House move has stables!!

[time2changeCharlieBrown]

We’re due to move location and house in February
we have found a property on the edge of new city my husband will be working and commute is great
the house is an ex farm house and a bit of renovation project but it also comes with a couple of fields and a stable block that will house up to five horses plus a tack room and a storage barn
they are in need of a bit of Ttc but otherwise solid buildings

so ideas!! We are not a family that has ever had anything to do with animals other than pet fish , dogs and cats! We have these pets we are bringing

are horses very difficult to care for? We have two teenagers and then two younger kids so I feel be nice to learn
or would something else be a better idea?

we’ve never had land either
were moving from down south to a lot more space! But wondering if we should have gone for a new build
but my husband and the kids loved this house and we do like a project to get nice how we want it!

In the first instance, I would make sure the buildings and paddocks etc. are in good order, then rent them out. This could give you some extra income for the house renovations and also allow you to see what having your own horses/ponies involves.

I wouldn’t be bringing horses in to the family while you’re renovating and settling in. Agree with PP. Rent them out initially and do your homework.
Very exciting problem to have! Owning some land gives you so many options and much more interesting for the children than a new build.

Can any of you ride?

You can give it a try, learn some knowledge about horse care, and try to get along with the horses.

If you feel good about it, it’s time to learn to ride a horse and really have a few new family members. If it's not suitable, give the horse away.

Yes, for someone with no experience or previous inclination, horses are extremely difficult to look after, you can't just get horses be because you have stables, unless you have the means to employ a full time groom/ riding instructor.
Renting them out to someone who wants to keep their own horses there is a possibility, you'd need to be rock solid on who's responsibility the maintainable is the field boundaries, gates, building, access, pest control would be. Horsey people need to be up early 7 days a week so you would have to be OK with dawn starts
I'm being so miserable, it sounds like an amazing property with bags of potential and fabulous for teens and younger children. You don't have to have a plan set in stone at this point, imagine the camping out and den building potential!

Owning horses is very time consuming and very expensive even with your own land. If you have never had horses before, then it would be a very steep learning curve and not one to take on whilst renovating a house.
Agree with PP, do the stables up and rent them out as sole use for one person with a couple of horses, who won’t mind your kids hanging around and ‘helping’.

Do DIY livery and get some income from them. You can rent them for £35 pw each or around that depending on the area and facilities. You will have to do some field maintenance but you will have to anyway and be easier to keep horses than maintain yourself - in the summer the grass will be out of control.

Failing that get sheep from a local farmer.

If you've never had horses don't let your first experience be totally unsupervised on your own land.

If you have liveries then later decide to get a horse they can help teach you how to care for them and oversee.

Owning horses is a lifestyle choice and will definitely change your lives in ways you probably don’t realise. They are also difficult to care for properly and require a lot of knowledge. Unsupervised first time owners could be disastrous.

It's not that easy to rent out stables and make a profit. Do you have sufficient land for the number of horses your stables can hold, are the stables well maintained enough and can you afford the business rates from day one? You'd need to look at the numbers but I know more farmers converting stables to holiday homes than renting out stable space for horses so I'm guessing that is more profitable.

Find a local stables and enroll your DC in riding lessons and get them doing a bit of mucking out. Not everyone enjoys horses, I grew up on a farm and had a pony but was never interested. So be sensible and don't rush into decisions, especially since you are clearly quite ignorant about such things.

Please don't think about getting horses just because you have space for them.
They are expensive and time consuming to keep !
I agree with pp , check the paddock, tack room and stables are all in good condition. Ask around to see what people expect from rented stables and what the going rent is.
There are different types of livery,

Full , part , DIY. As you know nothing about horses you need yo advertise as DIY and make it very clear you won't be doing anything to help ( some owners will take the piss and expect you to "just bring fluffykins in " = you chasing round the muddy field for hrs)
Bit by bit you will pick up information and a idea of cost and time and if it is something you want to pursue

If you've no equestrian experience then don't do it.

you need to learn a lot of things first.
imagine getting up at 5am on Xmas day in a storm. If your not prepared to do that then your not prepared to have horses or other live stock

@peasyeasy9 they mention renovation, so probably not. And the horses are hypothetical, so no need to feel sorry for them.

