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Can i keep this horse on my land?

5K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  Faceman 
#1 ·
i live in the woods. It has two hills making it a valley with a small stream at the bottom. i have enough flat land for a run in shed. i know a regular horse cant be on this land due to tripping or something. But what about a Mule?

I want to ride so bad! just dont have the land for a real horse and not the money for boarding!

i figured donkeys are sure footed, how about mules!!
thank you!
 
#3 ·
Lol its not like you need a rope to walk. like i can easily walk down it with no problem. i just figured horses had more difficulties?
and there is trees.

thanks!
 
#5 ·
I also wonder just how steep these hills are... My mare lives in a crazy steep pasture and does just fine, better than fine, actually.

Here's a video of her, cantering downhill, in her steep pasture. And, she's 27 so a younger horse would most likely have even less of a "hard" time. :lol:


 
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#7 ·
Its a little messy due to fall weather. This picture is taken from the top of my driveway looking down onto the flat land. there is a flattened road going down there too to make it easier to walk down Tree Woodland Forest Northern hardwood forest Natural environment
 
#10 ·
Its not muddy at all, surprisingly. When we moved here i figured it would be, due to rain run off. But its fine! Stream is rocky though.

Thank you all!!
 
#14 ·
No offense, but I can't understand how you can afford the needs of a horse/mule/donkey/whatever if you can't afford boarding...
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Boarding in some areas can be very expensive. I had been paying $900 a month board for 3 horses. Now I have 5 horses at home and dont spend even nearly that much.
 
#12 ·
Keeping a horse at home is much cheaper than boarding. This land is awesome for your horse, it will keep her fit. Hills are greating for muscling up the hindquarters and building stamina. Don't worry about her tripping, the more challenging the course the more sure-footed she will become. It's a win/win. In summer you'll have to monitor the water situation. If the creek slows down to barely moving she may not drink it and you'll have to provide water.
 
#13 ·
Given the heavy tree cover, I'd make sure to budget for hay and other feed since there may not be enough good quality grass for a horse to eat. But if you can get around just fine, a reasonably sound horse ought to be able to as well. It would be good to have a stall/shed/run-in built in case you need to confine the critter for any reason (farrier coming out that day, injury, etc) and if you can do that like you said, I don't see a problem.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Be sure to thoroughly investigate what it will cost to put fence and a run in shed up. Also make sure you budget adequately for hay year round. Since there will be no natural forage/grass on your property, you will have to have hay in front of your horse at all times. I would allow a full square bale per day per horse.

Yes, keeping a horse at home is *can be* cheaper than boarding, but not necessarily depending on conditions. Pasture boarding self care at a place with with grass would be cheaper than keeping a horse on this set up; full care stall board will be more expensive because of labor and bedding costs. Feed and hay cost will be the same on your own place, possibly more as you'll be buying in small lots rather than bulk.

I don't have any concerns about the hilliness of the property.

Lack of grass would be my primary concern. Also, you don't mention how big the property is, or what the zoning regs are in your area. I would say it the property if 5 acres or less, you will also need a plan for manure handling or removal, which may be another expense.
 
#16 ·
TWH,I have always had horses and was able to keep them at home.. If I had to pay board bills, I imagine I would not have horses.

Just because you can't afford to pay monthly board bills doesn't make you incapable of keeping or affording horses. I am constantly amazed at how much board is and how much a person pays for it.
 
#22 ·
TWH,I have always had horses and was able to keep them at home.. If I had to pay board bills, I imagine I would not have horses.

Just because you can't afford to pay monthly board bills doesn't make you incapable of keeping or affording horses. I am constantly amazed at how much board is and how much a person pays for it.
ITA -- boarding and home keeping are two different animals (no pun intended, lol). The cost of homekeeping our three is far less than the lowest fee I have found for ONE horse to be boarded at any of the area facilities.
 
#17 ·
We moved ours from boarding 5 horses @ $150 and 2 @ $200 each. That's a total of $1150 a month. We now rent an old farm house with a couple outbuildings. The outbuildings aren't the greatest, but they do keep the wind and rain off them if they need to get in. :D House rent is minimal, but with 7 we feed hay year round. They are in paddocks and yes factor in manure removal. We either rent a skid loader and store it in a pile, then in the spring we will have the farmer come and clean it in the spring and he will take it and spread it on his fields. We buy minimal feed, some for our baby colt who is 8 months and some for the 2 older mares. The rest are all mountain horses which are very easy keepers.

