Considering horses

[Alagirl]

Maybe I'm wrong but I got the impression her acreage was wooded? Not just a handful of trees... Nothing wrong with it but what grows under a heavy tree canopy versus a grass pasture can cause digestive problems,especially if it's all they have to eat during turn out. Make sure you can identify toxic plants and trees for horses

they often just strip the bark of trees just because.
Standing knee deep in grass and eating trees. Definitely something to watch out for.

 

[pinewoodacres]

Maybe I'm wrong but I got the impression her acreage was wooded? Not just a handful of trees... Nothing wrong with it but what grows under a heavy tree canopy versus a grass pasture can cause digestive problems,especially if it's all they have to eat during turn out. Make sure you can identify toxic plants and trees for horses

they often just strip the bark of trees just because.
Standing knee deep in grass and eating trees. Definitely something to watch out for.

That’s good to know. Only part of that area is wooded (with mostly pines), and there is a big open space that is trying to grow grass (and weeds) now that we cleared out the half dead little oaks that were there. The pine needles in the wooded area snuff out most of anything else that would grow save for wild blackberry (yes, thorns) and muscadine vines that have never borne grapes as far as I can tell.

 

[pinewoodacres]

Completely agree... I've had horses who do that!

At my previous house, we had 55 acres. Less than 5 of it was grass pasture. The rest was heavily wooded. I had a lot of trouble with my horses eating toxic plants and trees on that property because the grass was so poor and full of scrub. I had one horse, a large pony really, who ate a lot of wild persimmons. These aren't toxic themselves but eating a lot of them can cause bezoars in the stomach. He ended up dying from a bunch of tumors in his stomach. I had no idea... There are many different trees and plants that are very toxic to horses. They generally will NOT eat them unless it is all they have to eat. When you have less acreage, this can and does become a problem. My current house has 4.5 acres. We have a lot of giant oaks which provide critical shade. Of course, acorns are toxic to horses. We also have a couple of maples - also toxic to horses. I spend $500/yr on grass seed and pasture supplies to improve the 4 acres of actual grass I have to ensure my horses aren't tempted to eat any of the toxic stuff. It also helps keep down things like buttercup, red clover, and nightshade (all toxic) in the pasture.


I'm simply telling the OP to become familiar with the plants and trees on their property and know what may be toxic to horses. Know what the signs & symptoms of illness relating to them could be.

Thank you for those examples. We do have some persimmon shrubs we can take out, there are a handful of some type of oaks back there so I will check that, and I know we have some kind of nightshade that has popped up in some spots that my plant ID app can’t tell me beyond “it’s a nightshade.” I will definitely add this to my research list.

 

[Rise722]

I've had horses for over 65 years...but the last ones died and are buried down in the lower pasture...I'm not getting any more. The price of hay is too high now - as well as grain, salt blocks, vitamins, vet fees, etc. etc. etc. I would suggest that riding lessons are a nice exchange; or something along those lines; if someone really wants to be around horses. I used to help tame down dude ranch horses when I lived in Phoenix....since I was experienced, they would let me take out the green horses every evening.

 

[pinewoodacres]

Thank you all. This is such good info that only people with horses would think of! I’m glad I asked here.

I’m a realist so it’s not scaring me!

We have 4.5 acres and could probably fence off maybe a little under an acre in a rectangular shape for a shelter and dry lot. Part of that is wooded, part is in the sun but we would do like a three sided shelter in that sunny part I think, so they have more shade access.

We have what are basically trails on the property just from us walking certain paths on a regular basis. We are still working on infrastructure but I was thinking we could start purposely creating what would become riding trails around the perimeter so there is somewhere to work them outside of their specified area. Our neighborhood backs up to a state forest that we could probably access as well; I need to check on that still.

I have a spot in mind that would be basically between the horses and the garden where I could let the manure sit to break down where it’s out of the way of human activity. Lol A tractor is somewhere in our future but not sure where just yet! I’m already hauling chicken poop to where our banana ring will be with a wheelbarrow. Fun stuff.

 

[pinewoodacres]

Oh Lord, Ocala is the new and upcoming horse scene in Florida I have been told, fast outpacing Wellington for attractiveness.
That means the prices will only go up from here.
I think Percheron summarized it best. It is pricey to keep a horse.
Many people keep a goat as a companion for their horse, it has been a common trick on race tracks to keep horses calm. Just don't get an intact buck....donkeys are very loud, your neighbors might not like that.
There are tons of good books around to get more info. The ones in the library might be too broad. There was one I saw years back 'horse keeping on small acreage' that might be helpful, I need to look if I can remember the author. She has penned a lot of books.
Other than that, grab a pony club manual. Still the gold standard in horse care literature. Also, see what the lesson barn can offer in terms of info.

The purchase price is the cheapest part of ownership! Especially when you plan on keeping them at home!

ETA: Cherry Hill is the author
https://www.amazon.com/Horsekeeping...t=&hvlocphy=9012839&hvtargid=pla-449792533651

Thanks for the resources.

You guys who have mentioned the higher prices due to proximity to Ocala have a good point, although I think we are probably far enough that it’s not an issue (different county and more of an ag community rather than the more uppity horsey community, no offense intended by that), but I will definitely have that on my radar now. Real estate is getting ridiculous as you gomore toward Ocala from here, that much I do know.

Neighbors have a donkey like four lots down, I’m guessing it’s maybe 1600ft down the road and he is noisy! I think we would just get two horses rather than try to have a different species of companion animal with its own learning curve. There are 7 of us living here so two horses would still get worked often enough.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh, btw.....horses are hard on trees! You might have to protect them from damage - the trees - or you could lose them.

Maybe I'm wrong but I got the impression her acreage was wooded? Not just a handful of trees... Nothing wrong with it but what grows under a heavy tree canopy versus a grass pasture can cause digestive problems,especially if it's all they have to eat during turn out. Make sure you can identify toxic plants and trees for horses