For those of you that keep horses at home

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YouOnlyLiveOnce

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I am not sure how easy it is going to be to get an accurate idea of costs as I know everyones are going to differ, but am just after an estimate for the following if possible as I am looking at a house where 2 horses would be kept at home and would like to try and do my sums as accurately as possible before going ahead!

I am aware that we will probably need to double estimated costs to gain worst case scenario situations when Im trying to work this out!!

2 Horses (15.2hh and 16.2hh)

Things I can think to include at the moment are:

Haylage

Feed

Shavings beds (on rubber matting so won't be on huge beds)

Automatic Drinkers in stables and paddocks, Floodlights for menage in winter which would be used most evenings during the week / lights on yard used every evening in winter (I'm trying to think of extra electricity / water costs here)

Muck Heap removal

1 acre land (used for summer turnout only) with post and rail fencing

20x40 menage, thinking of maintenance etc


Please let me know if theres anything obvious I have missed off also! Would really appreciate some thoughts.

Thanks in advance for all help on this :)
 
Hi not sure I can offer much help but I have 2 x 17hh horses that I keep at home and this is roughly some prices.

4 x large square hay bales £20 each and last me approx 12 weeks
Wood pellets bedding £270 for 1 tonne's worth. Lasts nearly a year!
Not sure on muck removal as my husband muck spreads ours.
We don't have lights on our school and we don't have automatic water in the stables.

Hope that slightly helps!
 
Maintenance wise you have fencing, removal of Ragwort and the like, drainage, overseeding, rolling, harrowing, topping, stable maintenance, trees. For this you need a quad or compact tractor unless you can get someone else to do this.

Will you have access to more than just an acre?

I guarantee you will want more land so factor in the cost of renting more if you have not already.
 
Id want more land than 1 acre for two horses personally.

Security is one you missed off the list, sensor lights, padlocks etc etc
 
Not totally sure what you're asking.

We have two horses at home, one 16h, one 17h, both good doers ISH.

Haylage - £40/bale and we use 3-4 bales a month.
Straw - 20 bales a month (does hens too)
Feed - both fatties, so Dod&Horrell lowcal balancer and Hifi lite - bags lasts 2 months or more.
Maintenance of stables and land (16 wet acres) - rolling and harrowing of land, sometimes topping grass, creosote, top up of hardcore/chippings etc,Muckheap moved to corner of a field if needed. Estimate £350+ a year.

We don't have an arena.
When you say you have 1 acre for summer, do you have alternative for winter? Our two horses eat an acre down pretty quickly - great if they're fatties, but they do need the poo picking, and the grass would become v horse sick quickly - would need rolling/harrowing/fertilising at end of use..
 
I managed for years with one acre turnout - I had one big ISH 16.3 and a fatty cob 14.2. I used to give them a small winter trash paddock and adlib haylage in high feeders and save the majority of land to give the big horse a few weeks of good grass from early summer/late spring. Hard, but do-able.
 
Thank you all for your replies.

I have not had horses at home before hence asking for the advice.

I am well aware 1 acre is not ideal and would like to have more land. The current owners of the house say they alternate between the 2 paddocks during the summer, and use the arena for a few hours turnout a day in winter months with access to haylage.

The amount of land was the main concern for me hence trying to think into this as much as possible prior to going ahead with the purchase of the house.
 
I've just over 2 acres for a 12.2 and 14.2 no school, it's a nightmare i really couldn't imagine only having 1. As others have said its the maitence which causes the extra cost a d time
 
Ok so I think my thoughts have been confirmed regarding land. May have to bypass this house, shame. But thank you for all of your help regarding costs as that will still help me in my possible transition!
 
Sounds doable with some careful planning. We had stables and only 1 acre plus a sand school The old owner was a show jumper and only turned out a few hours a day. We had a 14.1, a 15.3 and 2 tiny ponies. Later on down the line we managed to rent a further 2 acres just down the road. You will not be able to rely on the paddocks for 'feed' as such, more just as exercise so will have to factor in almost 100% of their forage coming from hay/haylage, but that would make big bale haylage an option.

You would need to realy look after your acre. You could top with a ride on mower, but may need to have the field rolled and harrowed fertilized and over seeded if it gets a bit bare, but with 1 acre you could do it your self by hand and using a big quad or lawn tractor. Stables and fences would need to be maintained and stained/creosoted. Arena/sand school will need harrowing 1 a week or fortnight depending on how it rides, again - quad is good for this.

