I use the term “landscaping” somewhat loosely. At our place that means barely staying on top of the extensive gardens the previous owners put in before they choke out the house, mowing the immediate house area in summer and plowing snow in the winter.
We have a fine lawn made mostly out of dandelions and clover (looks like grass if it is short!) and I truly wish thistles were somehow marketable.
Very interesting! I like wildlifer’s suggestion to be looking at soil maps and hydrology, as well as location. A serious farmer would do that, but I think most city folk shopping for 5 or 10 acres would be looking at the house first. Yet how wet and how productive your pastures are is going to be the number one factor in horsekeeping, especially in our region. I also like all the suggestions on keeping the stabling simple.
[QUOTE=SmartAlex;8229412]
If you are used to two hours out of your day to devote to your horse(s), and you have horses at home, you will feed, clean stalls, do some maintenance, drag the ring, argue with the tractor, play a round of phone tag with the farrier and then… oh look, your two hours are up. Time to reschedule![/QUOTE]
Yes yes yes to this. I’m in a self-board barn now, and try to move fast with the cleaning and feeding. But time can definitely get away from you, especially if you have a farrier or hay delivery or vet coming out. I can easily spend five hours at the barn on the weekend (that includes riding).
[QUOTE=Scribbler;8229563]
Very interesting! I like wildlifer’s suggestion to be looking at soil maps and hydrology, as well as location. A serious farmer would do that, but I think most city folk shopping for 5 or 10 acres would be looking at the house first . . .[/QUOTE]
I looked at pastures first, the house and barn second. A building you can fix, after all, but the land is forever.
Whatever you decide to do, I’d definitely recommend having someone from your local extension service out to do soil and/or forage testing. Then do whatever they tell you to do. They’re generally very sensible people, and I’ve never yet seen them recommend anything frivolous or unnecessary.
Yes, I didn’t install any of my landscaping. The previous owners spent God knows how much time and money putting in extensive and beautiful landscaping I just do my best not to utterly destroy. It is very pretty, but a lot of work. Twice a year I have to have a professional come in and do things to the trees and bushes to make sure they keep their natural shapes without over growing, etc (they are supposed to “look natural” but not too big and that is hard for an amateur to do right) but I try to maintain it in between because it is too expensive. I would kill to just have him do it all! I can’t rip it out, it would feel like a crime. Plus, weeding it gives me something to do when I’m watching my kids on the weekends. They are good little weeders too!
My definition of landscaping is that sometimes my ‘lawn’ (which is mostly moss and daisies) and the ditch out the front of our house occasionally doesn’t resemble a jungle! We recently got a ride on mower, and I tell you, I am in love. That thing saves hours and hours of work. Trying to mow almost 2 acres of grass with a semi-broken hand mower was basically torture. I’d love to have let the horses graze the grass but unfortunately with the design of our place it’s just not possible.
Yeah, um, picture perfect. That’s not what I was talking about when I said I had to mow in order to ride. :lol: I do literally mean that the grass can shoot from say mid-calf to nose level within a two week period. That’s spring, and you can’t mow (bushhog) if it’s raining, so the mow days take precedence when they come. And in summer, mowing is to keep certain noxious weeds from taking over. And I’ll look over and know my choice is mowing today (not tomorrow) before it flowers or mowing a half acre of prickles next year.
So a lot of this is specific to your parcel and your microclimate, as Wildlifer alludes. How fast does the grass grow? Do you have to irrigate? How much attention does that take? Can you just keep animals on it to keep it manageable? Who else will help you?
I have a grass field, and as an eventer, I’m quite happy to ride on it. What I didn’t expect is that in the late summer it gets hard and uneven if not irrigated, and thus difficult to use for serious work if not dragged. In winter, I have problems with sinkholes due to gophers.
The other thing you become more aware of if you have horses at home is choosing lower maintenance horses. That horse that destroys fences and gates? Keep it boarded. :lol:
We’ve had our own property for the last 17 years. With our current property, it’s 17.5 acres with a standard dressage arena and round pen with three pastures and 7 stalls. While it’s not fancy, it’s a beautiful piece of property and very utilitarian.
If I only had one horse, I would board, period. It is a lot of work. And you do tend to acquire as may horses as your stalls will accommodate, which leads to more work and expense for just one horse. However, I love the property and not living someplace where our neighbors are right on top of us. It’s quiet. No one tells me I can’t do this or that. I don’t have to share my riding ring with anyone but my daughter and we have 800 acres of water authority property next door for trail riding. We do occasionally trailer off to various nearby parks with riding trails for a change of scenery. I can also change my horses’ diets around as I see the need.
The downside is that yes, if someone takes down a fence, yep, it can screw up your riding plans; and bushhogging and weed control, or fetching hay and feed, can also get in the way. But at least my husband, who is a former city boy, is pretty good about helping. He doesn’t go looking for ways to improve the property, but if I have a plan, he will endorse it and he doesn’t mind (for the most part) fixing fencing, bush hogging pastures, or fetching feed and hay. He likes that we have a buffer between us and the neighbors, and that if he wants to go target practice in the back pasture, that he can.
I could ride just about every day if I wanted but usually ride 4 to 5 times per week. I get up early before work to feed and turn out and then have to do the same after riding, which makes for a long day given my wake up time is 4am during the week, and after riding in the evening and getting everyone situated for the night, it’s 9pm before I get back in the house. I view it as good exercise and saving me a gym membership.
The nicer barns around here run $800 a month for full board. I keep 4 large horses, 2 ponies (small and large) and 6 minis at home and well fed for a couple of hundred less than that. Mine stay out 24/7 unless it’s really bad weather as I don’t want to be cleaning stalls if I don’t have to. Run-in sheds are beautiful things. The property is rolling hills and drains well. The pastures are decent but not lush, which frankly is helpful as I don’t have to worry about founder, but there’s enough to keep the horses happy and without needing supplemental hay during the warm months.
[QUOTE=poltroon;8230422]
Yeah, um, picture perfect. That’s not what I was talking about when I said I had to mow in order to ride. :lol: I do literally mean that the grass can shoot from say mid-calf to nose level within a two week period. That’s spring, and you can’t mow (bushhog) if it’s raining, so the mow days take precedence when they come. And in summer, mowing is to keep certain noxious weeds from taking over. And I’ll look over and know my choice is mowing today (not tomorrow) before it flowers or mowing a half acre of prickles next year.[/QUOTE]
My husband decided this year that instead of relying on my step father to bush-hog our orchard twice a year to
A. Keep the roses and golden rods down and
B. to find the windfall apples - he is going to mow that orchard every three weeks.
I can’t tell you the amount of money and frustration and equipment repair this has caused him! He has chosen to let Picture Perfect rule his summer. shakes head
While I ride in daisies so high I’m beginning to lose sight of my ground poles…
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