Regardless of where you place your horse, he is going to need adequate shelter. If you are looking into boarding stables, you want to take a tour of the facility, talk to the people who keep their horses there and really look around. If you are keeping the horse on your land he has to have a way to get out of the cold and the elements-

If you are looking into boarding your horse, you want a facility where the horse isn't being stalled all the time. There should be a small run off the back of the stall so the horse can get fresh air and sun, or turn-out times, meaning your horse will get turned out in a pasture along with other horses during the day, then brought in at night.

Since I don't board, I asked some fellow equi-sensers what they look for to find good boarding facilities. The most popular replies were to talk to the people who board there, do a surprise pop-in a few times to see what happens, take a tour and really examine the buildings. Look at the health of the horses being boarded, is the place clean? The stalls wide enough? Does the roof leak? How is the hay kept? The tack room, has there been any recent thefts of tack, or food? They all stressed the place should be clean...clean...clean...not smell badly of horse urine and manure. What do they do with the manure? Do you have to use the barn farrier or can your own farrier come and work on your horse? Is there a vet on call? Midnight checks on the  horses? Someone on the grounds 24 hours a day? Is there junk in the pasture? How are the fences, see any gopher or mole holes in the pasture? All of this is important when looking for the right place to put your horse. Also check the water troughs, make sure they are clean and filled with water.

On your own land, make sure that your fences are strong, and you provide adequate shelter for the horse. A building, shed or run-in that is deep enough to get him out of the wind, rain and sun if need be. Fence off your pasture if you have a lot of acres. Otherwise your grass will never recover and your horse will be eating it down and wearing it down and you will still have to buy hay as well.

There are excellent websites that will help you decide the right building to put up, or to use for your horse. You will find these websites on the links page. You want your roof watertight,  your stalls roomy, and you want stout feeders in your stall not hay nets.