Come With Me - How I Keep my 4 Horses on Just 2 Acres of Land
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Forage Friends and Freedom - it is highest priority for me that my horses have a happy life. I want them to be happy also when I am not around.
I don't have a lot of land, its just rented as I don't have my own property (yet). Come with me and see how I optimized my horse's living conditions even though the limited possiblities!
How do you keep your horse(es)?
This is my 1st time seeing your channel. Hubby & I are pasture poop scoopers too!. We have 4 grazing acres- 1 acre grazing for each horse, but they poop so much that if we didn't scoop they would be forced to graze around each other's poop & risk ingesting parasites, just like you pointed out. Here in Florida in the USA, the flies in summer can get out of control. We decrease their numbers by scooping the poop where fly larvae grow & feed, thus lessoning chances of new larva hatching & surviving. Bonus feature is our land is neat, clean, & pleasant to look at. In winter when it's dry here we scattwr hay around the fields so they move to feed, which mimicks grazing. I totally agree with your hay placement as well. It also cuts down on colic chances because they aren't just standing still gourging themselves on hay. We have a free access portion on the back side of our barn that we put mulch down too, but I don't like that ground covering. The wood chips can get stuck in their hooves. Plus I want to be able to remove the urine, but the mulch makes it too difficult. How are your mats attached & secured so they don't shift or lift? They look nice & level & have a good tight fit without gaps. How do you clean the urine from mats?
I love the bucket strapped to the head. To reduce foid waste, I ended up setlling on the widest & shortest buckets I could buy to solve the issue. It isn't 100%, but it has helped. My horses like to watch for predators, so it seems anyway, so they pop their heads up while chewing. Since getting the short & wide buckets,
they can see around them without popping their heads up. I think all horses are a little clostraphobic, which was another reason the taller narrow buckets were an issue for my horses. I put their buckets on the grass, so they can easily eat any spills without ingesting stones or sand. If I feed them in barn stall during bad weather, they eat on a mat which allows them to eat any food they drop. I may try the bucket strapped to head though. I know for trail feeding that works well.
I really appreciated your feeding routine. Insightful, thank you.
I was glad to see you making the horses give you space at feeding time. The way a couple of them are mouthy on your arm was concerning, even if they are being playful. I guess it is something that doesn't bother you or you would address it like you have handled feeding time issues. In Florida, USA instead of moving my water troughs further from shelter to encourage movement, I station several containers separately around the edge of pasture to encourage drinking. It gets very hot here in summer & horses need tons of water to avoid dehydration. I put salt out to encourage drinking & to help replace the salt they loose when sweating. I imagine with all the slope your horses stay fit & their toplines are good & strong. A horse I rescued gets work backing up on a slope to help build his topline & hips. Florida is pretty flat being at sea level, so hills are hard to come by in most cities. I happen to live in an area with a few hills, hence the city name, Zephryhills, which works for horse fitness via natural landscape. Your land offers a built in "gym" for horse muscle fitness.
Yes, we are very interested in your forest strip that neutralizes urine ammonia. This was a very interesting video, you have used the land well for the horses. Thank you!
Great - I will show in a separate video more about my bedding. I have researched it for a long time before I dared to take the leap. And I am not disappointed. but it needs a bit of special care. I have one mare thats allergic to hay/straw and pollen -so thats a whole set of more challenges I have to consider - another reason for this type of bedding
@@gabineurohr Yes would love to know about bedding and if we have it in UK.
Yes. I’m interested in the expensive horse toilet stuff too. Lol
I love your setup and I love how you keep it basic even though you don’t have much of a choice. I feel a little between about our small area.
the expensive horse toilet actually ends up being way less expensive in the end than other beddings :-) will make a separate video about this soon
My boy is in a herd of 13 mares and geldings with a track system. They are out 24/7 except in winter when they come in overnight. They all come in to their stalls for morning and evening feeding. It works amazingly well and everyone gets along. We are in the northeast US.
that sonds like the perfect set up to me. would love to have a paddock track system again ...
Thank you for the video! Even if it is not fancy it is already a good model for how it should be. Most of the horses I know cannot run around like that and have llimited access to grass. They actually have to wait until May and two ponies now break out on a regular basis because thsy cannot wait. Sadly, as you said Shetties are more difficult and at the barn I go to the Shetties are mixed in eith the other horses and are thus obese. I can work with the little one as much as I like, it won't help.
My friend told me about Waldboden but I have never seen it! Thanks for showing us. It seems to be a really good solution.
