Thursday 5 October 2017

10 Great Things About Boarding

We all know boarding comes with it downsides. I'm personally ready to move my girls home again and take a breather, but, to be fair, there are lots of really great things about boarding that I miss when the horses are at home. Here's my impromptu list:

1. Better Amenities. If you're anything like me, you'd be hard pressed to compete with a good barn as far as amenities go. It's not that I couldn't theoretically build my own indoor to ride in, it's just when realistic budgets are considered, I'd rather have a house to live in or pay for 11 million years of boarding with that money:)

Someone else can build and maintain this, I'll just ride there
2. Vacations. You can keep the horses at home, hire a farmsitter and plan accordingly. OR, you can give the boarding barn manager a text the day before and book that last minute deal. I do appreciate the second option.


3. Participation. Good boarding barn buddies help make it fun to be there. Fun to be there =  a greater likelihood I'll tag along to more shows and attend more lessons. With a built in barn support team, it's a lot easier to push outside your comfort zone. Also, did I mention, fun?

4. They're watching you.your horse. I enjoy knowing that there are knowledgeable horse people at the barn for a good majority of every day. If anything happens, the time frame before it's noticed and I'm told is way shorter than when I'm the only eyes on my horse.

5. Travel Logistics. Not only is attending shows with barnmates more fun, the trailer sharing opportunities are generally much broader at a boarding barn. The horses are happy to have a friend in the trailer, I'm happy to save money. It's a win/win.

6.Not My Problem. That crappy feeling when you notice the driveway gate is broken, again, 5 minutes before you need to leave for work? Or when the hydro bill arrives mid winter and you're pretty sure they accidentally double billed you? Yeah, that doesn't really happen when you're boarding :)

7. Perspective. There's nothing like being involved peripherally with other people's horses and barn life to help you appreciate what you've got, or to motivate you to get better.

8. Borrowing Stuff. Yes, I know this is a tricky one and the downsides could go on a "10 Things I Hate About Boarding" list...I've learned kids in particular can have a pretty vague sense of who owns what. But on the plus side, at most barns you'll know someone who you can comfortably swap ideas and supplies with in a pinch or borrow before committing to purchasing your own. Using my current adventures into trying different bits as an example...I'm really, really appreciating the inventory of "I'm not using it, go ahead and try it" stuff in the tack room right now. On the flip side, I like knowing my extra stuff is useful to someone else.
In this photo: borrowed giant hay net from that time I forgot to pack a  net...or grain...for Bridget. No worries, the barn kids had it all under control

9. On Site Clinics/Coaching/Shows. You can make it happen from home, but it's really much more likely that those things are going to be available on a regular basis at a boarding barn.

10. Regular Appointments. In a similar vein to #9, I love the convenience and cost savings of having the farrier, vet, hay delivery, saddle fitter, etc come to the barn for a group of us at regular intervals. No more trying to plan and fit everything into the calendar!

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19 comments

  1. I self-care for my horses all year round - 24/7. I pay the Land Owner $$ in exchange to "rent" the stables and pastures. While I typically don't mind it and the amount of extra work it takes, I've lately felt really guilty about being so annoyed with barn chores. Maybe it is the fact it's getting colder, or the fact it's getting darker earlier now, but I've started to really dislike my "chore" time. Long days at work, more authority in my position and some personal stuff and the extra hour a day doing barn chores is just NOT what I wanna be doing.

    Anyways - that's my pity party rant lol.

    Truth be told, I do love self-care. I know my horses are getting certain grains and I KNOW they are getting the right amount of grain. I KNOW they've been dewormed and when, etc. It's a control thing I guess.

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    1. I LOVE having them at home. But yeah, so much to be said for not having to do chores after a long day of work! We do a co-op type thing where I typically feed in the mornings, and while at first I felt like it was a great compromise, now I'm starting to dislike it...you're not really in control, but not really free of chores either.

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  2. I feel 1,2 and 6 big time. I am viewing those as my silver linings as an acreage in 2017 is not looking hopeful. I could write a things I hate about boarding too....but it would be more than 10 items long hahaah #bitteroldhag

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    1. My bitterness is high right now. Definitely about 500 reasons I hate boarding, so the 10 item things I love list just seemed more attainable as a lunch hour blog post :)

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  3. You mentioned building your own; I have a friend who did this. First, she bought stock in Starbucks in the 90s and made enough money to have both a condo downtown and some property up in the hills. She eventually built a two-stall barn with runs, and an indoor arena with the upper walls all open to pine trees on all sides. The arena has a large heated tack room that she slowly developed to include a bathroom, waterlines, kitchen, and she eventually sold her condo and now LIVES in her tack room!

    I said I'd never board again but this Winter I really enjoyed it, for almost all 10 of your reasons. Mostly I had this secure feeling that "I can leave anytime" and that made it much better. Also, I was there 5-6 days a week at least 6 hours a day, so though I had little control, I at least had oversight. And getting a pic of my horse sleeping at midnight in his stall was precious, thanks to a fellow boarder.

    I boarded over 20 years at over 13 barns. I'm way too much of a control freak for that: )

    Hey, you know what I learned about myself from boarding? It made me into a consumer. I was constantly surrounded by sleek riding outfits and fancy tack and everyone had to have Back on Track stuff, I thought I had everything I needed but I was wrong *lol*

    I shoulda bought stock in Starbucks in the 90s......: )

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    1. Oh, the consumer aspect! I definitely shop more when I'm boarding. Actually, fellow bloggers are also guilty of posting about things I then suddenly feel I need to purchase lol

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  4. In a perfect world we would be able to have the horses at home and have 'people' to fix what is needed. :D But I haven't won the lottery yet so not holding out for that one.

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    1. Yeah, if I ever won the lottery, the horses would be at home, and I'd have staff magically appear for such things as hay delivery day and the "oops, I left the tap running all night and now the well is dry" days lol

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  5. Definitely a trade off. Control vs responsibility.

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    1. I love the control, and like the responsibility...except when I don't, lol. Grass is always greener, I guess

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  6. I have always been a boarder and I don't see that changing. I'm just not someone who would do well on my own - I need the social aspect and the extra push.

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    1. The social aspect has been huge for me, but I really, really miss the peace and quiet and extra time I seem to have when they're at home.

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  7. There are many many reasons why I don't foresee keeping horses at home in my future - this list definitely covers a lot of them!

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    1. I think if you have them at home, you're really committing to 'the lifestyle' - like almost every life decision you make is going to be affected by that goal or reality. With boarding, it's so much easier to have a life outside of the barn.

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  8. Absolutely agree with vacations, broken things and facilities versus cost to build/maintain. However, we have a ton of barn drama and not really any other options. So I ride at 5am and unable to ride really any other times unless I want to deal. Especially now that my bestie moved to a fancy place 😣

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  9. I have always had my horses at home even growing up. Mostly I just love it: caring for them and working in the barnyard is my happy place but sometimes I wonder how great it would be to board. Like when the weather sucks and I am carrying armfuls of hay through wind/rain/snow/deep mud so the horses can stay in their shelter to eat. Or when we want to go on vacation but can't arrange a farm sitter.

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  10. I miss having my horse(s) at home but I agree with every one of these things. Also right now boarding is the best option for me since with work travel it would be tough for me to arrange for a barn sitter sometimes. I am jealous though that you're considering bringing them home again!

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  11. I've never had horses at home, but I really enjoy the community of boarding.

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  12. Totally agree. I've always wanted to have horses at home, and we almost made it happen a couple years ago, but it fell through. And honestly is probably for the best because of all those things you pointed out.

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