What is your favorite part about keeping your horse at home?

What is your favorite part?

P.S- Any tips about keeping horses at home would be appreciated

Favorite part: Seeing the horses out the window.

Tips:

Check fences often. Often is never enough. I went out last week and checked the fence. Yesterday I went out and saw that a branch had fallen off a tree and the fence was down low enough for the horses to walk right over it. Went out and fixed it and noticed another spot where the same thing had happened.

Make sure you have a salt and mineral block.

Make sure you use No Trespassing Signs for noisy neighbors who want to feed your horses apples when they are already overweight or want to throw their bags of garbage on your property.

Make sure you remember to ALWAYS latch the gate behind you.

If you use T-posts use caps on them.

Thanks!

Everything ShutUpJoe said plus our mares are handled so much since they're at home, they are much more respectful and social than boarded horses that I see.

Yeah, I've noticed that boarder horses sometimes have an attitude..

My favorite part of keeping my horses at home??

This is something I would have never gotten to experiance if my horses were boarded.


Plus the fact that I can go see them any time, day and night. I don't have to deal with other people sh*t, their horses sh*t, I make my own rules. And I don't have to rely on anybody but myself for my horses safety.

This. If I feel like going for a ride at 2 in the morning, then I go for a ride at 2 in the morning . I don't have to worry about some other boarder 'borrowing' some of my tack and I don't have other nosy people trying to tell me how to take care of my horses. I like seeing them every day because then I know that Rafe got into some wire about an hour ago or Denny has been limping since this morning or Jesse is hanging by himself and is off his feed. I don't have to depend on someone else to notice those things and notify me.

Bad parts: having to go out long enough to feed, water, and check everything over regardless of weather or how sick you are. Mucking out the pens or paddocks every day (definitely not my favorite thing). Getting frozen hands in winter from chopping ice or frozen pants legs from where the bucket you were carrying water in spilled on you. Keeping up on the fencing which can be both expensive and aggravating.

You will always want to make sure that you have enough feed stockpiled so that you never run out even if the feed store is out and isn't getting another shipment in for several days. My rule of thumb is to always keep enough for about 2 extra weeks on hand and never let it get lower than that.

Keep bandages, gauze, disinfectant, penicillin, and banamine paste (or liquid if you know how and are able to give shots) on hand. I honestly believe it should also be required for a horse owner to be able to give an intramuscular shot. Even I won't screw with shots in the vein though, I save that for the vet.

Always have the number for at least 1 good vet that you can call in the event of an emergency (preferably 2 or 3 though).

That was the best decision for me. I can see my two horses at any time. The binding was intense between us. If we will feel society, we drive off easy.
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Yes, very important..and for us that store hay also, you need to keep enough hay and watch the weather forecast so you're not stuck without hay for those times when it's raining for a whole week.

I'm not sure about favorite parts, but what I like about it vs boarding:

1) I don't have to drive to the barn every day 10 - 15 miles one way, sometime twice/day.

2) I can spend more time with them

3) I know for sure they get their grain, and each will finish it up (because I'm watching). That was my biggest concern about boarding place - I think at least my paint was chased away from her grain in morning (I did feed them myself in evening just to be sure).

4) If there is a medical problem (like have to do compress or put medicine/wrap the hoof) I can do it several times/day as needed.

5) I know noone will mess them up (like I had someone to chew the candy and stick it to my qh's mane, all mane was gone by the end of the day chewed off by other horses or I had BO son trying to catch my unhandled at that moment horse for whatever reason (she bit him BTW when he grabbed the halter and he complained about it) etc. ).

As for tips, do you want to know something specific? Like barn? Shed? Fence? Grass fields? Mucking? I mean everyone has own set-up at home and what I do may not be useful.