Acreage tips from the Fanatics
- Thread starter cdnlngld
- Start date
Horses are expensive to keep and tear things up. They seem fun to have until you have them. Mowing will be fun for the first year, then it will become less and less fun. Acreages are a lot of work to keep. Living in the country is great, but you spend a lot of time keeping your place up.
I would rent your stable barn to people to keep their campers and boats in. Good money in doing that. Way better than horses.
I don't know if you like or have dogs, but having a few farm-type breeds (retrievers like goldens or labs or herders like collies or Aussies) can be a good way to keep unwanted critters away.
A dog that size is going to be big enough to scare off just about any wild animal you might see in Iowa. And the dog by instinct will bark at it to shoo it away but won't aggressively attack anything.
Cats are great for smaller, stealthier critters. My Ninja thinks he's Rambo hunting the VC.
A dog that size is going to be big enough to scare off just about any wild animal you might see in Iowa. And the dog by instinct will bark at it to shoo it away but won't aggressively attack anything.
Cats are great for smaller, stealthier critters. My Ninja thinks he's Rambo hunting the VC.
This is 100% the right answer. Lots of hate on horse people in this thread but it's completely warranted.
Never heard of this either.Funny, I've never once had a vet ask me for payment up front. I always get an invoice and pay it.
…..
I keep telling my wife we need a dog and possibly a “barn cat”. We said goodbye to our dog of 15 years a few years ago. In the last couple of years, I have noticed a spike in ground squirrel activity.I don't know if you like or have dogs, but having a few farm-type breeds (retrievers like goldens or labs or herders like collies or Aussies) can be a good way to keep unwanted critters away.
A dog that size is going to be big enough to scare off just about any wild animal you might see in Iowa. And the dog by instinct will bark at it to shoo it away but won't aggressively attack anything.
Cats are great for smaller, stealthier critters. My Ninja thinks he's Rambo hunting the VC.
Coincidence? I think not.
I have 2 dogs that hate cats. We get stray cats once in a while and they don't last long. Unfortunately, the dogs are not good at catching ground squirrels or mice.
GF's parents have always had Great Pyrenees at their place (~10ish acres), and they have taken out just about everything. They look dopey but they are killing machines. And super protective of their people - including the other animals on the farm. Anyone that is supposed to be there - protected. Anyone or anything different - watch tf out.I don't know if you like or have dogs, but having a few farm-type breeds (retrievers like goldens or labs or herders like collies or Aussies) can be a good way to keep unwanted critters away.
A dog that size is going to be big enough to scare off just about any wild animal you might see in Iowa. And the dog by instinct will bark at it to shoo it away but won't aggressively attack anything.
Cats are great for smaller, stealthier critters. My Ninja thinks he's Rambo hunting the VC.
Agree on the barn cats, really cuts down on the varmints. Just get them fixed so they stick around (better for their long-term health too).
They raise Belgians as a retirement "hobby". I can't think of anything I'd less rather do for fun.
We've been on the acreage for 6 years. About 4 acres of mowing. My recommendations would be a minimum 60" zero turn commercial mower and a closed station skid loader with forks and bucket. You can rent an attachment for pennies on the dollar vs owning and it will do the work of a large tractor in a small footprint. Plant trees with mowing in mind. We sold over 100 10'-14' spruce when we purchased and went from 6 hours mowing to 2.5-3. Get what you need up front.
From someone that grew up around horses/ponies and horse/pony people, grew up on a farm (livestock & grain), plus have lived on 16+ acres most of my life. (Currently in a city & can't wait for retirement and to go back to the country)
1. Seriously reconsider continuing with horses. Caring for and/or boarding livestock is a lot of work and will tie you down. Want to go away for a week? You'll need somoeone to monitor the place, check the livestock. Even horses can be a Houdini with getting out of a pen.
If you do decide to continue with boarding horses, research and learn as much as you can. Find others that do the same thing, go to their place and see how it's set up. Talk to them to learn more. Talk to people that own horses. Collaborate as much as possible. Best thing would be to spend a full week helping out someone else that does this. People invest a lot of $$ in their horses, so they will expect the best care.
2. Mowing that much will depend on what you like to do. We mowed almost 4 acres. We had a JD with a 60" deck and pulled a 60" offset mower behind it. Some days mowing was a PITA and other days getting on that mower was therapy & unwind time.
3. Definitely consider a snowblower that attaches to the tractor. You will be able to use it for the driveway and the large outdoor pens.
4. Get a generator for the barn - especially if you have livestock. If you have a well, be sure the generator will also run that.
5. Consider getting a Ranger or something similar. We had one at our last place (40 acres) and used it all the time. It was great for hauling things, plus we had a snowplow attachment and a winch. The snowplow worked perfect for the smaller snows. Bigger ones - we wished we'd had a large snowblower attachment. (They probably make those for UTVs now)
6. Keep in mind you will be dealing with the public and be honest with yourself on what you can/can't handle in that respect. Have very well written contracts for people to sign. The days of hand shakes and giving your word are gone, no matter how nice they seem or how well you know them. Clearly define rules, expectations and what you are and are not providing. Then stick with them. If you want some wiggle room, I'd also incorporate those options in a contract. Someone at some point will try to take advantage.
