# Wife wants a horse PLS HELP



## 1eyejer (Mar 27, 2010)

ok so she wants a horse, thats fine but could somebody tell me how big of a barn do we need and how much pasture do we need


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## miss_thenorth (Mar 27, 2010)

Just one horse?  cuz horses do better with a companion, either another horse or a goat or something.  Depending on you area, your pasture needs might vary.  i would say minimum, at least around here, one acre per horse, but that is cutting it slim.  A stall for a horse, should be about 10x12.  It can just be a three sided run-in shelter  (ideally) just so they can get out of the wind and elements.


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## 1eyejer (Mar 27, 2010)

miss_thenorth said:
			
		

> Just one horse?  cuz horses do better with a companion, either another horse or a goat or something.  Depending on you area, your pasture needs might vary.  i would say minimum, at least around here, one acre per horse, but that is cutting it slim.  A stall for a horse, should be about 10x12.  It can just be a three sided run-in shelter  (ideally) just so they can get out of the wind and elements.


Thanks for the info, I am looking to get a couple of goats and im sure the 1 horse will turn into 2. it would seem that we have lots of space, i guess i need to start building a horse barn


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## michickenwrangler (Mar 27, 2010)

Most horse stalls are at least 10 x 10 but that would only be for a small horse. Rule of thumb for acreage, 2 acres per first horse, 1 acre each additional horse.

Things to think about building a barn: feed and hay storage, tack storage, other storage for wheelbarrows, pitchforks, etc ... Where will the manure pile be? Is runoff from horse manure go into any waterways? What kind of fencing do you want/can afford? Wood fencing looks nice but is expensive and high maintenance. PVC fencing is gorgeous and no maint. but is VERY expensive. Electric is cheapest. What kind of charger will you use? Do you get enough sunlight for solar? Where will you get water from? Haul from house or do you want the convenience of a hydrant?

Food for thought.

Also have wife take horse friend/trainer/ and or farrier with her when she looks at horses.


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## MissDanni (Mar 28, 2010)

<<<<< Wife 

I want the barn to have a natural floor. I don't want cement floor or anything like that. So how do you build a barn with no floor without using cement?


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## WallTenters (Mar 28, 2010)

Why not just cement the corners and bury it? It will be like it was never there


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## MissDanni (Mar 28, 2010)

WallTenters said:
			
		

> Why not just cement the corners and bury it? It will be like it was never there


I think that could work. Thanks for the suggestion


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## patandchickens (Mar 28, 2010)

In most circumstances you do not really NEED a barn for a horse (although you will need somewhere for hay storage, and it is real good to have somewhere the horse can be confined if necessary e.g. for the farrier to trim hooves or if the horse is injured/ill). 

A shed, I would suggest no smaller than 15x10 (for 2 horses) and preferably larger, faced away from the worst of your winter weather and located on high dry well-drained nonmuddy ground, is quite good housing for nearly all horses. (Exception being those with chronic health issues or very very run-down).

'How much paddock area' depends. For 2 horses to make a living by grazing (24/7 turnout) with you not feeding any supplemental hay except in winter or deep summer drought, you will usually need at least 2 acres per horse, commonly more. Ignore what books say, they are just WRONG, this 'one acre per horse' thing is for horses turned out only for part of the day or only during the part of the year when the grass is growing fastest. Actually in some areas, with poor rainfall or sparse vegetation, it may take a lot more than that for horses to live off grazing alone, so you may end up feeding hay *anyhow*. And of course no matter where you are, there are likely to be winter months when hay is necessary.

It is a really really good idea to have an "all-weather" sacrifice paddock, which includes your run-in shed, that you ensure has mudproof footing. This needn't be hugely large -- 50x50 is adequate for 1 or 2 horses, if need be -- but you really do need to do whatever it takes to make the footing MUDPROOF, and it needs to be well-drained land. The horses can be confined to this at times when the pasture is too mucky or too grazed-down, or if there are issues such as laminitis that require horses be kept off grass. Having the ability to keep your horses off the good grass-growing pasture when the ground is soft and squooshy will GREATLY improve the quantity and longevity of your pasture for grazing.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## lupinfarm (Mar 28, 2010)

I agree entirely with Pat. 

Right now I have 1 large pony and 1 horse (freisian/qh) out on pasture 24/7 in seperate fields and we're doing okay with grass. We're on 8.38 acres and have probably 5 acres fenced. I whole heartedly agree about a sacrifice area, in the late fall and early spring we get a little muddy round the gates and my palomino mare turns into a chestnut.


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## patandchickens (Mar 28, 2010)

Don't be cementing anything in -- just do your barn pole-barn style, with 6x6 p/t posts or large poles that are set 3-4' deep in the ground. That will last better than cementing them. Even if you were doing a slab floor you would want to do something like that, for a small horse barn, as house-style stud walls DO NOT STAND UP TO HORSES LEANING ON THEM very well!! 

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## 1eyejer (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks for all the valuable info everyone


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## debiraymond (Mar 28, 2010)

michickenwrangler said:
			
		

> Most horse stalls are at least 10 x 10 but that would only be for a small horse. Rule of thumb for acreage, 2 acres per first horse, 1 acre each additional horse.
> 
> Things to think about building a barn: feed and hay storage, tack storage, other storage for wheelbarrows, pitchforks, etc ... Where will the manure pile be? Is runoff from horse manure go into any waterways? What kind of fencing do you want/can afford? Wood fencing looks nice but is expensive and high maintenance. PVC fencing is gorgeous and no maint. but is VERY expensive. Electric is cheapest. What kind of charger will you use? Do you get enough sunlight for solar? Where will you get water from? Haul from house or do you want the convenience of a hydrant?
> 
> ...


YIKES!!!  We have two horses and 2.5 acres.  They seem fine here.  Damn it now I have to move to a bigger place


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## ducks4you (Mar 29, 2010)

MissDanni said:
			
		

> <<<<< Wife
> 
> I want the barn to have a natural floor. I don't want cement floor or anything like that. So how do you build a barn with no floor without using cement?


You need to visit stables and find out what everyone has in your neck of the woods and WHY, then run the costs.  It is REALLY worth your time--I learned a lot by looking at places for 12 years before I bought my _property_, and would have used this knowledge if I was just _building a barn_, instead.
MY barn would have a mud floor this time of year, if it wasn't cement. Mine is cement about 3 foot high, then the wood starts.   Even show stables with dirt floors cover them with rubber mats, like my floor is covered with 1/2 inch rubber mats in the walkways and 3/4 inch rubber mats lining each stall.  Every time you clean up your floor of your stalls,, you'll be digging up the wet dirt BELOW the wet bedding and you'll have to continually replace it.  If your horse gets an abcessed hoof or thrush or an injury that requires stall rest you will WANT to be able to keep that stall clean.  A plain bare floor with dirt cannot be kept clean.  Just FYI.


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