Keeping A Horse In Your Garden?

R

randira

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 December 2004
Messages
224
Location
Not Telling.....
Visit site
I moved my mare from diy livery to a private house to 'save money' . The new yard (a private house) have asked me to take her away because she keeps getting cast and they are worried that she is either going to get hurt and/or damamge the walls of the stabling. They are 12 x 12 wooden stables. My horse is 16.2hh but she has not settled there and is getting cast nearly every night. Understandably worrying for the yard owners and also for me.

Trying to find a suitable yard is a nightmare as everywhere seems to have the 12 x 12 wooden stables. I found one yard that has great big sturdy Lodden boxes but she wants £100 per week and will only do full livery, so not happening!

I live in quite a rural village, with lots of surrounding land and the though has crossed my mind to put 1/2 stables in the drive of my house, where you can fit two 3 horse lorries quite comfortably. I should be able to rent a paddock close by where I can lead her down the lane in the mornings etc. I have a shared access past my house which goes to two other houses (almost like our own private track/road) so the stable would not be in their way, but they would be able to see it.

I just wondered if this is a mad idea or one which is viable? Would I need planning and what are the implications? My freind suggested rubber matting over compacted hardcore on the ground so no concrete - to avoid planning that way.

I know it sounds dotty having a horse in your garden but I'm thinking it's getting to be the only way she can get the care she needs and I dont have to rely on anyone or pay through the nose! I could do a little stable also for a companion for her, so she wouldnt be on her own.

Thoughts please folks as I am getting desperate.
 
You will definitely need planning regardless as to what type of flooring you have. Even if its a mobile shelter, the location would warrant PP as you have shared access, and a muck heap may not be appreciated by your close neighbours. I have rubber matting over compated hardcore as a base and it works OK. You do need to re-level it every year though as the floor moves a little.
Regarding a paddock - well depending on its current use you may need to apply for a grazing licence/change of use. Whilst your idea is viable it's certainly not straight forward.
 
You absolutely would need planning, and even if the neighbours were amenable, you might well find the council weren't.
Speak informally to the neighbours first, then the council, then start getting serious about it, but don't get your hopes up...
I've seen some strange "objections" and some less strange. Everything from "I wont like the smell" to "where will the muck heap drain to"
 
Someone objected to our application for planning on the basis that they'd been bitten by a horsefly once and were frightened it would happen again if I put horses on my land!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Someone objected to our application for planning on the basis that they'd been bitten by a horsefly once and were frightened it would happen again if I put horses on my land!!

[/ QUOTE ]

a loas of people from a housing estate nearby complained "it will bring out horsefly's" when someone was trying to get planning permission to build a block of 2 stables! about 20M away Needless to say they got permission. Theres about 4 farms in a 2 mile radius!

It is do-able but if you are to go ahead make sure you get all planning permission and go every step of the way with you council to make sure you are within regulations so they cant turn around and say o you cant have it... you werent supposed to do this...

Good luck whatever you deicde!
 
There are so many things that could go wrong here......

1. You would definitely need planning permission.

2. How would you cope with the management & logistics of a muck heap etc.?

3. What would you do if your horse doesn't settle there either?

4. Bear in mind (particularly as there is no 'on the premises grazing' & the stables will now be taking up most of your drive!) that this will seriously devalue not only your property but also your immediate neighbours' properties, which could be problematic should you ever wish to sell & may cause friction with neighbours!

5. How would you cope if the the grazing facilities 'up the lane' were suddenly to become no longer available?

I know I sound negative but we went to view a similar sounding property once - it was awful! The 'gardens' were a solid mass of concrete & the whole thing felt out of place & very claustrophobic with the stables there!
I absolutely hated it & I love horses! lol
 
Now then, not sure about the planning but two of my friends have done this thru the proper channels very successfully.

Friend 1 has a large garden that backs onto open fields. She erected stables in her rear garden as they were 'within the curtilege of her own dwelling' without PP and she rented the field. She later had the chance to but the field and now has a small equestrian property worth a small mint.