Haha Maserati is clever!
thank you. you are right, many horses have very limited turnout and don't have the luxury of nice paddock this size.
managing shetlands is so tricky and almost impossible to keep them together with warmbloods or Thoroughbreds due to the totally different nutritional needs. I had 2 of those in France to take care for. We had to keep them separate from the other horses so we could make sure they wouldn't get too fat. Even teh very short grass on the tracks of the paddock trail was to much for those little guys. They needed a bare dirt/sand paddock with weighed out, low sugar hay.
I reserached the waldboden for about 2 years and only dared to take the leap last year. I am not disappointed but it does need a bit of special care. will make a video about it :-)
@@gabineurohr thank you for the reply! That would be cool. Maybe it helps to convince others to try it out as well!
Thank you Gabi. I would be interested to learn more about your forest strip too. Wet bedding is an issue when trying to keep shelters as somewhere to sleep also.
Wet bedding is an issue in open stables. I have an allergic horse plus my muck help is limited in capacity so I had to fund a real good solution for bedding. One that wouldn't bother my allergic horse, wouldn't create a whole lot of muck and also work economic. I think I found it!
I love the way you care for your horses
thank you. they are part of my family
bucket hang on great idea
Really interesting and lovely to see, thank you for sharing, and yes please, would love to see a separate video please about your bedding, Thank you again for sharing x
Will do another video about the bedding :-)
You are doing awesome
I'm in almost identical situation: leasing one acre for two horses, and a shelter (it does have doors, but I have never closed them). These tips really help! I sure enjoy your videos, as you and I have the same feelings about horse care and training.
glad you found that video helpful. with one acre for 2 horses about have about the same amount of land as I do. In european countries, as it is often densly populated or montainous. it is common to keep horses on small acreage. Whats your set up?
I am so grateful to hear all this, because I respect you. I have jyst under 3 acres for my two boys. They live outside with trees and a lovely shelter. I too can only let them out for grass 2 hours a day , then I weigh the hay and out 3 times a day. I have aleays been gatd on myself that I do not have a huge facility. My hearts desire is to give them as much as I can a safe and natural life. I love them so. My heart has been validated. My boys are happy, and healthy and I am so grateful to wake up everyday and be with them , and play and ride .
Thank you😊
We don't need big fancy facilities to provide our horses with a happy life. Of course I would love to have more land, and one day, I will be able to have my own place wiht a few extra acres. I dream of having alittle forest and maybe a creek too so my horses can forage and wander around like nature intented. but they are also happy like this.
Thanks for your video, Gabi. It's really encouraging to see because we also have a very simple set up with a run in barn, and field behind it. I'm currently having the field limed and replanted because our soil is very acidic and has been sitting with weeds for a long time after being heavily used. I know more about pasture care now so I will do what you are doing and limit grazing time. I have to take them back and forth from pasture and I really like it because it forces me to have lots of leading work and interaction with them even in bad weather, and they look forward to getting the halters on. I LOVE your riding ring. I have a small area for training but mostly go on a trail around the field and into a small wood we are lucky to have. About 10 useable acres in all. My old gelding is a walk trot only guy and it suits our uneven land (and my skill level 😂). His sidekick mini mule has a grazing muzzle so he can hang around in green grass with his friend and not get too chubby.
Wishing you a happy spring with your horses. Spring is only just coming to eastern Canada now, finally!
We have to do the best we can with the little land we have. Pasture maintenance is very important for horse fields especially because horses don't graze where they poop and then weeds take over in no time. In France, I had to take care for 25 hectars (50 acres) of horse pasture and there I learnt a whole lot about taking good care so the fields stay nice and no weeds take over. Now, as this isn't my own land, I do what I can to still take care within my possibilities.
10 acres is plenty - I would love to have this much. one day I wll be able to buy my own nice property ...
@@gabineurohr Here's hoping all the amazing videos, coaching etc will build up funds for you to have your own land. I know it's challenging. May I suggest east coast Canada where land and life are still somewhat affordable? 😊 All the best.
@@MariRobertson I would love Canada! Dream of mine! Just a tiny bit complicated ...
@@gabineurohryou are welcome anytime!
I really loved this video. Thankyou Gabbi. I’ve followed you for years now…and found this as interesting and informative as your training videos. I love to see how others keep their horses….we can learn so much from each other’s methods.
I have 2 ponies….Phoebe is a traditional Irish cob, so is chunky, and then there is Charlie who has the body of a Belgium Draft on shetlands short legs. Poor boy…he will never look anything but heavy…but we love him😍
They are in our big field during the winter, then on a track for the rest of the time.They have open shelters with rubber mats on the floor. I noticed you said you weren’t sure that your mats were the best idea. Why do you feel that?
I’m also interested on where you put the poo when you collect it ….do you have a pile in the field? How do you get rid of it?
