How many of you keep your horses on farms?

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spotty_pony

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Just wondering. I moved to a farm with my boys just over a week ago. It's a dairy farm and there are only 4 horses on the yard (including my 2). It's different to any yard I've been too and it's taking some getting used to but so far I'm happy. We have basic facilities but the location for me is fab. The main problem is making sure they don't get too fat with too much grass! They are in a smaller field at the moment which cattle have grazed up until recently so are fine for now but may eventually go out in 10 acres with cattle - although not sure how my boys will take to being out with cows!
 
I've mostly liveried on farms, with yards with a lot of horses.Partly because the grazing is better managed and partly because there is more land available.
Farmers know how to look after grazing and have the equipment to do it with, so generally speaking, I prefer farms. Our's have often been out mixed in with cattle and sheep. They get on fine. We've even had wandering pigs and geese/ducks join them. They don't mind as long as there's grass.
 
Me! I love it. Just me and one other livery. Fantastic huge old calving sheds as stables, as much turnout (on great land) as I like throughout the year, and only 10 mins from home :) LOVE my yard :)
 
Hi, I keep my 10 month old at my friends farm with her stallion and filly. The yard section is lovely. The whole farm is actually! Primarily dairy cows, but they also have 100's of sheep too. And pigs, because my friend loves them... Haven't bought sausages from the supermarket for a long time! Haha.
My boy was born here and it's been great for him. His seen all sorts. Doesn't bat an eyelid at tractors going past him etc. His stable mates have been lambs and pigs before now. He found them great company!
I know what you mean about grass... It's so well looked after for the cows and sheep. Some horses do too well on it! Can't complain though, I'd rather it like that than the opposite.
I think it's a great way to keep horses, especially youngsters, they see so much. Plus I love being on the farm, helping with lambing, feeding cows etc. Although the calves are my favourite! So cute!
Great place to be :)
 
I have my ponies at home now but before I moved here they were on a farm. It grew mostly potatoes, beetroot and had turf fields, and had pheasant shoots in the winter. The fields nearest the yard were for the horses. We had loads of off road hacking (but woe betide anyone who stepped on the turf! :D ). None of my ponies are scared of tractors or guns :)
 
spotty_pony said:
Just wondering. I moved to a farm with my boys just over a week ago. It's a dairy farm and there are only 4 horses on the yard (including my 2). It's different to any yard I've been too and it's taking some getting used to but so far I'm happy. We have basic facilities but the location for me is fab. The main problem is making sure they don't get too fat with too much grass! They are in a smaller field at the moment which cattle have grazed up until recently so are fine for now but may eventually go out in 10 acres with cattle - although not sure how my boys will take to being out with cows!
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Hi spotty-pony.

I have my boy at DIY at a yard that used to be a diary farm. The grazing is amazing. So you are so right to be careful with turn out in good grass and limit it. I know it seems mean but your are doing the right thing.
 
I have my 2 on livery on a dairy farm and agree with above posts that fields really well maintained but grazing rich so have to watch my cobs intake as he colicks and gains weight. My other horse in an ex racer so not really a problem with weight gain but she gets a bit silly on too much grass so they both come in for a few hours in day for a break from grass
 
mine are sort of on a farm- there are crop fields around it and some cows- rented by different people. we rent our own separate fields and barns which we use. there are also gardening and building companies which rent barns- as the cows live out, and there is no longer a proper working farm there.

at 'rush hour' it is very busy with vans, trailers, mowers, wood chippers ect! as lots of businesses (big gardening firm, 2 roofers, 1 builder, road cleaner lorries, gritting lorrys, and tree surgeons!). however, they are normally quite courteous to us and the horses. yesterday i had to push in a vans wing-mirror to fit my horse past before i could get on to hack around the farm! i have my 2 in one section of a barn, there are 4 others in another section that used to be bull pens, and another 6 who mostly live out.

a lot of people who not want to be there due to the business traffic and not many facilities but i love it: cheaper, we can hack around farm land with no one to bother us, luckily still next to a lovely common, just up a bridle way, and horses desensitized to all sorts of things! they put up with a pheasant shoot once a fortnight october-febuary.
 
