Very small acreage for 2 horses

[KCSLK]

I know this has been asked many times before, but I have some specific questions so please bear with me.

Total property is about 2/3 acre in a rectangular shape, wedged in between homes on either side. From what I know so far, there is no zoning on livestock, but neighbors’ tolerance of horses would probably factor in to how feasible this is. It would be a temporary-ish situation for 2 quiet horses that get along well…1-2 years. So far the soil appears fairly well-drained. Since it would be best to be able to turn the sacrifice area back into lawn at the end for sale/rental of the property, I’d rather not put in footing except for a small run (maybe 12’ x 24’) off each stall. Aside from the runs, total area of sacrifice lot would probably be only 0.35-0.4 acre at the most depending on where septic field is located. Is this sacrifice area going to be a nightmare of a mud pit with only dirt? Is it even reasonable to be able to inexpensively turn this back into lawn in a short period of time? Plan would be to daily pick manure and compost it, feed good-quality free choice hay 24/7/365, and ride frequently to exercise the horses. Even with these provisions, would this situation be okay for the horses?

Thank you

[DunByMistake]

My first thought is - no. That’s a pretty small space.

It’s not clear from post if you’re going to also be living on property? And if there is a barn or shelter already built as you refer to stalls? These were my thoughts reading post.

1. do you have winter? Where I live, it is not possible to manure pick all year. Which means come spring, there is a lot of melting poop to be cleaned out. And it smells. I expect Neighbours would not be big fans of that.
2. manure management. You say you will compost manure. What would your plan be exactly? Build a composting shed? That requires turning which requires equipment. Also what will you do with manure when it is composted? I can tell you from experience, 2 horses generate a lot of manure.
3. space to ride. Especially if you have a home on property, I just don’t see how you’ll have enough room to exercise horses on property. Which means trailering out or trail riding. If you leave one horse alone, will it call and pace fence? Neighbours may grow tired of that quickly.
4. Neighbours. There are dozens of threads on here about people who have issue with their neighbours and curious people who are too attracted to horses. I would be very concerned about other people petting, feeding or coming into horses’ pen since it will presumably be right out to property lines and horses will be visible by other people.

[mjhco]

Depends on where you live. I know quite a number of people in the Phoenix / Scottsdale areas that keep horses on less than an acre. Takes lots of management but it is done.

[SLW]

Yes, two horses could live in that space however it will require regular work to keep it tidy. Many horses in CA boarding barns live that way. In the runs you could put down a 6" base of limestone screenings which keeps it from getting muddy and makes cleaning up the manure easier.

If you use the 1/2 acre larger turnout area every day it will be eaten bare of grass and become muddy in the wet season. If you limit the use to every other day, and never when it is wet, there is a better chance of keeping some ground cover on it.

Good luck with the neighbor situation. Some may love it and others may not.

[HungarianHippo]

No, I would not do that, it just doesn’t sound like a suitable site. A family nearby us recently fenced off about an acre of what had been a vibrant, healthy lawn and put two horses on it. Within 6 months it was basically just dirt with a slight green tinge. They’re getting erosion problems now because the grass root system is dying and no longer holding soil.
I’m sure it’ll be able to be restored at some point, but probably require a complete renovation.

Have you talked to the neighbors to see how they’d react? Best way to avoid zoning board battles is to share your neighbors your plans and see if you can incorporate their concerns into your plan. Don’t have to give them everything they want, but a little accommodation in advance goes a long way toward preventing an angry reaction when equipment rolls up and starts installing fences. Even if not expressly prohibited by zoning, there may be “nuisance” ordinances that apply. Daily manure pickup or no, every fly that ever existed in the whole neighborhood will suddenly be your fault. Flies like compost piles, too.

I dunno, all the expense of setting this up and then restoring it, when you only need it for 1-2 years? I think I’d double down and find a boarding situation.

[Simkie]

You don’t really have enough space to compost your manure on site with such a small property, particularly with close neighbors. Price out a dumpster with weekly removal.

