to have a backup so you can travel, but if the boarder moves her horse maybe she'll still do horse sitting for money when you need her. That would be pricey, but still cheaper than building an extension so you can add horses. I don't know what the inside of your barn looks like, but if there's an aisle then could you put a companion horse there during really bad weather? And then the horses share stalls during normal weather for access to water? I don't know how territorial horses are about sharing. Edited by JanM, Apr 17 2011, 10:12 AM.
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Not 4. 







Isn't this nice????
12:26 PM Jul 11