Turnout and livery yards

[stormox]

There are often posts here about turnout (or lack of) at yards and often posters cite the reason as too many horses for the available turnout.
I always thought (manual of horsemanship?) An acre per horse was the minimum.
How many horses at your yard versus how many acres?

 

[ihatework]

Where my ridden horse is there are 17 horses on about 50 acres.
Where my retired mare and 2yo are there are usually between 5-8 adults and 6-10 <3 On approx 40 acres.

The former are stabled overnight in winter with the odd restricted day but can be out 24/7 in summer. The latter are out 24/7 for the bulk of the year but do have a spell in, mostly 24/7, in the worst of the weather (huge indoor barn, small groups).

Both places have wet ground

 

[milliepops]

18 horses, 13 acres. Poor ground: clay, overgrazed, some is a new ley.

:rolleyes3:

By contrast my 2 retirees are on OH's 8 acre hayfield and happy as larry!

 

[Auslander]

10 acres, and (temporarily) 10 horses (3 stabled at night). They all have ad-lib hay in the pens ,and don't really go in the fields much. Come spring, I will have too much grass - I'm on clay, and it grows faster than they can eat it!

 

[AFB]

9 acre field, 9 horses

Sloping field so reasonably well draining

 

[9tails]

I can understand why land owners restrict horses, they chew up wet ground like nothing else can. My yard is large with plenty of horses and acreage but all the gateways are deep slop.

 

[SEL]

20 horses on about 8 acres of clay. I'll leave our turnout situation to your imagination.

Gateways can be managed if preparation is done well in advance of winter.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My two share an acre but I have access to more if I need it. On clay, very sheltered and boggy one end but so far it has stood up well to them being out almost 24/7 with the odd night in. I had intended keeping them in at night now until the end of Feb but Bailey is sensitive to dust so they are back out and even DP seems much happier for it. Ad lib hay and one small feed of soaked grass pellets to carry supplements. Both look extremely well and very shiny which is quite hard with a Dun.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I've got just under 5 acres, 4 of which is well draining sandy pasture.
I have one large native and 2 mini Shetlands, all out most if the time & currently free ranging over 3.5 acres.
Only in if forecast dire and I'm working the next day - would rather muck out at 6am than get drenched poo picking

 

[Rosiejazzandpia]

12 horses on around 30 acres at my yard. Gateways are muddy but we're on a hill so reasonably well draining. 24/7 all year turnout for all horses

 

[Sparemare]

Two acres per horse here.

 

[SEL]

Two acres per horse here.

Very envious. What's particularly frustrating is the 10 acre field next to our yard has approval for 30+ houses on it but the builders haven't started yet. They won't let us graze it even though their machinery will be trashing it soon. To be fair they've probably seen our bog and think we'll turn their building site into the same!

 

[LeannePip]

I have no idea, I would imagine 35+ acres for 25 horses? I've outlined what we are working with - Its clay and very wet so even with ample ground we still have to restrict.

In summer (April/May-Sept)we have 1 field for horses out 24/7 (big bottom right field), then most are out overnight in the paddocks on the track, big field to the right of the house, and 1/2 of the long field at the bottom. The day horses use the paddocks on the track too.

Between summer and winter (Oct, Nov, Dec) they are back in herds and all on 'day' turnout, using the 24/7 field, the big field on the far right, and the same 1/2 of the long field.

Then Winter (Jan, Feb, Mar) we have to restrict to alternate day turnout as everywhere is SOO wet, if its dry they can go out more. ATM all girls are in the Big field surrounding the school and boys are in the other 1/2 of the long bottom field.

Its not ideal but restricting now means we have ample for everyone throughout the summer/ majority of the year. Last winter they went out every day, the grass disapeared in no time everywhere was sodden, they all wanted to come in and would fight by the gate every day. This year we have grass and they are all out eating for the whole day they are out, and are all so much happier and settled. Like I say its not ideal, of course i'd love my horse to be out every day at this time of year, but the fact is when the weather is awful there isn't alot else you can do. The other 9 months of the year, the yard is perfect so we just have to suck it up for a few months, if she was miserable in this routine i'd look at alternatives, but shes acctually quite happy. I balance this out by going up the yard at 5.30 on 'in' days, lunging for 1/2 hour, she goes on the walker after lunch and then I ride in the evening. If i'm there in daylight, i'll hand graze her too.

 

[Beth206]

We have 5 acres for 3. The field is split into 2 paddocks and they have all year turnout in the bottom paddock with open access to hard standing where haynets are and stables.

Grazing is poor, but the field recovers well into the spring once horses are turned out in the top paddock and the winter one is given a break.

Love the google map shot LP - I have done one of our tiny yard, you can see from the pic how poor the bottom field is

 

[Polos Mum]

5.5 acres and 3.5 horses (one is 7hh so doesn't eat or trample as much as the big ones)
out 24/7 other than the worst of the weather - last year this was about 25 nights in all year, this year we are easily at that already as the weather is much worse.

