# How Many Horses per Acre



## Cadence

Hello,

How many horses would you be able to put in a pasture that was approximately one acre, if they are also kept in a stall at night. 

How would that number change if they were kept on the pasture 24-7? 

Thanks!


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## stevenson

If you are using the acre as a food source ? and being fed hay ? one. 
If you are using it as turn out 4 if that is what allowed in your area. Here it is allowed one hooved animal per 1/4 acre . manure must be removed from the property weekly.


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## BugZapper89

We can cram as many as we want in any size, but we do have to remove the manure. If you are using the pasture as a food source it would be 1 to 2 animals depending on their size and that would be with a 50 percent turnout, 50 percent stall, and a well maintained pasture


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## Chasin Ponies

You won't have "pasture" available for long with even one horse per one acre even if you split it in half and let part of it rest. Even one horse will very soon use up and tear up such small acreage so plan on feeding hay regularly. You will be shocked at how quickly your pasture will turn into a mud pit or dust bowl with even just one horse using it!


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## Talon

I have one 14 hand horse on 1 acre and she had all the grass eaten down in 5 days. Space wise I'd say you could keep two horses but be prepared to feed them they wont live on that grass.


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## wausuaw

Generally 2 acres per horse of good pasture. As a turn-out only, I would agree 4 as max. I have a sectioned off 1.3 ac for 3 horses and that's pretty tight for them. (I only use it a few month out of the year to give the rest of the land a break). It really depends on your situation. 

Most of the acreage subdivisions around here that allow horses only allow 1 horse per 2 acres (unless it's a mare with a foal).


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## Corporal

Once you begin to use turnout as pasture you also start counting on it to feed your horses. I currently keep 3 horses on 4 acres of turnout/pasture. This year the grazed on it for fodder from late April to early October. This was a good year. Two years ago we had a drought, and I was feeding hay in August bc it had dried up.
Spacewise, you can keep 5-7 horses on one acre, if you feed them and keep the manure picked up. If you are treating it as pasture, then only 1 horse/acre/adequate rainfall. If you live where it is arid, you need about 10 acres/1 horse to feed him, maybe more.


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## Palomine

You won't have anything but weeds past first couple of months. Horses need way more than an acre, even with stalling. It will be eaten down, walked down and get worse and worse every month.


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## SueNH

In NY it's going to take 2 acres to keep it green. That's with dividing it in half and resting each side for a couple weeks at a time.

My 3 horses roam close to 20 acres and I still have sparse, bare and weedy spots near the barn and gate.


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## Aigoo

It is entirely depends on horses' diet. If horses gets unlimited hay and good amount of grain. He can live in small field maybe smaller than 1/4 acre. If horses depend on grass as their main forage it will be better to have at least 2 acre per horse. If horses are being stalled over night and leaving the field empty maybe 1 acre per horse would work. It is depend on how you maintain the fields. Picking up the manures, fertilizing the fields, and all of that.


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