Keeping your horse at home can have both pros and cons compared to boarding.

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DANIEL JOHNSON

Boarding provides plentiful opportunities to ride with other horse owners that enjoy the trails or same activities you do.

Whether you’ve owned horses for a long time or you’re planning to buy your first horse (or first horse in a long time), one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make is: Where will my horse live?

There are essentially two answers: board your horse at a nearby equestrian facility or bring him home to live on your own property. Your choice will depend on multiple factors, including cost, zoning, and the question of how much control you prefer to have over your horse’s care.

Let’s check out some of the benefits and drawbacks of keeping your horse at home versus keeping him at a stable nearby.

BOARDING

You’ve seen the local horse barn advertising and driven by a few times. Would it be a good place to house your horse? It could be.

BENEFITS:

Reduced workload. Individual rules may vary from facility to facility, but in general, you can count on enjoying less of a workload when boarding your horse. Depending on the type of boarding plan you agree to, you may not be required to perform daily feedings. You may be able to skip out on the veterinarian and farrier appointments if you want. Stall cleaning, hay hauling, aisle sweeping—you may be free to do as much or as little of that as you care to. Broken fence? Not your problem. ATV won’t start? You’re not on call.