# Owning a horse for dummies



## brandonh72 (Aug 11, 2015)

I'm tossing around the idea of buying horses to help keep down the grass in my front 10 acres. I don't plan on riding them. I've never owned a horse, so please excuse my questions:
I've heard horses are picky eaters, so is this idea a lost cause (I just have field grass, nothing special)?
Will some old mares work for what I want (someone told me that you can buy old mares relatively cheap)?
Where do people typically buy horses?
Do I need a corral or barn (I have a clean pond and plenty of shade trees)?
Lastly, will they be okay out in the elements during winter without a corral or barn?
Thank you for your advice.


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

Get sheep or cattle. Horses are horrendous grazers, much harder to manage than ruminants, and require a lot of routine maintenance even when not ridden. And they spend their days looking for new and more spectacular ways to kill themselves. Seriously. When I was a teenager and worked at a lesson stable, we had a gelding come in looking like he'd sliced through an artery. We never could find what he hung himself up on despite 3 of us combing the field and fence lines for several hours.

Get some other grazing animal. You can actually make money that way. I love horses, but you might as well stand outside lighting $100 bills on fire when you have them.


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## brandonh72 (Aug 11, 2015)

TheFarmerMommy said:


> Get sheep or cattle.


Can you have sheep with a simple barb-wire fence? I know goats require different fencing. As for cattle, I've been told that they're really expensive right now. Thanks for the advice.


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

Believe me. You probably don't want horses out there with a simple barbed wire fence. Some horses are ok with it. A majority of them will rip themselves to shreds on it. They're not like other farm animals. They really aren't. Spend some time helping out someone who has them and you will see what I mean. 

The main thing is that they won't accomplish your land management goals. Unlike ruminants, they have top teeth. This enables them to bite off grass basically at the soil. This leaves bald patches. They will also eat the best bits and trample the rest down with their hoofs. They will require lots of special hay in the winter when the grass dies unless you live in a warm climate. Cattle can eat hay that's slightly molded, etc. The same hay can kill horses. I'm in the Shenandoah Valley. It costs me $50-$80 a round bale for good horse hay. Most of the time I end up getting square bales that cost $5-8 each. Old horses frequently need some extra nutrition in the winter like alfalfa hay. That's insanely expensive here unless I buy it in huge (500+) quantities direct from the field in summer.


It is cheaper and less trouble to pay someone to bushhog every couple months. I understand wanting to "go green" and use animal power. You could get any number of horses for free whereas you'd pay for cattle. But you'd be turning a profit off the cattle while you'd be losing money on the horses.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I'm w/FarmerMommy on this one. Horses won't do what you want them to do. Yes, they look nice out there (sometimes horses that aren't ridden are referred to as lawn ornaments or pasture pets), but you need to have their hooves trimmed. They may need shoes. They need to have shots. They need to have their teeth done. And if they lose teeth, then they need special feed. If it's really wet out, they can really dig up the pasture. Plus if they get hurt on the barbed wire, you may end up w/a big vet bill. And while they may be OK w/only trees for shelter, it's better to have at least a run in for them.

Depending on the grass you have and how much, you may even be able to get someone to come and bale it for you. Then you could sell it and make money.


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## karenp (Jun 7, 2013)

I love horses but I have to agree goats would be a better option. They graze to a nice lawn type length and their little pellet like poop doesn't leave big clumps. If you already have posts in place it shouldn't be hard to run electric fence to keep them in.

Goats will need their feet trimmed too, but you can do it yourself.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

I agree with everything said above. Before lawn mowers, lawns were managed with sheep. Horses will eat off the good grass and leave behind nothing but weeds. Maybe you have a neighbor who is equipped and will do custom haying for you: he gets half and you can sell the other half.


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## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

If it's just barbed wire, sheep and goats are likely outta the question unless you wanna re fence 10 acres. I suggest getting a few cows, even mini cows would be good.


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## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

Or maybe, if you don't mind people on your property, lease it out to someone who already has cattle or horses.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Horses and cows also leave large manure piles that breed flies. Horses need their hooves trimmed at regular intervals (at least every two-or-three months to be humane), which is an ordeal if the horse is not compliant. 

Just about any one species of animal will eat the "best stuff" (whatever that may be in their opinion) and allow the other stuff to go to seed, reproduce and spread. Eventually you have a pasture of stuff that species doesn't want. To help avoid having that happen, you want one species of grazer and one species of browser (sheep and goats, for example).