Thankyou for sharing this with us….I’d love to see more like this on your daily life with the horses. Xx
we have a muck heap on a concrete pad. very strict regulations on everything in Austria for environmental protection. The neighbour farmer is very happy to pick it up twice a year as fertilizer for his field.
alright, will share more of my every day life with my horses :-)
Loved this Gabi. It’s always fantastic to hear anything from you!! 🥰 Also very interested in what you’re using on the ground in your shelter (horse toilet 🤭🤣).
:-) will do another video about my special bedding - its quite fascinating how it works
That was 100% wonderful. Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, thank you.
A lovely peaceful set up
😊 I think so too. Very nice and quiet without direct neighbours
great to see more of how you live now :) ! huge detail not mentionned is where the hay is stored because you must store a lot to feed 5 horses all year round since you have no grass I guess. so yes, keeping a small herd in a small piece of land is possible BUT we also need a huge shelter for a huge stock of hay, isn't it ? or a nice neighbor who can give a one round baller at a time. It wold be interresting to know more about that and also a special video about the toilet bed would be super :)
Its only 4 horses left... Mazirah died a year ago. I store hay in 3 ways: lose on the hay loft, in small square bales in a double box (fits 250) and I can store 20 round bales. I have a farmer nearby where we go wtih the trailer all few weeks to get new bales once everything is used up. he has capacity to store about 60 - I buy 30 of his stock, fill up my stock from other farmers and then pick up hay from him as needed.
Thanks for sharing your lovely set-up. The shelter looks fantastic. It took me quite a while to work out a suitable arrangement for my four geldings to adapt to the changes in seasons and their various needs. I also like them to have as natural a life as possible.
thank you. I am happy with the set up now. the first year was a bit rough as we figured out the set up, dealt with a leaky roof, mud and lots of water pushing through the shelter wall. I think it always takes a while when moving to a new place to figure everything out. Do you have stalls in your shelter so you can separate your boys?
i am very luckym we have around 4 acres i think with 3 horses and 2 stables, so one stays out and two are stabled at night at the moment, which saves the grass. I love my land ( I also rent) because it has many hedges and trees and is quite slopy, which means they get good exercise. I thought having one out and two in might be an issue, but it is fine.
I think its much more difficult to have 1 horse in and 2 horses out. becuase the 2 horses might wander off and leave the other one alone. Your land sounds wonderful - would love to have more trees and hedges in my field too to provide shade and natural shelter....
I love seeing your set up for your horses! What a beautiful place! Thank you for sharing this❤
thank you. I love this landscape and finally after 1,5 years I am happy with the set up. it took a while to make it nice
Thank you for sharing! I love your work and the way you threat your horses.
thank you :-) my horses are my family
Super interested in the material in the horses' bathroom! Please share. Thank you for sharing how you keep your lovely horses and sharing feeding time to prove it can be done without drama.
thank you :-) happy to know you enjoyed the video. Will make another video about the shelter and the bedding specifically :-)
your horses are lucky to have such a smart and kind guide
thank you. they are family to me
What is a good way to get your horse to be polite when feeding?
Start with one horse. Halter leadrope on. Teach your horse to backup and wait. Wait for stillness and ears forward then allow your horse to come eat. Do this consistently so it becomes a habit. When you then feed a whole herd and every horse knows tihs basic behavior, it is pretty easy to asign one place to each horse. It is absolutely worth the effort teaching this as it makes feeding a herd so much more quiet and safe
Thank you Gabi for the great video. I just bought land and will use your run in shelter to inspire my design. Is there anything you would change if you did it again? What dont you like about the floor?
Do the horses ever use the forest litter to lie down on? I never see my two lie down since we moved here, maybe due to so many ticks, so I need to make them an area they can lie down away from the grass.
Hey! how exciting you just bought your own land! now you have the chance to create your dream horse place. For the floor - it was great for a year, didn't slip. but now, it gets very slippery as the anti slip profil wore off. it would be better to have granulated rubber stable mats instead of those. Granulated rubber is very durable and less hard, so less slippery.
Yes, my horses do lie down in the bed. the Brownies not so much because they are lower in rank. But my horses actually prefer to sleep outside in the field in the sun
Thank you gabi for sharing this video. I love hearing your accent. The place is lovely I haven't seen any of Austria before it kind of reminded me of England.
What is Myana wearing on her neck please ?.
I'm also interested about the smell of the ammonia situation. 🎉
thank you, it really is a lovely landscape here with the hills.
Mayana has a bit of sweet itch - this is a light sweet itch cover to prevent midges to sting her and create the itch.
