If you buy your wife a horse for a wedding anniversary gift, make it a gelding, not a mare!
Some years ago, after boarding our horses for a few years, it became evident that I was not going to stop breeding Lydia, the mare he bought me for our 19th wedding anniversary. My husband did the math and decided that it would be cheaper to buy me a house on some acreage and bring the horses home than it would be to continue living in town and boarding. Further math showed that it would be cheaper to buy me a house on some acreage than to live in town, period, without even adding in the board.
That was almost a decade ago. I had a wish list then for my perfect horse property, and I have one now. But they're not identical by any means; what I thought I needed from my experience of boarding and what it turns out is really most useful or desirable when I'm taking care of my own are two different things.
Here's a list of some of the things that I either have and wouldn't do without or would love dearly to have, in no particular order. If you're thinking of looking for horse property, you might find it useful.
I HAVE A BARN WITH NO STALLS. I have horses, cows, donkeys, chickens, cats, and resident raccoons. I know about the need for stalls. I know a good stall when I see it. Ask me to find you good stalls.
Even if your horses are out 24/7 (which mine are), a place to have a covered stall (see reference above to I HAVE NO STALLS) in case any of your horses do Stupid Horse Things and need to be confined for veterinary reasons.
Good Fencing. Particularly if you have cattle, as well, and REALLY if you have a bull, because bulls like to go walk-about. (I did find, however, that having a bull is a GREAT way to meet your neighbors, as you go from door to door looking for your wandering boy.) Preferably not barbed wire, if you have horses, but on a large enough acreage you will, indeed, in Texas, have barbed wire on at least part of it. No-climb is great, but not entirely properly named (or some horses can't read the labels) - some horses can, indeed, walk it down, and others (my young stallion comes to mind) will simply put their hooves on top of it until it pops off the T-posts and they can push it down far enough to get over. With a large enough property, cross-fencing with electric across the property would be ideal. Every type of fencing has its virtues and its vices; you just have to figure out what will work best for your situation.
Easy access to water from anywhere on the property. This correlates to the good fencing wish, because it does you no good to crossfence the property if you can't get water to every paddock. (In that situation, you simply have to fence the critters OUT of one area and let it rest.)
Tack storage that's dust, bug, and moisture-free.
Hay storage with easy access to where you feed.
If you feed round bales, a round bale feeder designed for horses. Check the links section for Klene Pipe Structures, Inc. - they have some that I haven't used, but find particularly intriguing (and they come with a reference from a horsey Invisible Friend who has lived in three states, hauling her Klene Pipe with her).
A wash rack with a non-slippery surface to stand on. Preferably designed so that your horse can't figure out how to lean on the hose and squirt you when you're not looking.
A stock for vet exams.
Really great mud boots. Trust me, even if this is not technically a part of the property, it's is an important thing to have (and in at least one case, one of my mud boots IS a permanent part of the property due to an extremely muddy winter).