my very own land...what to do?

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enchanted_lady

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Well an opportunity has arrisen for me to rent a plot of land down a private road with nice big houses all around a kennels / cattery and a few private yards at peoples houses. The plot atm is overgrown and has no fencing but is surrounded by high trees on 2 sides. I would still have to post and rail the whole border, have a gate and create a stoned area to park the cars as there is no parking due to it being a narrow road. Well i have been fed up for years of people interfering into my business and being cruel and mean to me as i am such a pushover. This would be such an opportunity for me to have my own space and have the freedom to do as i please. However, I couldnt bring myself for my mare to live on her own 247 so was thinking of offering another older woman who has a sml 2yr old cob gelding who is being bullied at the moment herself by people who cant just let her get on with caring for her horse herself.

Do you think that 1.5 acres would be enough land to keep 2 horses on all year round obviously suppliment with sml feeds and mangers filled with hay daily? Also this plot has no electric or running water so we would have to fill gallon containers from home and bring them up there. also what other things would i have to do to maintain it, as i really dont have a clue. I would also hope to get a field shelter eventually (a mobile one). How much also do you think i would need to fork out for :

having the field topped
feeding it if need be (fertilizer)
fencing
and anything else

Please help as lady is ringing me back tomorrow to confirm, and i want to know if it will work out cheaper in the long run rather than livery especially if costing was split 50/50 with the other lady.

Laura xxx
 
I guess 1.5 acres might be enough, but possibly not to live out 24/7? If you have any building on the land at all ie garden shed for keeping feed in, put a water collection tank on it, we have no water on our land but collect it all off the roofs. In over two years we haven't run out, and we water four horses and stupid amounts of poultry!

God luck with your new venture!!
 
Try speaking to the local agricultural contractors as to how much they would charge.

As for fencing try to find a local wood mill as that may be the cheapest place to get the wood.

The normal calculation for grazing horses is 2 acres/horse or 10 horse/10 acres but it depends on how good doers they are.

If you are renting it might be worth talking to the landlord to see if they will contribute to the fencing etc as you are increasing the value of their property.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Do you think that 1.5 acres would be enough land to keep 2 horses on all year round obviously suppliment with sml feeds and mangers filled with hay daily?

[/ QUOTE ]
No I don't sorry.
 
Hello

Im really sorry that you are having a hard time. My friend tried putting two 13.2 ponies on a 1.5 acre plot last year as she was going through a hard time money wise - it didnt work - the ponies were out 24/7 and had a shelter and the whole thing was trashed within 3 months - its basically having two ponies on a football pitch and a bit more - I dont think you will have enough - also you will really struggle with not having water and electic - please think long and hard because lugging water about like you will do is hard work.

I hope you find a nice place soon - I also wouldnt be post and railing any fencing - no matter how desperate I was to move - maybe having the first three/six months rent free in exchange for doing the fencing?

My pony is stabled over night and turned out 5 times a week in a 1 acre field by herself from 8- 4 each of the five days and its trashed - which suits me as she is fat but it really is wrecked and it would have nothing in it if she was out 24/7

Good Luck

Best wishes
 
yes i think it will be big enough as most livery yards put you in postage stamp sized paddocks !!!
and if you geta field shelter you can put a gate on the front
to "stable" them overnight.
if you are being bullied at yard go for it you will love it
ring your local farmer for field topping they are always v
reasonable. fencing will be your biggest prob but once done
its done , good luck
 
Whether there is enough land is down to how you manage it and whether your horses are good doers or not. It's not really enough but if you strip graze, fertilise and keep it clean from droppings it is workable.

I personally wouldn't be happy completely fencing a field if only renting unless you could get a discount. If you can get a farmer to ram the posts in and then put up the rails yourself or maybe electric tape this would be cheaper than a contractor.

If you put a field shelter up you can collect the water from the roof into a large plastic container else lugging water around is very hard work.

I hope it all works out as having your own space in invaluable especially if you are unhappy at your current yard.
 
Hi Laura

That was the best thing I ever did get my own land. Before you spend any money make sure you legally have the land for X-amount of years. The last thing you want to do is put in loads of hard work & money to then be told to move your horses.

