What are the advantages and disadvantages of boarding?

You can go on vacation and not worry about finding someone to take care of them for you
You don't get to see them as ofter if you are boarding than if they lived in your backyard
You don't have to clean stalls and wake up early to take care of them
You don't get to be known to them as the person that brings me food, instead you are the person that makes them work
If something happens to your horse there are multiple people around that might have experience and know a good vet
You don't know what is happening to your horse when you aren't around

Thanks that helped:)

I have my own boarding facility and I would board my own horses if I could.. it is ALOT of work to take care of horses...

I don't board and I love my situation - So sorry but I only have the negatives :] Some are dependant on the barn, as well.

Limited choice about turnout, paddock buddies, and stall time.

Limited or no choice about what to feed and when.

Mandated hours to see your horse.

Limited choice on who your farrier/vet is.

Limited choice when it comes to things like blanketing, haltering, etc.

Different people handling your horse all the time - May not be consistent.

Risk of strangers handling/riding your horse when you are not there.

Risk of getting a lazy/incompetent BO who is neglectful in the care of property or horses.

Risk of theft of gear by other boarders.

As you can tell, I don't think i'd like to board. My horses are kept on a private property where my dad works - We have total control over every aspect of thier care and I wouldn't have it any other way.

For juniors, the biggest advantages of boarding are 1.) riding in a supervised situation, rather than by yourself or with a parent observing 2.) other people/kids to ride with 3.) easy access to training and instruction 4.) facilities -- rings, jumps, etc.

Me? I keep my horses on my own property and love it; and prior to that leased property to keep them. Wild Spot gave a pretty good list of the disadvantages, I've encountered all of those things in my boarding experiences. However, the social and safety aspects of boarding make for pretty powerful arguments in your situation.

Few reasons my boarders are here:

*people to ride with
*someone to ask back up if you have a question
*exposure to new ideas/styles of riding
*vacation - any time for any length of time
* borrowing something to try instead of buying it and finding it doesn't work for your horse
*using a buddy's horse if yours is lame/ill
*more time to ride instead of fixing fence, stacking hay, raking paddocks
*paying late and your horse still gets fed
*have a headache and don't need to go out to feed
*sleeping in at -24F and knowing someone is cleaning the stalls . . .
*if you "forget" somehow the mess still gets cleaned up

I love boarding, its not perfect, but no situation is !
You get to ride with other people/have trail buddies, so you never have to ride alone which many consider dangerous
People around means more knowledge/help if you need it
Don't have to get up early to do stalls
You can go on vacation whenever
They provide hay/grain/shavings so you don't have to worry about buying it
Access to indoor/outdoor arenas which are hard & expensive to build
Big pastures, maybe you don't have a lot of land, but many barns do !
Your horse does not have to be kept alone because there are other horses for him to live with
Because you are with more horse people on one property you may have access to trucks/trailers that you didnt have before.

Where I board we can use any vet/farrier/trainer that we want & also do any disipline that we want & there is no ring fee to haul in. Our main vet clinic is about 2 miles away as well

Friends!! Yes, there might be disadvantages to boarding I think it's wonderful! It depends on the nature of the barn, but our is absolutely wonderful! (not biased at all... :) ) We have a really good group of about 10 or 12 girls right now close to hte same age who are always spending the nights at each other's houses, traveling to horse shows together even if they're not showing just to cheer their friends on, etc etc. We have a lot of barn parties and they practically live there in the summer. One of my best friends who I've known for almost 20 years is a friend I met at the barn. Where else are you going to find a group of other horse crazy people such as yourself?

IF you find a good barn you'll know your horse is in good hands, even when you go out of town. IF you find the right barn you can have better access to some wonderful trainers. IF you find the right barn you can have access to some wonderfully taken care of arenas or trails that you may not be able to have or maintain on your own... Yes, it's a lot of ifs but those barns do exist and they are wonderful!

Limited choice about turnout, paddock buddies, and stall time.
Depends on the barn situation. Some allow up to 24/7 turnout, some allow none at all.

Limited or no choice about what to feed and when.
You could always buy your own feed. Most good barns allow you to choose what your horse is fed.

Mandated hours to see your horse.
I see this alot. I wont ride at a barn that has crappy hours

Limited choice on who your farrier/vet is.
Never had that problem- my only problem was finding a good farrier in the area. Some places wont hold the horse for you.

Limited choice when it comes to things like blanketing, haltering, etc.
Some places do all the blanketing you one, others not at all, other its an extra fee.

Different people handling your horse all the time - May not be consistent.
Unless you have one person running the show this happens ALOT.

Risk of strangers handling/riding your horse when you are not there.
Happens at some places, but if there is always staff around introduce yourself to them and stipulate that you only allow certain, or no one else to ride your horse.

Risk of getting a lazy/incompetent BO who is neglectful in the care of property or horses.
Always happens somewere. I ask around before I board, some people have bad reputations. If the facility is horrible, chances are they will treat the horses simmilarly.

Risk of theft of gear by other boarders.
Yup. I prefer a locked locker or tack trunk. I've never had that problem at a barn were I couldnt bring a locked trunk. (not enough room) But my friends have had their stuff used or stolen. Leads dissapear very fast at some places.