So, since we are house hunting, I’ve been pouring over the threads about keeping horses on small acreage. Its truly fascinating the different setups people have! However, I’m having a hard time visualizing it all, especially when I go see a property listed at say 2 acres and it seems SO tiny and darn near impossible. I’ve even tried searching real estate listings for examples, but no such luck.
I would just LOVE to see pictures of your little farmette or even better, layouts.
TIA!
Google maps overhead view of our property:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/11174473335_c43480925b.jpg
We have just over 4 acres. There is a 30’ distance between the horse runs on the right and edge of the property - that will eventually be made into a track to ride around, and right now is just there due to deed restrictions, even if other people don’t follow theirs. The barn/runs take up about 2 acres, and if we needed to have an arena out there it would be easy enough to have the barn back up to the arena as one of the runs.
The arena is basically 200’x180’ over on the left side, with the circular drive around the house. We will eventually have a round pen in the area north of the house/driveway next to the arena. Barn is 36x36, 6 12’ stalls with a 12’ aisle. Each of the two smaller runs has two stalls which open into it - the smallest is 24’x80’, next is 36’x80’ and the big ones are about 200’ long with one about 80’ wide and the other about 116’ wide. The house was already crooked on the property so we aligned the barn with it, thus making the odd shape. We also cut off the corner of the arena to make it as large as possible but so tractor trailers could still easily get in and out when delivering materials. Obviously this is the desert so no grass, and I’m not sure that it would be big enough if we were using pasture to feed our horses - I would think not, but don’t know much about living in places with grass!
I have 9 acres. 7 of which are for the 4 horses.
I have a very clear definition between horses space and people space. I have a drainage ditch that separates the two.
On the horse side, I have a 6 acre pasture, and a .75 acre wooded area that is currently my dry lot. I can partition the dry lot into three sections if needed, but right now they have the whole run of it. I’ve only had the horses here a year, so I’m still learning and tweaking. I may eventually turn part of the dry lot into an arena, but it’s cost prohibitive at this point, and I have a lovely area in the back of my pasture that is flat and treed on three sides and just the right size for schooling.
My barn is open, so they can come in when they desire, but they have so much tree cover in the dry lot, they’re happy outside.
[http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag72/fatappy/Barn/layout_zps50f2a0f0.png
Here’s my 5ac farmette in a fairly recent Googlemap image.
House with barn/indoor to the East on the NE corner of 137th & Delaware. Horse & pony must be in their stalls as both attached pastures are empty. My “outdoor” is the lawn to the West behind the house and a perimeter trail around the property that borders the fenceline.
If you guys tell me how to take and save a screen shot from google maps, I’ll share mine!
This only partially counts, as I have an additional five acres of pasture (out of a total of +/- 100 acres), but the area where my horses spend the entirety of the winter and some nights in the summer can qualify as “small acreage.”
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1458442_10153576159155215_1840609453_n.jpg
I just re-fenced everything (and thus am confident in the rough measurements!) last weekend, and added/extended a third paddock area, which is outlined in red.
Two horses are very comfortable/have plenty of space in the largest turnout area. It is getting a run-in shed delivered in the next few weeks, but I have had horses at home for eight years now and done fine without the shed…they come in when it’s super hot, during bad weather, and at night in the winters.
The small vertical area is where the previously-foundered mare lives, and she has access to a run-in area in the basement of my large barn. The hay is delivered a level above, and you can back a truck right into the barn from the driveway.
The smaller horizontal area is what I added last weekend, and serves as my ring. My plan is to let it grow grass this spring…when I’m introducing the horses to grass a half hour at a time, it will be easier to round them up from this area vs the three acre field! I also have a young mare who is usually boarded out, but I am thinking of bringing her home during warm months for the money savings. She picks on the boys (who go out in the larger area), so she needs her own special turnout. They are all fine in the fields (3 and 2 acres, respectively) where they can stay out of her way.
So that’s about 6 acres devoted to horses. I have three here all the time, have had up to five with no issues. Three or four is most comfortable for both the property and time, however!
I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have an additional 90+ acres to ride on, however. So when house shopping, consider if there is anywhere you can go that’s not your on-property ring…good roads for hacking, farms with friendly farmers, government trails, etc.
[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;7287318]
This only partially counts, as I have an additional five acres of pasture (out of a total of +/- 100 acres), but the area where my horses spend the entirety of the winter and some nights in the summer can qualify as “small acreage.”
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1458442_10153576159155215_1840609453_n.jpg
I just re-fenced everything (and thus am confident in the rough measurements!) last weekend, and added/extended a third paddock area, which is outlined in red.
