How much land do you really need?

Em 1

Em 1

Well-Known Member
Aug 18, 2001
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Question is in the title really - how much land do you really need to keep horses at home? I know the rule of thumb (1.5 acres for the first horse and then 1 acre for every other horse) but does this really work.

In your experience, if you were looking to buy a property with land what would be the minimum acreage you'd go for if you wanted to keep a 17hh tank and a large pony/small horse (between 14-15.3hh)? They would either be out 24/7 or in at night.

Many thanks:)

(By the way, this is all dreamworld for me at the moment - I've got a few banks to rob before I could contemplate it:D:D!)
 
Depends on the sort of land, clay, sandy soil etc and the weather. I would always go for as much as possible, then it can be divided up into separate paddocks and can be used on a rotation basis. I like to be able to give a paddock a rest period.
 
We have about 13acres for 5 horses and we are struggling for grazing at the mo :o had 3 living out all year until last week. Spring grass is just starting to peep through so we might be ok then but the land isn't all grass...its got lots of different weeds and crap in it, after a few years of de-weeding, re-seeding and general good care we could get about 10 horses on it as it dries out very well.
 
Speaking to a paddock maintenance chap last Autumn his advise is to split the grazing and give a paddock a weeks rest minimum.

I live in Lincs, the growing county of England. Ive known people to manage with 3 acres and as many as 7 horses on it. :eek: I wouldnt recommend it though.
 
I have 4 1/2 acres currently just 1 15hh gelding on it and have have bought enormous amounts of hay this winter :rolleyes: Its permanant pasture but part of it is a bit boggy.
 
I'd say about 5 acres for those horses. That way you can rest the paddocks and still have a couple of acres for them to chomp away at.
 
We have 7 acres split into three paddocks and that allows one to rest every year. The horses are out 24/7 and in the wettest weather we keep them on two paddocks, about 5 acres. We are on high, windswept chalk soil but it still gets pretty muddy if we keep them on just one paddock. As the land dries out they stay on just one and now the grass is beginning to grow they will soon moved to the other paddock to strip grazing. The resting paddock will be cut for hay once or perhaps twice in the year.
 
i started off with 1 acre for my 15.2hh cob and 13.3hh laminitic. If they'd both been 'normal' we'd never have coped! as it was we managed by very careful management of the land. I've now got almost 4 acres for my 2 and realistically i'd like more. We have absolutely no grazing right now.
 
we're vaguely looking for a house with land at the mo. For a minimum of 2 horses (I'd never keep one on its own, but that's a different discussion!) living out, I won't look at anything less than 6 acres.
 
At least four acres, more is better for rotations, resting, making your own hay and keeping other animals for crossgrazing. I know I couldn't manage my two horses(15hh and 16hh average doers) the way I do on less than eight acres
 
we have 5 acres split into 4 big fields and a riding paddock.we usually have 5 ponies under 14hh on it all year round out 24/7 and only feed hay from nov til april and it does ok.but the ponies are all fat good doers.
id say 2 on ours if they were normal horses.
 
It is well known to be one acre per horse.
Also I would have another 1 acre as reserve grazing as you knever know what the seasons are going to be like.

So 2 acres per horse alltogether
 
why section it off???

I have always wondered about leaving them to roam on a large acrage vs. smaller fields/paddocks.

I ask this because the first farm I was at with 2 ponies, was a working cow farm and the farmer did it this way. Which I think I would prefer.

There was about 12 acres and between 10and 15 horses and ponies. (Of course some came and went). He left it all one large area, they had trees and dips to get in for shelter, a stream to drink from, large areas on top (slight slope) to gallop across. They divided themselves into 2 herds littleones together and big ones together, and a third on of the oldies.

They were very healthy and happy, they galloped around and played, or huddled together in the valley and trees in bad weather.

It was never a problem getting them in, as your one or two came when you called them. They would always leave the herd and come straight to the gate. On the odd occassion they were playing and would ignore you, we just waited for them to get tired and then they would come.

He maintained that they never messed up the ground as there was so much for them to roam over and were not standing couped up in a smal area which would then diffinately get messed up. In the three years we were there, no one ever put hay/haylage out. There was always enough grass.

Why the obsession with smaller area that will get messed up and you have grass growing in the other areas which people are always SAVING FOR SUMMER. That seems illogical because it all grows and there is plenty in summer anyway so why keep them off the grass that is there which they could eat in winter when they need it???

There were two small areas where my lamanicit would go for half the day and would then go and run and play all day with the others and not get much eating done anyway. Everyother night he would go in the small bare one, to keep his grass down as well. But when he was with them, he just galloped all the time using up the grass he was eating.

Any comments on keeping the acreage like this??? He had 80 cows so obviously knew about how to maintain his land.
 
we've always tried to do it that way and if i had the choice to choose id turn them out on the largest area/acerage possible.mine lived in a 20 acre very flat field a few winters ago with about 6 other horses and the field coped fine all winter and summer.we didnt have a separate field to use at that yard so it was a summer and winter field.it always had grass though and didnt get muddy except in the gate area in winter.
 
it depends so much on the details - we have 7 acres and four beasties - ranging from 12.2 to 15.1. Two are natives, and one of those has had laminitis before. Another is 36. My mare has DJD so I don't want her to put too much weight on and stress her joints. All get weight taped weekly so we can monitor weight.

We have the corner of the field in paddocks. That allows us to manage the ones that can't have too much. Our oldest (36) has no front teeth so needs longer grass. The smallest and youngest needs to lose weight so stays in the smaller area where the grass is kept down. It gives us flexibility.

Some springs and summers, the grass gets on top of us and needs topping (or is cut for hay).

The behaviour is definitely different when they get to go out on the bigger area - they roam about more. If it wasn't for the vastly differing needs, we might get away with a simpler approach.
 
that does sound complicated. Shame all horses and ponies are so different in their needs. Mine is a lami too so have to watch him. Our other two werent. We had all three at the same time.
 
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