As someone else stated, unless you are looking to get into livestock, it is less hassle to brush-hog twice a year. Or, better, hire the job out. If all you want is to keep the vegetation under control, that is.


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## brandonh72 (Aug 11, 2015)

dizzy said:


> Depending on the grass you have and how much, you may even be able to get someone to come and bale it for you. Then you could sell it and make money.


I wish I could do this, but our land is very rocky.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Having a thousand pounds of animal, with a very strong flight response and a strong personality, needing to have its feet trimmed periodically, would be an issue to keep humanely for someone who doesn't know their needs. And believe me, there are plenty of people around to look over how you care for them, criticize and call the authorities. At the drop of a hat. And a lawsuit if they get out. 
A few strings of hot wire will allow the keeping of other animals.


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

One last thing and I'll shut up, lol. If a traditional meat animal hurts itself, you can sell it at the sale, send it to be butchered, etc. Obviously, if a horse gets hurt or sick bad enough you can have it euthanized. But what if it's a minor to moderate injury? Daily treatments can be extremely time consuming and not much fun if you have a fractious horse. Let's say one puts itself through the barbed wire. Are you as a non-horse experienced person going to be able to safely restrain the horse for treatment? Probably not. Stuff like that is challenging even for people that have spent their life around horses. Or something more minor that requires stall rest, for example. You'd need a way to confine the horse. I've taken care of horses where treatment took 4 hours a day. And you could get into a weird gray area. A lot of people consider them pets. What if it's a minor thing but you'd rather not deal with it and want the horse put down? I suppose most vets would do it. But I'd worry about being investigated even though it's probably legal.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

In most areas of the country, the time that the grass is going to feed a horse is a fraction of the year. At first there won't bee enough to feed a horse, there there will be too much and everything will go to seed. The horses will do fine on the grass, but will avoid weeds, allowing the weeds to set seed and spread. For much of the year you'll need to buy hay to supplement the grass.
Flies bite horses and during the day, it is best if they have shelter out of the sun. Less than an enclosed barn, more than a shade tree.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

I would skip all the work and responsibility of livestock and either rent the pasture to other farmers or have someone cut and bale the hay. If you really just want the land to stay short, then tell the hayer to keep all the bales and profit.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

From threads like this one, I sometimes wonder why any of us have horses at all. WHAT A HASSLE.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

jennigrey said:


> From threads like this one, I sometimes wonder why any of us have horses at all. WHAT A HASSLE.


Crazy, huh?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

The original poster has no intention of doing anything beyond looking at a horse.
While the rest of us horse owners have or originally had the intention of doing something, someday, with our pasture ornaments. Huge difference.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

brandonh72 said:


> I'm tossing around the idea of buying horses to help keep down the grass in my front 10 acres. I don't plan on riding them. I've never owned a horse, so please excuse my questions:
> I've heard horses are picky eaters, so is this idea a lost cause (I just have field grass, nothing special)?
> Will some old mares work for what I want (someone told me that you can buy old mares relatively cheap)?
> Where do people typically buy horses?
> ...


If you're looking for a lawn mower, horses wouldn't be my first choice simply because they generate no revenue from those 10 acres and do require maintenance. 

I would suggest you lease your grass to a horse owner and you'd have the benefit of generating a bit of revenue and letting someone else deal with the maintenance or you could look at a few goats (and electric fencing) or possibly picking up a bottle calf or two so you could put some beef in the freezer.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

If you don't want horses for the sake of liking horses, I'd go with a couple of calves instead.

Cattle improve pastures, horses ruin it.

Besides, as others have said, horses+barbed wire fence=vet bills.

The calves would be fine with a three sided shed. You don't say where you are, and how bad your winters get.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

brandonh72 said:


> I wish I could do this, but our land is very rocky.


Right there is enough reason to NOT have horses. They don't do "very rocky" well, they can get stone bruises that erupt into full blown accesses, which would need medical intervention from a vet. 

In case no one has mentioned it, putting horses out on grass can founder them quickly if they haven't been grazed out 24/7 for the year. It is a dangerous idea you have, with no knowledge of horses or their care you can cause a lot of pain and suffering to an animal that can't tell you what is hurting, can colic on you in a heartbeat, founder at any moment, or crash through a barbed wire fence in a panic, and you will spend a lot of money for their care overall anyway even without any of those dastardly things happening. 

Go with sheep, get a livestock guardian dog to protect them, or learn to enjoy the beauty of tall grass;-)


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