When I was first considering bringing my horse home and opening up my farm to boarders, I made sure to carefully plan everything I could. I thought about my property layout, things I would need, and a feed and manure management plan. I spoke to professionals and friends to get their advice and perspective. They were very helpful, but there are still a few things I wish I knew before bringing horses home.
One thing that each of my advisors spoke of was the human element of running a boarding barn, even a small one. So I was prepared to deal with potentially difficult people, to be understanding and gracious, yet firm, with boarders. I was prepared to serve them all to the best of my ability. And I made sure I was reasonably protected from liability.
But in spite of all my preparation, there were some things about running a horse farm that I had to learn by experience:
1. Composting horse manure is harder than it sounds.
My carefully formulated manure management plan had some flaws. The story of my failure in this area is here. Because of space constraints on our farm, we cannot wait a year or more for our manure to compost. There would be too much of it to store for all that time. I simply had to learn by experience that if you want 4 horses’ worth of manure and stall waste to compost in months instead of years, you need equipment and structures to support that goal.
2. Your horse is going to colic when you go on vacation.
This should have been no surprise because…horses. But again, I just had to learn by experience.
During The Bay’s recent colic episode, I also learned something about colic treatment. I of course knew that the usual treatment involved administering Banamine and walking the horse. However, I had also heard from a veterinarian I respect that there was actually no reason to walk a colicking horse if they would rather lie quietly. I tested this out on the day The Bay colicked. She was not rolling, so I let her lie quietly, and when she did not feel better, I got her up and walked her. She immediately brightened up and continued to feel better afterwards. This is just one person’s experience with one colic episode, but I will probably continue to walk a colicking horse. Not walk them until they are tired, but for a few minutes at a time.
3. You’re going to feel like you don’t have any time to ride your horse, because of farm work and worrying about other people’s horses.
Farm work like feeding, turnout, picking up manure, pasture and arena maintenance takes a long time when you first start. For a small boarding operation, each added horse means a slight change to the routine and some time to adjust. Add to this the time needed for open communication with boarders, making sure each horse’s needs are met and the inevitable repairs to the barn and fences. It can feel like there is always more to do and it’s easy to de-prioritize your own horse’s training and your personal goals.
4. Pasture grass needs care.
Pastures covered in lush green grass from spring to fall do not just happen. Not where I live at least. Patience is needed to let the grass grow tall before grazing, and a careful rotational grazing system is important to avoid overgrazing. Adding fertilizer to maintain the health of the grass is also important for my soil. In principle these ideas are simple, but for me, implementing them is so hard. I do not have a green thumb, plants are not my thing. Watching the grass as it slowly (soo slowly) reaches toward 6 inches, while keeping the horses in the dry lot, is like torture.
I learned by experience (although I didn’t have to if I had known where to look for the information) that grass below six inches tall begins to be stressed, and stockpiles more sugar in its leaves to survive. This can quickly lead to a vicious cycle of horses preferring to graze one patch of grass that is already short, while the rest of the pasture is not touched. Thankfully I did learn this lesson before large sections of my pastures were ruined.
5. A shelter that is technically the right size to fit 4 horses does not always fit 4 horses.
Not if one horse thinks the shelter belongs to them alone and is willing to back up their opinion with kicks. I have one like that living here. It has necessitated some creativity around turnout schedules to make sure everyone has access to shelter if they want it.
These are just some of the things I wish I knew before bringing horses home. I had an intellectual idea of some of them beforehand. However, experiencing the reality was still a bit of a shock. I love my farm and the horses that live here, and am grateful for each opportunity to make living here even better for everyone that does.
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