Question for HORSE OWNERS ( current or previously) please...!

[LittlePushka]

Just wanted to see if anyone would share their thoughs/experiences with me (whatever they are)about how you manage your horses and raising LO's.

REason I am asking is that I have two horses and a pony and they live with me (rather than in livery). We moved here when unmarried and without prospect of LO's.

Hurrah the LO's have arrived, but our house is now too small for our family (is a teeny tiny two bedroom farmhouse but with 16 acres). I am at a crossroads as to whether to sell up and move to a bigger house and livery the horses or even consider selling/loaning .

I am rarely finding the time to ride ...but I genuinely do love all the other stuff that comes with horse ownership. It has been a hard earned priveledge to have these horses and for whose welfare I accept total responsibility.

(Will not consider selling or loaning LO's )

[LittlePushka]

PS LO's are just turned 2 yrs and 7 months

[pucca]

Could you not extend? As surely a house with so much land being made bigger would add alot of value anyway, and then you can stay where you are.

[LittlePushka]

Well, we have a planning permission to extend and it would add much more value to the house than the £80k or so it would cost.
But, the chance of us getting an affordable mortgage product in the current climate is small.

We have enough equity in the property to get a bigger house but not enough to get land (even much less land) with it.

D you have any horses in livery? If so, how manageable is your routine?

Am torn between the life choice of a normal or even larger than normal family home for my boys and them having the great opportunity to live in and explore a beautiful, secluded little part of Yorkshire riding if they wish but living in a teeny house.

Cannot help but feel that I am being very selfish in wanting to stay put.

[mumonthenet]

Stay put and extend

• check out mortage offers - if you have a lot of equity you might be surprised and find some good offers. If it's all too expensive wait a year or so. The LO's won't need their own bedrooms for at least two or three years.
  
  The time will pass quickly and before you know it you'll be teaching your boys to ride and riding with them.
  
  If you put your horses into livery - I can't see how you'll be any more likely to find the time to ride. (And the saving on livery costs could go to pay for the extension!)
  
  So, if you love where you are don't change it..just improve on it!

[LittlePushka]

Thanks for that mumonthenet! It is sometimes difficult to decide what is best for the LO's, especially when I have a biased view and possibly being too selfish about my lifestyle rather than theirs.

I just thought livery might mean I could keep the horses and have a family sized house as well. It was how people manage that with very little ones and a full time job that I was wondering. Do you have any experience of livery?

[bella29]

We're in a very similar situation to you and I do get uptight about lack of room inside but when I see my children (6 & 4) enjoying the outdoor life (in all weathers!!!) I know it's the right thing for us. If I am still unsure, a visit to one of their friends in a 5 bed house with a teeny garden usually puts me straight!

I suppose the upshot is that very few of us can afford everything we want, so we need to prioritise. Finding a really good livery yard can be difficult, will be costly, and I think you would find yourself running from place to place rather than enjoying your wonderful home, horses & children.

Good luck!

[lilymolly]

Hi I am thinking sort of similar things
We have a lovely 4 bed house with 5 acres and stables. Recently my horse is on loan to RDA for a year cos I am pregnant and we have dds shetland at home and some sheep and cattle- I like you realise horses etc come way down the pecking order and are not the prioriy anymore

We where thinking of downgrading and putting horses into livery- this would enable me to give up job and spend time with dcs but we have realised that our hosue is so special and that our dcs will really enjoy living in the country with all the land to play on.

I would like the others suggested- extend the house and stay put.

Good luck

[oggsfrog]

Stay put, with a view to extending in the future. The dc can share a bedroom for many years to come.

We have 3 horses/ponies at the moment and live in 2 caravans joined together.
When dd was born we lived in just one caravan, with no electricity, no toilet but acres of forested land.
Dh has built stables but we can't afford to build a house atm.

Yes we are very short on space, we have no indoor toilet, our water is pumped directly from a river, our nearest neighbours are almost a mile away and we often get snowed in in winter but this is the way of life we chose and the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

[LittlePushka]

Thank you all for your unanimous replies!!!

I cannot thank you enough for your thoughts. It is hugely helpful to me to know that my gut feeling is not just selfishness.

You crew are brilliant!

[rubyloopy]

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[rubyloopy]

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[hippipotami]

Stay put and extend in the future. I think your LO's have the opportunity to live a care-free childhood exploring the countryside on horseback which not many LO's get this day and age.

I am very

[LittlePushka]

Rubyloopy:Yes 16 acres is alot, though it is not all top grade. Keeping on top of it (fences/docks/thistles/poaching/poo picking etc) single handedly was hard before LO's arrived never mind now! One of mine is TB too and he is living out most of the time, though we have had 2 very mild winters here last. I would love to sell on of the fields to a neighbour but DH is not keen. I am trying o work on that one though. Maybe he would feeldifferent after a weekend poo picking it!!

Kormaaaargh C:REally good to hear your points from the other side as it were. Thanks for posting your experiences,..very helpful

Hippipotami: Thanks for that too, I know I am extremely lucky to be here living my childhood dream though it has taken twenty years of graft and very luck break or two to get here. Still waiting the day when I can sit back in me hunters with me G& T, fully mucked out, fothered up and poo picked and say,"Well thats me done for the day"

[bella29]

Well, I don't hear anything there about tack cleaning, Pushka, so you could hardly say you were all done for the day, now could you?!
Can you guess I am an avid tack cleaner Sadly these standards do not extend to my housekeeping, but gimme some grotty tack, a bucket & some saddle soap and I am one happy lady

Who said I need to get out more?!

[LittlePushka]

LOL Bella, with you there honey , smell of Car Day ^& Martins much better than Mr Muscle any day!

Obviously MY tack is ALWAYS sparkling..

Kids are filthy however!

[Reamhar]

If I were you I would try to extend and stay put. I've done the small children and horses in livery and it is not easy. Much better to have them at home.

Also, what it would cost to keep several horses in livery would go along way towards your higher mortgage payments I would imagine.

Best of luck either way.

[LittlePushka]

THanks Reamhar!

[bella29]

We're supposed to wash our children now? Whatever next!!!

[LittlePushka]

Hell no Bella, I mean that they'd not fallen in the trough whilst filling the water buckets for a wee while!

[bella29]

Had me worried there - whew!

[rubyloopy]

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[bella29]

Yes, I think you've got it absolutely right there, ruby, as has oggsfrog!

[mistlethrush]

LP you could always help to raise money for said extension by offering mnetters lo's riding lessons - Ds would love to have a proper go on a pony!

[elastamum]

Why dont you sell a couple of fields to raise some money and stay put. Livery for 2 horses is like a small mortgage anyway. mine used to be about 700 a month. They arew now DIY and cost about 300. We have land but no stables at present. Will get some put up in the spring so I can reduce my bills even further