Muck heap removal - don't know, we give ours away to neighbours and spread whats left on garden and fields. You could bag it up and leave it at your gate with an honesty box. I know some people round here get up to £1 a bag.
Would you be on a water meter? If so water buts are a must. No idea re cost of water as we are on a bore hole.

Nothing like having them at home and popping out in your pyjamas with the dog to do late hay and skip out. My oh can't understand why it takes so long!!
 
YasandCrystal said:
I managed for years with one acre turnout - I had one big ISH 16.3 and a fatty cob 14.2. I used to give them a small winter trash paddock and adlib haylage in high feeders and save the majority of land to give the big horse a few weeks of good grass from early summer/late spring. Hard, but do-able.
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Me too, I have 3 ponies including one on loan from the WHW and we have an inspection visit every six months and I'm always complimented for my good land management, its hard work but it is do-able...although a local farmer came to my rescue this year and I've got now got 10 acres of winter grazing which makes life a lot easier, the shetland has to have a grazing muzzle during the day to maintain an ideal weight but its less work for me and saves my grazing for the summer and my winter paddock dosent get as churned up as it used too......as for muck heap removal, we put all our poo pick droppings in a trailer and take it to a local farmer when its full....
 
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Forgot to add that you will spend loads of time doing the maintenance that your YO used to do, nothing worse than creosoting or ragwort and wishing you were riding.
 
I have two at home a 15.1 and a 16.3 with about 3 1/2 acres, they are out most of the time in summer so bedding and hay is greatly reduced.

They are in at night now and I use about 7 bales hay a week 1 to 2 bales of woodchip on one and about 3 bales of straw on the other, dont have water feeders just buckets, my muckheap gets taken by the farmer next door he takes free of charge, I also use there school so no cost for me on that front.

With only one acre you will have to manage it really well I feel even I could do with an extra acre, first place we looked at only had an acre and I didnt think it would be enough.

I would ask any local farmers most would be happy to collect for a small charge they just put it on there land to spread, its lovely having them at home hope you get on ok.
 
We have a lit manege - we decided that it was worth sacrificing the space to build that. The horses are in a barn so have 20ft stables so I can afford to leave them in for a couple of days if the weather is foul. I now have 10 acres in the village which is fab.

I always sold manure out the front (horses are on mats so minimal bedding)(my son's pocket money !) 25p a bag and it goes like hot cakes - so muck heap never a problem :D
 
Bedding and feeding costs youcanbe work out , with one acre these willbe high as you will be depending on hay for a lot of the time.
You will a largish barn for storage two horses who will have to depend on hay in winter go through a lot and with bedding etc it's easy to underestimate how much storage paces you need, especially if you might need to cover being stuck in periods of bad weather.
I think you will need a turnout area for winter and save the grazing altogether ideally the turn out area perhaps woodbark as well as a school the horses trash the school if you use it lot for turn out that is one thing I did not do that I regret .
If you don't turn out in winter they will need to be in work will this fit in ?
In this sort of small situation you will need a muck trailer and will have to find someone to remove regularily using a tractor so think about siteing them ,you should have a small midden built that you use only in emergency say long periods of bad weather in winter if the trailer can not be got out.
fencing maintainence of fencing and paddocks maintainence will cost you more than you think and the costs are constant you need to buy the best you can afford and keep and on top of maintainence and it's far more work than you think .
Hedges will need cutting every year so find a local contractor and get him to give you an estimate .
You will some form of machinary for grass care a roller and something to top paddocks, at least a large gardenmower with a mulching desk that should be able to this.
You will need a leveler for the school and some way of towing it. I use a defender90 for this which doubles up as my every day car. We also have a tractor ( we have more acreage ) for toppers and rollers etc but I used to get through it using a big lawnmower with a mulching desk and I got someone in to roll but on a small area like that you will need to do it your self a good quad and machinery would be ideal , quads are thief magnets so you need a very secure place to keep such things.
You need to plan carefully I made some mistakes , not enough hard standings , not enough barn space, I did not build a turnout pen .
Really good drainage for the yard drains that can really cope in weather like to day and remember that water will probally end in the paddock so think about drainage ditches etc watch the water in bad weather see where it likes to go and work with it.
You think about bad weather how you would manage a really bad winter I always have a fortnights bedding / haylage extra in stock as soon as snows possible I keep this topped up so I have a cushion if we are snowed in I can go a month if I have it ferreted away in every spare space.
I had a friend with a small place and it worked beauifully she hunted so the horses worked hard in winter and that meanlt she could cope with a turnout pen ( it was sand ) that lead to an area that was covered ( part of the barn ) that was fab and horses spent all day in there wondering in to eat and out to roll and play.
 
amymay said:
But have you investigated adjoining land that could be rented??
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Well the house is in the middle of a village and the only house with any sort of land, any further grazing would be further up the lane which wouldn't really be do-able.

