Full livery or at home?

[tessah]

I think 1 acre would be fine. In fact only 1 acre would be a positive advantage with a grass restriction horse. If you are fond of your morning lie in's why not set it up differently. stables/barn doors open and they go onto an area of hard standing which is fenced. When the weather is so bad they get the barn/hard yard. Hard yard gate opens onto the field and the field gate can be left open. So if you want the horses can be loose together, wander between stables/barn and the hard yard and then on into the field. You can shut any bits of this off as and when you want. Put a track round the paddock to restrict the grass if you want.

The horses are not shut in their stables overnight so you can get up later or you can be really decadent as I sometimes am, put the coffee on, throw a wad of hay out and then enjoy the coffee at your leisure back in bad.

If you use all the yard facilities ie school, jumps etc there could be a case for staying with those facilities, otherwise I can think of nothing nicer that managing your own horses how you want. It's easy to set up a system to make the work a lot easier and to give you more freedom if you have your own premises.

paddy, i manage mine similar to you and I always have a lie they are mostly free range Eg my partner checked them first thing this morning because he likes a stroll out early and after I bothered to shower and get up I have dragged them in to stop them stuffing grass the metabolic horse and pony are on the yard and the other is free range from stable Into closest paddock he will bring himself in at some point to eat hay, over winter all hay is on yard ad lib, they can choose to come and go, but if the weather is horrible they like the shelter and guaranteed food I move fencing around to try and encourage movement, I could never do this on a livery yard and so horses with issues you can find your own solution, downside is not having a support network around you but I am working on that, it costs more than livery at home definitely but i don’t mind that knowing that one day I won’t have to pay it ?
I would go for it the opportunity may not come again, if it really didn’t work is the paddock and stable located so you could rent out And use livery?

 

[Goldenstar]

I think you could manage it on acre if you are riding the horse and I would get a mini or similar as a companion .
The recommended acreages are for feeding a horse on grass and based on several horses in larger fields living there it’s an outdated way of thinking about it .
It will need careful planning I would have a track set up to maximise movement and a hard standing with a shed opening on it .
I love love love having mine at home it’s not cheaper it’s more work in some ways but it’s magic I have had them here more than thirty years and still get a thrill when I open the door and they whinny because they know I am coming .

 

[LadyGascoyne]

A track system and a lightweight little friend would definitely help. Mine are on a track at the moment and Mim has remained a relatively stable weight for the first time since I bought her.

I feel like I could manage Mim on an acre no problem.

You can also get local help, if you need time off. I’m sorting that out for myself right now. For what I’ll save on livery, I can have someone help out with them if I want to.

 

[TGM]

I've kept mine at home for over 20 years now and there is no way I could go back to livery now, it would drive me round the bend! It is doable on a small acreage if you are prepared to spend out on things like all year hay, hard standing (hard core or Mud Control mats) etc. But you do need to factor those costs into the equation if comparing to the cost of full livery, plus the cost of freelance help if you want to go on holiday. You also have to think about your own character and needs - are you quite independent or do you need people around you? Does your horse hack out happily alone? Is he/she likely to get attached to the new companion pony? Have you got nice hacking? Is there a school local you can hire or do you have transport so you can travel out to clinics? But I have to say having the freedom to turn my horses out/have them in when I feel they need to is a huge bonus, as is having control over feed, quality of hay/haylage etc.