Question re. amount of grazing....

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MizElz

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We had a meeting with our landlords last night, and they have decided that they want us to make Ellie's 'paddock' more permanent (at the moment it is fenced with electric tape and posts; they want to post and rail it now so that it becomes our responsibility) . As it is at the moment, I move the tape in or out according to the ground conditions and time of year; landlords have already said they want the permanent enclosure to be smaller than the area she has currently got, so I need to figure out how much I need to push for. Bearing in mind in the winter she is turned out very rarely because she refuses to stay out, and in the summer I like to leave her out 24/7 as much as possible, how big do you think the field should be, as in a bare minimum? I have my dressage arena out there in the summer, and I would say as a guide, I would need a minimum of 10 metres surrounding this to give her enough grazing; in the winter next year I will probably fence this across to limit the amount she can trash. I have no idea what this would be in acres - the farmers dont seem to work in acres, but in hedgerows! Sorry for rambling, but does my idea sound about right?

PS. it is worth adding they have said we can let her have the run of the whole field every now and again in the summer if there are no cows out there - about 25 acres!
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But the fenced off part would be the bit that she would be out in predominantly.
 
3 acres?? OMG I think they would have a fit! I think she probably has 2/3 of an acre at the moment, there's no way I would be able to get more.
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Am I right in thinking the guide for grazing is 1 acre per horse?
 
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What have the cows got to do with anything?

I'd personally push for a minimum of 4 acres.

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She's been turned out with the cows before, but it was a bit tricky if they had to bring one in; they like to leave gates open wily nily, and I dont want my horse wandering round the farmyard......so we can have the whole field when the cows are moved into another.

I'm shocked by how much you think I should ask for though! She's just one horse; I know loads of people in livery yards with half an acre per horse!!!!
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Do you want the turnout for grass or JUST turnout???

Do you use the same turnout in winter as summer?? And are you saying you need to include a dressage arena in this space too?? If so 2/3 of an acre will not be enough. Sorry if i have misunderstood
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I'm shocked by how much you think I should ask for though! She's just one horse; I know loads of people in livery yards with half an acre per horse!!!!

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I don't know how people can do it - although I'm sure they do with great success. Just can't imagine how it's workeable that's all.

Any adverse weather condition and your horse has no grazing if you can't offer them the opportunity to rotate to ungrazed pasture.
 
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Do you want the turnout for grass or JUST turnout???

Do you use the same turnout in winter as summer?? And are you saying you need to include a dressage arena in this space too?? If so 2/3 of an acre will not be enough. Sorry if i have misunderstood
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Yes it would be the same winter and summer, but as I said, I would fully intend to halve the enclosure in the winter and keep her in one side, just for turnout. She never stays out long enough this time of year to eat much anyway; I tend to take her out on a long rein to get her grass!

My arena is not mown or anything - it is literally just my markers and corner poles laid out for when I cant get to or afford to use the school up the road! The arena being out there doesnt restrict her grazing at all.
 
I've got two paddocks for my two horses and it totals about 1 1/2 acres. However, when the ground dries up and the grass starts coming through, they'll move to other paddocks for the summer and the winter ones will be rested. I think you need at least 1 1/2 acres for one horse, but if you'll need to use it all year round you'll need more, depending on the ground/drainage.
 
If you want 24/7 turnout in the summer then you will need more than 2/3 acre unless you are happy to be supplementing with hay for the majority of the time
 
The old saying was two acres for the first horse and then an acre each for each subsequent horse. I have to confess that we don't manage that, three acres for three horses.
 
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If you want 24/7 turnout in the summer then you will need more than 2/3 acre unless you are happy to be supplementing with hay for the majority of the time

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Oh I still do that when she needs it; she has one hard feed a day in the summer, too! Worked perfectly fine last year
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1 acre per horse, but a minimum of 3 acres for a single, otherwise how do you rotate and treat the grazing? Your dressage arena should be extra really, and not included in the grazing area.

I kept 3 horses on 3 acres, and would agree on an acre per horse from 3 upwards (so 4 acres, 4 horses etc), but still maintain you ideally need a minimum of 3 for 1 or 2 horses as well. 2/3 acre is about the size of my garden - I wouldn't even think of keeping a pony on that I don't think!
 
Sorry i might be having a "dumb" moment ( I have a few
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) but will she be allowed to graze on the menage bit??

If so and you are prepared to supplement her diet with hay, i think you will have enough space although be prepared for it to get trashed. If your not bothered about that then you just need enough for her to be able to have a "blast" when she wants too.

Is there not somewhere local you could rent/ graze her during the summer??
 