 

[DirectorFury]

8 horses on 27 acres here. It's all non-draining marsh/moorland though so grim in winter. Luckily the YOs have spent a lot of time, money, and effort putting in big hardstanding tracks to every field and around every gateway so there's a limited amount of slogging through mud required!

 

[ester]

we have 4.5 acres for 2, also clay, like Aus we will also have too much grass come spring, in fact we have rather too much now, think we are still strip grazing. Usually we use 3.5 Acres at least of it of hay, and that is then the winter paddock and they have one acre over summer. Unless we put a track up and that goes round the 3.5 and take hay from the middle.

 

[JFTDWS]

4.75 acres for 4. It's clay, but not as clay-based as some I've been on. Grows well in spring, certainly, and recovers well.

One horse is out for maybe 4/5 hours a day on the 0.75ish. My three are out for 10-12 hours daily (depending on riding) on 4 acres, and were out 24/7 until mid December. Will be back out 24/7 come March, hopefully - will probably re-jig the grazing then as will have too much grass for mine and the other will probably need more, plus resting parts of it.

My 3 aren't shod, and everything gets hay/lage in the field, religiously poo picked, plus investment in maintenance when necessary.

 

[OWLIE185]

4 Horses on 80 acres.

 

[Leo Walker]

You can use this to calculate it:

https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm

We've got 2 rescue/retirees out 24/7 on a small field and 4 working horses out in daylight hours on 1.75 acres, but that includes the school and stables etc. We have another 3/4s of an acre thats only used in the summer. I dont know how its holding up so well. I'm still walking round in trainers. Its just starting to get a bit cut up around the gateway as its been very wet, but still passable in trainers without getting wet/muddy feet. Theres still grass as well as they are eating most of the time they are out.

 

[whiteflower]

I think it very much depends on the ground you have, as some have shown above you can have a large acreage and few horses but it still be like a bog on clay. The other variable is if they come in at night, most land will cope with more horses out just during the day rather than out 24/7. We have 1 horse more than the acerage we have an are on clay and it works fine with them out 24/7 in the summer and everything comes in overnight in the winter and are restricted to half days if very wet.
The land copes well with that but even if we halved the number of horses the land just wouldn't cope with them out 24/7 in the winter

 

[Annagain]

We have 14 horses on 55 acres overall - along with 4 cows and about 50 sheep. They're split into two herds for the winter (Nov to April) with 6 big boys and 2 small ponies on 7 acres and the other 6 on 5 1/2 acres. Both fields are on a slope and drain really well so other than a bit of mud in the gateways, they're good. In late spring they move onto two 6 acre fields for a few months until the hay is cut and then all 14 go onto 20 acres of hay fields. The rest is grazed by the cows/sheep and the sheep sometimes share the horses' grazing or are rotated with the horses.

 

[TheMule]

I have 7.5 acres which can easily support 4 through spring/ summer but I downsize to 2 through the winter and to do that it needs resting for a month mid September and the horses off it for a couple of weeks in the spring for spraying/ fertilizing. I make haylage off 2 acres and feed that in the depths of winter.

 

[scats]

We turn out in pairs (there's one group of 3). I have two on 3.5 acres. The other field I use is 1 acre, they go on this for a couple of weeks at a time while I rest the 3 acre (that I also split and rotate)

Other horses are all paired, one group of 3, on similar set ups- 3-4 acres.

 

[webble]

9 equines on approx 10 acres. Works ok as one is a Shetland and another four are 13hands or under so not too bad

 

[Ben2684]

Our yard is a tad overstocked, the paddock for my horse and one other is just over an acre, they come in at night but it&#8217;s pretty bad at the moment and needs careful management (the other person and I do this each spring at our own expense). Summer grazing is down by the river so a no no in winter. Come April/May the two of them will have around 3/3.5 acres of ridiculously good grass and split this into three and rotate them.

 

[Follysmum]

6 acres with 6 horses and 2 ponies fields split into 3. Well drained, only gateways boggy where they come in and out daily. Come spring time when it dries up I only use about 4 acres. Good doers and very good grass. Always comes back as good as new each year. Very lucky that we have really good land

 

[Charmin]

Roughly 15 acres and 7 horses - might go to 8 next year.

We are on heavy, heavy clay. Winter fields are around 5 acres and around stables and school, and have been drained, which makes them drier. The fields themselves are quite dry, but gateways are muddy. They come in at night over winter, from November - March.

From March to October, they are out 24/7 on the other 10 acres which are all split into 1 acre paddocks (roughly, some are bigger or smaller) with some slip rails in between to make them into bigger fields. Never run out of grass in summer, am constantly strip grazing them.

 

[tankgirl1]

No idea but would guess 8-10 acres. For 2 ponies and a shettie, with 2 horses moving on soon, plus 7 sheep. They have been out 24/7 until yesterday, have just started coming in at night as the fields are getting v muddy.

The drainage is a work in progress, not great at the moment

 

[MuddyMonster]

Not sure on acreage but we are on half day turn out until end of February/March when we have the option of 24/7 again. Not that I can do 24/7 turn out because of a history of laminitis, but it does all get a bit easier.

Roll on March ...!