In Search Of My Horse Property in Eastern Pennsylvania

Years ago, I bought my first horse, which I kept at my trainer's farmette.  It was great to have my horse boarded there so I can have her help me train him and have lessons on him, but the commute was a hassle, particularly in the winter.  Plus, ti was a a bit costly to pay for board and lessons.  This was when my husband and I decided it was time to start searching for a horse property of our own.

We first had to come up with a list with our search criteria.  The list contained "must have" items and "would be nice to have" items, as well as "we can do without" items.  The "must haves" list listed acreage, southern slope for sunshine, zoned for horses, and flat or gently rolling hills.  The "would be nice to have " items consisted of a barn for 3-4 horses, and already fenced pastures.

After searching for several months, we came across a property just outside of town that was almost 10 acres with a southern exposure and rolling hills.  It also had a nice view overlooking the valley.  There were horses on it already (that was a plus), fenced pastures (although the fencing was in desperate need of getting redone), a run-in shed (which was in dire need of TLC), a stone foundation (which used to be a bank barn that burned down decades ago), two wells (a shallow well by the horses and a deeper well where the house used to be),  electric (but wasn't hooked up to the building) and a septic where the house had been).  

The property did not have a house on it due to the fact that it had burned down a few years ago.  The fire had been ruled suspicious, but were unable to prove it.  

The property itself seemed perfect for us and my horses.  (My husband at the time was not a horse person.)  So, we bought the land.  Before making plans for building the house, we had to get the property ready for horses. 

There was much to do to the property in order for my horse to come home and for us to reside there.

This is Part 1 of a series that I will be writing about when I was searching for horse property and the many "adventures" in getting it ready for my horses and ourselves to reside on.