Help !! im kinda nervous

[animalmania]

Hi
Can i have some advice please?
I have acquired some land around 6 acres. I've been negotiating with the land owners for months and I have never had my horses on my own land before now and dont really know where to start.

My questions are:

1) The ground isn't fantastic although horses have been grazing on it until lately. Should i have it harrowed, rolled, or checked for ragwort etc?

2) they are going to fence and post the land but it runs along side a public footpath, i don't want people giving my horses titbits so should i have it fenced a few metres from the edge so they cant be touched?

3) There is no running water or electricity, any tips on how to obtain this IE: generators for electricity? large water barrels for water?

3) Can anyone recommend a CCTV type security camera?

I really do not know where to start. Can anyone who has experience with land owning give me any tips, ideas as to what to do to make this go as smoothly as possible??
Thanks

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

I would speak to a Rural Surveyor. Ring the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers and they'll point you to a firm local to you.

 

[3OldPonies]

i rent, but have what sounds like a similar set up so I'll try to help.

1. Harrowing and rolling would probably be a good idea, but check and remove ragwort first. Harrowing without doing so will just spread nasty little broken leaves all over the place, and probably broken roots as well which could then start to grow!

2. Attach a line of electric fencing along the top rail of your post and rail fence (you'll need signs warning of the electric fence every few metres, this is a legal requirement if running an electric fence along a publicly accessible place, i.e. a footpath) and also post signs asking people not to feed your horses. If necessary get your vets to write something suitable, copy and laminate it and post it at either end and the middle of your footpath, on both sides in the middle of the path. You'll still get the odd nit that will ignore, but hopefully the electric fence will keep your horses away from them and/or the people will get a nice shock when they lean across to feed them!

3. Water - have a water supply put in, or if that's not possible, water carriers like you would use for shows and fill them at home and lug to the field. Even large water barrels will turn green and yucky quite quickly in the summer. Electricity - gennies have a habit of disappearing unless (and sometimes even if) you have somewhere secure to store them. You can't really transport one back and forth in your car as it's not safe to pick one up until it has cooled after use, and in the back of your car it would get pretty stinky quite quickly from the exhaust and oil fumes. There's a sticky post on here somewhere that has a way of wiring a car battery to provide lights.

4.. Sorry no ideas on this one. But you would probably need mains electricity and yet more signs! You have to let people know they are being filmed (again a legal requirement).

By the way - congrats on getting your own land, for me it is still a dream!

 

[bambar]

I cant help much with regards to the public footpath issues but as for no mains electricity do you have any form of shelter/sheds/stables?

I have no mains and i run a generator with low energy lightbulbs and the waterproof light encasings that you can pick up from B&Q etc for about £5 each.
I have the small lightbulbs that are around 5kw but still equates to around 40kw brightness of the old style bulbs.

You need to make sure you keep the generator secure or it might walk off - put either in a lockable box in the shed if you have one or hide it somewhere that it cant be seen or use the suggestion thats on here somewhere about running lights via a car battery.

how will you manage if you have no running water there?

 

[3OldPonies]

I have no mains and i run a generator with low energy lightbulbs and the waterproof light encasings that you can pick up from B&Q etc for about £5 each.
I have the small lightbulbs that are around 5kw but still equates to around 40kw brightness of the old style bulbs.

You need to make sure you keep the generator secure or it might walk off - put either in a lockable box in the shed if you have one or hide it somewhere that it cant be seen or use the suggestion thats on here somewhere about running lights via a car battery.

This is my solution too for the electric problem. I would have said in my original post, but I thought it quite long winded enough as it was!!!!!!

 

[animalmania]

Hi thanks for your replies....

There is a river/stream on one edge of the field with fresh running water, but may prove damn hard to get up the bank !!
I will be having some stables built i think, with storage areas. Also i need to organise a muck heap too, SO much to think about, i really dont know where to start, its scary :/

 

[animalmania]

Also I wanted some other advice:/
I have acquired this land from a land owner. But there has been a person occupying it for 25 yrs and they are being asked to leave. They won't leave peacefully. I'm really worried about repercussions of me moving onto the land. I'm thinking of maybe asking them if they would like to still have some access along side me. Only because I fear they may do something to my horses, I'm afraid they are highly likely to.
Any ideas how to broach this in as friendly manner as I can. The land came up for rent I got it fair and square but I don't think these people will see it like this. My family are concerned for me and the welfare nd my horses when placed on the land.