OP, agree with what others have said about renting out the stable and field when in suitable condition. If you don’t currently know anything about horses then don’t get one because of the stable!

Horses are not for the inexperienced. Unless you have that and/or pots of money you are happy to spend, don't do it. There's always something that needs doing and it's a lot of work to look after them properly, whatever the weather. For animals that weigh half a tonne, they are also surprisingly delicate, but can also do astonishingly daft things.

I can recommend chickens as an entry level animal. Much easier to muck out too. Pigs are fun too, but more paperwork and regulations.

If you don’t want to leave the stables empty, they could be used to keep chickens as an easier alternative.

I wasted 50 years of my life on horses. They are exceedingly complicated expensive and time consuming annimals to look after. They go wrong very easily. People on here moan about the time and energy dogs require, dogs pale into insignificance when compared to horses. I’m slightly out of touch but the last thing I heard is that a set of shoes cost £90 they would need new shoes every 8 weeks then there’s routine vet bills insurance tack I could go on. Horses have evolved to roam and eat grass even dyed in the wool traditionalist are realising that coping a horse up 24/7 is bad for their physical and psychological well being. Ideally horses should live out all the time to do this you’d need at the very least 2 1/2 acres per horse and you’d have to look after that grass meticulously. Horses are herd animals they rely on each other so you’d need at least 2. Finally as complete beginners you’d need to find a suitable horse(s) good luck with that horse people are notorious crooks and can smell someone who hasn’t a clue from 10 miles away.
Lastly if you children have never shown any interest in horses then I suspect within a short time the novelty would quickly wear off. Most horse people are obsessed with horses from an early age I know I was.
Try and find a local stable at the very least it should be BHS approved have some lessons handle horses talk to other horse owners spend as much time as you can over a couple of years getting to learn about them, how to ride they are a 365 day a year commitment.

unless you have the means to employ a full time groom/ riding instructor.

Oh don’t be silly. There is a huge amount to learn and do if you want to start riding but you don’t need a full time groom!

But just because you have stables doesn’t mean you should start keeping horses. If you are a townie with no experience you first need to learn to ride at a properly conducted commercial stables.

How about a couple of rescue Donkeys? 🙂
That's what I would do.

Obviously needs a lot of consideration, but a charity will guide you.

Horse person here.

Yes looking after horses properly really is that difficult.

Looking after horses badly is easy.

Please don’t do it. They are beautiful, intelligent, relatively high maintenance animals who deserve to be looked after by people who are experienced and dedicated.

If you really want to, then set yourself a goal of 2-3 years minimum during which time you’ll need to learn how to ride safely (minimum twice a week) and look after them (spend weekends helping out at local stables, shows, vets anywhere you can.

We moved from the edge of a city to a farmhouse with land and stables. The difference is we’d already had horses for a few years so had a reasonable idea of what we were letting ourselves in for. We have spent a fortune on making sure the fencing was safe - the whole perimeter (16 acres) needed to be redone. And then we discovered woodworm in the stables so they needed extensive repairs. If you’re even thinking about letting out the stables, how much land is attached? When we were looking it was amazing how many properties were marketed as equestrian but only had a couple of acres for five stables which is nowhere near enough land. Horses are very hard on grazing and you need to have enough space to be able to rotate and let fields recover. We’ve just taken on another 3.5 acre field which adjoins ours to give us more space.

I absolutely love where we live and having the horses at home but it’s so much work and unbelievably expensive so definitely a commitment and lifestyle change

Spot on.

Another vote for., do not get horses just because you have space, they are expensive and need a lot of care.

Also to note, if you rent out the stables you need to pay business rates, and it's not cheap.