What area of land does a 16H TD x ID need? I have a half acre field, is this suitable for her.?

Question

What area of land does a 16H TD x ID need? I have a half acre field, is this suitable for her.?

Answer 1

it should be 1.5 acres for the first horse and then an acre for each subsequent horse so half an acre is a little on the small size especially for such a big horse, however there are a number of other factors, if the grass was laid down for milking cattle it will be quite rich and so may be able to sustain your horse for the first year or so, I would imagine the breed to be quite a good doer so again it may be ok on a smaller patch, all you can do is try, you may have to fertilise after a year and you may have to feed additional hay, and hard feed, If you can try and rest part of the field through spring and autumn when the grass grows it may help you through the winter.  Other than that your could approach the farmer and try and buy another bit of land. I've got three cobs on about 3.5 acres all good doers and it just about does us but I still have to put down hay in the winter.

Answer 2

id say a minimum of an acre prferably 1.5 acres for 1 horse and then an acre for every horse afterwards.

Answer 3

I dont really know what a

                "16H TD x ID" is???

But I can tell you that half an ac re would be enough....?

Answer 4

I was told it should be 1.5 acres for the first horse plus 1 acre per horse extra.

The problem is that they are wasteful grazers and with the good old British weather they can turn a nice field into a bog in very little time.

Are you planning on stabling her, bucket feeding and limiting turnout ? If you are then it could be just about workable at a push but you are going to have to keep up with poo picking etc or your field will very quickly become horse-sick.

Answer 5

Sorry but nowehere near. You need 1.5 acres for the first horse and 1 acre for each horse thereafter (and it's not fair to keep it by itself). You then need to times that amount by two (at least) to allow for paddock rotation, ideally 3. Horses can't graze the same paddock all year round.

Answer 6

It depends.

If your horse likes to have a good run around and trashes the field.. you will need more

But if it is calm and just eats.. and wanders about with a little gallop around.. i'm sure it will be fine.

Make sure you split your field in half so your horse can eat in one paddock for a few months while the other half rests vise versa.. and to keep your grass from going too quickly.. dont leave your horse out over night because the grass will go too quickly and you will be stuck.

Answer 7

Half an acre is too small unless she was on hard feed and stabling as well.  When it is wet the land will get poached and the grazing area too, so there will be no grass.  For turn out it should be okay, but only for her excersise.  Nothing else.

Answer 8

a bit on the small side unless you suplement the feed

Answer 9

it does sound small, i'd like to have a horse in at least one acre of land(for me personally).  you're going to have to pay more for you're feed bill, the more grass they eat the less hay and grain they have to be given.  then you'll end up, if you're not careful having to close the field for replanting.  you'll just have to keep a close eye one your horse's weight, your field, and how much grain/hay costs are.

Answer 10

You should have at least an acre per horse no matter how large or small they are.

Answer 11

I think that would be enough - with good grass management, but you don't say whether she would be stabled day or night, in which case it would be enough.  I manage my 15.1hh on less, however he is Laminitic.  Yes the rule of thumb is 1.5 acre per horse, but when land is so expensive you have to take what you can get.

Answer 12

the smaller the pasture the more time you need to get her out. a stall isnt too small if you take her out for 18 hours a day. ha ha. so if its a half acre a few hours a day should keep a frisky horse happy. what does everyone else think?

Answer 13

Generally the rule is 2 acres per horse.  It won't take her long to eat down a 1/2 acre paddock, then you'll have to buy hay and deal with dust-bowl conditions and mud when it rains.

Answer 14

I would say it is not suitable,

The general consensus is at least  an acre of land per horse i however would recommend slightly more.  

However i wouldn't recommend keeping a horse on its own as they are herd animals and you horse would be happier if kept with at least one other.

i would also work on you would need a 2 acres so you can rotate the grazing.

hope this helps

Answer 15

Not enough for her full time by any stretch of the imagination. If she is working and stabled at night half and acre is OK as a tern-out paddock.

She will need two feeds a day as well as tern-out.Small ones if she not in work. Basic chaff (bulk) a good balencer (vitamins and minerals) No nuts. If she is in work then add nuts not mix (can cause skin eruptions)

Ad lib hay at night in her stable.

I would divide it in two and rest half/graze half.

Working it this way you can let the resting half grow up. (fertilise it and keep her of it for a while) then when she goes into that end, fertilise the other end and then rest that.

Never let the grass get so low it takes ages to come back. Once both ends have been treated/rested you can put her out one month in paddock a) one month in paddock b) and so on.

Worth thinking about though. Horses are herd animals and tend not to do so well on their own. Half an acre is not enough to support two horses for more than a month.