Once constant source of amusement and/or horror for me is all the fine people I meet who, upon discovering I live on a horse farm, say something to the extent of "Oh, I would love to buy a place where we could have a couple of horses." I usually answer politely, the specifics of my answer largely driven by how much experience they have with horses. The more experienced folks I will point out that it's quite a bit of work, with not as much riding as they would probably prefer. There can be a great deal of value if you find a good barn to board your horse.
I'm a little more blunt with those that have no experience or only a few years with horses: "No, no you don't".
That being said, there are plenty of people out there who love horses, have had enough experience with them to be able to care for a horse adequately themselves but have never lived on a farm and have no practical experience with farm life. I'm living proof that it can be done, and hopefully you'll be able to learn from my mistakes! So here is a completely non-comprehensive list of things you need if you insist on living on a horse farm:
Hammers
Lots of them! Unless you're OCD level organized you can pretty much expect that your hand tools are going to walk off on their own. I call it "barn diffusion". There is only one solution that I have found: purchase a sufficient number of hammers such that as they diffuse into the property the mean distance from you to a hammer at any place on your property is less than 10 feet. That's the physicist way of saying buy so many dang hammers that you're practically tripping over them. Note that I'm not including the pasture areas, hay fields and general open places. I pretty much mean your house, the barn and the general vicinity around it. For a half acre "work area" that would work out to approximately 10 hammers.I hear you, "WHAT? WHY DO I NEED 10 HAMMERS?!" Because you do! Keep in mind, there are many kinds of hammers! Here's a list of all the hammers you will need to make your life easier on a horse farm:
Claw Hammer
The claw hammer is the physicist of the hammer family - a specialty hammer will be 100% efficient for 20% of jobs, but a claw hammer will be 80% efficient for 100% of jobs. You'll want to have at at least 3 - 5 of these around. Places for your claw hammer:- The truck (especially if you have a rail mounted gooseneck plate adapter (or a fifth wheel), or plan on getting one. A more straight claw will help with getting that place loose when you need to. You can use the business end when you have to get the plate back on.
- Tack room
- Work area
- House/Garage
