Been offered some land what to do?

[Horses24-7]

Hi all

Posted a while back as totally fed up with livery yard hassle etc. I've been offered 4 acres to rent at a really cheap rate, but the land needs fencing and I would have to purchase stables and pay for the corner area to be cleared etc for the stables to go on it. It would be on a long term lease of 5 years. I'm just so confused over what to do? I've always been on livery yard on diy, my mum would move her horse as well so we would be able to work it between us it's just it's going to cost us a lot of money to get set up, although I've calculated I would get the cost back in 18 months, plus if we ended the contract at any point we could sell the stables and fencing etc.

Anyone changed from livery yards to own land and got any advise? Do you manage riding in the field etc? There is fab hacking so could keep them fit if it was wet.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Also would 4 acres split into a winter and summer field be sufficient for 2 horses and a pony? Any advice on how to manage?

Thanks all! X

 

[misst]

A friend with a youngster and an oldie and my daughter and I with a youngster and an oldie rent approx 5 acres with 2 stables and storage area. No school but opens onto a bridleway.
The owner backed and rode away 2 youngsters from the field but we plan to move ours to a proper yard for a few weeks when they get backed. The oldies are retired/hacks only so no need for a school at present.
The grazing is fine and we manage it so it doesnt get wrecked but we do hay throughout winter. We have mains water but no mains electricity. the only draw back with this has been that when one needed xrays we were going to have to transport him to a nearby yard - in the end we did not need to take him. It is easy enought to use a small generator or a leisure battery for lights.
There is a nearby yard (several really) with schools to hire.
The good things are no yard politics no one else to worry about and peace and quiet for the horses. It is lovely

 

[Witchy]

im in exactly the same position, got 6 acres on offer with five pens that could be roofed and turned into stables. would love to do it but just don't have another horse to come with me.

seriously considering just getting something else so I can just move....

I think the horse/acres ratio is

1 horse = 2 acres
2 horses = 3 acres
4 horses = 4 acres then
5 = 5
6 = 6 etc

You might be a bit tight on land there but then if you've got 'fatties' like my boy then you wouldn't need too much anyway

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Go for it, but get planning for the stables first!! And make sure council wont want change of use if its currently agric land.

Fencing, is that just subdivision or does the perimeter need securing as well? If just the former then electric would prob work, using a few wooden posts with electric brackets for the gateways and corners so it all stays nice and taut. Assuming no electric then batteries for fence, either really heavy ones that keep charge a long time (ask at local repair garage for old lorry batteries as they are usually plenty good enough for elec fence even if not quite tip top for huge truck) or lightweight ones if you need to carry offsite for charging.

Also would 4 acres split into a winter and summer field be sufficient for 2 horses and a pony? Any advice on how to manage?

It would be enough as long as prepared to feed hay as and when needed in winter, I would split it into 3 fields assuming they are all in the same field, then you have a summer, a spring/autumn and a trashed winter one!

Make sure the agreement specifies you can remove the stuff at the end and also whether you have to pay to restore the land to its former condition.

Exercise wise you could use the 3rd field for that, get some dressage markers etc. Works well as long as you arent fiercely competitive, as if very boggy you might have to miss some schooling sessions.

What about muck? water?

 

[AMW]

i did just that a year and a half ago and havent regretted it.
I sold a load of unused rugs, tack etc and made about £800, got mobile shelter/stables put up. The fencing had just been done so no outlay there.
I rent off the local estate and the estate manager is helpful but not intrusive.
I dont ride at the moment but will be breaking my 3yo, will do as much as I can and at the field and if need be will hourly hire a local school.
I love it love it love it and wish i had done it sooner. A years rent is less than 2 months livery.
I moved with 2 ponies, now have 4. It is a bigger responsibility but well worth it, think it through and if you are confident and competent go for it.

have edited having read post above.
water, I collect rain water from roof of stables into a 1000litre square container, you can get them really cheap
electrics, I run my lights off a car battery
my field is 4 acres and has 4 ponies, its is on a gentle slope, I dont section it off as imo it is less likely to be trashed . When they got too fat in the summer, they had grazing muzzles on.
contract - being owned by an estate my contract is lemgthy and very specific, I cant sublet, ponies have to be insured etc etc
muck, my muckheap has been there since i moved in, i use wood pellets so there is very little waste, also the stables were put straight onto the field and drain brilliantly. Im surprised how small the muck heap is, I pooh pick very regularly too

 

[Supertrooper]

My friend did this two years ago having always been on livery yards. Slightly different in the fact it was her field but had been renting it long term to a farmer, she had tried to get it back many times but he was being difficult. When she did get it back it was being used as set aside so had to be done from scratch ie fencing, getting pasture sorted etc etc.

