Wouldn’t that be amazing…? dogs off leash and everything outside the door. I better keep working to make that dream come true.
Well … garden and arena were in the five year plan, and the house was finished in March 2017, and the bottom paddock was in the 10 year plan. So I’m on track 😉
Bluestone = stone dust over a deep gravel base. These are all-weather paddocks that stay mud-free during our wet winters. They were one of the first amenities I added, and they were worth every penny. I grew up in New England, and the spring mud season was epic at the barn. When I was setting up my own place, minimizing mud was one of my top priorities!
I usually ride 5 days per week, including the day I haul out. It’s been great for getting experience on my young horse. It works for me because traffic around here is terrible, and I would only ride on weekends if I had to commute to the barn. My setup makes daily chores pretty easy, and I’m always looking for ways to streamline.
My farm is 130 acres: 60 pasture, the rest woods and creeks and a natural spring. The oldest part of the farmhouse (1830) is made of logs. There are two one acre paddocks, and the big field, four stall barn, and two big run-in sheds, a dressage arena. There are 7 horses, all retired, five of which are owned by boarders.
For many years we had a business in organic vegetable seeds, but now we focus on growing vegetables to share with friends and family. We have a small orchard: apple, peach, and plum trees, and a variety of chickens. Plus 8 Australian Shepherds 
Yes, it is a lot of work, but being good stewards of the land, trees, and wildlife is plenty of inspiration. We leave 20-30 acres un-mowed in summer, for the pollinators, cutting paths through the wild grasses, milkweed, lobelia, and cone flowers for walks.
I would say buy as a much land as you can afford.
I think it has been ill conceived this concept of “use all your land.” Sometimes it is best to let the land heal.
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We have 3 in texas, all usable and grass most of the year. I would love to have 5. Well, actually 6 because then I could get an ag exemption and property tax is really high here. But I do keep a couple horses on it. With no horses the 3 would be fine.
Do note that woods still require maintenance. Particularly if you like walking through them. Branches fall, trees die and fall, and pests like the emerald ash borer can take out loads and loads of trees. Just leaving that deadwood isn’t ideal, and it’s not really “natural” either, since we don’t allow fire to come through and clean it all up.
We have maybe 10 acres of unmaintained forest here and it’s been A TON of effort to pick up the dead fall, and remove dead and dangerous trees. We do it ourselves, but that’s required investment in tools and education. It’s fun, and we enjoy the chainsaw work, as well the “free” fuel to heat the house in the winter. But it’s really a whole lot of work. Or $$$$ if you hire someone to do it for you.
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SOLID POINT: you need at least 5 true acres to be considered for an ag exemption in most states (maybe all?) Tip: for states where horses don’t count for the exemption usually bees do!
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The best farm we have had was 36 acres. Not too big but it had enough room to house all our animals and more than enough hay ground and pastures.
We have 200 acres here and it is so much upkeep with pastures, hayfields(5) and the balance In row crops. Not to mention mowing fence lines and the edges of the fields.
20-40 acres is a nice size and gives you a buffer from neighbors( usually).
Yes and no…With Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) we definitely have an issue, if you have primarily ash and you aren’t managing it, which at this point means cutting it, chances are you are going to have a ‘no go’ ten acres for quite some time at this point. And the gypsy moth didn’t help, nor did the wooley adelgid/brown scale with the hemlocks.
But, that being said. In Connecticut, the land of the asbestos forest as it is called by some foresters, fire is a very minor occurrence in creating the composition of our current second growth forests. Fire is commonly only on the ledgey oak/pine barren areas and most of those are long since developed. Our dead fall is supposed to rot in place and rot it does. People don’t like that though, and it does make good fuel. But really, dead or hazard trees are only hazard trees if one’s trail or fence goes beneath them.
You can manage forest, intensively, I do for very specific timber reasons, but you don’t have to.
Yes, and if you want to use your forest for walking on foot or horseback, you’ve got to do something with it. Because branches and trees take a whole lot of time to rot, and more are falling.
Because it’s pretty difficult to get through this without losing an eye or hitting the ground.
It takes a hell of a lot of work to turn the bottom pic into the top one.
And there sure are a lot of areas of the country where deadfall like the above is just, well, playing with fire. Even in CT, a dry season or two and that crap sure will burn…
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Many state have a minimum of 10 acres, and you must show ag related income, such as hay production or animals sold for meat or as replacements. The 2 states I have lived in have a $1500 per year income minimum to qualify for a “green belt” tax status. You also must have at least 2 head of animals that meet the criteria, and horses do not qualify. Make sure you know and understand your state laws before you purchase!
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Can Connecticut forest burn? Yes, but not easily. The history of forestry, land management and fire science specific to CT is a total off topic though. I am forever scarred by looking at a bit of forest and having the landowner happily tell me how he had leafblown it and tidied it up, including the now very former vernal pool area. Some places don’t need people.
Anyway, I think one of the important things is figuring out what your expectations are for the property, and for sections within this property. A large property can have sections that you really never work with, a small one can’t. However, for some people not being able to physically manage their entire property is a psychological stress. For others, having extra unused space is an asset. For still others, having untouched space that they can escape to and not see evidence of people staring them right in the face is huge.
You can do a lot on two acres, five acres, twenty acres, a hundred acres, but your mindset will probably be different on each on.
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We went from 10.5 acres to 3.7 acres. In reality the size is also dependent on what is existing on the land.
Our 10 acre place was fully cleared and all in grass, about 7 acres was pasture and the rest was for the house and two barns, rain fall was more than sufficient to keep it green. Maintenance was only mowing and weed eating.
Our new place is 3.7 acres, 2+ acres for the barn and turnout and the rest for the house but it has dozens of pine trees, it’s been nothing but constant work. Little rain fall so it’s constant watering of everything to keep it alive. Constant maintenance of pine cones/needles. Still have to mow and weed eat some areas but complicated by rocks and pine cones.
For what you have suggested as use, 3- 5 acres would be plenty but also look at layout and what will need taking care of whether mowing, pruning etc., layout is important. Also, larger acreage requires bigger equipment to maintain it, while smaller lots you can use a riding mower.
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@cutter99 thanks for the education! OP, sounds like you may want to find out exactly what your state requires if you’re looking for that at exemption
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We have 80 acres, but I only have 2 acres fenced and cross fenced for the horses. I wish I could have had a larger area for grazing, but it is what it is.
For me, ideally the perfect number of acres for the 2 horses and aged pony I have would be somewhere between 5 and 10 acres.
This will vary from one area to another as each area has different environmental conditions.
Ah! We call those limestone paddocks. Yes, I’d love to have that at my place and frankly, my horse does best on that. How great that you are riding 5 days/week. I am at four and always aim for 5. Thank you for sharing that it is possible to have it all!
ohmygosh they are adorable! I would never leave the house if I had a bunch of those running around. Are they are fragile as other sheep breeds? Everything I am reading says that sheep aren’t very hardy…
This place sounds incredible and your post really speaks to me. I would like to be a steward of the land and would welcome wildlife. One place we looked at had a creek. I wonder what the local regulations are on creeks? I am going to call our local extension office on Monday to find out.
This is terrific advice. I guess I have even more to learn. We have talked about contacting someone to put in beehives. That would definitely be something I’d like to do. Is “green belt” the same as Ag zoning? just trying to learn all of the terms.
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Very wise…I do think it would be nice to have a spot that is untended.
