4 horses on 6 acres? enough land?

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myhorsefred

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Hi guys, sorry, need to pick your brains again!

Is 6 acres enough to keep 4 horses would you say? Two warmbloods both 16.2hh, one 15hh connie and a 15.2 welsh sec d. Connie and Welshie have restricted grazing anyway.

Land is free draining so no probs with mud, and quite thick grass. Will be thicker grass cover when I've scragged the moss out.

Warmbloods are stabled overnight in the winter, connie and welshie will live out with rugs.

Was thinking of making three paddocks. 6 acres enough?

ta
 
Sounds fine to me! especially if 2 are good doers and you plan to rest and rotate. In the summer I'd just send the two 'fatties' round a field behind the other two so that they don't get as much grass... and one field is resting...
 
Doubt it will be in winter, but probably ok in spring and early summer, suppose you can section it off and give hay when needed you'll be able to balance it out well enough, thing to watch is not to let it get over grazed.
 
That sounds fine to me too. I have seven acres and have two horses and two ponies and they are all out all year. I rotate the paddocks and have two summer fields and one winter field.
 
May just be enough if really good drainage and the grass has a well developed root structure but you will need to pick up the poos each day to avoid damaging the grass and infesting with worms.

Make sure that the field has had planning permission for change of use from Agriculture to Equestrian use.
 
tinkandlily said:
Plenty, i belive its an acre per horse, so you have two acres spare ;)
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Two acres per horse is the guide that I was taught. However it does depend on the land and how you manage it.

I would say that 6 acres for 4 horses is very tight, but with careful land management you should be able to cope.
 
I was always taught 1.5 acres for first horse and then 1 acre for any additional horses, but again it comes down to land management, their routine (as in ridden or not), how the heard interact etc
 
Will be absolutely fine as long as you manage it sensibly. If it was me I would split it into 4 paddocks. Then you have 2 horses in 2 padddocks while 2 paddocks are resting.

I always try to get my liveries to split their individual 1 acre paddocks in half so one half is grazed while the other half rests. It works really well :D
 
Yes.

I keep far more horses on far less than that at times, no problem. I have 10x 15-16h mares and 6 foals on one 6 acre paddock and they are as fat as pigs.

This rule 1.5 acres/2 acres only applies if you expect the land to support the horses without feeding additional forage. As others say good management and smaller paddocks works wonders.
 
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