Luckily the business next door make agricultural buildings and in return for two acres of land (the field was six acres originally) they put in planning permission on behalf of my friend and then once granted built the barn for her, plus they sorted electric/water. The building is fantastic and they really did a lovely job. My friend got the stables from a supplier and her son who's a carpenter built them so there are now three internal stables and approx 3 and a half acres (two horses on this - one 14.2hh and one 16.3hh).

I know it has been expensive but my friend and her husband are looking at it as a investment for their kids in the future. It is also so so lovely not to be on a livery yard (I share the 16.3hh).

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I have 4.5 acres.
Have had anything from 2 to 14 at any one time there over the years - and I've produced/broken to National showing levels & also running PC Eventers etc from it with no 'proper school' - just grass paddocks & great hacking.

Currently have 2 on there (was 3 till end of december). Divided up into 5 main paddocks & 3 tiny dieting/non-escaping (even for shetties) ones.

Yes, I have stables on there & a feed shed & hay barn.

These paddocks can take 2 on them 24/7 all year round, with only needing hay in the absolute worst of the weather (as current incumbents are fatties). However, I'd usually plan on haying 3 from xmas till about end March as makes the grass last all year round.

Having the paddocks so sub-divided means that after this heavy rain, I can just pop them into another at this time of the year - as I keep 3 of the 5 bigger ones for winter trashing in rotation. Last week's trashed one that they were in from xmas has already had the worst hoof 'holes' stamped back in by myself over about 45mins on friday afternoon & with the winds on Saturday round here, it dried pretty well & is looking ok (but wet underneath) so they will go back in there after a couple of nights frost soon.

I dont have mains electric, but rely on nice LED lights run off car/leisure batteries on each side of the yard. If I need more power, we have a generator which can be brought into action (great for quickly doing the top hedge as well!). I do have mains water.

Now is a really good time of year to check out where the 'very wet' and pretty dry areas of ground are. We have sand at the top (which if overgrazed can erode the grass quite quickly so it has to be carefully managed). Then good soil in the middle, leading down to the front left corner which is clay/boggy - so its mainly used in high summer & very frosty/snowy weather.

Hope it works out for you - its nice being your own boss

 

[Bozzy]

I rent a 4-5 acre field just 40 metres from my house which is very handy. I have a 16.2hh and a 14hh. I had to fork out for the initial outlay of fencing but it was only internal fencing inside hedge boundary so could use wooden posts and electric tape, reckon all in all it set me back about £500 including battery, fence energiser, posts, handles etc to do the whole perimeter and split in two. I don't have a field shelter but hedges/trees are adequate. I don't have mains water but have borrowed a trough from a neighbour and cart tubs of water from the house to the field in the back of my truck! I've converted the garage into a tack/rug/feed room and use an unused farm yard between my house and the field to store haylage and my trailer.

My field's not very flat and very marshy so is suffering as lot with all this rain so I'm not able to ride in it which is a huge downside for me plus the hacking isn't that great. I massively miss being on a yard, mainly for the facilities but as a huge positive I love doing as I please and being able to look after my boys how I please, even if I don't get to see them in daylight all week from November to February! I've only had my field since May so I'm currently trying to find out what maintanence I need to do come Spring/Summer (rollowing, harrowing etc) and how much it'll set me back.

At the moment I'm longing for the comforts of a nice yard with cosy stables, drier paddocks, floodlit school etc but I know come the summer I'll change my mind!

 

[CBFan]

Do it!

Leccy fencing and wooden posts really isn't that expensive and to be honest, getting away from the hassle of a livery yard would make it all worth it.

we're coming into spring now (well soon!) so you could probably make do without stables til next winter and the money you save on Livery you could put towards them...