Two horses are very comfortable/have plenty of space in the largest turnout area. It is getting a run-in shed delivered in the next few weeks, but I have had horses at home for eight years now and done fine without the shed…they come in when it’s super hot, during bad weather, and at night in the winters.
The small vertical area is where the previously-foundered mare lives, and she has access to a run-in area in the basement of my large barn. The hay is delivered a level above, and you can back a truck right into the barn from the driveway.
The smaller horizontal area is what I added last weekend, and serves as my ring. My plan is to let it grow grass this spring…when I’m introducing the horses to grass a half hour at a time, it will be easier to round them up from this area vs the three acre field! I also have a young mare who is usually boarded out, but I am thinking of bringing her home during warm months for the money savings. She picks on the boys (who go out in the larger area), so she needs her own special turnout. They are all fine in the fields (3 and 2 acres, respectively) where they can stay out of her way.
So that’s about 6 acres devoted to horses. I have three here all the time, have had up to five with no issues. Three or four is most comfortable for both the property and time, however!
I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have an additional 90+ acres to ride on, however. So when house shopping, consider if there is anywhere you can go that’s not your on-property ring…good roads for hacking, farms with friendly farmers, government trails, etc.[/QUOTE]
Good point - we have thousands of acres of state and federally owned land in our area in addition to the arena. 
Bearcat - I have a snipping tool which came on my computer, but if you’re on a windows machine alt+prtscrn should take a screen capture, and they generally come with MS Paint in which you can paste it, then edit/save as a jpeg or something.
[QUOTE=BEARCAT;7287299]
If you guys tell me how to take and save a screen shot from google maps, I’ll share mine![/QUOTE]
If you are on a PC - hit the “print screen” button when you have your map pulled up. Then open MS paint, and “copy”. Then you can crop as you desire, and save as a photo - and upload to FB or photobucket etc.
There might be an easier method but this works for me.
Ok 
red = arena
light blue = paddocks
dark blue = perimeter fencing and Paddock Paradise tract
purple = round pen
green = gates
The tract was build just as much to protect the trees as to allow horses to self exercise. I have a lot of options as far as opening or closing gates to allow horses access to certain areas.
Each horse has a shelter (I am not big on stalls.)
I will probably do a very similar set up when we move.
Feeding and watering are both very easy. Can be as simple as tossing hay over the fence.
I have additional riding areas (a short dressage court as well as some cross country jumps up front and out back in unfenced area.
I too can ride from home to public land so that is definitely a plus. Also have access to our county fairgrounds 5 mns away where there are 2 arenas.
I’ve got 5 acres with house, barn and indoor and 4 stalls. Two stalls each open to a separate sacrifice paddock and each of the sacrifice paddocks open to a larger pasture. To the left is an outdoor riding ring. Up by the house to the left is another pasture. All fencing is post and rail and the parking lot at the barn is gravel for safer loading and unloading of horses, whereas the rest of the driveway is asphalt.
Click on the BIRDS EYE VIEW at the top to see setup.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/400-Boughton-Hill-Rd-Honeoye-Falls-NY-14472/30988931_zpid/
The indoor is 60’ x 120’, the barn portion(100’x 24’) includes a tackroom, feed room, and other storeroom+bathroom, 4 stalls as well as hay storage. Outdoor ring has lights and while not quite rectangular, is approximately 80’ x 220’.
I’ll play!
7 acres farmette, but only probably 4-5 are utilized. I hate how photoshopped lines cover the actual picture so I put two side by side.
Blue lines = horse/perimeter fencing.
Includes a ~100X50’ sacrifice paddock “chute” that leads out to two larger pastures. I usually put my two “mobile” horses out in the back and allow my gimpy old guy to graze on the front yard (enclosed by Ramm fencing) as he’s less likely to get into anything and he’s a great lawnmower.
Pink lines = outline property, but it’s all overgrown and not fenced in. I’d need to have someone come bulldoze it. In addition, along the very back of the property (out of the picture) there is a very large natural gas pipeline. I have an easement, as it crosses my property. It exploded a few years ago just a mile away, so I’m in no hurry to put my horses closer to it.
Green lines = dog/backyard fencing. The line that borders the middle pasture has a line of hot tape above it.
The barn is 40’X33’; 3 11’X15’ stalls, a 10X11’ feed/tack room, and a 25’X11’ open area for hay.