I have 3 big horses on 2 acres, it's not ideal but every Spring it suprises me as the grass grows and covers over the paddock again.

I totally started from scratch with my field. In hind sight I wouldn't of put up post & rail fencing. I've just spent the past 3 months staining it all. Also it made me cringe everytime I saw one of them bite the railings or having a bum stratch. I've now put up a line of electric wire round the top rail - solar power unit as no elec either. For the winter I've a cheapy B&Q generator to run the stable lights off.

Get quotes for those round 3' fence posts & some wire, It will save you a small fortune. Especially if you can put it up yourself.

We're right near the cliff top so the weather is pretty harsh where we are. If you've big mature trees that will give shelter. An alternative to field shelters (which you need planning permission for unless they can be moved) is a couple of tall fence panels in the field - so they can butt up to them in harsh weather. Mine hardly ever go in the field shelter, even in pouring rain, and instead put their bums against the a wall.

The paddock needed topping once before the horses came. This cost £50 in 2006 for 2 acres. It had been grass seeded but was waist high with weeds. Not needed topping since. I pull out any dock or nettles that spring up.

Depends how long you end up at this field. I found that the nearest water main was at the end of my field some 50m away from my stables. So hired a mini digger £50p/d and laid a water main through my field(50m of water main = about £60) and then got the water company to connect me up (around £250 + £200 chlorination of the main). This worked out out oodles cheaper than the £50 per meter they had originally quoted me. Worth investigating where the nearest main is.

Hardcore is the bee's knees for surfacing. After two years of trudging through mud to get to the stables I fenced off a area. Got a local company to take off the top soil (mud!) and lay down some hardcore. About 120m2 cost around £600 but well worth it. It all free drains and no more mud.

It does take ages to get things how you want them but it is well worth it.

Good luck, Leonie
 
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Do you think that 1.5 acres would be enough land to keep 2 horses on all year round obviously suppliment with sml feeds and mangers filled with hay daily?


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to disagree with everyone so far and say that yes, it's possible. My Welsh Cob and my friend's TB share a 1.5 acre paddock all year round and we manage just fine. It's split into two with wooden posts and electric tape, one half they trash during the winter and then in summer they go on the rested part and we either roll and fertilise etc. the trashed bit or on a bad year we re-seed it. We supplement with hay in the winter and mine has to be muzzled in summer as we have plenty of grass.

They do come in at night in the winter, though - sorry I can't remember if you said they'd be out 24/7 or not.
 
It will depend on the soil. I've got a horse & a pony on 2 1/2 acres out 24/7 all year round & we're on sand so the field never really gets muddy.

Our post & rail cost nearly £1,000 for 60m & that was with next door doing it. It's a great fence but it wasn't cheap so you might want to get some quotations.

I really love having my own field & having the horses at home. We have just got a mini tractor for maintenance so we can harrow several times a week. I also spray the weeds i.e. nettles, bambles, docs with grazeon 90 at about this time of year using a backpack sprayer.
 
I have just got an extra six acres off farmer adjoining my current land, all of which I rent. The new land is on an annual basis. We have post and taped it which is reasonable cost, but still a lot if you have no money!!! Luckily there is a water supply at top of field otherwise it would be hell.

If it is sandy soil you will have not enough grass, if you have clay you will have grass but lots of mud. We have pure sand and the old land, 5 acres, was not really enough for 5 horses. especially when there is a drought.

Think about the cost of hay to supplement as it is getting more expensive by the month. Having got an extra 6 acres and the peace of mind it gives with more grass, personally I wouldn't have 1.5 acres for 2 horses. bit I quite understand your desire to have something of your own, I really do.

Good luck whatever you do.
 
Yes you can easily keep 2 horses on 1.5 acres, providing you are haying them most of the year. Horses don't need huge areas to run around in if they are being exercised but they must have access to forage, which can come from the field or from your barn
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The cost of rejuvenating the paddock; well that will depend on what condition the paddock is in at the moment. If the grass is still good and has a decent root network, then it will come back quickly. If, however, the field is a sea of weeds, then it will take longer and will cost you more money to bring it up to scratch.
 