Does this property have hay storage? Buying small quantities frequently is expensive and stressful.

Are the horses the types that can tolerate what is essentially stall living, with fairly limited turnout, and not go totally crazy when they are out?

Where are you planning on riding??

[dkcbr]

@KCSLK

I know this has been asked many times before, but I have some specific questions so please bear with me.

Total property is about 2/3 acre in a rectangular shape, wedged in between homes on either side. From what I know so far, there is no zoning on livestock, but neighbors’ tolerance of horses would probably factor in to how feasible this is. It would be a temporary-ish situation for 2 quiet horses that get along well…1-2 years. So far the soil appears fairly well-drained. Since it would be best to be able to turn the sacrifice area back into lawn at the end for sale/rental of the property, I’d rather not put in footing except for a small run (maybe 12’ x 24’) off each stall. Aside from the runs, total area of sacrifice lot would probably be only 0.35-0.4 acre at the most depending on where septic field is located. Is this sacrifice area going to be a nightmare of a mud pit with only dirt? Is it even reasonable to be able to inexpensively turn this back into lawn in a short period of time? Plan would be to daily pick manure and compost it, feed good-quality free choice hay 24/7/365, and ride frequently to exercise the horses. Even with these provisions, would this situation be okay for the horses?

Thank you

As others have alluded, 1) check zoning first and 2) be sure (like get in writing) that all neighbors approve. Be sure they understand your plans for manure management, fly control, dust control, secure fencing, and rodent control.

[js]

Are you living in a house on the property or adjacent to it? I’d be concerned about neighbors that close, while they may or may not complain about the horses, they may also decide feeding and petting the horses is a great idea. Are your horses going to like being that close to neighbor noises? That would be a concern for me, having experienced neighbors that insisted they should feed, pet and get in the pasture with my horses.

There are plenty of examples of horses kept on very small acreage, just look at some areas of CA or even areas like Germany. There was a lovely example years ago in one of the horse magazines of a home, barn and arena all on 1/2 acre of land. It too was a rectangle shape. Arena was directly attached to the barn and served as the turnout area. It looked very pretty and suppose it worked well.

Manure disposal on that small of a place would probably be best served by hiring a dumpster (that’s what we use).

[Arlomine]

Instead of paying for a dumpster and removal… I bought a small dump trailer.
I really detest the idea of throwing money into somebody else’s business when I could be making an investment in something that I can use myself. You can find farmers to come pick this thing up and dump it… That’s what I do. Or if you have time you could be the dumper.

[clanter]

Aside from the runs, total area of sacrifice lot would probably be only 0.35-0.4 acre

4/10th an acre is the size of my back yard where we let the horses graze every now an then… so it is going to be real easy for me to say I think you need to board the horses elsewhere

As others have noted, there are many places like in Simi Valley CA where it is very common to have horse maintained in large runs of about 20ft by 40ft without pasture and those horses appeared to be OK, just not my cup of tea

[She_s_Pure_Gold]

I think the expense of doing any site work/footing improvement, plus a barn (even just a shed), plus all supplies (buckets, wheelbarrow, manure forks, grain bins, etc etc it all adds up quickly), plus fencing, plus manure removal etc would make this a poor decision if only to be temporary. Not sure where you are, but I can’t imagine you’d be able to do all of that and then turn it back into a yard for less than the cost of boarding 2 horses for 1-2 years, even doing full board. That is not a lot of property to do it well and it would be a LOT of work.

