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As I visit with other equestrians at my Tucson horse boarding facility, one topic that frequently comes up is working from home. I’ve worked from home as a W-2 employee and a 1099 contractor since February 2016, so this is a topic that I’m very familiar with. For many people – equestrians or not – telecommuting appears to have the perfect work-life balance. They picture the flexibility to work when you want, ride when you want, and magically balance parenting with everything else (See How to Balance Parenting and Riding Without the Guilt to see how I hold it all together.) Is this too good to be true? Here’s what you need to know before you decide to leave your job and start working remotely.

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When I opened my Tucson horse boarding facility, one of the points I had to consider was whether I would allow stallions on my property (See Should You Board Horses on Your Property? for all the points I considered before boarding any horses). Safely stabling stallions requires more robust facilities than for most mares and geldings. I also had to consider the increased liability if I had a lot of novice horse owners boarding with me who might not be stallion-savvy. While I won’t accept stallions as long-term boarders, I do allow them for overnight and short-term stays.

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When it comes to learning boundaries, farm dogs are the best teachers. As my daughter approaches her fourth birthday, she has very firm opinions about her boundaries. I taught her from a very early age that her body is her own, and she alone gets to say where her boundaries are. But, I’ve also taught her that other people have boundaries too, and they get to say what those are, and she has to respect them. This is a little harder lesson, but my farm dogs have been the best teachers to model this idea. This is how my farm dogs taught my kid the important lesson of setting firm boundaries of your own and respecting others’ boundaries.

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If you board horses on your property, should you require new boarders to have a valid Health Certificate and negative Coggins Tests? Does it matter if they move from within the same county, out of county, or out of state?
 
These are all questions I had to consider when I opened my Tucson horse boarding facility earlier this year. I have to protect the horses who already live on my property, but I don’t want to make my requirements so stringent that no one wants to bring their horse here. This is what I currently require, and how I reached that decision.

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I am a tack hoarder.
 
The problem started in college when I had to ride several horses in different disciplines. I needed different bits, different sized sport boots, different bridles. My little tack trunk was soon overflowing, but I justified each purchase because I actually used the items.
 
After college, my horseback riding habits changed. I primarily ride my own two mares, but my tack box is still overflowing. As part of my 2019 downsizing plan, I am becoming a tack minimalist. Here’s what is staying in my tack room and what is finding a new home.

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In March 2018, I moved out of a 2,500 square foot house in Montana and downsized my life into my 16-foot horse trailer. Seriously, everything we bought fit in the horse trailer. If it didn’t fit, it didn’t come. Even with that serious downsizing, I still feel overrun with STUFF. One of my big goals for 2019 is to downsize even more to a minimalist lifestyle so that I can enjoy my property – both in the barn and in my house. The first place I am starting is my wardrobe.

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Thank you all for entering my very first giveaway! Here are the results…

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All the dogs that have come into my life have been rescues. While I support responsible breeders, my heart is in rescuing. Since all the dogs I have adopted have been adults, they have a variety of issues that require training to fix.
 
I am a huge believer in using positive reinforcement training. On rare occasion I use treats, but the vast majority of the time I reward my dogs with touch and verbal praise.
 
However, some situations are so dangerous that my dogs need to know immediately that a behavior is not allowed. In these situations, I do train with a shock collar – set at the lowest effective level – for my dog’s safety. These are the four circumstances where I train my dogs with shock collars.

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Horses are an expensive hobby, but “expensive” doesn’t have to mean “unaffordable” no matter what your budget (read The Real Cost of Owning a Horse to see what you should budget for). After college, I had student loans and a mortgage to pay, and my day job paid less than $10/hour, but I still managed to afford my horses without eating Ramen noodles for every meal.
 
The reality is that our economy still hasn’t recovered from the 2008 recession, and most people have a side hustle. Whether you own a horse or just want to be part of the horse industry, these seven side hustles make you extra money and give you the horse contact you crave. Unlike most bloggers who recommend side hustles they’ve never tried, I’ve actually done all of these.

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One of the great mysteries in my life is how to balance horses and parenting. For some parents with a great local support system, this is not so hard. I have always lived far from family, and my husband and I work opposite shifts, so I had to find ways to ride AND parent at the same time. Through months of trial-and-error, these five ways are how I manage to get in the saddle and entertain my kid at the same time.