The other hurdle I have is that I work full time in London at the moment, which I don't intend on doing forever (Im 29 now), so would need somone ultra reliable to come in every week day without fail to muck out / turn out/ bring in / hay nets / rug changes etc, and I'm guessing they're nigh on impossible to come across but are out there...
I could feed / hay etc before I go to work just in case but wouldn't ever want to chance that situation of no-one coming in so would have to be the right person.

Anyone have any ideas of how long I would most likely need someone to come in for each day to do 2 horses. I know it would differ totally between summer / winter. Long term I hope to be there to do them myself.

And roughly how much hourly rate would be?
 
The horse care costs I'm sure you can work out if you've currently got horses on livery. Extras to consider are water (if it's metered this could be a big number), electric - proper arena lights and stable lights etc all add up.

Field maintenance - with a few acres you'll probably get someone in and that can be £££'s an hour for the right kit (so rolling, harrowing, re-seeding, toping, weedkilling, fertilising (possibly))
maintenance of fencing, gates, stables etc soon adds up, painting, reparing damage
electric fence tape doesn't last long in windy areas, energisers are expensive and get stolen ! so a mains one is best if you can especailly if you're keeping them in small areas from which they'll try and escape!
Insurance - for idiots who wonder across your private property and trip over!
Hardcore for constantly trashed gateways
Fieldshelter unless you can leave stables open to them
 
With regard to the land it is not just about size of the plot but how it drains, or poaches etc.

I have 2 living out 24/7 on 1.75 acres, and i get to take about 85 bales of tight baled hay off in the summer. But it is very good land in that it is totally free draining, loamy soil that needs little maintenance. If the acre is poor draining, heavy clay soil you may struggle - but on the wet days having school will be a big help.
 
When I was preganant I had a lady come in and do mine at home (in winter) turn out, muck out do hay/ water etc. (1.5 hours inc her travel time) then she'd come back and grab them in in the evening (0.5 hours inc her travel). So 2 hours a day for 4 of them. I paid her £8 an hour, she did a good job and was trustworthy.
 
Polos Mum said:
When I was preganant I had a lady come in and do mine at home (in winter) turn out, muck out do hay/ water etc. (1.5 hours inc her travel time) then she'd come back and grab them in in the evening (0.5 hours inc her travel). So 2 hours a day for 4 of them. I paid her £8 an hour, she did a good job and was trustworthy.
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Thanks for this, gives me an idea anyway, I guess the hardest part would be finding someone to begin with!!
 
Why do you want to keep them at home? It sounds like full livery would be better for your work commitments. Only an acre would mean you had to feed hay all year round.
 
Magicmillbrook said:
Forgot to add that you will spend loads of time doing the maintenance that your YO used to do, nothing worse than creosoting or ragwort and wishing you were riding.
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Not many yard owners do ragwort picking and creosoting...not in my many years of being on a livery yard anyway !! lucky if you can find ones that do and personally I think the maintenance side of things is all part of the fun of having your own place, I'd never go back to a livery yard no matter how hard being self sufficient can be at times.
 
Perfectly workable with some work and thought.

Treat the 1 acre as turnout, not as grazing.

Be prepared to feed them hay or haylage all year round.

Look after the 1 acre - roll, fertilise (slow release fertiliser), top regularly. On that size acreage, a petrol strimmer really is your best friend. And you can roll with a 4x4. And spread fertiliser by gloved hand too.

Keep them in if it's awfully wet yucky weather or only turn them out for a little while on it. Fence it into two half-acres so you can rotate grazing.
 
if you could afford it I would go with more land - my parents have never taken care of our land ourselves - some fields are put aside for the arena, stables, horses fields... but the rest is rented to a farmer - in turn he does all the fencing, any care of the land, fertiliser etc, and they get free hay year round, he gets the rest. it worked really well for them as they both worked full time and didnt have the time.

i know quite a few people who have taken on a few extra acres to give to a local farmer for free hay etc

i know that might not be possible but worth considering
 
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