The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

How far is too far to drive to your(A ) barn?

13K views 41 replies 39 participants last post by  Reiterin 
#1 ·
Just wondering what you all would concider too far away to board? 30 min,1hour etc....? What would make it worth it for you?
 
#3 ·
I don't like my horses to be over 15 minutes away. This past winter we ended up moving them 40 minutes away so they would be turned out while we rarely saw them. It definitely sucked but...they had a great winter! Now they are about 10 minutes away and I couldn't be happier. I couldn't imagine having them any further away now :lol: I love going to see them everyday.
 
#4 ·
In my case, it depends on a matter of convenience. I could have my horse as close as 20 minutes away, but I work an hour from my house. I wanted something in between work and home so that it was fairly equidistant from either place. I chose a place 30 minutes from home and 35 minutes from work. It's a few minutes off I-75 and almost exactly in the middle for me. Before my horse and I both moved, I lived 12-15 minutes from the barn. I liked that and would love to one day get back to that.
 
#6 ·
I can get to my barn in 25 minutes if I go early in the morning and don't hit too many traffic lights. If I leave work early, 45 minutes (I live close to work, so about the same, but I usually go straight from work on weekdays). If I leave work at a normal time, close to 1 hour.
It's the closest decent barn to me (I know of two closer, but one is self-care which I can't commit to working 50+ hour weeks, and the other is too expensive and doesn't have any trails), so my only alternative is to move out there and drive that hour to work every day instead. Either way, I have to drive it, so for now I stay near work.

If they ever sell to development (which probably will happen someday), I'll have another 15-20 or so additional minutes to the next decent barns.

I miss the days when I had a 15 second walk from my front door to the horse pen :(
 
#7 ·
We currently drive about 1 hour to get to our barn, but the leasing situation is ideal and it's very close to large trails. We found another place that's about a 1/2 hour away that we are going to move to but the lease will be pricier. Personally I think 1 hour is a little much but it all depends on location. If you live in the city you're probably going to have to get a barn an hour or more away, but if you live in a rural area your barn might be next door.
 
#8 ·
30 min is the max for me, anything more and it affects how often I am able to ride. during the summer, I moved with my trainer to a barn about an hour a way, and I was only out there twice a week because I had to find the time to be away from home for 4 hours. the barn that I boarded at ( before moving my horses home) was about 20min away, and even then it was difficult to get out there before closing.
 
#9 ·
Since I'm used to the barn being 5 minutes away from my house, or living on the same property as the barn, anything more then 30 minutes away would seem unreasonable to me, no matter how nice the barn was.
 
#12 ·
We don't really have a choice. It's to the point in my area where there is one decent boarding stable with good facilities within an hour and a half that will let me not train with their trainer. My coach is 4-5 hours trailering away and luckily can come to this barn also for clinics.
Otherwise I'm s.o.l. lol. I'm lucky its only a 20 to 40 minute drive depending on traffic as I'm out there every day.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#13 ·
I board my horses at my neighbors house, literally a 5 minute walk (If I'm only strolling) from my front door to my horses stall door, but it is self-care. I work at a barn that is 15 minutes (20 if I get caught by the lights and I actually go the speed limit) away. Honestly, I wouldn't want to board much farther away than this. Its a pain in the winter, and could be even worse if there was an emergency-a lot can happen in 15 minutes. It also depends on the barn though. I live out in the country, the barn I work at is still the closest decent barn around, and I would trust them with my horses-definetly worth the drive. It would be better than a barn that would be risky for my horses yet 5 minutes away.
 
#15 ·
Because I can't drive and have to rely on other people to go and drive me (Aka the barn owner, a friend who rides there or my boyfriend), I try not to have it too far!
The one I ride my lease horse in is 15-20 mins, the one I might board my future horse in is bout 25 away!
 
#18 ·
Thanks for all the responses!!! What if anything would make you concider driving farther than you normally would? (Activitys at the barn,cost,amenities etc...) Thanks again!!
 
#19 ·
Nothing to add, just read this and it makes me very thankful to have mine out my back door. I give all of you big credit, don't think I could do it!
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#21 ·
I drive about a half hour to my barn.

What makes it worth it? The fact that the barn has exceptional care. Full of staff who are very knowledgeable and experienced, who keep a dilligent eye on my horse, his well being, weight and etc, etc. They are quick on informing me of anything such as loss of shoe, or weight gain/loss, temperment changes etc, etc.

Top Quality feed, specialized feeding per indavidual horse and what that horse needs. For example, Nelson gets brought in 3x a day to be fed privately, getting 12lbs of feed a day +. Some horses do not need it, some do - the Barn Workers are quick to inform the BO of their concerns and the BO proceeds to discuss the concerns with the owner to come up with a game plan.

The fact that the horses come first and foremost is what impresses me greatly.

Also, the fact that I have full access to a GP Jumper/Trainer, 200 acres of trails to ride on, full use of the facility, Fox Hunters, XC course and very friendly boarders to enjoy the company of.

The barn is very professional.
 
#23 ·
My barn is 20-25 minutes from my hourse and 5 minutes from my work. I wanted something close to my work so I could just pop in anytime during the day. I dont mind driving that distance on the weekends. I usually go just one out of the two days anyway.

I guess if my barn hosted several clinics and shows (preferably recognized) through out the year I would consider driving a little further away
 
#24 ·
I would say that I wouldn't go more than 30 minutes from my house. Currently my horse is about 15 minutes from my house which isn't too bad. I myself can't drive (almost can! I can get my permit but haven't gotten around to it yet...) so it really is up to what my mom is up for, haha.

But I would consider going further if there were more opportunities. Where I am right now is great but the arena isn't very large which limits the amount of jumping I am able to do in the arena. I don't think a medium sized course could fit in the arena and most likely you could only fit a line of two jumps in there to have enough space for take-off, landing, striding, etc. I do, however, have a larger arena that is right across the street where my friends live so I can ride over there if I want. Anyway, back on topic! I would move further away for a more hunter/jumper type barn with more space and larger arenas. Having an amazing trainer on site would also be a plus.
 
#26 · (Edited)
My barn is a 12 minute drive from my house (I timed myself) and the majority of it is highway driving. I'm pretty lucky. Not only is it really convenient to get to, but the barn owner seems like a great guy. He's an older gentleman that genuinely cares about the boarders and horses on his property. I start boarding there in mid-July when my horse gets hauled in, but from the time I spent talking to him, he's just really interested in his boarder's lives and what direction they want to go, equine-wise. After showing me around, he spent about 2 hours just talking to me, asking how I planned to train my horse, what my goals were, how I came into horses... just random things.

I got really lucky when it came to finding this barn. The facility is a little outdated, but it's kept in good repair. The fences are solid, the barn is clean and the arena is tidy. The pastures look good. There is an indoor arena, a round pen, private pens, a wash stall, bathrooms... it's just a nice place. And for the price ($180/month including feed), I couldn't go wrong.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top