[Willesdon]

For many years I rode in London on horses that were stabled with absolutely no turn out. They were relaxed, sane and happy. However:

1. Stable hygiene was scrupulous so there were no issues with smells, flies and straw blowing around. The stables were poo picked at least 4 times a day.
2. Manure management was very careful (see above) and the heap was regularly taken away, which was a big cost, given the urban location.
3. Feeding was careful and personalised. It was always a fine balance between energy and explosion, good body score and overweight. Plenty of hay, if not ad lib then many times per day.
4. Feed and hay was expensive because a lack of storage space meant we could not bulk buy and all hay had to be small bales. It had to be delivered in by truck once a week and people had to be on hand to unload as there was no room for machinery.
5. The horses were doing at least 3-4 hours work a day, in lessons and hacking in the park. They frequently went out of London at weekends for competitions and trail rides. If a horse needed box rest for any reason, we sent them out to the country.
6. The horses were sent out of London for at least 2 weeks of recreational turnout each year, more frequently if they told us they needed a break.
7. Any horse that did not adapt, or who began to show signs of stress, was quickly moved on to a new home.
8. There were 4 professional grooms for 14 horses plus a very active membership who were trained in horse management. In addition, we had a highly trained part time manager who ensured consistent oversight. It is labour intensive keeping horses with no, or very limited turn out.

I agree with the majority view: don’t do it.

[Foxglove]

Some of Amish neighbors do this --but as others pointed out --it’s a lot of work —the Amish horses are used for transportation to/from work daily, stabled at the work site (or Amish school) then driven home, stabled, or given a bit of turn out on the acre to two acres --so in a sense they are worked thoroughly twice a day (with every other Sunday off). The Amish clean stalls daily [at least my neighbors do] and use manure on gardens. Our neighbors seem very conscientious, but I’ve heard of others who are not. I don’t personally think this is ideal for a horse --yes, the horse’s needs are met, and their health is important to the owner, but when I asked the neighbor lady what her mare’s name was, she said I’d have to ask her husband. Not thinking this is the kind of relationship I’d want with a horse --sounds more like how I think of my truck --but thinking about it, Silver is my truck’s name. . .

[Highflyer]

Apart from what everyone else has said, unless you put in an arena with footing or are in an area that is basically sand, I don’t think the ground will hold up to ride on daily.

[4horses]

I would give the horses more then a dirt run- give them as much room as possible. I had 2 horses on 1 acre. Right now I have 4 horses on 3 acres. It is possible.

Give them the biggest drylot area possible. I realize you are worried about the grass, but i would just plan on planting some once the horses are moved elsewhere. Buy seeds from rural king and sprinkle them by hand and rake them- my friend just did her entire pasture this way. It was a barelot.

On my 1 acre lot- the horses had most of it except for the house area and 1/4th acre driveway. It did turn to sand and we added additional fill, but no erosion. It flooded part of the year and the horses would go in the stalls or driveway area.

I rode my horses daily and didn’t have issues with excessive energy, but we would go out all day on the weekends, trailer places, and ride 5-12 miles a couple days a week. Manure has to be picked daily and spread on the grass. I did not need a compost pile. i tried a compost pile here- it just turns to mud and slippery muck. Too much work. Easier to spread the manure straight on the pasture.

The people who bought our former property planted grass and removed the fences. Turned the barn into a workshop.

The smaller the property, the higher the work load. If you are very dedicated to manure removal on a daily basis, it can work.

[KCSLK]

Thank you for your replies. I decided to pass on this property (although I had REALLY wanted to make it work if possible for several reasons). This type of horse keeping would have been very different from what I am used to, but I knew people do it in some places, so I had to ask!

Even though the property is a no go, just a couple things that MIGHT make this seem less crazy ;)…The site already has a barn on it that could easily be converted back into 2 roomy box stalls, tack/feed room, and storage. There is more than enough storage space for a year’s worth of hay/bedding for 2 horses at one time, even considering more than twice the amount I’d normally assume since they wouldn’t have any grass. The property is in a rural area with okay trails and dirt roads for riding nearby, but in a cluster of houses where big dogs, chickens, goats, other small livestock are regularly kept and the neighbors seemed open to adding horses to the list. One of the two horses needs to be in a dry lot for a significant portion of the year anyway if there is plentiful grass available and the other has a health issue that needs specific management that makes it challenging to find the right boarding situation, although I’ve been very lucky so far with that. So I was hoping there might be some way to make a 1/3-1/2 acre paddock work, although that seemed awfully tight to me. Ahh well, the search continues!