Looking for advice/ideas RE pasture lease for horse

[Bikewanderer]

I currently have a section of pasture that is in a corner of my 40 acre parcel by the road, bordered on all sides by my neighbors property, the road, and my driveway. This area is about an acre and a half. I currently lease it to a girl who puts her horse on it. The rent is $125/month but I waived the first year rent because she did a bunch of fencing for me. The horse costs me about $40/month on my water bill and there is less maintenance on that part of my property.

She approached me today about moving an undesireable building from another part of my property to the small pasture for her horse. I don't like the building and want to tear it down, so am inclined to say no. That said, I am leaning towards having her build me a small building with a stall and tack room for her horse and have her and her boyfriend provide the labor and me pay for materials. I'd probably waive the rent for another year for this.

So here is my question: What kind of building should I build for maximum value? My first thought is to build as small a building as possible, but we might want a horse someday and another stall might be a good idea. In the meantime another horse might be a good thing. This one is pretty well mannered but it seems that a second might keep it from testing fences. Alternately having another stall might let me get some rent from someone else because I am probably inclined to keep waiving the rent for these folks because they are good help and I have stuff I need done.

So....are two horses on an acre and a half just too much? Would she welcome the idea of another horse or would it be a bad thing?

 

[tcreeley]

Build something that you will enjoy using - 2 stalls, hay storage, tack storage. Make the doors wide, ceiling high. Make it so as to have tractor access for cleaning.
1.5 acres is not a lot for grazing- 2 horses you'd need to supplement with hay/feed. Horses always decide who is boss- may be some turf wars. Sometimes one horse is driven away from the feed etc.. In my area you'd need to vet check a new horse - coggins etc. to be sure you're not bringing in some problems. + and not all horses are safe to ride- try them out first!

Good luck-

 

[sseelhoff]

I currently have a section of pasture that is in a corner of my 40 acre parcel by the road, bordered on all sides by my neighbors property, the road, and my driveway. This area is about an acre and a half. I currently lease it to a girl who puts her horse on it. The rent is $125/month but I waived the first year rent because she did a bunch of fencing for me. The horse costs me about $40/month on my water bill and there is less maintenance on that part of my property.

She approached me today about moving an undesireable building from another part of my property to the small pasture for her horse. I don't like the building and want to tear it down, so am inclined to say no. That said, I am leaning towards having her build me a small building with a stall and tack room for her horse and have her and her boyfriend provide the labor and me pay for materials. I'd probably waive the rent for another year for this.

So here is my question: What kind of building should I build for maximum value? My first thought is to build as small a building as possible, but we might want a horse someday and another stall might be a good idea. In the meantime another horse might be a good thing. This one is pretty well mannered but it seems that a second might keep it from testing fences. Alternately having another stall might let me get some rent from someone else because I am probably inclined to keep waiving the rent for these folks because they are good help and I have stuff I need done.

So....are two horses on an acre and a half just too much? Would she welcome the idea of another horse or would it be a bad thing?

In our experience, one acre per horse is the minimum you should have. Of course, that is also dependant upon your climate, soils, grasses, and how well the grass is established.

The more horses you have on that small of a pasture, the more hay you will have to feed. Keep in mind that in a typical horse farm, pastures are rotated so the grass can recover. You are not going to have that option. And the manure output will double. If you are in a rainy area, you also need to monitor how much damage they are doing.

 

[Bikewanderer]

That's about what I thought. This year was a tough year as far as grass went but it looked like the one horse was keeping up with it well by himself. Looks like cost would go up a lot to keep another horse there.

 

[JimRB]

I too have heard the acre a horse. That formula is ok if you have some rain to keep things growing. We have 3 different small pastures to rotate on and during dry months the pastures suffer.

So far I have only built one out building. A 3.25 sided 12x12 run in shed in the dry lot.

People who are keeping their horses are or should be wary of a strange horse being added to the mix. Especially in such a small lot where it is hard to get away from a bully horse.

 

[Ken45101]

It depends on your climate and the soil but I've heard 2-3 acres/horse and that seems about right from our experience. The closer to that number you are, the less supplemental feed you will need. We have about 30 acres of pasture. When we had 23 horses, we needed supplemental feed. Now that we are down to 8 horses, no additional feed is needed except during winter.

Horses are herd animals who like to have companions. I feel very sorry every time I see a horse alone by itself. Of coarse, some horses are poorly behaved but others get along fine.

 

[riptides]

I currently have a section of pasture that is in a corner of my 40 acre parcel by the road, bordered on all sides by my neighbors property, the road, and my driveway. This area is about an acre and a half.......

So....are two horses on an acre and a half just too much? Would she welcome the idea of another horse or would it be a bad thing?

I'd do a big lean to type shed. Big enough for three horses, if the horse don't pan out in the long run, you could close it off and use it for equipment.

We have three horses on about five acres, so far this winter, it does not look like enough, as they seem to be fond of certain spots.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

The more acres you can give them the better. We have not been able to rotate horses like we originally planned and the pastures suffer because of it. I do move the bale feeders around regularly to help spread out the traffic. They really need overseeded and limed to bring them back to life. I would build your building so that it has a dual purpose.

I highly doubt pasture horses are going to spend much time in the barn anyways. We have built run in sheds for them to get out of the weather on their own. I would ask the young lady what her plans are for the horses. If she was thinking about a barn or just something to let the animals get out of the weather. If it is something small, I would just do it. If its going to be a larger adventure, make sure that it has an alternate use for your own benefit. There is no telling how long those paying horses will be there.

 

[Ken45101]

We have three horses on about five acres, so far this winter, it does not look like enough, as they seem to be fond of certain spots.

Horses certainly have preferences. I'll be bushogging foot high grass while they insist on grazing on quarter inch clover.

I highly doubt pasture horses are going to spend much time in the barn anyways.

I agree, but shelter can be critical in certain weather. Our horses have 24/7 access to the barn. They will use it on hot summer days, cold rainy times, and cold windy weather like now.

Shelter is even more critical if they otherwise cannot get out of the wind. Our horses can get down on the lee side of the hills to get out of some of the cold wind. It can get very nasty on the ridgetop on windy days.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Horses certainly have preferences. I'll be bushogging foot high grass while they insist on grazing on quarter inch clover.



I agree, but shelter can be critical in certain weather. Our horses have 24/7 access to the barn. They will use it on hot summer days, cold rainy times, and cold windy weather like now.

Shelter is even more critical if they otherwise cannot get out of the wind. Our horses can get down on the lee side of the hills to get out of some of the cold wind. It can get very nasty on the ridgetop on windy days.

Sorry I misspoke, I meant pasture horses are not going to spend much time in a stall, giving them the option of a run in though is a great idea and I wouldn't put horses out 24/7 without it.