Mine is, the farmer sold his dairy herd and had some empty buildings, there's 4 stables at the moment but more getting put up. It's purely DIY and no school or fancy facilities but affordable, farmland to ride / school / lunge if we want and hacking is good, straight out onto quiet lanes and that in itself is getting difficult to find. It's also very local and ideal for me.
 
spotty_pony said:
Just wondering. I moved to a farm with my boys just over a week ago. It's a dairy farm and there are only 4 horses on the yard (including my 2). It's different to any yard I've been too and it's taking some getting used to but so far I'm happy. We have basic facilities but the location for me is fab. The main problem is making sure they don't get too fat with too much grass! They are in a smaller field at the moment which cattle have grazed up until recently so are fine for now but may eventually go out in 10 acres with cattle - although not sure how my boys will take to being out with cows!
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Me, along with 35 other horses, it's a livery and sheep farm, tractors everywhere and its busy with lambs all over at the moment. Fencing wonderfully maintained and grazing as they have all the gears others have said, cant fault it!
 
Mine are, but we are arable.
Rye grass for cattle is really not good for horses, too rich, pure monoculture and over fertilised. Get some muzzles and a decent mineral supplement. It is a lovely place to keep them, though.
 
We used to keep our horse on an ex-farm - it was great, is de-sentitised the horse to all sorts of machinery, tractors etc. There was also a mechanics workshop on site, great for getting the horsebox fixed, children with quad bikes, children playing football next to the jumping field. It was really good for the horse getting used to all sorts of things.
 
I used to keep mine on a farm. The problem I had was that they treated the grass as if it was for cows, not horses.
In 5 years I was there, 5 horses lost their life to laminitis. Of those, 3 were not the type of horse you'd expect to be afflicted.
Mine, at the time, was a porky beast.
Moving him to a yard with owners more knowledgeable in horse husbandry was the best thing I did for him. Soon got his weight back under control.
 
I've pretty much always liveried on working farms and really enjoy it. Both the youngsters I've had have been thoroughly spook-proofed from day one, associated big scary machinery with food, and don't bat an eyelid at suddenly appearing sheep. The downside is wrestling with a tendency to overfertilise the land, but even with one very lami-prone horse it's been manageable. Funnily enough, the only place that really didn't work for us was where the land wasn't managed at all, no rolling, harrowing, fertilising, etc. I have to admit I tend to look for livery on farms. As long as one of the people running it is horsey too, my experience has generally been that they function well without being unkempt or improbably pristine.
 
I have done in the past.
I ended up having a horse who was perfectly happy with any type of machinery/ tractors etc
Coped with cows, sheep and pigs.
Was unphased by business and just generally exposed to a lot so it never worried him if we came across things out and about.
I'd do it again
 
I do! It's mainly liveries but we have sheep on the land spring and summer (the new lambs are just adorable :)).

I agree with others who've said the pasture maintenance is second to none. The farmer also does a bit of plant hire (Bobcats of all types), and the yard I was on before did heavy plant hire as well, so my horses have become virtually immune to large noisy machinery, trucks, quad bikes, tractors... you name it, plus there's a busy motorway at the back of the farm.

Plastic carrier bags, however, remain full of terrors.
 
Ours are at my parents farm,a mile away from home.No other equines but lots of sheep,which are very useful for keeping the grass down/repairing the poaching.We have a few sucklers too.

No facilities as such,but we have a huge flat field that I can fence off as I please,and I fence off a schooling area once the ground dries up.Once the gateways are passable,we have 200 acres to ride over,so are very lucky.
 
Mine are on my parents farm - just my horses now - we used to have a livery but she had to have her horse put down and we haven't talked her in to buying another one (yet) . She is the only livery we will have as we don't have liveries as a rule but she's ace...

It's ok we have an unlit outdoor (40x20) and numerous stables and plenty of turn out but when your mum is your yo you don't get a lot of say to
Their day to day turnout etc...
 
mine has been living on a farm once...




it wasnt great as she LOVES tractors - she has to be moved from a field with a tractor in as she will literally try to sit on the front bucket bit..... no fear at all bless her...shes one of a kind lol
 
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