Ask
Cherry Issue Horse FacilitiesThis
newsletter is a personal letter from me to you,
a fellow horse owner and enthusiast.
My goal is to answer some of your questions and send you interesting stories and
helpful tips for your horse care, training, and riding.
Purchasing a Horse Farm © 2008 Cherry
Hill ©
Copyright InformationDear
Cherry,
My husband and I are looking to purchase a small horse farm,
mostly for our own use. We have no experience in owning or operating a barn. I
have intermediate experience riding English, my five year old daughter has also
been riding for over a year, and truly has a passion for horses and the farm.
We were hoping you could recommend ten of the most important things to look for,
a checklist of sorts, as we begin researching and planning to purchase something.
As we currently live in New Jersey, we are actually planning a big move and have
begun searching in Middle Tennessee for properties. Do you have any advice you
could give us? With much excitement
we await your response, Wendy Dear
Wendy,
Best of luck in choosing a horse farm. I've written a book that
answers your question specifically. It is called Horsekeeping
on a Small Acreage. It will give you more details to flesh out the list you
requested. Ten important things to consider when buying a horse acreage:  1.
Location
2. Zoning
3. Size of acreage
4. Homeowner's Association Covenants
5. Water
6. Neighbors
7. Existing facilities
8. Soil
9. Native
insects, local diseases etc.
10. Price
Cross Tie Aisle Width ©
2008 Cherry Hill ©
Copyright Information
Cherry,
Can you give your thoughts
on Cross tie vs. hitching post type tying. My barn alley is cement and is 16 ft
wide. I am wondering if this can actually be too wide for cross tying safely?
Thank you! Becky
Hi Becky,
I think many horses could get in trouble in a 16 foot
aisle. It just invites turning around. And the cross tie ropes would be very long
and would have to be mounted very high on the side walls. Not the best.
 You
could try to modify the aisle width in one area for cross tying. For example,
you could extend the walls of the rooms on both sides of the aisle two to three
feet into the aisle to reduce the aisle width to 10 or 11 feet. Or, you could
build tack closets on one or both sides of the aise to reduce the width. Just
make sure there are no dangerous projection such as door latches or hooks that
a horse or person could get snagged on.
Lay
some mats on the concrete in the area where you will cross tie - it will make
it safer and more comfortable for both you and your horse.
You should
always have safe, sturdy hitch post or rail tie areas too, but I'm not a big fan
of placing these up next to a barn wall which requires a horse to face a wall
and doesn't give you as much room to move around the front of the horse. I prefer
open, airy hitch areas which allow you to handle the horse from any angle - a
full 360 degrees. The following books all show various cross tie and hitch rail
ideas: Horse
Handling and Grooming
Horse
Health Care
Stablekeeping
Horse
Housing
That's
it for this month. Don't
forget, when you ride, keep your mind in the middle and a leg on each side.
Before you copy, forward or
post anything from this newsletter or Cherry Hill's Horse Information Roundup,
be sure you read this Copyright
Information. | 2.jpg){kind=small}
Purchasing a Horse Farm