What's the smallest acreage you'd consider for 2 horses?

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kit279

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I'm trying to buy my own land/house at the moment and have found a place which is pretty much exactly what I wanted but has only got 1.75 acres of grazing. I've got 2 TBs (both good doers, not that it actually matters much but they are both natural fatties) and was wondering whether that would be enough for them all year round.

I currently keep them on 4 acres in theory but actually because the fields flood fairly regularly we have a lot of buttercup and the actual grazing area of decent horse-suitable grass is closer to 2 acres if that and I feed them ad lib hay in the winter. By contrast, the 1.75 acre field is extremely good grazing with no weeds and a very well established sward.

Everything I'm reading says you need at least 2 acres per horse and in an ideal world that would be great but I was also wondering what other people's experiences are! THank you!
 
tbh i think 1.75 acres is fine
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0.25 off 2 acres, makes no difference really.
 
IMO a lot depends on the soil and where you are. I'm originally from Surrey and I remember long, dry summers with no grass. Here in cumbria there is a lot of rain
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and everything is very green. I keep my 2 on 1 1/2 acres split into 3 paddocks, although they are muzzled every day and stabled at night all year round - very good doers
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Depends on how wet the place gets in the winter but if you manage it well should be ok. Consider the possibility of buying it and renting a bit extra off a neighbouring farmer if you need to.
 
Different people will say different things, but to be honest I don’t think it will be enough. It will prob be ok for the summer depending if you had them out all the time or not. But come winter it’s going to get cut up and turn in to a bog, then you’ll have no grass for the summer, if you spit it so you can rotate I think you’ll still end up with the same problem cause two horses on just under an acre won’t work. I have a cob and an ISH so mine are fairly good doers, I have about 4.5 acres split into 5. When we moved here a year ago the people had had 5 out on it 24/7 all year round and had ruined it. We’ve been rotating it swapping fields each month to give it all a chance to come back so in effect my 2 are in an acre field together and it gets really eaten down and now the rain has come churned up. It depends if you want them out more or stabled more.
 
I have 1.5 acres and have kept a minimu of 2 on it for the last 20 years. The last 4 years we have had a 15.1, a 13hh an 11.2 and a donkey. It needs careful management but is perfectly possible. Ours is split into 3, a starvation bit for the pony and donkey (ponio has Cushings) and two bigger paddocks which I rotate the other 2 between. You need to be diligent about poo picking and be prepared to feed plenty of hay through the winter and possibly in summer if it is very dry. Our 2 bigger ones are in at night in the winter to save the field from getting too poached. We also take them to a friends for a month in summer whilst we fertilize paddocks etc. One thing we don't do is ride in the fields, grass is too precious. Good luck with the house buying
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I have to agree with nikki_07766. That small amount of acreage will have to be managed very carefully. It is a small amount for two horses and if it gets trashed in the winter you will struggle. Unless you can rent some extra grazing, I would think very carefully. Good luck
 
It depends on the land of course! If it's well drained on a hillside good grazing and they come in every night then it may well be fine. If it's low-lying wet clay soil then it definitely won't be, even if they come in at night it will get horrible as soon as the winter rain starts. Only you can answer this question because you can go and have a cool-head look at what sort of ground this is and judge for yourself. Less than 2 acres for two horses is iffy though by any standards, so I think you need to proceed with caution.
I'm at a yard where in theory there is plenty of land for the number of horses, but in practise it's hell in winter because it isn't well drained, it's in the middle of woods, low lying and holds the water.
 
I don't think it will be enough for all year round grazing, or even 24/7 turnout all year.
But if you intend to keep them stabled at nights, and feed them hay too, then it would be ok.
You could always rent another field locally for summer grazing for them, or put them onto grass livery at a local yard, to rest yours in the summer months.
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It depends what the ground is like. We have about 5 acres for 3 ponies who live out 24/7. It's split over two fields, and the winter field gets very muddy and simply wouldn't grow back if we didn't move the ponies off in the summer.

ETA, not sure what you've read but the general rule is you need 1.5 acres for your first horse and an acre per horse after that....that can be split over 2 fields though.
 
I keep my two ponies on 1.75 acres all year round, out 24/7. The field gets pretty muddy in winter but is perfect in summer. Mine has hard standing and a field shelter though so they can get out of the mud and there is somewhere to put a bed down and tie up haynets etc. I dont think it will be suitable if it doesnt have hard standing or a shelter though, unless you are stabling them overnight.
 
i have my 2 on 2 acres.a 16.1 and a 14.3.we manage fine but feed hay virtually all year and keep them in at night. i have it sectioned off and rotate,am obsessive about pooh picking and have them on the driest over the worst of the winter which gets trashed but then is rested and reseeded if needed come spring. the benefit of having them at home makes this worth while for me. good luck
 
If you feed extra forage all year round, then they will have enough to eat and enough space. When it gets wets though it wont take long for all the land to get poached but if you have stables and a yard area you should be fine.
 
If you're buying then I'd want 3 acres minimum. Feeding hay all year gets messy & expensive. Perhaps look into renting some land off a neighbour. I used to have mine on 3 acres of very lush paddock, well managed & it was only just enough (didn't feed hay in the field). Now I have 4.5 acres for 2 16hh horses which for me ix perfect. Field is poo picked all year & winter turnout rested through the summer.
 
We keep 2 horses (17.1 and 16hh) on about 1.5 acres. We have done for years. It does need careful management - we poo-pick everyday - although that doesn't take too long as the paddock is not big! We also supplement with haylage practically all year but we manage ok - it can be done!
 
I keep my 3 (shetland & Welsh A & TBX) on about 3 acres with ponies sectioned off and it is more than enough - in fact too much for the ponies! If you split the field in to 2 or even 3 and keep one for winter, poo pick obsessively and have hard standing to feed hay on it will be fine. The winter part will get wrecked but will level off again in summer (although you might not get much grass on it). I think as long as you are prepared to feed hay pretty much all year to supplement and you dont mind not having pretty green paddocks it wil be fine.
 
It's not just a matter of green paddocks, feeding hay etc is it? On some land it can be - do you want your horses stood out in mud up to their knees every time they are turned out. Nobody can answer this question without seeing the patch of land in question.
 
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