Pros and cons of buying your own field . . . .

I'm another who would avoid a footpath.

You have to be pretty sure you're going to get planning if you want stables and arena. dont get me wrong I keep mine in various fields but its not easy with no facilities and I miss an arena more than I miss electricity or water (I do have electric lights at one place-and water but have had places before where I didn't). Its pretty impossible for me to ride consistently in the winter and tbh that has started to really get to me.This last winter has been quite an easy one by Scottish standards, not many big storms, not much snow and not even that much mud and its still been hard work with little reward. Still, land probably isn't going to lose value so you could give it a go.
 
My field has a well-used footpath- it was partly fenced in and the first thing I did was finish that so people don't have open roaming access. That caused some negativity but now it's fine and I quite appreciate the people keeping a bit of an eye on things- the majority of the users are lovely.
 
I would definitely go for it - once you find the parcel of land that you are happy with. You know it will be hard work but the benefits outweigh the cons, in my opinion. The bank is happy with a mortgage over land - hardly any comes up for sale around here.
 
Muddywellies said:
Oh I’m glad you said that - I was afraid I was being a bit persnickety. But no, I know they cause great problems.
Click to expand...


I think it can depend on where the footpath is. If it just runs along one side of your boundary, you could fence it off but if it crosses the middle of the field, it would make your life more awkward
 
I've worked plenty of horses out of a field in winter. It's perfectly do-able, although easier if you have hard standing, electric and water on site. Lack of company doesn't bother me either.

Footpaths are a huge risk. We have one through one of our fields (on the yard - not my fields) and it's fine, doesn't seem to cause to many issues. But all it takes is one idiot and that changes. It's not a risk I'd be very keen to take...

If you can make it work - financially (not just scraping by so you can't afford maintenance comfortably), and logistically (finding a suitable field, nearby, within budget, with planning for stables, water, electric, secure enough etc) - I would definitely go for it!
 
Thinking about this, if there is a field for sale currently and your bank is willing to release the funds for it, buy it. Even if it isn't suitable for your purposes really, you will have secured it. YOu don't know when another more suitable field will become available and when it does, the bank might have changed their lending rules. I am sure you will be able to rent the grazing to someone if you decide not to use it yourself.
 
Reacher said:
I’d just say think about the field’s location eg I wouldn’t buy next to a housing estate (I used to have one and people wheeled their lawn mowings etc and dumped into the field. There was also a mains sewer ran underneath which in a torrential downpour overflowed and flooded the field with sh1te.... and the neighbours sewage pipe ran across field and we discovered leaked...)
Also find out what the soil is and how well it drains.
So, like house buying, location, location, location
Click to expand...
Of course ic it’s right next to a housing estate you could buy it and put in a punt for planning for loads of houses - and if successful buy yourself a farm 🤞
 
JFTD-WS said:
I've worked plenty of horses out of a field in winter. It's perfectly do-able, although easier if you have hard standing, electric and water on site. Lack of company doesn't bother me either.
Click to expand...

entirely possible if you can choose your work hours, not so much if you have a 9-5 and a commute and live further north.
 
JFTD-WS said:
I did it when I was doing my PhD, with a long commute. I just rode in the dark ;)
Click to expand...

well thats ok off road but I would never ride on road in darkness. I have access to a hill in winter but being Scotland, what isn't bottomless mud is actual bog-even on the sides and on the top. I am really fed up right now sorry, it was fine a decade ago but the older I get the less I like the cold and winters are just getting too hard. And a nasty bug knocked me for 6 just as the nights started getting shorter. All I seem to do is maintenance and I can't actually be arsed-if I had loads of money to get it done it would be one thing, but we don't -and OH is lovely but practical he isn't. I would hate livery again but it has crossed my mind several times in the last few weeks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TPO
Depends on the road, depends on the horse - and involves an awful lot of lights on the horse/rider. I have done it though - needs must and all that. People were actually better than in daylight, oddly. Riding on low lying Essex clay isn't an option in winter either.

That does sound rotten though - it's a hard slog through winter when the weather's rough, there's no back up and you get ill and all you ever seem to do is maintenance. I would only do it if I could afford / engineer paying someone to do the worst of the maintenance - fencing, paddock maintenance etc. Trying to do big jobs by hand was an absolute arse. Of course, finding decent people to do it is a challenge in itself...

eta - feel free to link me to this if I'm whining about field maintenance / Scottish winters next year ;)
 
JFTD-WS said:
eta - feel free to link me to this if I'm whining about field maintenance / Scottish winters next year ;)
Click to expand...


ha, I will-I am elephant like in my ability to remember posts, and in other ways too to be honest :p I will cheer up, need to sell the lorry for something more small so I can get out and about more and then I'll be laughing.
 
Be aware when buying 'agricultural' land that you may need planning permission and change of use to 'equestrian' if you intend to do anything other than graze horses on it. I believe that even supplying a bucket feed would constitute equestrian use rather than purely grazing which would be classed as agricultural.
I don't know the ins and outs of it or whether it's the same with all Councils but I do remember someone locally having problems. It would be worth checking out as I think there are strict rules about what you can and can't do.
 
StableMum said:
Be aware when buying 'agricultural' land that you may need planning permission and change of use to 'equestrian' if you intend to do anything other than graze horses on it. I believe that even supplying a bucket feed would constitute equestrian use rather than purely grazing which would be classed as agricultural.
I don't know the ins and outs of it or whether it's the same with all Councils but I do remember someone locally having problems. It would be worth checking out as I think there are strict rules about what you can and can't do.
Click to expand...
My planning consultant told me that if you have a minimum of 1.5 acres for grazing horses that they are classified as agricultural and a hard feed is incidental to the forage. The council certainly seemed to accept that in my case.
 
StableMum said:
Be aware when buying 'agricultural' land that you may need planning permission and change of use to 'equestrian' if you intend to do anything other than graze horses on it. I believe that even supplying a bucket feed would constitute equestrian use rather than purely grazing which would be classed as agricultural.
I don't know the ins and outs of it or whether it's the same with all Councils but I do remember someone locally having problems. It would be worth checking out as I think there are strict rules about what you can and can't do.
Click to expand...

But also bear in mind that after (I think) 6 years continuous open use consent is no longer required so unless you have trouble making neighbours or a council who snoop on everyone and everything you are unlikely to encounter a problem. It may already have been used for horses for over the relevant period, in which case just collect the evidence in case.......... And you can always apply retrospectively.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
ha, I will-I am elephant like in my ability to remember posts, and in other ways too to be honest :p I will cheer up, need to sell the lorry for something more small so I can get out and about more and then I'll be laughing.
Click to expand...

You have a very long nose and you sometimes squirt water through it? :p

Selling buying lorries is never fun. But being able to get out and about makes all the difference I reckon :D
 
Write a list of pros and cons. You can graze horses OK but you would need pp for stables. I think water is harder than electricity, particularly now that there are good solar lights.

Surroundings are important, thinking of security, yours and horses and if there is fly tipping in the area. Thieves take batteries from fencing units. In some ways NOT too isolated is better as there are people around, but you don't want anyone to feed the horses or dump lawn mowings in the field.

You need a reliable person you can call upon for holidays, days out, late working, etc. etc and a good person who will come and do fencing, remove much heap. Somewhere for the farrier/vet to work. Of course it is all possible but you need to consider everything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TPO
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top