horse on 1 acre?

We're in the early stages of looking around for a horse property. If we find something in town it could very likely be on a 1 acre property. That would include our house. I know this creates challenges with turn out and grazing. Does anyone here keep a horse on a very small property? How do you manage it?

Lots of hay, lots of poop scooping, Id look for something bigger or you are going to have an acre of mud. Even a 2 acre field supplemented with hay can keep growing grass.

I have a horse with a half acre field. It is really wet here so I don't turn out when the pasture would be mud. She has a 60 by 30? Dry lot with her run in, inside of that. I use temporary fence and let her graze a section than back in the lot at night. And so on. With a 15.2 hh horse I've had grazing every day for her through late summer to fall, I have grazing from May, to November depending on the weather (this depends on where you live). I clean up two times a day, and make sure she gets lot of exercise (the field is also my arena).

Mind you I have another 1/2 field and an acre field I can rent if I want to or my field doesn't produce enough. Also when I let her out to graze, I fence off a strip about 20 wide and as long as I can make it, that way she can get a good canter in if she wants.

It is really worth the money to make a good dry lot before it is mud, with some sort of barrier than a small gravel, it is expensive at first but your horse won't be standing it mud.

We actually live in the desert. So mud is only an issue for about 1 month during the rainy season. The bigger challenge is growing grass! It just requires a huge water bill. Can I just put bins of hay out in a smaller turnout pasture that is dirt? That way he can run around, but he would graze on hay rather than grass.

Have you considered the neighbors, the smell, and the flies as well? 1 acre including your house is not enough. Can it be done, yes, but it isn't going to be the proper thing to do regardless of someone else doing it.

If your in an arid place, it may not be worth the money to spend on trying to grow grass, but hanging hay in nets or having hay spread out in the paddock for the horse to walk about.

Like IRideHorses says make sure you can get rid of the manure, I personal have a large garden and use all of the manure, you probably can find someone that will take it off property.

Good luck

My neighbor does it! She has an awesome set-up, but her house isn't very large. I'll try to sketch the layout she has for you. :)

Yes, there are housing communities and properties zoned for horses and those that are not. So we would only consider a zoned horse property near neighbors who also had horses. Fly control would be a consideration and I assume there are things I can purchase to put around the stall and around areas where flies might accumulate?

This is all incredibly helpful feedback so please keep it coming! THere is only so much I can learn from a book :).

I would be SO grateful if you would!!!

My husband seems to enjoy gardening so maybe this would be a way to reduce the manure. But to use it ALL? I'd say we'd need a pretty big garden?!