Designing the small, terrible horse repository

[RooTheDay]

@Simkie

Is anything you’re planning on fencing in for horse access your septic field? You really don’t want horse traffic over that if so.

Good flag, but no. Septic field is in the corner in front of the house and she would not get access to it/it would not be in the fenced area.

@Simkie

Also think about what turning all that lawn you have into dirt and mud will do for your resale value, especially if a move on the next couple years is planned.

Yeah, this is a major related concern to the hill situation. We are hoping to keep it and rent but selling isn’t out of the question, and having it be mud isn’t great either way.

Regarding your point about vet/farrier: my vet would do an emergency farm call to my house if necessary. I’m not overjoyed to need to haul out, but given my constraints I think the service provider components will work sufficiently well. She is going to New Bolton later this month and has to get on the trailer for that; realistically, if she gets to the point where she can’t be safely trailered to the farrier, she is also likely unsafe for the farrier to work on and that’s a different conversation entirely that makes reference to @endlessclimb’s point.

[clanter]

@RooTheDay

about vet/farrier: my vet would do an emergency farm call

we have programable digital padlocks on the gates, if needed we can give them the access code

suggest you talk with your homeowner’s insurance provider, ours considers personally owned/used horses as pets and provides a layer of liability coverage we also have an equine liability policy. The homeowners just said they are only pets.

We are double fence on the public side of the property to keep unwanted people away with a primary concern regarding the kids that walk to the three schools within blocks of here.

[Simkie]

Don’t forget that there may be times where YOU need covered, lit space to manage something. Wrapping a leg, soaking an abscess, just trying to get a better look at something when you get home after dark.

Even if it’s just putting down rubber mats in your garage, and having a safe way to tie her there, I’d really have a plan for a safe, covered and lit space you can use for those times when you need to be out of the elements.

Having a horse on very small acreage is often hard, with a lot of management required. Having a horse on small acreage with no way at all to stall in case of injury, and no dry, lit, safe space to work in when needed is not just difficult and no fun, but potentially dangerous.

[RooTheDay]

@Simkie

Even if it’s just putting down rubber mats in your garage, and having a safe way to tie her there, I’d really have a plan for a safe, covered and lit space you can use for those times when you need to be out of the elements.

This is a good idea and point.

The garage is not a great option, but my big shed I’m planning to use for hay is likely the move here. I would not be willing to give her unfettered/unsupervised access to it for several reasons, but it wouldn’t be hard to either do a line of direct burial cable for lights/electricity or solar/battery-powered rechargeables for emergencies. I could also combine it with my panel plan and make a temp stall in there out of horse-safe panels.

[luvmyhackney]

Not sure why she can’t go out in a herd as field board is much cheaper than fencing, shed, etc.

If you are bringing home, turnout shed with two metal panels/gates to make a stall works fine. Then fencing, if you have the $$ I’d do a track on the perimeter of the property over hills, etc. then a small dry lot around the turnout shed for winter.

With one horse a big water tank is overkill, get a smaller one and just get used to filling/ cleaning every other day. It stays cleaner and easier to manage.

You can probably find someone to pick up your manure in MoCo or use a compost system vs hauling it away. It’s not that much with one horse that isn’t being stalled.

[RooTheDay]

@luvmyhackney

Not sure why she can’t go out in a herd as field board is much cheaper than fencing, shed, etc.

She doesn’t play well with others (proven repeatedly in multiple different turnout groups with extremely experienced management.) Would be ecstatic to have that option.

[GraceLikeRain]

I don’t think it’s workable. With the additional context provided you are going to have a neuro isolated horse filled with ulcers standing alone in a mud pit and sliding up and down an eroding hill.

Even cheap fencing and a basic run in shed and tools to handle a muck pile could run you 6 months of boarding. The end result will have zero value and likely cost you just as much to yank it out and fix the land after she’s done tearing it up.

I’d keep boarding or euthanize. The above option seems like it’s going to cost you way more in vet bills and compromise any quality of life she has currently.

[RooTheDay]

@GraceLikeRain

I don’t think it’s workable. With the additional context provided you are going to have a neuro isolated horse filled with ulcers standing alone in a mud pit and sliding up and down an eroding hill.

Thank you. As the person with full context from the start, this was generally my gut feeling based on the hill situation, but this ultimately means giving up on my time-limited dreams until something changes in my financial situation. So I wanted to explore all possibilities first before I did that.

[Libby2563]

@RooTheDay

Agreed here as well. To be clear, I’m not going to be doing it right and I know I’m not going to be doing it right. I’m strictly trying to determine whether it can be serviceable/workable for a year or two, rather than optimal, without spending the money to do it right. The answer may ultimately be no! That’s fine. No is a fine answer.

I think that question is super personal and all about what you can tolerate. I am pretty confident that it wouldn’t work for me, because I actually started my small farm endeavor with the idea that we might sell the property in 5 years and I wanted to break even vs boarding in that time period. Hahahahaha! Could it have been done? Maybe. To my standards, which developed as we went along? No. I am currently at 14 years as the break-even point, which is actually okay because here we are 10 years later with no plans to move in the next 4. I’ve sacrificed other things like flexibility, travel, etc but I have also been able to have a lot of experiences and conveniences I wouldn’t have otherwise (like keeping my retiree at home and owning multiple horses, which I couldn’t afford if boarding out).

