Planning Our Farm

[trubandloki]

@mmeqcenter

There’s a book about managing small acreage

Yes, it is called Horse Keeping On Small Acreage. Great book.
https://www.amazon.com/Horsekeeping-Small-Acreage-Designing-Facilities/dp/158017535X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=323CUTFSPU519&dchild=1&keywords=horsekeeping+on+small+acreage&qid=1617888924&sprefix=horse+keeping+on+small+%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1

@aregard

@OTTB_Chick

We don’t want to do a pasture paradise track.

?? It can be pricy with cost of fencing, but this sounds like a good idea, not a bad one. Why are you opposed?

I can tell you why it would not work for me.
I own a horse that likes to corner other horses, she is the type that likes her personal space and if anyone is near her when she does not want them near her she starts kicking. Having lane ways is dangerous. All turn out being a laneway would be horrible.
(I know not everyone has a lovely horse like this one, she is just an example of why that system would not work for everyone.)

[McGurk]

@mmeqcenter,

Love this! I love having the two dry lots opening off the barn. And I agree, my math, assuming I did it correctly, is that the whole property is ~3 1/2 acres, not 5. Or perhaps the OP’s map isn’t exactly to scale and she has a little more acreage to work with. Even if so, your plan is excellent.

Using temporary fence to section off the two pastures to allow for intensive rotational grazing if needed is a great, flexible, low cost solution.

[mmeqcenter]

thanks! I have a small obsession with planning out farms for fun when I’m bored.

[trubandloki]

I too love @mmeqcenter’s second design. The ability to turn out and switch fields and all that with out having to lead horses is an amazing thing.

[ghst13]

I like your latest plan. I might consider putting the the arena in the lower left corner of the lot and rotating the barns and pastures 90 degrees. That way the small triangular area could be incorporated into the pasture or there might be a way to create a third pasture area.

A lot of this might depend on the actual topography OP is working with, I don’t think we know how the land is graded, which could impact where the arena fits best.

[luvmyhackney]

If you ever get bored… I have 10 acres of pasture to plan… would love to have you take a look at my future plans.

[McGurk]

@ghst13,

While I agree about maximizing pasture space, one of the things I like about the second plan IS the isolated paddock. It is a very good thing to have one paddock with no common fences for bring a new horse on to the property; isolating a sick horse or separating mares and geldings.

I don’t have an isolation paddock now and I miss it very much. It’s also why I run a single sex dorm; not a co-ed.

[luvmyhackney]

I have 10ish acres of nice open pasture and I’m having two sacrifice areas put in. You never know when you will need to separate one, dry lot, or get an abnormal amount of rain and don’t want to ruin your fields. I would rather have it and never need it than need it and wish I had it installed.

[trubandloki]

@luvmyhackney

I would rather have it and never need it than need it and wish I had it installed.

Yes!

A dry lot is never a bad thing.

Farrier day it allows you to turn out and know that they will not be a mud ball when the farrier gets there. If you have one you want to keep an eye on for the day, dry lot to the rescue. The list of times the dry lot is useful is endless.

[cutter99]

My first farm was just under 5 acres, and my horse numbers would vary between 2-4 horses. I had a pasture and two dry lots, and fed hay every day year round. It was work to keep the pasture “pasture”, and I came to think of it as just a huge dry lot area, great for stretching their legs, but no other value. My horses were pretty much out 24/7 with constant access to their stalls through the dry lots and Dutch doors to their stalls.

I am on much larger acreage now (69 acres), but my 3 horses have about 8 acres divided into a dry lot (2 acres) and a pasture. I am in a warmer climate now, but only feed hay 3-4 months out of the year, and have enough grass that my horses do get dry lotted at times as they get too chunky.

mmeqcenter’s layout is excellent as far as efficiency and lessening the work load and time spent putting horses in and out. I would also make sure every pasture has water in it, even if it is just a frost free hydrant and stock tank. mmeqcenter’s layout would definitely allow for that.

ETA- mmeqcenter’s layout might actually be very cost effective as well, depending on fencing. The less corners you have the less expensive fencing is and with her centralized layout you would not be running pipe as far for water.

[2DogsFarm]

@2DogsFarm

what is the big blue square between it & pastures?

Oops
Arena, right?
I 2nd(3rd? 4th?) @mmeqcenter 's design.
In my pic, that is my indoor - 60X120 - attached to my barn.

[ghst13]

I agree that a isolation space is a good idea, I just think I’d just go about it differently. Maybe make a permanent lane between pastures or have temp fence to create an area or keep horses off a shared fence line when needed. Honestly it’s the shape of the turnout that bothers me, but I’ve seen some less than optimal situations with narrow triangular turnouts so I’m biased.

[SugarCubes]

@luvmyhackney

I have 10ish acres of nice open pasture and I’m having two sacrifice areas put in. You never know when you will need to separate one, dry lot, or get an abnormal amount of rain and don’t want to ruin your fields. I would rather have it and never need it than need it and wish I had it installed.

Same! I didn’t put in my first dry lot until this past winter, and while it wasn’t an absolute necessity given the amount of pasture vs horses I have, it was a godsend when the walk to the pasture was too icy to get the horses out safely since I placed it directly behind the barn. I actually use it daily now, it acts as my central “hub” for water and hay and no matter where my horses are turned out they have access to the dry lot.

[mmeqcenter]

I considered this exact thing actually, but decided to keep the arena where it is with the little extra paddock just in case quarantine is ever needed. With EHV-1 down here in Ocala right now, I really like being able to quarantine new pones with a good distance between fields so there’s no risk of touching while out. Yeah, the shape isn’t ideal, but in my head it likely would never be used for more than one horse at a time.

Maybe a little switch-a-roo to something like this

[mmeqcenter]

I’d love to!

[OTTB_Chick]

Sorry I haven’t replied! I love the layout but we have wetlands technically at the edge of the property(by the road) which is why I have all pastures there and not the arena and barn. I definitely agree with a dry lot which I would now like to plan for. The arena I would like to keep a minimum of 100 wide due to the fact that I do barrels and such. The property is blank right now so I can put anything anywhere. The land slopes slightly down towards the main road which is another reason that I tried to put everything towards the top. I currently board my 2 horses so we will keep them there for as long as possible to let the pastures get seeded and such.

And yea, I am opposed to the paddock paradise due to the cost and the ground is not really suitable for that.

[OTTB_Chick]

@McGurk The land is 5.08 acres but I was not able to exactly draw it to scale as I am not that good

[frugalannie]

Not going to opine on turnouts beyond suggesting that you send soil samples to your Agricultural Extension service to find out what you’ve got and how best it can support your needs. And unless you’re willing to spend extra money on heavy equipment it’ll take the land a couple of years to settle after you remove trees and their stumps.

What I really wanted to mention is planning for storage and access. If you’re keeping hay and bedding in your barn, make sure you’ve left space for the delivery truck, not to mention the vet and the farrier to be able to pull up to the barn.

And enjoy the experience! Great fun.

[OTTB_Chick]

We plan to send in soil samples next week. And we have free access to heavy equipment to deal with the trees and clearing so we will be taking advantage of that. I am trying to get a picture of the land without my drawings and actual proportions

[OTTB_Chick]

Apparently I was planning on the wrong lot and we are lot 3 and not lot 2. Never trust guys lol​:joy: