So for the past week and a half I have been pet sitting for a friend. Not only does this friend have the cutest pets EVER, but her place is also close to where Gen lives. How close? 4 minutes!
And honestly, I think that is a little close! I have already decided that I should probably not have my own barn ever because I would never get anything done, but now I am thinking that I need to board more than 4 minutes away!
Why you ask? Because I am going to the barn WAY too much! I pop in on my way to run errands in the morning. Head over on my way back from lunch. Stop in when I am driving by the in the afternoon, head over to groom him around dinner. I have even been known too go before bed to get him ready for turnout and give him bed time kisses. The barn owner has even told me to knock it off because my Mexican General is starting to get used to seeing me all the time…making his already inflated self worth grow to epic proportions.
Considering I am just under 20 minutes away now I feel like that can be a little far some times. Although I am not complaining because is the closest I have ever boarded him. The farthest I have ever lived from my pony is 50 minutes, and that was tricky when he was hurt and I had to get there two times a day.
So if 5 minutes is too close, and 20 minutes is too far, I wonder what the perfect distance is for me? What about the rest of you? How close is your horse boarded? I know that most of you do not go every day like I do, but does how far away your horse lives impact how many times a week you can see him/her?
A Horse and a Half 
My horses are under 2 miles from me. In the winter I’ll walk it (too hot in summer!), and I stop by multiple times a day many days. I am there at LEAST every single day. Hopefully I’ll be on horse property soon, though, so I can pick the setup for the horses.
We boarded 45 minutes away. TOO FAR. We boarded 10 minutes away. Very nice. Now we are 20 minutes away and it’s not too bad since we can make the trip, groom, ride and be home in about 2 hours. For me the drive time can be very good since it’s time my daughter and I “talk”. As a pre-teen, talking while not looking at the person is ideal and I’ll take what I can get even if most of it turns into horse talk that really wouldn’t matter if I were talking to her eye to eye!!
I agree that 20 minutes seems a little too far sometimes. I would love to be 10 minutes away, or even have her at one of the many barns within one mile of my house!! But you make a good point, I would probably spend wayy too much time there! But I think 10 minutes is a good number.
Although, the advantage of having her 20 minutes away is that I go by just about any store I could possibly need to stop at. Meaning I can always get my errands done on my way to or from the barn. That would not happen if she was only 10 minutes away!!
I used to be 90 min. away and while it was too far, it was a great place. I made it out every week on my day off until I was too pregnant to sit in the car for that long. Then after the baby was born I would still made that drive. Now, I board 8 miles away, a great place but now with 2 kids in tow & the weather in TX being 100+ temps I can’t seem to make it out there but once a month & my mare is going feral. Can’t wait for school to start!
we’re just under 10 minutes away by car. I like it because I can pop over to meet the farrier or vet without having to plan my whole day. We’ve been as far as 25 minutes away and that sucked- the gas I went thru!
I don’t mind barn sitting and being right there, except I’m not trying to do my “day job” too. I do have to go back to my house to take care of my dog 4 or 5 times a day (I have to care for BO’s 2 shepherds, and my dog is a little vixen with territorial issues, so I don’t want to / can’t mix them). The Barn From Hell was about 15 minutes away, which was acceptable. I think close enough to head over on the way to work without getting up in the middle of night to do it, to change blankets or deal with an abcess is about perfect.
Ugh..this is what I think about all the time. I am 60 mins without traffic..sometimes it take me an hour and 15, or hour and half, ONE WAY. Too far, but the place is quiet, private and at my friend’s whose care is amazing and it’s affordable. So…I make the trek. I go about 3-4 days a week.
If Laz was under 20 from me, I would think I’d be there everyday! I LOVE my barn days 🙂
4 minutes is a dream.
Viejo (my firend’s OTTB who i’ve been riding for a few years now) is 20 minutes away if i go the speed limit, 15 if I drive MY speed down the backroad. Sprite, my most recent “real” lease horse (though i ended that lease due to lack of chemistry between us) is about 10 minutes away depending on how many traffic lights I hit.
before getting this new job that’s 20 minutes from home in the opposite direction from the barn, I was out with V 4-5 days a week and with Sprite 2-3.
I think that the 20 minute commute to see the V Man is perfect. not so fast that i’m there all the time, but not so long that i need to watch my gas consumption too closely.
15-20 minutes away would be awesome! I’m 30 mins, 25 if I drive really fast (which I don’t like to do). An hour (roundtrip) of driving is a lot most days, especially since I have an hour drive home from work too… 😦 The distance definitely affects how many times I go. If I go more than 3-4x/week, I feel like I am living in my car.
25-30 minutes depending on traffic. Would MUCH prefer 10-15 minutes. Less would be fine too. Walking distance would be nice as long as there was a safe way to walk. Being walking distance but not able to walk would be torture.
I have been as far as 45 minutes from where my horse was stabled and as close as 5 minutes away. I’m now leaving the comfort of 5 minutes away and moving to 20-30 minutes from home but enjoying the change of surroundings. (and the use of an indoor arena! No more rain outs and months off from frozen ground)
Now if I only had my own horse again…