Keeping a Horse in Your Backyard
Do you have what it takes to provide a home for a horse in your own backyard? Think about the horse as an animal. What do wild horses need? Can you offer a simulation of that? Horses do best under conditions that mimic their natural environment.
Horses need room to run. A horse in the wild will roam many miles a day in search of food and water. Their bodies are made for daily exercise, and they are happiest in a pen of at least �½ acre, where they can work up a little speed if they want to. Be sure to go over every inch of the pen periodically, checking for broken glass, nails, jagged pieces of metal, holes, or anything else that might injure a horse.
Because they are herd animals, horses need companionship–equine is best, but a couple of goats will do. Your horse needs YOUR attention, too. Do you have time to handle him daily? Even if you can’t ride every day, giving him your attention, working around him, brushing him and picking his feet will give him the companionship he needs and build his trust and respect for you.
Horses in the wild will graze all day, moving from place to place. A horse’s digestive system is created to consume small amounts of food all day, in case a predator shows up and it has to run for its life. Although most domestic horses have adapted to a twice-a-day feeding schedule, your horse will do best with several small feedings throughout the day–will someone be around to feed in the middle of the day?
Do you have pasture at least part of the year? On the average, it takes 1 acre of pastureland to support 1 horse. However, “pasture” can also be the grasses that grow on your own property. If you have the time, you can take your horse out on a long line and let him munch on grass at least twenty minutes a day to meet some of his requirement for fresh greens. (Warning: avoid suburban, chemically treated lawn grass, and never dump lawn clippings into your horse’s pen, unless you are willing to risk severe digestive problems and even death.)
Do you have poisonous plants growing on your property? If so, get rid of them. You can find lists of toxic plants online at the ASPCA website.
How about a fence? Horses have no concept of boundary lines, and many of them can easily push through a flimsy fence to get the delicious grass on the other side. (It’s always more delicious on the other side, you know!) A good quality fence is right up there at the top of the list of priorities. Every year horses are badly injured by encounters with fences, due to the fact that a frightened horse will run right into a fence if he is blinded by panic. If that fence happens to be barbed wire, God help him.
However, with the addition of electric fencing even a rickety wooden fence becomes a formidable barrier. Electric fencing is the least expensive option as well, but if you are planning to use electric fencing as a permanent fence around your property, use one of the newer electric tapes instead of wire. You will need a charger for the electric fence, which can be purchased second-hand on ebay or www.craigslist.org Solar chargers are quite effective and cost nothing to run once you pay the initial cost.
That being said, keep in mind that your fence is one of the most important components of horse management, and you will have to eventually upgrade a crummy fence for the safety of your horse.
Shelter is another big consideration. You don’t have to keep a horse in a barn, but you do need at least a three-sided shelter where the horse can find protection from rain, wind and snow in the winter, and sun and biting flies in the summer. Horses are individuals, and some of them have little or no concern about standing out in the worst weather; others like to be under a roof when the rain and snow come down. The ideal situation gives your horse the option of choosing shelter or not. You can download inexpensive plans for sheds and small barns from this link. How about feed storage? Nothing is more horrifying than coming home to find your horse with his head in the grain bag, which is now nearly empty. Colic, foundering, and death are all distinct possibilities, and an expensive veterinary visit is certain. So make sure that you have a place to store your grain and hay where even the craftiest horse will be unable to get it.
What will you do with the mountains of manure your horse is capable of producing? The average horse can drop 50 pounds of poop a day. It has to go somewhere, unless you want flies, parasites, and critical neighbors. If you are lucky enough to live on a place with large acreage, this will not be a problem–you will just have to take it away from the animals, rake it into a thin layer and let Mother Nature take care of the rest. Sometimes gardeners are glad to take away your manure, but they usually want it aged first-do you have a place to pile it where odors and parasites will not be a problem? You can find comprehensive coverage of this topic in a Penn State publication.
It isn’t difficult to provide a safe environment for a horse in your backyard. With a little research and work, you can enjoy the companionship of your horse every time you go outdoors.
