# How Many Horses per acre?



## NostalgicGranny

I don't own horses but my neighbor does.
He is very strict about what he feeds them and when. Some of the other neighbors think he has too many horses for his land.
What is the general rule of thumb if the are being fed horse feed, have access to hay, and are allowed to graze? How many horses should a person have per acre???


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## wr

Every area is unique so the best way to find an accurate stocking ratio would be to check with your ag office but given the fact that he's also feeding, it really wouldn't apply. 

Are the horses thin or unwell in any way or are the neighbors just minding someone else's business?


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## where I want to

There are boarding and race stables with 50-100 on 20 acres. The restrictions are 1) the horses must be supplementally fed and exercised and 2) there must be a way to manage manure so that the flies are minimized an run off does not lead to pollution.
If pasture is the primary feed, then it varies with the land and horse. My friend down in the valley has 2 or 3 horses on basically 2 acres and can't keep them thin enough. At my place in the mountains, it would take about 5 acres per horse minimum. 
Some places also zone for animals so there may be a restriction on that.


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## DamnearaFarm

P&Z at the county office can advise as far as legally, Ag office as to sustainability. May even be restrictions via animal control. The way I see it, as long as the property is kept up and the animals fed, it's noone's business. Back when we lived here at the old farm before, we were rescuing and had 17 head on two acres. Hayed and grained year round, turned out dark colored horses at day and and light at night.. not saying I want to ever do that again because it was a LOT of work, but it was doable.


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## deineria

It depends on lots of things. . .

I have 3 horses and 1 pony.

The stallion is on right under 3 acres. He gets no hay in the late spring, summer or early fall - there is enough grass. He still gets 3 scoops twice a day of safe choice pellets.

Then we have about 15 acres fenced with our two mares and our pony. Only about 4-5 acres are nice pasture, but the rest has grass and forage through the hills and banks. They get no hay, but when they come down, they get safe choice (the mares, not the pony). . .which isn't but every few days, usually. 

I have kept 2 horses and a pony on 3 acres with added hay and feed, and they were in great condition and fine.

Acreage comes into play for more if you're not offering feed and hay. Horses - if having free choice hay - could easily be happy with 3-6 or so on a a few acres if the field is maintained, in my opinion


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## GrannyCarol

When I was a kid, we had an acre of land total, with about 1/2 acre in a paddock with a barn. We kept 2-3 horses, which were totally fed hay and grain and ridden a lot. We had a manure pile for composting and dad had a wonderful garden. Certainly those horses were well kept. Where I live now, to keep a horse on acreage without supplemental hay would run about 20 acres/horse (almost desert). 

There's a lot of variability given how much you want to feed and want to work. Are the horses of a good weight, reasonably clean and otherwise well cared for? Then nothing to worry about. Are they thin, bad feet, lacking water or other necessities? Then there is something to consider.

You can't tell if a horse is well cared for by the numbers of horses per acre really.


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## deineria

> You can't tell if a horse is well cared for by the numbers of horses per acre really.


Totally agree


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## AllEarsRabbitry

Every county has different zoning laws. I only have an acre (wish the guy with the empty lot that just sits and sits would sell it to me, it's an acre and a half - would be totally happy for the rest of my life with that - lol). I'm in so cal and in my area having an acre is actually a luxory really. Anyway, we are allowed 1 animal unit per quarter acre. Would I have 4 horses here? Umm, no. I currently have 1, would like another, but 2 is my personal max.


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## wr

I'm kinda of the opinion that if I go tattling on my neighbor, he has equal rights to tattle on me and while I might think I run a terrific operation, there's always ways to give things a negative spin. If I had concerns, I think I'd probably go have a nice visit with the neighbor, find out what his plans are and if I thought he had good intentions, I'd probably offer to help a bit. I'd far rather offer a bit of sweat labor than to make a mortal enemy. 

If he truly isn't doing right by the horses, maybe he needs a hand or some fresh ideas as to how to thin things out a bit. I like to take a softer approach before I come on like gangbusters because people tend to listen a lot better when they aren't defensive.


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## mountainwmn

Most stables here have only small dry lots for turn-out, and a few have no turn out at all. Its totally legal and the horses seem fine, though I wouldn't want to do that to mine.


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## ErinP

NostalgicGranny said:


> I don't own horses but my neighbor does.
> He is very strict about what he feeds them and when. Some of the other neighbors think he has too many horses for his land.
> What is the general rule of thumb if the are being fed horse feed, have access to hay, and are allowed to graze? How many horses should a person have per acre???


In my part of the world, it's _acres_ per _horse_.  And it varies significantly even from one end of the state to the other. Ie, it's impossible to tell you from here what your stocking rate is.

However, the fact that your neighbor is "very strict about what he feeds them and when" indicates that he's haying them anyway, so stocking capacity is irrelevant.


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## Joshie

I guess I'm in agreement that if people are not breaking any laws/ordinances that as long as their horses are well cared for it doesn't matter how many horses they have. 

People who report others for breaking ordinances should be aware that the reported will be angry and the reporters may well become the reported.


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