For those of you with horses on your own land

W

Wait4It..boom

New Member
We've been looking to buy a property in Calvert to keep from continuing to board. Even though they say the market is wide open, we haven't found much we like (lots of houses, just not lots with land). I'm wondering for those of you with horses on your own property, how much land do you have, how many acres do you have sectioned for the horses, and ~how many horses do you have on that acreage? We were thinking we wanted more than 8-10acres to house 2, possibly 3, horses. Would less do? What are your thoughts? I haven't had horses on my property before and am not sure what acreage I could get away with.
 
Cowgirl

Cowgirl

Well-Known Member
I don't currently have horses, but I would recommend having at least 1.5 acres per horse. Two per horse would be better. People always try to cram in as many animals as they can, and it wreaks havoc on pastures. Having 1.5-2 ac/horse will give you enough land to keep grass on it, and not let it get grazed down to the dirt. You'll have enough room to rotate them, which is ideal. This acreage doesn't include your yard, barn area, riding ring, or whatever else you might have.
 
Sparks

Sparks

New Member
As much as you can afford. Really, one per acre to graze has always been a "standard" but if you want your grass to last (feed less hay), you should have more than that.
 
FrmGrl

FrmGrl

Get some!
I have 11 acres total. Last year I had 4.5 acres fenced for three horses. This was split into two pastures for rotating and a small sacrafice area. This spring I am fencing an additional 3 acres because even with what I had, pastures were torn up and grass gone by fall. I had to use my back yard as a third pasture. The rest of the land we use for growing hay. The more you have the better so you can rotate them through and save your grass for longer periods of time.
 
D

DQ2B

Active Member
Yes, more is better however, while I have 10 acres, only about 4.5 of that is devoted to three horses with a 60 x 198 foot ring taking up some of the 4.5 acres. So far, it has been enough land as long I carefully manage it. That means rotating between 3 paddocks, picking up every speck of manure (occasionally dragging the paddocks depending on weather and time of year), seeding, fertilizing, mowing, etc. My horses are out 24/7 and because we had such great summer weather this past season I didn't even have to feed hay from May through October. The summer before was a different story. I do wish I had more simply to let them roam more but they seem happy enough. So, yes, you can do it on less but you have to be diligent in managing the land and you have to be prepared to feed hay in the warmer months if the weather does not provide enough pasture.
 
W

Wait4It..boom

New Member
There's not much by way of 'land' in the areas of Calvert we're trying to stay in. Trying to find a place with the house and land that we're happy with hasn't been easy. Or you see a house with land for sale and it was bought during the boom and people can't sell it (or we can't afford to buy it for the asking price). We had just started looking at places with 4-5 acres, but I just don't see where I'd ride (much less keep them pastured).
 
fredsaid2

fredsaid2

New Member
I have two pastured on about 2 acres. I plan to fence in two more 1/4 acres sections for rotations. We currently use less than 5 acres for house, pasture and barn; the rest is in hay. Eventually I'll take part of the 2 acre pasture for a ring and then may have to fence in another acre or two.

Last summer was so nice I was more concerned w/ keeping up w/ grass cutting. In more dry years I'll have to manage and rotate to keep the grass.

I'd say 5 acres would be the lowest workable number as long as you can use all of it.

Check your county reqs to be certain what they say. You'll want to have all the facts in line before deciding on anything.
 
Four*Leaf*Farm

Four*Leaf*Farm

RIP Quinn
we have 26 acres.. 9 acres split in two for rotation.. a one acre for private and another inside field on the other side of the barn that's about an acre. We have maybe 3 acres total for hay only and we are currently trying to sell 2 of it. The rest of our property is wooded and/or my husband refuses to allow me to fence anything else in for horses. I find that the more open space the better but it costs more to fertilize and reseed it seems... If you are looking, there is a VERY nice horse property available across the street from me. A nice barn, white wood fence and top of the line house. the property might be about 15 acres.
 
erinjograves

erinjograves

New Member
More is def better

I have 5 acres. Right now I have two pastures and a paddock area. We had everything connected for a while so that they could also go out in the front yard right from thier field. We have NO grass. We have to feed lots of hay. We are starting work on another pasture that is a little over an acre I believe so we will have about 3.5 - 4 acres fenced for pasture rotation.

I have always wanted at least 10 acres because its just so much easier. Of course, the fact that we have a stream that runs under our one field (which we were lied to about) doesnt help at all.

if it were me, I would look for at least 8 acres of flat land. We are also on a huge hill, which limits the pasture options.

Good Luck!
Erin, Boomer and Tucker :buddies:
 
B

BentleysRider

New Member
I live in Calvert as well, and even with some of the larger pastures, the ground they sit on is just as important. Much of Calvert is sandy, and it's hard to keep grass growing in if the grass gets any pressure at all. In some ways, it's a question of if you want grass or to feed hay all year. I feed hay because I have that sandy land, but if I only had 2 horses on my 4 acres, it would be enough for the grass to grow and to keep the pressure off. Lots of land management on small acres.
 
Tazgirl

Tazgirl

New Member
I have 6 acres and three horses. We have two pastures that are two acres each. I have plans to section them off into several smaller lots. I will be taking a pasture management class shortley and hope to get lots of information from that.
 
C

campinmutt

Guest
there are state regulations or suggestions on how many per acre....check with your local extension service( That would be Herb in Calvert county) they are across for the post office on duke st in Prince Frederick.
 
BZHorseMomE

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
campinmutt said:
there are state regulations or suggestions on how many per acre....check with your local extension service( That would be Herb in Calvert county) they are across for the post office on duke st in Prince Frederick.
Click to expand...

:offtopic: The Extension Service moved to the old library in Prince Frederick?
 
W

Wait4It..boom

New Member
Can you PM me with a few more details of the one for sale (e.g., is it through a realtor or by owner?)

Four*Leaf*Farm said:
we have 26 acres.. 9 acres split in two for rotation.. a one acre for private and another inside field on the other side of the barn that's about an acre. We have maybe 3 acres total for hay only and we are currently trying to sell 2 of it. The rest of our property is wooded and/or my husband refuses to allow me to fence anything else in for horses. I find that the more open space the better but it costs more to fertilize and reseed it seems... If you are looking, there is a VERY nice horse property available across the street from me. A nice barn, white wood fence and top of the line house. the property might be about 15 acres.
Click to expand...
 
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W

Wait4It..boom

New Member
I'm trying to avoid a swamp or mud hole from having too many horses on too few acres. I don't mind feeding hay through out the year (everywhere I've boarded or ridden, they fed daily so it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary for me).
So from what I'm hearing, a minimum of 2 acres (open space) per horse for pasture is about the least I can do.
 
fredsaid2

fredsaid2

New Member
There is an ad in the latest Equiery for a place in Dunkirk; barns, fencing, run-ins and I think a ring. You should be able to see it online if you don't have a copy.
 
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