I really understand wanting you own space but please don't under estimate the costs involved, I bought some land and have made it into a nice yard but the costs have been enormous. Water and electricity are a must in my view and these are very expensive to connect. I personally think you need more land and I wouldn't pay out any money on this place as you could be turfed off anytime the owner feels like it. Could you wait a little longer and find somewhere more suitable, possibly to share with a couple of people you get on with. Good luck.
 
I moved to my own land two years ago and its hard work! I have 4 acres, sandy, and two horses and I'm not overrun with grass.

My ground hadn't been grazed for 5 years and so needed topping, hedges cutting back and a lot of fencing work done. As its my own that wasn't a problem, however, if you are only renting I would be keen to get a reduction, possibly pay nothing for xx years, if you are fencing etc. 1.5 acres is going to take alot of managing if you want to keep your horses out 24/7 recommended acreage is 1acre per horse.

Fencing works out to be around £6 per metre for stock fencing, post and rail is about £18 per bay (normally 7 - 8 ft). Obviously if you do this yourself it will be cheaper but again its hard work. Gates around £90 for a 15ft medium weight gate plus hinges etc, plus gate posts.

Fertiliser along with everything else is going up in price so if you can talk to local farmer to see if you can take advantage of a bulk purchase and get it a bit cheaper.

Good luck.
 
I would agree get a legal contract drawn up by a specialist equine/agricultural solicitor before you do anything

It very much depends on the soil type, drainage and type of grass if it will support the two horses.

Maintaining ones own land is both time consuming and expensive and remember that you will need to get the droppings picked up each day to avoid destroying the grass and increasing the worm burden.

If you negotiate a lease I would also get the landowner to install and provide a water metre and if possible an electricity supply.

Also consider the security of your horses and make sure that they are frezemarked and microchipped.

Ensure the top hinges on all the gates are reversed so as to prevent te gates from being lifted off them.

If you fence then use post and rail installing the top rail first and then putting equi-fencing on (a tight form of sheep netting) to avoid dogs getting in and horses kicking through the fence. The middle and bottom rails can be put on after the equi-fencing is in position.

You will need someone to come in and harrow and roll the fields at least each spring. Harrowing will not control worms just spread them.

I would suggest you buy yourself a strimmer so as to cut down any weeds as they grow. Check the boundaries and field for any poisenous plants and trees such as yew or oak trees.
 
With 1.5 acres you really need stabling or an extra area the horses can go into in the winter. If you keep them out 24/7 the land will be trashed in no time.

We have 15 acres, and i still couldn't do it without stabling, its sloping with good drainage and it still gets muddy.

We have just had the fields fertilised, chain harrowed and rolled and it was £300.

Saying all of that, I wouldn't go back to a livery yard. Why don't you give it a go and if it doesn't work go back to livery?
 
It should be possible but would reccomend that you keep one area for winter and keep the nice part for the drier months and accept that you will probably have to provide hay for most of the year. I have a small turnout area which was less than 1/2 acre with the stable left open for shleters when I only had 2 and it was literally just a mud patch over winter and I provided hay 24/7. But it recovered very quickly within a month after I turned them out full time in the better fields. The biggest problem you might find with a trashed part is knee high mud and then mud fever etc so would recommend also a gate on shelter and/ or some kind of hard standing where the horses would tend to stand/ have their hay i.e. round the shelter. I love having my own land and the felxibility to do what I want with it to suit me and my horses so go for it! (But I dont have to lug water around and do have electricity so your job might be a bit more hard work!)
 
I am the only person at the moment where I keep mine and it is such a blessing...I love being on my own. (Friends horse PTS this winter) My only problem is my two have become very attached.

At the moment I don't need to separate them but I can envisage all sorts of problems if I took my old boy for a hack...my 3 year old would try to join us and/or hurt herself and trash the field. Before you move I would be sure that both horses cope with being on their own if you plan to hack or leave the field.

Personally mine would struggle with 1.5 acres regardless of soil type. But some people do manage to keep horses on postage stamps…
 
With a lot of money up-front, then with regular care and good management, unless the soil is a terrible type, I think you can keep two on 1.5 acres.
 
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