Managing two ponies on an acre?

[Magic mummy]

Hi I'm thinking of moving my cob home along with a friends pony. We have about an acre of land which I know is not ideal as it will need maintaining during winter to ensure good grass when spring time comes. We also have stables so we can bring them in during the night to save land getting a mud bath . What are your thoughts of only letting them out few hours a day over winter. There are plenty of hacks around our property but no school (which my pony hates anyway lol) we are also going to purchase a box so we can take her to a school for lessons. I'm thinking of all the attention she will get at our own home will be good for her? I'm currently at a yard which is small but lots of acreage and its DIY so used to all the hard work at least at home hubbie and kiddies can help with that. My pony behaves so much better when only with one or two others and for some reason gets worked up when there are lots of people and horses around . So do you think two horses on small acreage can work? Thanks

 

[JillA]

It should be fine if you regard it more of an exercise area than grazing - you will struggle to get the grass growing again in spring so probably need to feed hay for a great part of the year, but so long as you keep on top of badly poached areas it will work fine. Better if it is decent draining land rather than clay or very wet. If you let them out only during the day they might well hoon and make a mess of it - might be better if they are out 24/7 as long as they can. Good luck, nothing beats having your horses at home.

 

[alsxx]

I think it should be fine, if as above you are prepared for it to be more for exercise, rather than food. You will very likely need to supplement with forage a large part of the year.

I have 3 on 4 acres, but have a track system around the outside so I imagine the track doesn't even add up to an acre. From spring to late Autumn mine live on here, there is barely any grass and I supplement with haylage. I then keep the middle for the winter when the sugars are at their lowest, and also as a schooling area - I have 1 with cushings, 1 TB that gets hind gut acidosis and grass is a big no no for him, and 1 that gets fat just looking at grass. This system works well for me, so through experience it's entirely possible to manage on small acreage just so long as you don't expect to see lots of lush grass and are prepared to buy in forage.

ETS - I have stables too so mine do come in at night!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

1 acre between two is going to be a struggle TBH...... however IF you're prepared to stable them for a considerable part of each day with only a few hours turnout (and be prepared for all the work PLUS it costing you a fortune - PLUS accept that you might get some pretty fizzy horses), then it it works for you; then fine.

It might be a good idea though to have a second string to your bow; if you can find it you might well be glad of a field somewhere where you can just turn them out if needed and give your pasture a rest. You'll need to do this anyway to carry out maintenance like harrowing, rolling, spraying or what-have-you.

But if you're buying a lorry then you could always look for turnout some way away if you need it??........... (lucky you! - I'd kill for a lorry!).

 

[hnmisty]

In my opinion... No. No offence intended, but I am fed up of seeing ponies kept on land that is too small to sustain them. Unless you basically stable 24/7 over the winter you may well find yourself with no summer grass... And I wouldn't say an acre is enough to sustain two horses living out in the summer anyway. They will be eating everything down as it grows so there'll be nothing left come winter. So the next summer your grass will have to struggle to recover from being overloaded, and it won't, and so the next summer it's knocked back...and so it goes on.

You will have to feed a lot more forage than if you left yours at his current yard. You also don't mention what your soil is like, but you could easily end up with a field that resembles the Somme, even if you only leave them out for a short while in the winter. It only takes a couple of "let's charge round like idiots" sessions to churn your ground up.

Keeping at home is lovely (mine were kept at home until I moved out for uni and bought my own). But unless you have the land to support it, then unfortunately I think you are better off at a livery yard. When we first got Misty, we thought we might be able to keep her in our field (just under an acre) on daytime turnout. It soon became apparent that it would be impossible, but luckily we had the use of a neighbour's 3 acre field.

The only thing I can suggest is that you ask a neighbour if they have field you could rent off them.

I don't want to seem like I'm shoving your dreams in your face whilst cackling eviluly. I just think a persons land should be able to support how they wish to care for their horse, and not that the horse should be adapted to fit the land because it's not suitable for suggested use. We've all seen those ponies who are having to eat from haynets in the height of summer because their field can't support them. It's not fair on them, and it actually could be quite expensive for you!

 

[CazD]

I am assuming that your cob is a good doer, in which case I would say Yes. I keep four cobs (14.3hh, 14.1hh, 13.3hh and 12hh) on 2.2 acres. In summer I have too much grass (I've taken 80 bales of hay off half of it this year) and I strip graze through summer. In winter the field is divided into a "sacrifice" area and an area the ponies are kept off to keep for the following summer. I do have a hardstanding area with a field shelter which I can pen the ponies in if the weather is foul and I do have 2 stables. Mine live out for as much of the winter as possible. Obviously they get fed hay in the winter but most of the year its a battle with their weight. It does require careful field management but we don't have any problems.

