Osmosis Mom Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 What's the minimum acreage you'd need if you dreamed of owning 1-2 horses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim in ks Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 we have our horses in a corral of about 4 acres , but We have Brome bailed to feed them! So the more land they can graze the less feed / hay you'll need to buy! kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 Honestly, then I know nil about horses. I guess it's a childhood dream of mine and now I have one horse-crazy dd and two other horse-lovers as well. Dh said that if we had the space after we move that he'd consider it so I am beginning to day-dream and am re-visiting the thought of even learning riding myself. Sounds lame, but is a pretty wild move for me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Dreaming? About ten thousand acres of beautiful countryside, canyons, and hills. :D Gotta have a place to ride after all. In her last years, I kept my mare on an acre behind our house. We were obsessed about managing our 'pasture' and her health. She was an old girl and needed little exercise. My younger son rode her around the neighborhood so she could stretch her legs. We jokingly called our backyard the horsey nursing home....but we LOVED having her close by. Realistically, I think five well managed acres, part of which you can water, would be minimum for two horses. You can do it on three, but you have to watch that they don't beat all the grass into the dirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 In our area, zoning is a minimum of 2 1/2 acres for 2 horses but zoning can vary. A great deal depends on your local weather. Here, we have to feed hay only from Oct/Nov. until March/April and also some hay in the summer. If you live in a warmer climate and can manage your pastures very well you might not have to feed as much hay. I would say GO FOR IT--learn to ride as an adult. I rode about 3 times as a child but always LOVED horses. My girls started taking lessons with a family from church which lead to them getting a pony which lead to me getting a horse a few months later. I LOVE it. I am taking lessons 1-2 times a week and learning so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 Wow, Ottakee, you began this journey as an adult? That's inspirational. To me it is just like a crazy dream since I was not encouraged at all as a kid to ever pursue this (or anything basically not related to school and grades). Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Yes, I really did. I bought my first horse 1 1/2 years ago. I had him for just over a year but he had some back problems and bucked me off twice due to pain. He also was not really a beginner horse. In late Feb. I bought Spy. He is a 15 year old gelding and WONDERFUL. He has some issues in his stall but is a steady eddy on the trails. I have gone from being nervous just being led around on him to loping down the trails, leading the way, blazing our way through the woods, etc. My girls have a 16hh 30 year old gelding (very old for a horse) that still has a lot of go to him. We enjoy little trail rides, working in the arena, taking lessons, etc. My girls both have special needs so I am extra cautious with them. We board our horses with a friend of mine. It is really nice having someone experienced there to help me out as I am learning. We also take weekly and sometimes twice a week lessons. You CAN do this as an adult. I would just suggest looking for an older, been there, done that horse (I like geldings the best) who is trained to do the type of riding you want to do--show, trail,etc. Buddy up with a few good horse people so that you can learn from them and call for advice. Then plan on lessons for you and the kids. This is SO not what I was growing up---I was the book worm, never outside, didn't get dirty, etc. Now I muck out stalls, am dirty quite a bit, have a real farmer's tan, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 Ottakee, you sound like me as a kid!! Bookworm, oh, yes. I would definitely plan on learning from others when/if the time came when we'd be getting a horse. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Lots of riders begin as adults. You could too. I've had horses now for 42 years. That makes me really old. Here on the ranch next to the house we have a fenced in pasture of about eight acres, where I keep the horses that I'm riding at the time. Anywhere from six to fourteen. But I move them all around, sometimes even just chunking them out with the cattle when I'm not using them. At the farmhouse there's a smaller pasture, maybe six acres that I sometimes put them in. I hate for them to have the run of the ranch, because then they're hard to find when I want them. Aside from zoning considerations, which I don't have to deal with and don't know about, it depends on what type of grass you've got growing there too. And they will stomp it into nothing. Some folks will divide their pastures in two, so that one can grow while the other is being grazed. And you don't want just one horse, they need at least a goat for company. And you have to be extra diligent about worming them when they are in a small pasture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Funny - our house is for sale - we have 1.4 acres and it's zoned for horses! Apparently, we could have 1 horse per acre, that's our zoning. But the horse would probably stomp all over our chickens ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.