Q&A    Questions and Answers:

I am planning to purchase 3 acres and would like to have two horses for western trail riding.

How large should the pasture and riding ring be?

Also, how large should a stall be?

Thanks,

As I point out in the answer to question #52, a round pen is typically 45'x65'.

The question of pasture size is a little more complicated. The old rule of thumb is to allow two acres for each mature horse. With intensive management and rotational grazing, that figure can sometimes be reduced to one acre per horse. Less than one acre, and all you have is an exercise area and you'll need to feed hay year-round. Before you get too far along, you'll want to contact your local agricultural extension office for detailed guidance on things like seed mix, fertilizing, weed control, etc.

A box stall can be as small as 5'x8', but I don't recommend it. The animal will need to be tied all the time, there is a danger of it getting "cast" in the stall, and the risk of being kicked is much higher. I like to see a stall that's about 12'x12'. Also, the door should be no less than 4' wide to allow passage room for the horse and handler.

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