 

[AngieandBen]

I think it depends on the type of land; ie free draining/clay/sand etc. I'm on clay and have 2 horses, 2 ponies on 5 acres ( one for April to October, which I manage exactly like alsxx does with a track system, the rest I use for winter )

IMO you can never have enough land! Its a bit of a false economy in the end because you spend a fortune on hay/feed/bedding. You're best off having them at home in the spring and summer and seeing if you can rent more land for the winter.

 

[catroo]

While not quite the same I have five on a little over three acres, four are shetlands and one retired horse though. It works but it's hardwork! You really need to plan and look after your ground to the max. The last Winter prompted me to rethink how I manage the ponies and the land.

I've extended the hard standing area, although this means a little less grazing it does mean I have an area I can contain all of them comfortably so they can be off the mud occasionally and still be out. I put bark down on part of the hardstanding so they have somewhere soft to stand and open access to two large stables to get undercover should they wish. I feed hay in this area to stop concentrated areas of poaching in the fields.

I've also added two more gateways out of the yard area into the fields so one isn't in constant use and put down hardcore in the gateways and a little beyond. The field it's self is split into three, one third will be left completely free ready for the spring and I'll rotate between the other two or open it up to one larger field.

In Feb and March this year I rented a field off a local farmer for a few weeks and they all went there for a holiday for both them and the field. Bit of a walk to get them there but they had fun on their 'holiday' before the show season started. Luckily it was dry enough at the time to get my fields harrowed, hedges cut back and a little fertilizer down and fences tidied so when the boys returned the fields looked great. Definitely going to do the same next year.

If you're going to do it then have a plan to cope with the wettest winter ever and that way you'll be prepared for whatever happens and won't be complaining about no grass come spring.

 

[Boysy]

I'd say yes you could, i have 3 on just under 2 acres and have far too much grass from April to October, mine are still muzzled overnight and stabled day times at the moment as my field looks like a bowling green. It's topped 3 times a yr and rolled once, i didn't even hay until Feb this yr out there as it was so good and this yr doesn't look any different at the moment. I have hard core in my gateway and when i hay i move round the edge of the field so no-where gets particulary trashed. Mine are out 24/7 once the grass flush dies off so another few wks until next summer when they come in day times again.

 

[Cocorules]

Personally I would want as much turn out as possible. It is much healthier for them to be able to move around as much as much as possible both physically and mentally. It also avoids risking lung problems from bedding and general dust.

Growing up my parents had a small paddock at home and we kept our ponies there overnight but then walked them over to a livery yard during the day. Other times they would spend weeks at home and then switch which worked well.

 

[squeery]

I keep two on 1.5 acres. One 15h tb and an 8h shetland. They r out 24/7. I poo pick twice daily and ad lib hay from august onwards. Tho shetland has muzzle til end of sept.
It is fab having them at home and they gets tons more attention than in a yard. Manage yr field carefully and keep them out as much as poss or they will just tear round. Look for a local field to rent if gets too poached. I hv a further few acres to use if i need it but so far hv not. Plenty of hay in nets and move round field so less poaching. It can work with a bit of effort and the convenience and lack of travel far outweighs the extra forage. Good luck

 

[diamondrockharvey]

I have 3 horses on 5 acres but I only use about 2 acres most of the time and in that 2 acres is a 20x40 menage so less than 2 acres really and there is still too much grass. I am having to fence some more off tomorrow and reduce them down to more of a 'track' around the menage than a paddock. I have a 14.2hh mare with cushings, a 14.3hh gelding who suffers with hind gut acidosis and a 15.3hh cob that can live on fresh air.
They live out 24/7 at the moment but over the winter they come in at night. We have a hardstanding area where we feed hay and they have access to a large shelter. They have access to hay all year round but aren't touching it at the moment, hence me making the paddock smaller as there has to be too much grass if they are not touching the hay! It looks like there is no grass on the field but some of the poos have been quite green recently and my one gelding has suffered these last 2 weeks with his gut so it really is deceiving just how much grass there is! It's a balancing act all the time, I often wish I had less land!

 

[SuperH]

I have two on just over half an acre in the summer (from end March to end Sept). They are good doers and come in during either the day or night and are fed a small haynet while they are in. They are in at night at the moment but will be swapped to overnight turnout and in during the day probably this weekend. I do take them off the field for a week now and again if it needs it and the ponies either go in with the milking herd or follow them so they aren't on too much grass. In the winter they go on day turnout on about 3 acres. We are on heavy clay and there is no way they could stay on their summer field in the winter. I don't ride in their summer field, it is on a very steep slope as well as not wanting to churn it up.

 

[GinaGeo]

It will be doable. When I'm not at Uni we have three horses on about 2 acres.

We couldn't do it without our hard cored yard and track though. In winter they live together on the yard and the track. They have enough space to play, mud to roll in and company so they're quite happy. We do have to feed a lot of hay though, and still bring in during the day in summer. We are on clay soil, which makes management harder as well.