Well hot damn! They finally street viewed my house! With the horses right out front and the place mowed and everything. We haven’t got the ideal set up, 15 hilly acres with only 4 or so in use right now. Have to figure out how to do the screen cap thing and will post the pros and cons of how we use our place.
Here’s my little 5 acre farmette:
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a484/PNWjumper/FarmaerialGoogle2013_zpsad6671bf.jpg
The arena is obvious, the barn is right below it and the shop & garage are off to the left. The house is center left and the little fenced square diagonally down and to the right is our retention pond. 3 of my horses (well, 2 horses and a small pony) live in the bottom half of the pastures, which have a gate that’s left open connecting the two, and then there’s an overhang from the barn that covers the horses there and the tiny diet pen/run next to it (where the pony lives at night). The other 2 horses live in the 2 paddocks above (and around) the arena.
I will be a happy camper when I finally get a 20+ acre place some day, and even happier if it has as much usable space (percentage-wise) as my place now!
Love the photos! Keep them coming. I did utilize Zillow to search some 2 acre or less horse properties in SoCal. It’s kinda amazing what they manage to fit on a bit over an acre!
[QUOTE=Twix04;7288752]
Love the photos! Keep them coming. I did utilize Zillow to search some 2 acre or less horse properties in SoCal. It’s kinda amazing what they manage to fit on a bit over an acre![/QUOTE]
For sure. I have 8.something acres and at least 1.5 is just shelter belt/trees. Some day I would like to do a x-country type thing around the perimeter to at least be able to ride through them. Someday…when I have nothing else to do besides clear a path in my shelter belt…
Well, we have a real farmette - just 2 acres. Didn’t plan it that way. We really bought the property for our dogs and boarded our horse(s). But when the stables sold and then fell to pieces, we built a little barn and brought the horses home. Always meant to buy a bigger property, but life kept intervening…And now we may end up moving to another state anyway, so we’ll stay here.
I do wish we had more property, because it takes anywhere from 50 to 75 acres to really provide year-round grazing for a horse here (high plains, short-grass prairie [read desert]). But we’ve done what we can with two acres, and it works OK.
http://s17.photobucket.com/user/prairiewind/media/house.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
The green-lined area is our yard and garden. With temporary electric fencing, we can graze horses in much of it and save on mowing. The little barn is pretty obvious and has runs off the two stalls. (And there is my beloved Jim standing in front of his stall, and I think I’m going to cry. Put him down Oct. 19.) Anyway, I forget the exact sizes but I think the runs are about 40 x 80 feet.
Purple area is main field. It is long enough that Jim (TB) could really run even though our property is small. That made us both happy. Filly, the mustang-cross mare (and I didn’t name her!), believes in the conservation of energy and runs almost nowhere. That field is also easily subdivided so we could move them to different areas to graze. The trees at the bottom are on the other side of the fence, so they provide shade without taking up space in the field.
Red area is second field that was supposed to double as standard dressage-size arena. (It has a largish hill at the right end. Subtract that and the area is nearly a perfect size.) But Jim became really unsound years ago and Filly only loves western, so it never really got much use as the arena I wanted it to be. They grazed it instead, and I ride Filly there occasionally to brush up her basic dressage because it is good for her.
Liz
P.S. - Have to add that we have huge available areas to ride in nearby, this being Wyoming.
Also, I am not a big fan of stalls, but hope to build something like this at our next place (the top photo):
http://www.shedsandshelters.com/CustomBarns.html
We recently purchased an 8.5acre property and built a barn and put up fencing. We have three 1 acree fields that go off of a 1/3 acre sacraficial paddock. Then we have about 3 acres of woods that we will be fencing in next year that are behind the fields so that they will have access to the woods from either of the back fields.
Question for all the folks on small acreage farms. . . do you leave horses out 24/7 or do you end up stalling horses to maintain good fields. I only ask b/c right now we are not letting horses (2 horses and a pony) on the fields b/c they are so wet from recent rain and want to keep them in good shape. So the boys have been in sacraficial, which is taking a hit now.
Thanks!
So happy to see others manage horses on a ‘small acreage farm’
You can print the google map page with the picture you want, then scan the print and there you have, as a picture in your computer.
I do like this post! I had trouble finding property in my area with what I wanted in my price range-barn w/land, house w/land etc. After looking for a year, I bought my house in a nice area near family. Its a rectangle. Lol House in middle in front, barn right behind it blocking all views, then straight back. I put my pastures w a ‘lane’ so I can go straight back w tractor to dump manure or build arena/more pastures but…its not ‘cute’. Lol I’ve been searching for 7 years trying to get ideas/‘a farm designer’.
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