Question re. amount of grazing....

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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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Thanking you; you've stopped my panic a little!
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Elz isnt the sort of horse who gorges herself, but there again she was very tubby last year (in the same paddock) and I probably wouldnt want her on much more TBH!
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Supplementing with hay throughout the year when needed is not something I ever object to; I would rather the grass be too poor than too rich!
 
Basically, what we have at the moment is slightly wider (towards the top of the image) and slightly shorter (not down so far to the right). Paddock at the moment is more rounded as it is done with tape; proposed area is square as it will be post and rail!
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Depends on the soil type, drainage and type of grass.

You could get away with half an acre if they are all in your favour and you pick up the poos each day.

One thing I noticed on the photo was the metal water trough. Something panicked next doors horse and it kicked out kicking the metal water trough and fractured it's leg. Sadly had to be put down. Buy a plastic (Paxton) one.
 
Hi Miz Elz,

We have totally rubbish grazing!! We've got one very small paddock which is ours (about 2/3rds of an acre) we use that one all year so it never really gets any decent grass on it. Then the one next to it is about 1 1/2 acres and our next door neighbour lets us use that in the summer. So just over 2 acres on poor land for 4 horses!
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They all look great though and are happy so I don't see it as a big problem, though obviously would be better if we had more!

At the end of the day I'm sure you'll cope fin with whatever you have, just try and persuade them to let you have as much as possible!
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Thanks Starbucks!
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I would love to have more - not that the little moo would ever appreciate it
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But at the end of the day, as a couple of people have said, it does largely depend on the land. We're lucky that we're not on clay, it's nowhere near as claggy and boggy (so doesnt pull shoes off every other day!) and it doesnt stay too wet for long!
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I was always taught it was 2 acres minimum and then an acre per horse there after. The livery yards that have like 1/2 an acre per horse generally have mud bath grazing (or none) over winter.

We looked at a house a while ago with just over 1 acre (was like 1.1 or something) and i was shocked at what a small amount of land it was.

PERSONALLY, to keep a horse out all year, id want 2 acres minimum and id be aiming for 3 acres. That allows you to rotate properly and keep the grazing good. We've just taken on 3.5 for one horse and two very small donks.
 
The rule of thumb is 1.5 acres for the first horse then 1 acre for every horse added thereafter. I have 6 liveries on 10 acres in the summer but extend it to 20 acres through winter to prevent the fields getting too trashed. Hope this helps
 
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