When it comes to horseshoeing, America is considered king. And that’s how Sheridan, Wyoming, native Clay Schafer met a Slovenian farrier and ended up spending three months helping him shoe horses in Austria.
“I just got a big contract to shoe a bunch of eventing horses in Austria,” his friend told him one day during a phone call. “So why don’t you come on over?”
Schafer did just that, living with his friend on a little dairy farm called the Pearl of the Alps.
“We’d milk cows in the morning, shoe horses all day, then milk cows again and try to find some time to play,” Schafer recalled. “It was really great.”
Schafer has since shod horses all over the world and has contacts from Austria to Arizona and from China to Wyoming, and lots of interesting points in between.
But now he’s bringing home all of his horse skills and connections for a new business that he’s just started, Premier Horse Property, that caters to the horse owners of Wyoming, and eventually the world. It’s a real estate niche Schafer believes isn’t being well-covered by the industry anywhere.
“So far all of our properties are in Fremont County,” Schafer said. “But I’ve got some leads in other counties, and we are working toward becoming a statewide brokerage. We will kind of prove this in Fremont County first, and then we’re going to prove it in Wyoming, and then we’re going to take it multi-state.”
With Schafer’s connections, he believes his company could one day go global. But for today, it’s one state at a time.
Clay Schafer and his wife, Kate. Schafer runs Premier Horse Property. (Courtesy Clay Schafer) 
Horse realtor Clay Schafer has a little helper to measure the size of a patiently waiting horse's hoof. (Courtesy Clay Schafer) 
Clay Schafer has traveled the world shoeing horses, from Austria to Arizona. (Courtesy Clay Schafer) 
Horse realtor Clay Schafer with a horse he's about to shoe. (Courtesy Clay Schafer) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com)
Bad Back
Schafer’s business idea came about after the farrier hurt his back and realized he needed a new profession.
“It’s just kind of one of those things when you’re a farrier,” Schafer said. “Eventually your back wears out, and so I’m a little tall, and it just kind of came to be (time for something new).”
His first thought was to give real estate a try, with an emphasis on farm and ranch properties. Through the course of doing that, though, he quickly realized there was a weird little gap in the real estate world, one that he could ideally fill.
“There’s typically, you know, your residential realtors and they really know your public utilities and your school districts and all that really well,” Schafer said. “And then there’s your farm and ranch brokers, and they know the big acreages and what stuff is worth per acre and irrigation and all that.”
But horse owners are their own breed of real estate buyer.
“It might not seem too complicated, but not everyone’s looking for a property that’s, you know, 20 acres and an arena or 40 acres and a nice barn,” he said. “And people don’t want to pay for extra things if they don’t need them. But the alternative is also true that some people are willing to pay for those things.”
As a former farrier, Schafer immediately gets the nuances of what a given horse owner probably wants in a property, based on the type of activities they’re engaged in. That makes the whole buying and selling process smoother for everyone in the horse world.
Horse Paradise
Right now, all of Schafer’s property listings are in Fremont County.
One of his favorite listings now is called Golden Willow Haven, and he sees it as a 15-acre horse lovers paradise.
“It sits right up on top of the bench above Lander,” Schafer said. “So, you’ve got views of the valley, and then views up the mountains, and then it has an actual arena that’s 72 by 160 (feet), and the barn’s about 100 by 160, so it’s a big, beautiful, nice indoor arena.”
The arena has rubber mulching, Schafer said, and there’s a full assortment of jumps, rails and obstacles, according to the Premier Horse Property Listing. There’s also a 1-bed, 1-bath apartment, as well as an alleyway, tack room, restroom and two saddling bays, along with some storage areas, including for hay.
Multiple horseback riding trails are within minutes of the property as well, making it a great launching point for riding adventures.
The home, meanwhile, is what Schafer describes as a “barndominium,” which refers to the style of home where a shop or a barn becomes a residence. There are two oversized bedrooms and bathrooms and an attached heated, three-car garage with an electric car charging port.
The stick-built house has radiant floor heat, which keeps everything toasty warm and comfortable during winter, Schafer said.
“The porch, you know, sits in this grand expanse looking out over Lander and the valley,” he said. “And there are elk that come up there, and it is irrigated, and it’s cut up for horse pastures. So, it’s a really beautiful horse property.”
In addition to water rights for irrigation, the electric fencing has been set up to easily allow rotational grazing on a site that has unparalleled views of the Wind River Range.
Schafer said the property could even accommodate a private airstrip, if that’s the way a buyer wants to go.
It’s one of six properties perfect for horse owners that Premier Horse Property lists for sale, ranging from $345,000 on up to $3.45 million. Additional listings from other realtors in other areas are also available at the site.
Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com) 
The real estate specialization niche of horse properties is something that's especially helpful in rural states like Wyoming, where homebuyers are looking for more than great living ammenities for themselves. They're also looking for their horses. This property also features a large hay barn, arena and other tack and on-site living areas to care for horses. (Courtesy Premier Horse Property, premierhorsepreperty.com)
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