Since you really can't figure in the cost of the house for rent they don't have any rent. Our cost is hay. They are broken into sets of 3 to a paddock so it works out to pretty much 4 1/3 bales a day. At $4 a bale we pay about $550 a month for hay. Feed runs around $50. That's a savings of $600 a month.

The rest you would have to pay for if you at the boarding facility so that wouldn't factor in.

The property looks fine for a horse as long as there is an outside water source beside the creek with a water hydrant, with the trees the horse already has shade and some protection from the elements so a small lean to would work to store hay and allow the horse a place to get in. I have noticed more and more people buying this drive in metal garages and closing them in for horse and hay storage.

The last part would be is this in a cold enough climate that you would need to heat the water in winter.

Have fun with your new horse!
 
#18 ·
The hills are not an issue. There are some other possible issues, though. First, is there enough open ground for your horse to run? Unless they have some health issues, horses are healthiest when they can run. Second, horses aren't naturally woods type animals and can easily poke an eye with low dead branches sticking out. Third, I can't really tell what kinds of trees you have there, but some trees/leaves/roots are toxic to horses. If you have no pasture for grazing, and if your horse is turned loose in the woods, it will nibble at whatever it can find - whether it is good for him or not.

I generally don't suggest keeping a horse in a densely wooded environment unless there is an adjacent pasture. But if you don't have an alternative, my suggestion would be to first identify the trees and underbrush to determine if you have anything toxic in there, and second, spend a few days with a bow saw trimming the obvious hazardous dead branches you see - especially those at the head level of your horse.

And don't put a homozygous Appy there...
 
#19 ·
Great point, Face, about toxic plants, can't believe I missed that one.

We have a small, wooded dry lot for the fatsos, and have had to wrap any trees we wanted to keep with chicken wire. Bored horses confined to the dry lot will quickly gnaw bark off and girdle a tree. We also pulled up a lot of poisonous stuff - mostly wild cherry - when we rehabbed our pastures and fenced.

I also agree with limbing up trees, etc., to 6 - 8' above ground as well..
 
#21 ·
I think your land is fine if you do the following:
1. Sturdy fencing, limbs will come down on it so I'd look into rail/pipe.
2. Hire someone to brushhog it - clear out all shrubs and trees less than 10in. in
diamater. I would also thin out the smaller trees to allow light and maybe you can get some grass to grow.
3. Cut all low branches off trees.
4. Build your shed and allow room for a small paddock in case you need to keep the horse up.

How many acres? Do you have access to trails where you can ride? How is your yard, can you ride around it, lounge, train, exercise? Do you plan on having a buddy for your horse? Some horses are fine being alone, but I wouldn't recommend it they could get depressed, will be lonely. I'd get a horse unless you just want a mule. Hills are fine for horses.
 
#24 ·
Face, my math works out pretty much the same or less, (except for the farrier) except when I consider property tax, the cost of the tractor, fertilizer, lime, diesel fuel for the tractor, the hay shed we put up, etc. - all the things that allow us to maintain our place decently and keep the horse care cost low.

Now, I am not arguing that home care is not substainally cheaper than boarding, it is. The only board I could afford after having children and before have our own place was self care pasture board.

However, I have seen a lot of people get in to keeping a horse at home and do it very badly because they didn't realize the actual costs, equipment or work involved, and I want to make sure that the OP has the total picture.
 
#25 ·
True, but one must also take into account that country properties, even with acreage, are no more than, and in many cases less than, city properties. In addition, the property taxes are substantially lower in the country than in city subdivisions.

There are so many variables to factor in it is almost impossible to really factor in a "farm" cost into the picture. Iwas a breeder for many years, so was able to write off fences, tractors, barns, feed and farrier, part of my utilities and insurance, and a host of other things, which (depending upon your tax bracket) is like getting a 25% - 40% discount on everything.

It definitely gets a bit convoluted...
 
#26 ·
I have 10 acres, tilled, seeded regularly. Costs me $1500 a year for 2 horses' hay supply. Must be more expensive because from late September to beginning of May, there is no grazing. $400 a year? I so wish!
 
#27 ·
I have 10 acres, tilled, seeded regularly. Costs me $1500 a year for 2 horses' hay supply. Must be more expensive because from late September to beginning of May, there is no grazing. $400 a year? I so wish!
Yeah, my ranch is in central Arkansas - a bit different climate. I only have to hay from December 1 to April 1, which is 3 months less than you. Plus I suspect my $30 for a 1,000 round bale is less than in areas outside the midwest...
 
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