Horsekeeping/Farm Design in Florida

[happilyretired]

Based on my 10 year experience in Central Florida — some thoughts:

@Grasshopper

Buy and build as high as possible.

Totally agree — and then build your barn as open as possible (with sliding doors to close if/when you get bad storms). Catching any prevailing breeze makes a HUGE difference

Ensure ample hay storage.

And store it in an air-conditioned feed room

@Grasshopper

Try to ensure at least shaded parking for your trailer, etc

Excellent advice!

And as I think I’ve said in an earlier post — if you can swing it a covered arena is a godsend. Shade makes a huge difference in the summer – and a cover allows you to ride during all but a driving storm and keeps your footing from flooding in daily afternoon rainstorms (as others have noted we can get ~ 2" of rain in a single afternoon storm)

[4horses]

You may want to check out High Springs/areas around Gainesville. We have excellent soil.

My 3 acres has 4 horses and a foal on it, and all are fat except for the hard keeper that hasn’t been here long. I rotate pastures and still have plenty of grass. They are up during the day due to the heat and bugs.

In the winter I feed hay full time and use dry lots. No pasture.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

For those of you who purchased land or house and land and built your horse facilities – did you consider a ClearSpan type building for a covered arena and/or barn? I would think they would be easier to make really open when needed and still have the options to close it up during storms. But my concern would be the really tough storms or hurricanes…

[moonlitoaksranch]

I see people talking about sugar sand, and yes, it does mean no mud. However, the darker side is also an increased risk for sand colic. It’s no joke in Florida. Ask any regular barns (not the fancy Ocala ones…those aren’t real people, lol). All have stories of sand colic. It gets everywhere. Not feeding coastal will extend your horse’s life. Feeding in tubs that you can dump out between feedings will help. Sand clear type products with mineral oil regularly will help. But nothing will stop all sand from getting into your horse’s gut. Surgeons at UF explained it to me when we took my mare there for sand colic. The sand builds up over time. It turns into cement in their gut and can weigh down the lower portions (and come back in the form of a twisted gut) or eat through the intestinal lining. Unless you bring your own and manage them very effectively (keeping in mind that they will pick up some from sandy pastures) you don’t know what is in your horse’s gut. We lost a horse that had been a neglect case for most of his life before we got him. Most people down there feed coastal. You can switch a Florida horse to a better diet, but you can’t remove all that they ingested while eating coastal. They will pass a sand test because the sand is solid and stuck in there. Just a word of warning. Be carful what you wish for.

[AKB]

We live on the north side of Ocala and have good grass year round. We have 9 acres of Bahia pasture, and overseed with inexpensive annual rye seed every October. I do feed a flake or two of alfalfa daily with a cup of grain with vitamins. Our soil has a lot of sand, so it drains well, but is rich enough to grow terrific grass.

I like my well ventilated cinderblock barn. I do run a misting fan on hot days because my older horse does not sweat well. He has done better in Ocala than he did in Virginia. We don’t have the 100+ degree summer days here that we had every summer in Virginia.

Get a good realtor. We used Matt Varney from Ocala Horse Properties. He showed us maps of the areas with sugar sand so we could avoid them. He explained the pros and cons of each area. I hate mosquitoes so did not want to be in any wet areas.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

I was perusing the MLS (as I do) and looked at the Gainesville area and it looks like I might also be able to get more bang for my buck. My husband and I lived in Gainesville for about a year 7-8 years ago and we liked the area in general, but I did not have a horse at the time. I feel like I was looking in Newberry, Citra, Williston area when I was looking for riding opportunities. Are you a dressage rider? Interested in the availability of high quality trainers mainly…

[happilyretired]

A covered arena needs to pass engineering specs for high winds. Don’t know whether a ClearSpan type building would be approved – haven’t seen any in this area (Central Florida). You also want a covered arena to be as open as possible so that you get both shade and whatever breeze there is.

[lorilu]

There are some really good trainers up that way. You would not have trouble finding three or more to compare.

[lenapesadie]

Gainesville is a good scene for horses from what I hear