Build a Horse Farm from the Ground Up

5 Advice for Those Who Build a Horse Property from the Ground Up

Horse farming is popular among Americans. A study commissioned by the American Horse Council Foundation showed there were 9.2 million horses in 2017. If you want to bring your dream of owning a horse farm to life, here are some tips to get you started.

Start with a Concrete Vision

Horse farming is one of the toughest forms of agricultural investment. Horses are sensitive animals and they require a lot of care to make a worthy investment.

With this in mind, write down your vision and take time to evaluate it, consider what you want from your horse property. Are you interested in breeding, rearing studs for horseracing, start a riding facility, or what’s your vision? Once you have a solid vision, it is easier to get started on the planning stage.

Hire the Right Professionals

Horse rearing requires a lot of expertise right from the design of facilities to the breeding of horses. When setting up a horse farm from scratch, you need to hire the best architect with experience in building horse stalls, barns and other structures on your property. Most of these professionals are expert horse owners and have farms. Their input in your investment is long-term.

Carry out the Planning

The planning phase in any farm construction site is the most crucial. For a horse property, this stage will entail:

1. Feasibility study: Your architect/site designer will analyze the site to determine it is viable for your intended use. Factors to consider include soil conditions, zoning regulations, irrigation and water rights, property lines among other things. These details are available in the local ordinances and codes and at the county, city, or township records offices.
2. Site programming and planning: This schematic design phase (wish list) entails systematic evaluation of the site against your horse farming goals. From basics such as fencing, shelter, and water to other amenities such as riding arena, heating to paddocks, everything has to be considered.

• Site planning: Your architect draws the horse facility from a bird’s-eye view and includes all elements from the site programming.

Budgeting

After verifying the project is viable and designing a plan, the next stage is to budget for the project. You will meet with your architect and general contractor to come up with the figures for the hose facility. From the budget, add an extra 10% because costs usually go up during the project.

Construction

Depending on the budget, you can decide to phase the project for easier management of the cash flow. Make sure you hire a contractor with expertise in building horse facilities and not other projects. One area to remember at this phase is to provide enough space in the pastures or paddocks.

You should also provide horse-safe fences to avoid injuries. Other key considerations include hay and feed storage, Manure storage and composting area, Horse trailer space, riding area and other structures depending on your vision.

Final Thoughts

Planning to build a horse rearing facility from scratch? It is a tough project but with these effective tips, it can be done. Go on and make your dream of owning a horse farm come true. Maybe you have a research paper on horse rearing and you need help from Thesishelpers? Whatever your interest in horses, you have to appreciate the difficulty in creating an equine facility from scratch. Building your horse facility from the ground gives you more freedom in terms of design, acreage, facilities, layout and many other things.