keeping horse at home?

[abcdefghi]

so I will be moving my horse home pretty soon in the next few months or so he will be living in our current feild and we are also renting another one so he can rotate. we are putting stables in this summer. One of our neighbors horses will be living with him so hes not alone we dont have any flat land to ride on but the hacking is incredible we will still be going out to areana hires and lessons and competing as we have a trailer. This will be my first time keeping a horse at home what do I need to know!

 

[nagblagger]

You need to know i'm very jealous .
Does your horse, or his companion, cope well being alone, there could be problems if one is left in the field on it's own.
Field maintenance depending on how much acreage per horse including fencing, where to put poo picking and collection..

 

[dorsetladette]

Firstly - enjoy the peace!
Then a few tips
Metals bins for feed to avoid uninvited guests.
Think carefully about where your muck heap will be to avoid flys and unpleasant smells in your house and neighbours.
You will need more space than you think for tack and 'stuff'
It will take you at least a year (all 4 seasons) to work our how best to use your land.

 

[Ella00]

You need to know i'm very jealous .
Does your horse, or his companion, cope well being alone, there could be problems if one is left in the field on it's own.
Field maintenance depending on how much acreage per horse including fencing, where to put poo picking and collection..

 

[Ella00]

Firstly - enjoy the peace!
Then a few tips
Metals bins for feed to avoid uninvited guests.
Think carefully about where your muck heap will be to avoid flys and unpleasant smells in your house and neighbours.

 

[Horseysheepy]

How exciting!

Make sure you have people on standby to help when you go away, or someone who will do a quick check/throw hay at them if you're going to be late home.

I do sometimes miss the horsey chats and social side of being at a livery yard, but the positives will outweigh the few negatives and Its utter bliss working with your horses in peace, without the nosey parkers peering at you and gossiping!
I now have farm animals watching me and have taken to talking to myself quite a bit!!!!.
Agree with suggestion about getting to know your land and how best to manage it through the seasons.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Make sure that your boundaries are secure, use electric tape/rope (depending on how windy your area is) to divide your fields at least until you have done a year to find what works best. Enjoy the peace and quiet.

 

[Esmae]

Don't just build stables for what you have now. It doesn't cost twice as much to build twice the number of stables and storage. You would be surprised at how much storage you will need and hay etc is usually less expensive if you buy in bulk and store during harvest. Make sure you have good sound access for tractors etc so that you can maintain your land hedges etc and for muck removal. Good security from the get go.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Some good advice here!

I would advise that you get yourself a "list" of local bods who can turn their hand to fencing, field-maintenance, agricultural contracting/paddock maintenance work etc. These people will be invaluable to you over the years - so choose wisely! There is nothing like someone reliable who will rock-up in all winds and weathers to sort out a collapsed gate in the dwindling gloom of Christmas Eve!!

Also consider what you can do to use holistic methods to improve your pasture; we have a local farmer who puts his sheep on the land occasionally. Sheep - if you actually OWN the darn critters - can be a PITA as it isn't just a case of you turn the blighters out and leave 'em to it. Oh noohh, they have to be sheared, dipped, feet trimmed etc etc., and then at the end of the day they'll turn around and just die on you! So if you can get someone else's sheep to put on your land, that's deffo the way to go! I also keep Guinea Fowls both as security and usefullness (they'll kick off if they see someone they don't know on the place AND they'll gobble down any ticks from the sheep!). Very useful, if quirky, little birds!

Also the things you'll need to think about are rodent control: we have lots of cats here, some we own, some we don't (Cat's Protection can help with ferals if you need some cats). Also you will be wise to think about some sort of security for your yard - either a DIY system or a professional set-up. You could always ask a few pro. firms to come and do a survey for you and then implement their ideas - much cheaper!!

Ohh and don't forget insurance..... vital to be covered sufficiently.

There is one thing which IS concerning me OP: and this is the "neighbour's horse" that you have in your field. Something is niggling at me about this.......... all well and good while things are good between you, but IMO you would be wise to maybe think about formalising this arrangement and maybe drawing up some form of Livery Contract. Better to do it and never need it, than to have a disagreement at some future point (it happens) and wish you had.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Oh noohh, they have to be sheared, dipped, feet trimmed etc etc., and then at the end of the day they'll turn around and just die on you!

Actually, they don't. You can't just ignore them but dipping in organo-phosphates is now illegal, many sheep farmers, leave feet to sort themselves out on hard ground, rather than trimming and I have been told by Defra that there are 2 schools of thought about shearing(one to shear, one to leave).We have 3 hand-reared ewes who are 13 years old this year, so they haven't died on us, either! What they do need is worming and fly control.

 

[spotty_pony]

Enjoy! I love having mine at home. As said above though, I would be inclined to look at getting a companion for your horse yourself so that you’re not relying on the neighbour. Also it’s company for either horse when one is away being ridden. Three is much more useful if you have a horse that doesn’t like being left alone as it means it doesn’t usually happen as often. I have two currently but neither of the mind being in the stable alone so it’s not an issue.

 

[Glitter's fun]

so I will be moving my horse home pretty soon in the next few months or so he will be living in our current feild and we are also renting another one so he can rotate. we are putting stables in this summer. One of our neighbors horses will be living with him so hes not alone we dont have any flat land to ride on but the hacking is incredible we will still be going out to areana hires and lessons and competing as we have a trailer. This will be my first time keeping a horse at home what do I need to know!

Make sure the vet knows where you are. Hopefully it wont happen but you don't want to be trying to give directions for the first time while in a panic.
Sit down with the neighbour & write down what will happen in every eventuality you can think of. (One of you is ill, horse gets sick while one of you is away, farrier can only come when one of you is at work, horses fight, someone else wants their third horse to join in, one horse is too fat or they need different feeding for any reason, etc etc.)

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I keep 2 at home it's really lovely my 2 always come in together I can't leave one out alone or they gallop about screaming, my local farmer will do field maintenance it's handy if you can find someone with the right machinery, I tend to do my fencing myself which is not too bad as I only have just over 2 acres so it's manageable.

 

[sunnyone]

Ensure you have installed water to the yard, if not the stables. Carrying water is a PITA. Properly buried and the pipe won't freeze up, and your tap needs to be properly insulated.
Run rainwater from the roof into an outside drinker which you can easily drain when it gets mucky.
Put a wireless camera inside the stable: then you can check behaviour without disturbing the horse.
I always fed hay etc myself, no matter the time, who cares if you're in your own stable at 2.00 a.m.? My horses very rarely got shut in so timing wasn't an issue. But I did have a backup organised in case of illness.
Sheep? Their ambition in life is to die, ask any sheep farmer, but that's only after they've chosen the most inopportune time to be born. I swear ours waited to see one car leave in the morning and then, and only then agreed to go into labour.

 

[cauda equina]

Have a plan for dealing with the muckheap