What's a person need for horse property?

[WM75Guy]

From a quick search of your county what I see is a lot of English riders, either dressage or hunter/jumper. My wife rides dressage. English riders are very different from western pleasure riders. English riders will want manicured pastures, fences without any barbed wire, and nice stables. Our stables cost more per square foot than our house. As far as it being a cult all I can say is I do like the taste of Kool-Aid. :licking:

Sell it as is. If you are looking to sell soon you don't have the time plus you will never be able to recoup the cost of making your property more attractive for a hobby horse owner. Horses are herd animals so most have 2 or 3 horses. Hobby horse people want at least 2 acres per horse plus another acre for the stables, arena, and parking. That area would need to be flat ground that is free of trees, stumps, and holes with established grass. That will take several years without any grazing to get established.

 

[Wagtail]

From a quick search of your county what I see is a lot of English riders, either dressage or hunter/jumper. My wife rides dressage. English riders are very different from western pleasure riders.

True... there's something about a female wearing 'sticky-bum' jodhpurs... :thumbsup:

[I wear jodhpurs too (when I ride) but I don't get the same reaction. :confused3:]

 

[Wagtail]

What? No pallets?

Steve

The hay ring in Paddock #3 is made of five pallets. You can tell it's #3 by the brass number on the gatepost.

[Yes, I'm pedantic/bored enough that I put brass numbers on my paddock gateposts :yes:]

 

[Pilot]

HSlogger, Roger was here this morning (I've known him for 20 years) & we talked about the options. I gave him several jobs when I was consulting several years ago & he clearcut part of our area in about 2003. I'm looking at thinning the stand because it is ready for it, so I was looking at options, which is why I asked about horses. Most trees are 8-10" DBH, 75-80 ft. tall, with a few larger trees up to 28" or so.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Definitely do your logging, but my advice is continue to manage it as timber land. Let the next owner decide what areas to clear cut, or offer to do so for a committed buyer.

 

[Ed of all trades]

The question is not what does a person need but what do they want, there is a big difference. Ed

 

[tcreeley]

Stumps and horses don't mix, no matter if the stump is only an inch high or 6" high. The horse comes through fast- that stump can do some damage when it comes down on it. The same goes for rocks, holes, uneven ground, brush, and roots. I'd leave the woods alone and let the new buyers thin. If you want tractor work, make them 10' wide smooth paths to ride on criss crossing the property.

I wouldn't bother- horse people are fussy and what one likes, another does not. Check out properties advertised in the area for horse people to see what they offer - Horse & Ranch Real Estate

 

[EddieWalker]

As a contractor I get jobs all the time from people wanting to do things in order to sell their place. Most of the time it's something that has always bothered them, that nobody else would notice. Sometimes it's doing a remodel that will update the place and make it more attractive to buyers. When I do those types of jobs, almost always they come up with something "cute" or "trendy" that they like, but very few other people will want. Ugly tile, lights, vanities and things like that. I always give them the same advice. Will this help you sell the place and make the majority of people who see it, want it? Then I tell them to talk to their realtor to see what buyers are wanting and if they spend the money on this project, will it help the house sell faster and/or bring in more money?

On the question of making improvements to the land for people with horses, I would first talk to my realtor and find out if there is a demand for that. If I didn't already have a realtor that I knew and trusted, I would invite at least five of them to come over and get their opinions. If you are lucky, one in five will have good information. The others will just be out looking for a listing and make up stuff to get you to sign with them right away.

I've looked at listings specific for horses and always found them to be a lot more then comparable properties that are not horse related. I've always entertained the idea of buying land, making it into a horse property and selling it for more because those people seem to be the big spenders. I'm sure it's just an impression that isn't justified because everyone that I personally know with horses is always broke and doing the bare minimum to keep their fences up and their barns dry.

If you are going to take out trees, take out the entire tree all at once. It's ten times the work cutting it down, then coming back and digging up the stump. Just dig it up all at once and let the weight of the tree pop it out of the ground. I've done this tens of thousands of times with my backhoe.

If I was to sell my place, I would focus on curb appeal from the second people see my entrance, to my driveway to the house and outbuildings. Everything would be freshly painted, mowed and put away.

 

[ustmd]

From a quick search of your county what I see is a lot of English riders, either dressage or hunter/jumper. My wife rides dressage. English riders are very different from western pleasure riders. English riders will want manicured pastures, fences without any barbed wire, and nice stables. Our stables cost more per square foot than our house. As far as it being a cult all I can say is I do like the taste of Kool-Aid. :licking:

Sell it as is. If you are looking to sell soon you don't have the time plus you will never be able to recoup the cost of making your property more attractive for a hobby horse owner. Horses are herd animals so most have 2 or 3 horses. Hobby horse people want at least 2 acres per horse plus another acre for the stables, arena, and parking. That area would need to be flat ground that is free of trees, stumps, and holes with established grass. That will take several years without any grazing to get established.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

My wife and MIL are members of the Church of the Horse and this is right on the nose.

For the pasture, the stumps will have to go as well as the trees (because the horses might (just might) chew on the bark and then colic.

Unless you have a dump truck of money and/or a ton of time, look at another option.

 

[ultrarunner]

I guess it comes down to knowing what people with money are willing to spend it on...

Both my dad and my brother in Nevada on a working Horse ranch... my brother set a lot or records in Endurance riding in his "Free" time... both he and his horse were well condition just by virtue of the work.

These horses were not pampered in the least... all kinds of terrain and all kinds of weather.

What has come as a huge surprise is how he is now with his own horses... 40 years later... everything has to be just right and cost isn't really a consideration... the horses he has now are like cherished pets compared to working stock.