 

[Charla]

I rent 5 acres and have my 3 horses on it. I don't have stables, just a huge huge field shelter which I bed out and put haynets in for them. I must say from moving from a DIY yard to my own field it is bliss. My horses are more chilled out then ever and have lots of grass! No-one to interfere or to bitch or moan! The only downside is not having a school. My 3 are youngsters and I will be bringing 2 of them into work come spring so I haven't tackled that area yet. I'm going to fence off an area of the field the size of an arena to work my horses in and see how it goes!

 

[Jay89]

Do it!!! When it comes to stables I would look at getting mobile ones, as you dont need planning permission for these as they can be moved. Good luck

 

[Hippona]

Do it.

I only have 2 acres and 3 horses but I manage the grazing well, they are good doers and come at night. The stables and fencing were already there plus I have a secure lock up- its next to my house too.

I love having my own place - it certainly works out cheaper and you can do your own thing. My horses are happier and I've never regretted it.

 

[zoon]

I have 3 acres which for a very long time was sat doing nothing whilst my horse was on full livery. When I had my baby and went part time at work, I bit the bullet and bought him home. I spent £800 on stock fencing - pretty much the whole perimeter needed replacing and I divided it in 2. I also spent £1000 on a 12x12 field shelter and a 12x12 stable (which acts as my feed room as horses are out 24/7) I now have 3 - the horse, a pony companion and my yearling. As the land had been unused for so long we were unsure how it'd be over the winter, and it has been a total nightmare - totally trashed by october as it drains so poorly. I've been lucky enough to aquire another 3 acres next to mine, but even with that we are struggling with mud. So check how well the land drains as that really dictates how many you can keep on it

 

[Feathered]

The pros far outweigh the cons for me. We have 3 acres with my 2 on, and yeh it's muddy (we're on clay) and wet and we have no school but that's the only downsides.
Upsides, well I could go on forever. Basically you can do what you want with your horses when you want it.
Mine are fatties so I can tailor the grazing to suit them, no arguing over who feeds hay and when and how much etc, no poo picking rotas and the inevitable person who doesn't pull their weight (downside to that is, it's always my turn!)
No dealing with the feeding time crush at the gate, or struggles to get mine out cos someone elses horse is hogging the gate. No people sticking there noses in every 2 seconds (apart from my mother of course! )

So it's bliss really apart from the mud, we're planning on getting the area up by the gate concreted over the summer so then we'll have some hard standing, helps the farrier etc.

So as long as you can survive without some luxuries, do it, you won't regret it!

 

[smiles24]

Can I be really rude and ask how much everyone pays to rent their fields?

A friend of mine has 4 acres not fenced but doesn't know what to rent it for.

I have my own place and would never go back to livery now

 

[AMW]

I pay £105 per acre per annum, nice field, well fenced, no water or electric, good access

 

[Booboos]

Just a couple of other things for you to consider:

- does the field have water and electricity? Putting these in can be extremely expensive, managing without it possible but more difficult.
- what is access like and will you be able to accept deliveries of things like hay, straw, etc.?
- as well as stable you need to consider storage for feeds and bedding
- what about security? Is there anyone nearby who can keep an eye on the horses for you?
- you will also have some yearly costs, such as fertiliser, fence repairs, stable maintenance, etc.

I don't mean to be rude, but are you sure you can make up the cost of stables and fencing in 18 months? Stables will need a concrete floor, for 4 stables we paid 5k for the concrete and 10k for the wooden stables 4 years ago. Cost of fencing depends on what you choose, but there isn't much resale value (many rails will break when you try to take them off to reuse, and removing well bedded in posts without breaking them can be very tough).

Personally I would not do it on rented land, the investment is too expenssive.

Best of luck if you decide to go for it.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Do it!!! When it comes to stables I would look at getting mobile ones, as you dont need planning permission for these as they can be moved. Good luck

Not all councils take this view, many dont allow stables, only shelter, no base. Others go further and insist on it actually being moved every 28 days, and the most extreme insist on a monthly move but say it cant go back to the same place its been before.

Definitely need to check it out, dont rely on the stable manufacturers blithe assurances in their brochures! Or take the risk and lie low but bear in mind it only takes one busybody to dob you in....