The bedding doesn't smell, thats the amazing thing. It really neutralizes the smel. I will show what I do with the bedding as it does need some maintenance
Sorry I spelt her name wrong. I had a horse with sweet itch about 30 years ago. I tried many items on it. In the end I moved to another area and the sweet itch disappeared. Or rather the midges etc....😊
@@gilliantaylor5203 area of living contributes a lot. in france, air was dryer and therefore less midges. there we have rather humid and warm conditions in summer what makes it worse. it would be best to live at 1000m high for her. the neck cover is agreat compromise and keeps her comfortable. And - she doesn't have it badly. I had a pony once - she really suffered even with a whole body rug
I noticed Tara waggles her leg while she is waiting for her food and even while she is eating it. My Fancy does the same thing! I would love to hear more about the bedding you are using in your shelter. Our horses have a very similar set up to yours, but we are using a mix of pine sawdust and shavings in their shelter. I clean the manure and urine out every day, but it does stay smelling fresh if I clean it well. I actually put a piece of fencing up to keep them out of that shelter during the day, because I found they just went up there to pee, and then came back down to to hang out in their other two places undercover that have rubber mats. I open the shed up to them at night because they do like to go up there to lay down to sleep. 😴
Tara can be very notorious around food. if she would ahve to live in a stall, she would definitely develop some stereotypic behaviors like weaving.
In france I had bedding from wood pellets underneath and miscanthus grass on top. it was very nice, but work intensive as I had to remove the pee and then it would start to stink. As our muck heap here is limited in size and we have to wheel it up a hill towards the muck heap, I didn't want to use this option again. I am very happy with this and almost can't believe that it actually works. Of course, it has to have a decent size depending on how many horses and the initial depth of the bedding was a good foot deep.
I add lime flour periodically what helps cut ammoniak.
Really like your nose bag that's a bucket - i could really do with one of these! Can I ask the brand etc as all the ones I found were soft bags?
I made it myselfe! took a regular bucket, took off the metal handle and attached the girth strap wtih a buckle I can adjust in lenght with cable ties. Easy peasy and I can replace parts. I think in 5 yeras I replaced the girth strap once
11:00 Waldboden
Yes! So happy mit dem Waldboden! ich war lange skeptisch aber letztes Jahr habe ich mich getraut
What type of woodchips?
When you are saying "Its a such a poor land" I dont think that's true. The problem I see is stressed grass due to horse overgrazing it. What you need is to restore the pastures and make more rotational grazing paddocks + sacrifice paddock. The water flows downhill and creates slippery ground because the grass died out already in that places and cannot hold the water. If you want horses to run you could still have rotational paddock connected to the sacrifice one so they can run through the open gate. Too, looking at you feeding routine you could have it done in other way, less complicated meaning: All the horses get that bucket over the head like you did to one of you horses.
I know a whole lot about pasture management. I have managed 40 hectars in France. Yes, here the pasture is terribly mismanaged since years. And i won't change this because its not my land, not worth the effort because I don't intend to stay here for more than 2 more years.
I take all the poop off, mow the weeds, let the pasture part rest from October till May and only graze for 2 hours max a day. But I won't fertilise, put compost on, etc because buying hay is cheaper and as I said - not my land
I can't add another rotational paddock because I don't have more land. I don't want to cut the main paddock because they enjoy running on it.
Why would I put such a bucket on all my horses if it works fine that way? BTW Maserati throws it over his head because it annoys him.
Trust me, I have years of pro experience and know my horses
I have about 10 acres and 2 horses it is split into 2 pastures we are in Tenn so in spring and summer lots of grass my problem is one of my horses is very buddy sour so I have them in separate pastures they can see each other and my buddy sour horse is much better to work away from the barn with this setup but I am not sure if I am doing the right thing are not because they are herd animals I would love to have them together but when I do it is a problem. Would love to here your thoughts
I always prefer to keep horses together in groups. separatoin anxiety develops much more when there are only 2 horses. The minimum size of a funcitonal herd is 4 and then such issues will be less. But I understand that not everybody can afford to keep 4 horses just because of it. So, you are doing what works best for you :-) maybe you can let them together for some play and social time every day for a few hours though
How much do you spend on feed a month keeping them this way?
not much really. I need between 3-6 roundbales of hay a month depending on season. one bales is 50€ right now. Plus, they get a small amount of cereal free mix plus vitamins and a herbal mix. That costs about 1,50€ per horse per day. so, about 180€ a month for hard feed/minerals for all horses per month, plus 150-300€ for hay per month. thats not too bad for 4 horses
@gabineurohr nope, not bad at all! What vitamins and herbs do you use? I love going as natural as possible