Other ideas that could generate income (instead of boarding horses):
* Figure out how to park campers and/or boats in your barn area for the winter. You may have a few that would be willing to pay to park outside behind your barn.
* Convert the barn to an event center where people can host weddings, reunions or corporate events. You can always start off simple and "rustic", then add more to it (and charge more) as you make money. It appears you have the space for parking and expansion (outdoor patio, fire pit, etc).
* Plant a big flower garden and pumpkin patch. There seems to be quite a market for this lately. Lots of ways you can do that, too. People can come to your place to buy, tour the garden. Farmers market. Flower stand out front. (You could still have your own horses for people to look at and pet)
Last edited:
Definitely get them fixed so they don't overpopulate.
Just a couple antidotes: I met my practice wife (a local town gal from Ames while attending ISU). She had a horse boarded locally and once she started school it was an after thought. We married and moved back to the farm after school and brought the critter back with us. Without proper facilities we sold it to a "horse guy" with the premise that she could come ride it anytime she wanted. A couple days later she went to check on it and he had already peddled it to someone else. Horse people. Marriage didn't work. When shopping for number two, even if she was a "10", if they had an interest in horses they were crossed from the list. Also had a neighbor that had 4 horses. He said he could take 2 big round bales of hay and dump them in a lot of 100 steers and they would each grab a mouth full of hay and walk away. He then stated he could dump those two same bales to the four horses and they would eat till it was gone. I know this doesn't add much to this conversation, I'm just rambling.
sounds like a great tax deduction.......................................kind of like a racecar lol
If you have the "horse gene", you deal with this your entire life, and there really isn't a cure. I can't picture life without them, but they're sure not for everyone. I grew up with horses, dad had Belgians. I'm into quarter horses, and the wife is as well. We both show, rodeo a bit, and it seems horses are a major part of our life. To us, they're more than just a hobby, they are a lifestyle. I can't remember the last vacation we took that didn't involve horses in some way.
All hobbies are expensive, whether it's boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, camping, or whatever. However, horses, whether they are being ridden or not, still require daily feed, care, hoof care periodically, etc. When you park your boat for the winter, you don't have to provide it daily care, and the expense that goes with it.
As to horse people paying their bills, I'd sure like to say that doesn't happen....but that would be a lie. Fortunately our vet doesn't require cash upfront as we pay our bills, but there are many out there that don't. Newcomers to horses don't realize that the cheapest part of owning a horse is the purchase price. They are unaware of the cost of daily care, hoof care, vet care, tack, a trailer to haul their horse, a truck to pull the trailer, etc. It adds up very quickly.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from owning a horse, just make sure that you go into such a venture wlth your eyes wide open, and do all you can to learn things to do, and things to not do.
All hobbies are expensive, whether it's boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, camping, or whatever. However, horses, whether they are being ridden or not, still require daily feed, care, hoof care periodically, etc. When you park your boat for the winter, you don't have to provide it daily care, and the expense that goes with it.
As to horse people paying their bills, I'd sure like to say that doesn't happen....but that would be a lie. Fortunately our vet doesn't require cash upfront as we pay our bills, but there are many out there that don't. Newcomers to horses don't realize that the cheapest part of owning a horse is the purchase price. They are unaware of the cost of daily care, hoof care, vet care, tack, a trailer to haul their horse, a truck to pull the trailer, etc. It adds up very quickly.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from owning a horse, just make sure that you go into such a venture wlth your eyes wide open, and do all you can to learn things to do, and things to not do.
We have 2 German wirehaired pointers and 1 little "shepherd" mix mutt. I imagine we will probably hav a couple of cats for moussing.I don't know if you like or have dogs, but having a few farm-type breeds (retrievers like goldens or labs or herders like collies or Aussies) can be a good way to keep unwanted critters away.
A dog that size is going to be big enough to scare off just about any wild animal you might see in Iowa. And the dog by instinct will bark at it to shoo it away but won't aggressively attack anything.
Cats are great for smaller, stealthier critters. My Ninja thinks he's Rambo hunting the VC.
That's what I was talking about. I believe we bought two songbird packets years ago. When we bought, they also had a turkey packet and a deer packet. Looking at Google Maps it appears that maybe 30% have survived (assuming new owners didn’t take some out), and some are pretty big now about 15 years later.
Well, we ended making a deal with the sellers! They ended offering to sell us the equipment they already had. We will now be the proud owners of a 1025R(<60 hours) with a bucket, box plow, and land rake. Cub Cadet 50" zero turn mower. Funny thing is we asked if we could make part of the sale in our original offer. The owners are moving way out west and figured they wouldn't want to haul those things half way across the country. My guess is they finally figured out it was going to be more trouble than it was worth.
So, one of the next items I wanted to look at would be the feasability of putting in a well on the property. The house and barn are currently fed by Xenia rural water. However, as I understand it, horses will need between 5 to 10 gallons day, per horse. That is going to lead to some high ass water bills. Does anyone have any experience with installing a well on their property? It looks like it could coast somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 to $5000 just to dig the well. I would assume that does not cover the cost of the pump and anything else that needs to be done. I would probably only use to offset the cost of watering the horses/garden. We are just a few hundred yards from onion creek, so I would hope we would not need to go very deep for water(i understand we might need to go deeper to get clean water).
The rate/pressure desired also determines depth. The DNR manages the permitting etc. of wells.