Well, I'm beginning to wonder why I posted this....once more most people seem to be taking the opportunity to make out that I am doing everything wrong!
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Ok, not being able to move to a completely separate paddock may be less than ideal, but I have to be honest and say I dont know many people who do this
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I think the bottom line is that I will be content to have one acre; I know for a fact that I will not get any more than this! I also know it would be lovely to have my arena separate to my paddock, but unfortunately when you're not a landowner, you cannot call all the shots. What I have now has worked well for me (and my horse) for the past 18 months; I see no reason to demand 3 more acres now!
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No, you posted asking how many acres (without revealing how many you had), people answered, and you have now got in a snot about it.
 
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Sorry i might be having a "dumb" moment ( I have a few
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) but will she be allowed to graze on the menage bit??


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Its not a menage, it's just a few markers and poles!
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If so and you are prepared to supplement her diet with hay, i think you will have enough space although be prepared for it to get trashed. If your not bothered about that then you just need enough for her to be able to have a "blast" when she wants too.

Is there not somewhere local you could rent/ graze her during the summer??

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As I've said, farmer is quite happy for us to let her have the run of the big field every now and again if she needs to get her back down!
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Plus taking her elsewhere for the summer would completely defeat the object!
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Well, I'm beginning to wonder why I posted this....once more most people seem to be taking the opportunity to make out that I am doing everything wrong!

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Eh? - where has anyone said you are doing anything wrong. You posed a question, didn't say how many acres you had, people answered.

If what you have done previously works for you and more importantly your horse - brill.

But as most people have come up with the same answer, it may be an opportunity for you to look objectively at what you do now, and see if you can make any changes or improvements.

Don't think anyone is having a dig in any way.
 
So if you know that you will be happy to have one acre and won't be given more than that, why ask the question? People are only giving you their own opinions of how much grazing they would expect for their own horses. If that differs from your own opinion, it doesn't mean they are attacking you personally!
 
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No, you posted asking how many acres (without revealing how many you had), people answered, and you have now got in a snot about it.

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Spare me the snide comments, please! I'm not 'in a snot' about anything, and certainly dont intend to start an argument. It just seems to me that sometimes, when asking for advice, a lot of people take great joy in telling you how you're doing everything wrong!

The bottom line is that, on the grazing the landlords have allowed us for the winter, she has about 2/3 of an acre. They would like to make the 'permanent' enslosure slightly less than this, I am going to push for slightly more - i.e. one acre minimum. Even I can see that less than this is too little. I would love 4 acres, but it isnt possible; I'm going to have a fight on my hands to get one acre!
Thank you everyone for your suggestions; I will do my best.
 
I dont think people are saying what you are doing is wrong but you did ask peoples opinions on what they thought should be the size of field to have, and thats what you got.

Yes in an ideal world the more the better but we dont live in an ideal world. 2/3 of an acre is not much but if it gives her enough room to let off steam then i cant see the problem.

If what you have now has worked in the past why are you asking for more if you dont think youll get it??

You know your horse better than anyone, if its working as it is, be happy with what you have.

Horses need space according to their needs. So where someone may need 3 acres for their horse others may not.
 
Sorry for not explaining exactly how much I currently have in the OP; I'm not entirely sure myself, as I dont really know what an acre would look like!
 
I have two large ones on approx 3 acres and three separate fields, they are rotated with one trash field for the winter....the miniatures have a small paddock which is divided in half. THey all go in every night.

I just about manage and throughout winter its haylage all round ad lib, I struggle sometimes to make the fields last, so not sure how you must manage with 2/3 of acre, but like stinkbomb said you can always supplement with hay etc. As long as they can stretch their legs!!

Some horses live in all the time and are probably a lot more unhappy!
 
I've just posted a pic of Ellie's field on the 'how much is an acre?' thread......any ideas on how much it is would be gratefully received!
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Ellie's current field:

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When this becomes permanent (as we will no longer be able to rotate the paddock) I will use tape to restrict the grazing in the winter to a 'trash' area.
 
I would say looking at your pic, you may have around half an acre... not really enough in my opinion. I would be asking for a minimum of an acre.
 
I have four horses (soon to be five
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) and have probably in total 3 acres of grazing, I manage fine, they get hay in the field, and dont rely on the turnout for grazing as there rarely is much. Half of mine areout at night and half in the day. I have one paddock that gets used when it is really wet and this saves the others getting too trashed.

It is do-able but you have to feed on top of the grazing obviously
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Thanks, GinGin - it is tricky when you have nothing to compare it to size wise!
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I will have to go and speak to tight-ass landlord
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Mine and a friend's horse share the same 1 acre paddock all year round (might possibly be an acre and a half). We've split it down the middle with post and rail, rotate every few months and there is always plenty of grazing in the summer months; too much for B who has to be muzzled 9 months of the year! They stay in one 'trashed' paddock throughout winter and are supplemented with hay.

I think an acre is easily doable, provided hay is available in winter. It also depends what your horse is like; I know I couldn't keep B on a full acre by herself as she is an extremely good doer.
 
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