Sinkholes???

My family and I have recently been looking at a house to move to, and love everything about it, but we did happen upon three sinkholes. Two of them were about the size of a basketball, and the other was larger, about 4 feet diameter. These holes were outside of the fencing, so horses wouldnt get into them, but should I be concerned about the ground? The owners said they are for sure sinkholes because they are continually filling them.

That would be a deal breaker for me. I suppose if you could routinely inventory the land but even then I'd be worried. Then again, sink holes (small or big) scare the living daylights out of me. Lol

Depends on where you are looking. Some regions are going to have sink holes and its just a matter of time before one develops on your property. We have one we had to top off yearly but thankfully it hasn't been an issue the last couple years. We just keep an eye on it and the rest of the pasture. Only going to get away from them if we completely move out of the region.

If you live in limestone country such as I do here in Kentucky you will have to live with that or move out of here. I have dealt with sinkholes all my life the one thing I have learned is the only way I have been able to stop a sinkhole from sinking in is to file them with rocks the trick is the rocks have to be bigger than the sinkhole. If the hole is 4 feet wide that everthing is going down but 5 foot and bigger rocks in it then fill with dirt. You can put a dump truck of smaller rock like 1 foot around in it and they will just keep right on sinking down.

I love sink holes, throw whatever you don't want in them and burn it, then there's a fresh hole for the next load.
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Yes you should be concerned about the ground if you live in an area that is sinkhole prone. All areas where horses are kept should be regularly checked, maybe even daily for issues if the horses are keep 24/7 in this area. Even if the homeowners state they don't have issue where the horses are corralled. It's possible there will be in the future, also keep in mind since they are selling the place, they could be lying about it to get a sale. I'd avoid this place if it was me looking to buy, however if you have your sights set on buying the property. Just going to have keep up with the holes and repair them. Like another poster said fill the holes with large rock. If the fenced area for the horses is just one large open area, might wanna consider to divide it up to put the horses in the other area if/when a sink hole appears.

Talk to the county's extension office. Many of them will come out and inspect and help you come up with a plan. Some will even give you financial help to correct the problem.

A new technique around here so to put a very tough material almost like the black weed proof material used in flower beds in the bottom of the hole, fill with fist sized rocks, more material and then a few feet of soil. Lets the water run through but keeps the rocks and soil from being removed.