Horse Talk

[abigalerose]

Yeah I did some more measuring and looking at it and I just think there's no way. I'm going to talk to my parents about it.
I know I could easily set it up to where I have the dry lot, which is attached to my barn and where I feed and water, and two little pastures that have a gate attached to my dry lot, but I'm not sure if that's enough. On the other hand though, if this is 4 1/2 acres like I think, then that means I'll have a 1/2 acre dry lot and two, 2 acre pastures, and that's pretty small so I may not want to split it up more than that. I'm not sure how fast 4 horses would burn through 2 acres though.

 

[I Love Layers]

Yeah I did some more measuring and looking at it and I just think there's no way. I'm going to talk to my parents about it.
I know I could easily set it up to where I have the dry lot, which is attached to my barn and where I feed and water, and two little pastures that have a gate attached to my dry lot, but I'm not sure if that's enough. On the other hand though, if this is 4 1/2 acres like I think, then that means I'll have a 1/2 acre dry lot and two, 2 acre pastures, and that's pretty small so I may not want to split it up more than that. I'm not sure how fast 4 horses would burn through 2 acres though.

Why not have the dry lot fences off and everything else all one? Our 3 horses are in over 100 acres right now. As long as you have some way of calling them up or getting them into a routine.

 

[abigalerose]

Would the grass stay good on 4 acres with 4 horses? I wouldn't wanna have to dry lot them for weeks at a time to get the grass to grow back, but I could dry lot them at night

 

[ShrekDawg]

From what I've read it's supposed to be an acre a horse but the place I rode at had way less room than that and just put them in like big pens. Of course, no grass was there anymore. And I'm not sure how many people actually give a full acre for one horse. So I guess it depends on the situation and your horse. I guess it also depends on if they're going to be living off the grass or if you're going to provide hay and grain too? I would think with 4 acres they wouldn't all be in the same area at the same time and wouldn't ruin the grass? Or at least not as fast? But I don't really know horses, just read some and learn from both that and here. If you follow the acre a horse thing, it should theoretically be enough room. Especially if it ends up being a little more than 4 acres

 

[Bunnylady]

How much land it takes to feed an animal varies widely. Among other things, it depends on rainfall, seasonal temperatures, soil type, soil fertility, plant types; just to name a few of the variables. On extremely poor, sandy soil that gets little rainfall, the calculation could even range into the realm of square mileage rather than acreage (I know someone who lives in an area that is desert; her entire property is essentially one huge dry lot) . Without knowing all of the variables for your particular situation, we really can't help you on this one.

 

[abigalerose]

I can't really tell you the variables either, I don't know much about that stuff. And the weather is always different in Missouri. Sometimes there's rain all the time and sometimes there's none.
Although I do think the soil is really good on the farm

 

[res]

You could talk to your local Extension office for specific info on the local stocking rate of livestock:acre. Regardless of what the rate is, rotation is ALWAYS a great thing. I have lived all over the US, from Alaska to Florida, for the last 20 years, and I can tell you that nowhere I have lived will support 4 horses on 4 acres 24/7. You will NEED to cross fence and rotate if you want to keep the grass. Your rotation schedule will need to change dependent on the season and even the rainfall, like BunnyLady suggests.

 

[PeepersMama]

Would the grass stay good on 4 acres with 4 horses? I wouldn't wanna have to dry lot them for weeks at a time to get the grass to grow back, but I could dry lot them at night

Before we got Smoke, my crazy pony, our girl would feed herself. I think the pasture's at least 1.5 acres. When we added Smoke to the pasture, it all became dirt in less than a week. I think that 1:1 would work out perfect.

 

[moomoodiddy]

But what's funny is how many people who think they are horse people react like the 'non-horse people,' and then wonder why they always seem to have problems with their horses.

x2

 

[showmanshiptop]

Lol.