Is this totally mad idea?

[jennifire]

I've got a big decision to make.. Our landlady has agreed she'd let me the paddock that wraps around our garden (and would build me a field shelter!) the paddocks is not huge (2 acres?) would I be totally mad leaving the livery yard and having them basically at the door step.

The livery I'm currently at is 1/2 mile from home, I have 2 "big ponies" 14hh laminitis prone, 14.2hh very good doer and 11.2hh obese sec A. I have stables and 5 acre field for my 3 ponies, which is really too much, they are all fat, big ones come in for the night and all go out in grazing muzzles.

From the livery yard to access hacking I have to ride along the main road (very busy A road) if they were at home I have a access to 10miles of stewardship scheme off road riding without having to cross the main road. My friends from the livery yard mostly come and hack on this side of the road so could easily meet up and join them. We do have indoor school and gallop there but have to pay extra £10 a week to use them, if I moved and wanted to use them it would be £10 a go.

Really don't know what to do for the best, any thoughts? And how much would be a fair price for a 2 acre field with a shelter but no water (well, it'll be water from my garden tap :-D ) or electricity?

[portiabuzz]

I would be very tempted

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[clipclop]

Is the landlady horsey? Although yours may well cope with only 2 acres, will the landlady be happy if it turns to mud over winter? The landlord of my yard accepts that horses mean poached fields in the winter but a lot of land owners like to see green (plus some farmers loose grants if fields are poached) and often backtrack on agreements once the winter kicks in.

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[jennifire]

Clipclop, the landlady is not horsey so I can see your point. We have rented our house from her for a year now and she's the most relaxed landlady you can imagine!In the year we've been here there has been sheep in the field for approx 2 months that's it and it's very overgrown and will need a good topping and tidy up but currently it's going to waste as they have more than plenty of grazing for their sheep.

In the winter mine normally go out 9 to 4-5ish and if the rain is awful they just go out for a little leg stretch while I muck out. I'm hoping to have a decent enough shelter with gates so can use them as a stables over the winter. All ponies are pretty fine and light footed so normally haven't had too much of a trouble with pouching (except right by the gateway) In the summer they come in for the day and turned out at night.

Her carpenter friend is coming to have a look and see what he can do shelter wise and will have a more in depth chat with her at the same time before committing

[☼ WIZARD ☼]

In view of the fact you have just got Jenson going, I would stay at the livery yard , at least for the winter. The indoor school and additional help with any problems that may arise when you need a confident friend even just to sit and watch you for ten minutes is invaluable. You can then re assess in the Spring.
Or maybe have the others at home and Jenson at the livery yard (this is what I have done)

[Deleted]

I tend to agree with Wizard about the timing for Jensen.

I moved my horses home about a year ago and it is utterly amazing having them outside the house, however, if there's one bit of advice I'd give, it's to make sure you have a dry yard area you can bring them onto. Concrete/ hardstanding would be best but even getting a big load of woodchips delivered and laying them very thick are better than nothing. I started last winter without and quite honestly it was awful and I hope to never be without a yard again!

[antares]

I would keep your youngster at livery and bring the smaller ones home, see how you get on and then have a rethink in the spring.

What type of soil is it? That can have a huge impact on whether it is viable or not. I happily kept two horses out all winter when I was on sandy soil but couldn't do it in the field I now have.

Hard standing is a must, field shelter that can be made into two in case you need to separate one (injury or whatever). What about storage for hay and bedding? What about muck heap?

I would go for it, never was happy at a yard but in all honesty I'd wait for the spring as winter can be a lot tougher than people think.

[jennifire]

The situation at the livery is that is not really a "livery yard" it use to be a racing yard and now they have few liveries, I'm the only one who actually does anything with their horses as such. There is 5 of us but mine are the only ones stabled and some of the girls don't even go to the yard daily, I spend most of the time there on my own.

It's Jensen who made me think of moving away from there as the hacking is only accesible through very busy and fast A road (unless you turn back on yourself)Fire sort of copes with the lorries (but it petrifies me!) the indoor school is currently set as a track where they excercise the remaining racehorses loose and the surface is dreadfully deep so no real use for me. If I wanted to use the facilities from home I can pay as I go and it's 10 min hack from home (although i'd have to cross the dreaded main road again)

The field shelter would 12ft by 24ft and set up as 2 stables with gates. Muck heap removal would need to be negotiated into to the price (we literally live at the end of our landladys long drive)

For hay/straw storage we have a carport right next to the gate to the field from our garden.

Fire can't live out 24/7 (she only goes out in grazing muzzle all year round) so like her to come in and have some hay and rest wearing the muzzle. Jenson has always been part stabled too so fingers crossed I could manage with the amount of land.

[antares]

Sounds like you've already made your mind up so I would say go for it you've got more in place already than I had when I moved to current house.

Is the landowner a farmer then? Would they be willing to remove the muck heap? A lot of them aren't...

[crazycolt]

Sounds very much the same as mine. I manage okay with the (just under) 2 acres, of course I'd like more for winter, but then i'd have a terrible time in summer, as I end up with too much grass as it is for my good doers. I love having them at home, where I can pop in and out to see them as I can, day or night! Not easy though, was going to say it's hard being all on your own, but then if there isn't really anyone at your livery place, no different. and if you wanted someone to watch for moral support, can't see that would change either. Agree about the hardstanding/woodchip/something, was horrible the first winter with the mud. But I dread having to go back to livery, I love knowing where my horses are, all the time, and who is with them. Good luck whichever you decide, make sure it's right for you and your horses. 

[janwilky]

I have three on two acres of wet, heavy clay. It means I have to feed hay all year round but on the other hand I'm never stressing about having too much grass in spring and autumn. Winters can be 'interesting' but I'm an independent soul and I love having my horses at home and not having to deal with a livery situation so I wouldn't swap it for anything - well, except for sandy soil maybe! I agree with Michelle about having some sort of hardstanding/yard, we put in a small stoned yard at the top end of the field the year after we arrived and it's been a godsend - last year, throughout the months of dreadful wet weather they barely left the yard and I don't know how we'd have managed without it. I have a field shelter but they just used it as a toilet so now I keep the hay in there and I built an open-sided mini pole barn off one end of the shelter which gives them somewhere dry if they need to get out of the weather and also gives me a dry place for doing feet etc.

It sounds like your hacking is a lot better from home, and safer too so if I was in your shoes I'd go for it as long as you can sort a proper agreement out with your landlady.