Friend 2 managed to buy house and 8 acres and she too did the stables in the garden thing.

I think you have to notify the planning dep't and be guided by them, do it above board and you should have no prob's as long as they fall within certain size limits but speak to them first.
 
Two thoughts:

Firstly, is it possible she could live out 24/7 rather than being stabled?

Secondly, if you did go ahead with this and get your stables on your land and a nearby paddock, consider what would happen if for example the paddock became un-useable for any reason (would you have an alternative?), and if you have to walk down a lane or road to get there, will you be able to do it in daylight in winter, because it might not be that safe after dark? Also, she will need a companion in her field, would you want to have to walk two of them down the road?

Hope you find a good solution for you and your horse.
 
Check with your local planning office - we built 4 stables in our back garden and DIDN'T need PP for it as within the confines of our garden and there is still (or was) and old law that stated a "man must be able to house his horse in his own garden"
grin.gif


We DID put the stabling on our PP so it couldn't come back to bite us but the council said we didnt need to???? Ours are a row of 4 12x12 wooden stables (luckily we have no problems!)
grin.gif


Only thing is I think you will have to be v clear that grazing will be rented elsewhere as a friend of ours had PP turned down for 6 stables at a house on a 1 acre plot (she didn't have any extra turnout!
crazy.gif
)
 
I have just considered all of this and promptly moved back to a livery yard

I was also renting privatly, but found that the owner had issues with the muddiness round gateways. My issues and worries were what happens when it gets dark, lack of stabling, lack of facilities and what would happen if we got chucked off!. I couldn't see a good solution.
 
Hi ya,

I have no experience with planning but i agree - could you turn your horse out 24/7?

My horse used to get cast a lot in a 12x12 stable (16.3hh ID x) so we built a stable that is about 12x18, she's never got cast since so it's well worth it.

xxx
 
I keep my horse at home, I have 1 1/2 acres and another 2 down the road a short way. I echo the throughts about taking the horse up and down the road in the winter, also when its icy/snowy, especialy if you have more than one. I am a bit of a horse hippy and love mine to be out, however due to the aforementioned points mine are on my home field in the winter and have to come in at night.

As someone else suggetsed why not get a mobile fied shelter and let her live out 24/7, you could always get some rubber mats to put down and put draw bars across if you need to confine her. Also you could probably get away with a garden shed to store 'not so valuable stuff' and perhaps get a generator or some solar powered lights (all temporary so no pp needed). If you had to then move fields you could take it all with you.
 
Where we live we have no livery yards that close by. The children's pony is 'put up' (literally lol) by my father's employer. I am totally paranoid about the pony making a mess, breaking something etc etc, as if we were asked to leave it would cause such a headache. Even though he has horses himself YO really doesnt want his fields bogging up etc etc.

We have to walk down a lane to get to the field, which in the ice is quite worrying. Sometimes I've ven left the pony in because it would be too dangerous to try and get him to the field without one of us breaking our necks.

My OH and I discussed what would happen if we wre asked to leave, and we thought of putting a small stable in the garden and renting a field. But then, what if the pony got upset? would it be fair on the neighbours to have to put up with a pony screaming all night? Would it be fair on them to have to put up with the muckheap? Where his field is atm, he's surrounded by houses, and I'm VERY conciencious about making sure his being there doesnt disturb people. I don't think i could cope with his stable being surrounded by houses too.

I think you'd get PP, but i think the hassle just wouldnt be worth it.
Stick her out 24/7 and spend your money on some good rugs.
 
My neighbour has two loose boxes in her not very big garden and rents a paddock next to mine.

She has managed very well for around ten years doing this, with two horses and now down to just one, although he has mine for company.

She doesn't have a muckheap, but bags all the manure straight away and then takes it to a larger heap on farmland once a week.

Hard work, but it is do-able. The other potential problems are storage of hay and bedding.

It is a big step though, I think living out 24/7 would be a better solution.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top