how much land is ideal for two horses?

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Ell95

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I am thinking of buying a field for two horses, one I am particularly interested in ended up being only around 3/4 of an acre (which was not stated in the advert) and I am now wary of keeping two horses on it. Can someone please tell me if this is enough? They are well exercised horses if that helps.
Thanks :)
 
Its managable, if you are going to turn out for an hour or so each day, more than that it it will be a dustbowl in summer & a rugger pitch when its wet - and prob not a blade of grass to be seen all yr round.

However, if buying, I'd rather go for at least 1 acre per horse - and if they are going to be out 24/7 then 1.5 - 2 acres each.
 
ok used to be 1 acre to 1and half per horse back in years gone by - but mmmmmm depends on land and how your look after it - i had 3/4 acre plus hard stnding in winter - no weeds poo picked everyday and in winter they (2 ponies) were allowed out on dry days ok yes i woul have liked more grazing but every summer i had great grazing for 2 ponies - land is so rich now i personaly think the 1 acre is to much - but only my thoughts before you bite lol
 
3 acres minimum - and Id make sure you can split it up so you have some you can use in winter and some you can set aside for summer. Anything less than 1.5acres per horse will not keep them out 24/7 for a full year. May be ok if they are stabled most of the time.
 
I have about 4 acres split into two paddocks and they both always have grass, however only just! They trash one in the winter whilst the other's rested and so forth. They are out 24/7 in the summer and in at night in the winter.
 
I would say at least 3-4 acres. I wouldn't keep a horse on any less, your just going to have loads of mud and no grass. It's nice to be able to have winter and summer turnout.
There are 2/3 horses near me kept on about 1/2 an acre and it's literally a dirt patch, I think it's cruel.. Why have that many horses on land that can't support them it's not fair, if they can't afford the land they shouldn't have the horses IMO!

I would look for a bigger field if I was you, you don't want to struggle. Imagine how much more you would have to spend on field/hay with such a small paddock and also how much more time they would have to spend inside raising the cost of bedding not to mention time to keep them exercised :).
 
Its probably not big enough.

There are lots of factors that influence it -

Is the field good soil? Not clay or boggy.
Is the quality of the grass good?
Will you have to put stables on the plot? Store haylage etc?
Are the horses good doers?
How are horses kept? If out for a couple of hours/day, may be possible.
 
bumblelion said:
I have about 4 acres split into two paddocks and they both always have grass, however only just! They trash one in the winter whilst the other's rested and so forth. They are out 24/7 in the summer and in at night in the winter.
Click to expand...

That's what we have with 5 acres - they are split I would say 60/40 and we rotate the paddocks every 3 weeks in the summer, poo pick it and that's the only way we seem to have enough grass - would ideally need more and that's with 3 horses on it. They are now in the"summer paddock" eating all they can until its bare, then they come over to the bigger paddock for all of the winter, resting the other side. Small acreage like this does need field management.
 
As others have said, depends on type of land/drainage and whether they are good doers etc.

I have 6 acres for two ponies :) they manage on quarter of an acre ( track system ) in the spring/summer./autumn and they get the the whole 5 and a half in winter!! They live out and have more than enough that I never have to feed hay.
 
I would say it would be a struggle. I have 3 acres for 2 horses out 24/7 and still have to feed loads of hay through the winter months. We're lucky that we are on sandy soil in one respect, because the ground never gets poached - but because it is so free draining it dries out quickly and the grass doesn't grow brilliantly. At the moment it's just my mare turned out on 3 acres, and I have noticed a huge difference - so much easier to manage it!
 