I invested a lot more up-front than you’re planning to because I built a barn and arena, but I’ve also spent a fair amount along the way that I didn’t anticipate on horsekeeping things like manure disposal (after a few years of the dumpster thing I built aerated compost bins and bought a 50-cubic-foot spreader), stonedust runs off the stalls, a dry lot with a new shed, drainage improvements, auto waterers, etc. Could I live without all those things? Again, yes. But they have all contributed to my workflow ease, flexibility (no horses stuck in stalls waiting for me to get home), stewardship of the land, safety of the pasture footing, horse happiness (ability to do full turnout without destroying the place), etc in ways that I think are worthwhile.

I may be off-base but you sound like the type of person who might not be happy struggling through suboptimal chore conditions, watching your very nice-looking home turn into a mud pit, etc. Home horsekeeping can really suck the joy out of horses even with a good setup, and I’d hate to see that happen to you if there are reasonable alternatives (not saying there are–just saying I’d explore that first).

If interested, I have a bunch of photos on my slightly-neglected blog of my pastures before I cross-fenced for rotation and before I built the dry lot. My mud was never the worst I’ve seen but now it is nonexistent except some manageable areas in the depths of winter. Here are a few posts with good photos:

Winter 2020-2021 Pasture Management

Dry Lot: Construction (with lots of pictures)

Rotational Grazing: Schedule with Before and After Pics

Oh and sorry for the long post, but I don’t think you’re nuts to worry about your neuro mare rolling/falling down the hill into the fence. If the slope is as described, I would be seriously worried about that as well.

[GraceLikeRain]

Sending a virtual hug. Having done a very young retirement on a horse who was proceeded by a young neuro horse I have so much empathy. Horses are hard.

[RooTheDay]

@Libby2563

Oh and sorry for the long post, but I don’t think you’re nuts to worry about your neuro mare rolling/falling down the hill into the fence. If the slope is as described, I would be seriously worried about that as well.

It’s really hard to get pictures that show the steepness, but I’m working on the trailer DR (I mean, this may seem pointless given the situation, but who doesn’t want to make the New Bolton folks jealous of their trailer???) and thought I’d give it a try again. Still not convinced I got there all the way, but it gives an idea.

Expanse of Hill:

Hill with Occasional Tiny Stepladder Leaning at an Angle:

Thank you for the rest of your post as well; you confirming that this would likely not work for you is an excellent data point. I have spent entirely too much time reading your blog and planning for future farm!

[Simkie]

I turn out my neuro mare on a pasture that’s probably as steep as your hill here. But she doesn’t have free access to it in all weather.

I think what you want to do may be possible, but not without bringing in shelter for the horse, and creation of a dry lot. The shelter could be one of those pre built shed row type structures–you could take it with you to your next place. A load or two of screenings gives you a small dry lot.

She’d be in her house and dry lot if turnout was unsafe. You’d be able to better preserve your grass, and prevent erosion. You’d have a way to stall her if necessary, and shelter in which to work as needed.

If providing her shelter and a dry lot just isn’t tenable, bringing her home doesn’t sound tenable.

[RooTheDay]

@Simkie

If providing her shelter and a dry lot just isn’t tenable, bringing her home doesn’t sound tenable.

Yeah, I’m being a bit hand-wavy here because it all is possible if it makes sense; it’s just a question of what makes sense given expected return/length of stay.

Right now with the possibility of something else in the offing in a couple years, my risk assessment is that if I’m going to have to do much more than fence to this specific property (eventual farm will absolutely take all of these points into consideration), it’s probably better to just keep boarding her, even though it sticks in my craw something fierce.

I really, really appreciate everyone who has contributed to this thread—having access to this collective level of expertise is truly a gift.

[fourfillies]

I have my retirees at home. My two cents if you are a working adult it’s not worth the hassle to bring her home on limited average. I’m in southern PA with a similar hill and similar weather but with 10 acres. You will have a mess. And the unnecessary stress of the work of getting hay/grain, feeding/blanketing in the dark, hauling hoses/water in the cold, finding time to meet the farrier, etc. The delta with retirement board vs your expenses (real not counting the stress) is a couple hundred dollars a month. A friend of mine has her horse at a place near Hanover PA that could meet her/your needs. PM if that’s within your radius.

[Scaramouch]

Since cost of her current board seems to be the driving factor in this, have you really run the hard numbers? Sure $2,000 for the next 24 months is an eye-watering amount of money but how much would you really save when you factor in building a fence and buying your own feed/hay as well as the cost of resetting everything put the house on the market when you upsize?

I also have to think there are options for a more economical non-training-board situation, especially since you don’t need an indoor. My mare is on solo turnout in MoCo (not a requirement for her or me, but she’s the only mare on the property at this time) for a heck of a lot less than $2K!

