Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!!

My barn gave me a 5month notice of them shutting the place down. Its too much work for them, and the BO's husband feels like he has way too much on his plate, and no life.

So my options are, board at a place 3mi away at the same price, or keep my horse in my backyard. The thing about the barn that is 3mi away is that there is only one pasture, the lady running the place doesnt know a thing about horses, and I would be paying the same price that I am paying now for what I can get if I keep him at my house.

If I keep him at my house, he will be kept in a good size area, the fence is a 5ft chain link, but I will be able to save money up in about 4-5months for new fencing, and to expand it.

To add to this, if my hubby gets a job in WV, we will be moving. But we don't know if that when that will happen, or even if that will happen, and the more we stay down here, the more we want to stay down here rather than move back to WV.

So what would you do? I know that if he was here at home with me, I would be with him as much as possible, but I feel as if he wouldnt be as happy here with not as much room at the moment. But I have a bad feeling about that woman that lives 3mi away, has no riding ring, no trails, just a stall and a pasture, and no horse experience what so ever. Or should I wait until the notice is up in case we end up moving to WV and so I don't have to move him unnecessarily?

I just don't know what to do. Money wise, the cheapest option if we stayed here in NC would be to keep him at the house. I just don't know what to do at the moment. Any and all advice, would be greatly appreciated!!

It is a tricky decision, but I recommend you follow your gut. You have icky feelings about that other barn... stay away from it! However, maybe try to go visit it a couple times to see if it would be an okay place after all for a temporary back up plan in a worse case scenario. But if your gut is having bad feelings, try to stay clear, especially if the feeling is still there when you go visit the place (I strongly believe in the gut!) :P

Since there is a possibility that you might move, stay till the end of the notice and when it ends bring your horse over to your place if you haven't moved. If the other barn is as bad you think, your horse will probably be better off in your care.

Honestly I would take him home to your place. If you are concerned about the amount of space, just be sure to give him plenty of exercise. Plenty of show horses are kept in a stall year round, so I would think that even if his turnout is a bit small until you can expand the fencing he will be fine.

I think you may be right! The thing is, I have been to this place before, and I even suggested a friend out to her place, just because I thought I was being too picky, but my friend had the same feeling. She's a super nice woman, but I just feel like I would be paying the same amount that I am paying now, which I would, but getting the same amount of amenities, as I would if I kept him at my house.

Very true!! Never thought of it that way!

Thanks for both of the posts! I really appreciate it! I was actually planning on moving him to my place quite some time ago, but things didnt fall into the right place at the right time. So there is enough space, its just that it got fenced in a different way than I would have done it since things didnt work out before, so we will see how everything goes. Thanks so much for the posts!!

I think keeping him at your house would be much better. Then when it comes time to move (or not) to WV, then you have him there already so you can load up and go.

Just make sure everything is as horse safe as possible!

Same with the others go with your gut feeling, I think having him at home he will adjust even better if you guys do move due to new job. Nothing better then having your horse at home! You will love how close you get! Good luck!

Just a suggestion, check with your city/county zoning board to make sure you are allowed horses on your property. Some areas are not zoned for horses.

Id keep him at my house. That way you know he's getting proper care. Theres no point in wasting your money on a crappy boarding barn. I wouldnt think twice about this decision.
Posted via Mobile Device

Another thing to consider is how you horse would do, living alone, without any other horses.

Some horses will get really lonely without other 4 legged companions.

I pretty much agree with the other posters.
One thing to consider though is how your backyard will fair after being "horse heaven" for a couple months. For me, I've found that keeping a horse at home (near home, in my case) can turn into a situation out of the crappy boarding barn manual really fast, if I'm not careful.
Even large areas can end up with a mud pit type situation in highly traveled areas (ask me how I know LOL!). Not to mention hay storage (and how you'll get your hay to where it'll be stored - an issue for me), tack storage, etc. Then, there's always how Rodeo will do on his own. He's young and still learning how to be a horse, it might be pretty hard for him to rely on humans for all his companionship.

On the positive side, it's superduper rewarding to keep a horse at home. There's not much I like better. It does hinder vacations and uses a lot of gas when I house sit (something I do rather often - I have to come "home" everyday to check Miss L), but it's ultimately very rewarding. There's no question about what's going on with your horse or worrying whether someone is watching out for your horse in changing weather, it's all you.