Well you are so lucky to be able to purchase any land (especially if it is close by).
I am in Brittany and the farmers round here have got it sewn up. They won't sell any of their land (even an acre); they have so much that is planted etc. The parts that are set aside land is usually too wet in the winter to use, plus a local farmer we asked to sell us 7000m² of his set aside land had sold it to another farmer to make hay (he knew we were looking!)
I have two good dooer ponies, one is now on loan elsewhere (not for the land reasons though), I would have her back any time :)
the other is at home with me. we have approx 3000m² of grazing (not particularly good either). It used to be woodland, 2 years ago we cut down 30 trees and seeded it, to make room for grass to grow.
We didn't have any other choice where to keep them, livery is out of our price range.
We did have a field we 'borrowed' off some french people 2km away but they have now taken it back, so the poney is at ours full time. so far its ok, but in the winter it gets trashed, then I have to find somewhere else to put her whilst it gets re seeded & grows back. so it is a juggling act! :(
I just wish it was easier, would be fab to have more land of our own, but we have to make do with what we've got!
no chance of moving either with the housing market being flat over here, plus all the costs involved, we just haven't got the money....
 
I had a 14.2hh pony and a yearling out on 3.25 acres. It had been rested for 10 months but with the weather this year still ended up as a dust bowl. I wouldnt have been able to manage them on it 24/7 all year round!
 
i currenlty have 3 out on 10 acres (live out 24/7 365) which is bliss :D (split into 2.5 sumemr and 7.5 winter paddocks)

fingers crossed moving to somewhere with 5.5 acres and will get a companion so that will be 1 plus a littly - for up here (right on edge of moors) i'd ideally not have any more on that
 
A lot of it depends on the type of soil/how well drained the land is.

My current 3 acres is perfect for two, but it drains VERY well and is the best land I've ever been on. In the past I was at a yard on clay (Never again!); the horses needed more like 2 1/2 acres each and it was still horribly muddy.
 
For grazing at least an acre per horse if optimal drainage.
20 horses can be fine on 20 acres but two horses may need 4 acres to allow rotation & resting.
BUT & its a big BUT - having a small patch of your own where you can have stables, storage & a turnout area / menege can be done in half an acre - just don't expect any feed form the land.
You can buy in feed and rent temporary grazing with yur own space to fall back on.
 
you're lucky, i'm in southern france with 2 horses on 3.5 acres and it's nowhere near enough, need to manage it carefully and in all sorts of negotiations with neighbours to rent more!

best livery yard i was at had 4 acres per horse! crazy. we always had hods of grass.
 
At one time I had 32 on 16 acres of land - it was poo picked clean and irrigated in summer. Well cared for it fed all the horses year round.

I was so lucky with the irrigation as it saved a fortune in feed in the dry summers.
 
My main paddock is a about 1 1/2 acres and I keep 3 on it most of the year 24/7.
Its been a really bad year and even though I've put loads of fertilizer( low N slow release) on it it's like a cricket pitch. I have smaller paddocks I use for winter about and care which are basically trashed and then left the rest of the year to recover. If I was buying I wouldn't want any less than 5
 
i always go by the rule of 1.5 acres per horse, so in your case really you need atleast 3 acres. you might get away with 2 but it would be a push. i personally wouldn't even keep 1 horse on 3/4 all year round.
 
large cob and small pony on 4 acres BUT only used one acre all summer (two half acres rotated). Loads of tall grass left for winter. They come in either day or night and tbh probably could manage on 2 acres if nec as both very good doers and don't hoon much plus excellent land. With a good doer I would think you may be able to get by with one on just under an acre (although may have to use a turnout pen rather than field in winter, and feed a lot of hay).
 
It depends on how you manage the grazing and what type of horses you have.

I have 3 horses on 2 acres. I have a smallish paddock I use in winter which they trash and they get hay put out for them whilst I rest the other 2 larger paddocks. They are all good doers and don't need acres of lush grass. They go out for at least 12 hours all year round and come in at night- grazing wouldnt support 24/7 turnout but the horses are happy. I poo-pick daily. I alternate the large paddocks ever week or fortnight depending on how the grass is.
 
Thanks for your help and advice everyone :) I haven't gone for that field, too small really, especially for two. I am on the look out for a 3-4 acre plot :)
 
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