[OnAMission]

Well I’ll be a little hand wavy about it too and say if I wanted to try it, I’d try it. Hot/safe fence an area that you don’t mind rehabbing when it’s done, use a tree for shelter, get 4 panels just in case you need to keep her in a secure area now and then. We’ve done worse/similar and horses did fine. We don’t blanket, we use flexi hoses in the winter to water, we leave the hay in the horse trailer or in a pile with a tarp over it and throw it over the fence no matter the weather and we’ve never had power to a barn. (all this in MT) You know or will soon find out how she does with the hill if you want to try turnout there and you’ll just have to see how the ulcers go if I remember right and she’s ulcery. She might like the change well enough and the more attention and do pretty well. And if she doesn’t, those other options are all still out there. You’ve gotten great input here of course but I’ll be a “what the heck give a shot” voice.

[fivestrideline]

I have a neuro horse - he deteriorates MASSIVELY when it gets muddy, and he’s out on a hill like that. The hill alone would be a no-go for me, doubly so for no plans to put a dry lot and/or shelter. She’s going to obliterate that yard into a sloppy mucky mess when it’s warm, and a treacherous ankle breaking lump pit when it’s frozen.

If you want to do this, you need a simple shelter that you can lock her in + somewhere dry for her to stand when it’s gross. And I think you’ll spend way more rehabbing this property than the few hundred dollars a month you’ll save (maybe) by bringing her home.

FWIW - I’ve kept horses “rough”, turned out with trees for shelter and everything kept in the horse trailer. It worked because it was 40 acres of well drained goat pasture, and I know someone doing it on 5 acres of flat, arid ground. With shelter. It can be done, but not on this property, IMO.

[StormyDay]

There’s whole groups on Facebook dedicated to small acreage horsekeeping. I don’t think this plan is bad.

I’d build a 12x12 run in shed. They are easy to build and two people who can operate a screwdriver and a saw should be able to build one in a weekend. If you put it on skids instead of concreting it into the ground you will likely be able to sell it for more than you paid to build it when you don’t need it anymore. You could even make it 12x16 with a little 6ft wide storage room. The solar lights are really good now and you can probably just buy a few of those instead of running electrical.

As far as fencing I’d do wood posts with 2 inch Hotwire tape hooked up to a good fence charger. It’s more attractive than T posts, cheaper than wood board, and safer for a neuro horse who might crash through a wood fence.

Put the run in at the highest part of the pasture and have someone truck in a good amount of stone dust now while it’s still dry. You want the run in and about 20 feet in front of it to have 4-6 inches of stone dust so that you aren’t dealing with mud.

Use a 30 gallon tub for her instead of a big trough. She won’t drink the trough down fast enough and you will end up wasting a bunch of water every time you need to dump and scrub it. You can use a hose for water. They sell heat tape you can put on the hose for the winter; it works really well. Cover the hose/heat tape with pool noodles/water heater insulation pipe and it won’t freeze. You will also need a water trough heater for winter. You can run these off of extension cords. The outlet you use should be GFCI rated (most outside ones are) I wouldn’t put the water trough next to a building because they do, very occasionally, catch fire; even not on an extension cord. (I had one catch fire once. It smoldered and then the GFCI tripped. Because it’s winter and wet nothing caught fire except the heater itself.)

As suggested above some trash companies will take manure. Others won’t. You can have a manure dumpster brought out. You may also find that you dont really need one. Manure breaks down fast and with only one horse you may have significantly less volume than you’d expect. Even with 8 horses I used over half of my manure pile this spring just for my small garden.

Most vets will come out for one horse. If you are flexible on day and time, many farriers will fit you in too. They just tag you on to the end of larger barns nearby.

As far a mud… your results will vary. The fact that the land is sloped may actually work in your favor.

I kept 4 horses on 1.5 acres in FL, 3 on 3 acres in NC, 4 on 3 acres in VA, and 6 on 5 acres in VA.

[Texarkana]

I have coated high tensile wire. I like it a lot. Probably my favorite fencing I’ve ever had.

I have a 12x20 metal carport shelter as a run-in in one of my fields that was just over $1000. Plywood can be added to make walls. The other shelter has a 12x12 run-in shed we build for a couple thousand.

I would probably compost the manure, but my dumpster (for other farm trash) isn’t a huge expense.

But… (caution, unwanted opinion coming)

I think you are going to hemorrhage money into this endeavor.

You absolutely can make it work if it’s the only option. But if the point of pursuing it is to save money, I don’t think it’s going to go the way you hope.

[StormyDay]

Not the prettiest building, but the horses loved it. I built it for about $300 in materials and sold it for $800.

One winter my two horses actually slept in the garage. I think it was the best sleep they have ever gotten… they would be flat out in the shavings in the morning when I would go to let them out. Despite being clipped they slept in a light sheet even when it was below freezing out because they were enjoying the houses HVAC system My mom actually suggested they sleep in the basement (daylight style) but the ceiling was kind of low. I have to say, I’ve never been more spoiled than mucking out a stall inside a heated garage when it’s 10 degrees outside.