Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches

[rockfan4]

I am about to retire, and one thing we've talked about doing is moving to a property with some acreage.

The town I'm currently living in is a suburb of La Crosse, and they're looking to incorporate into a village and install a municipal water system. Mo Money, Mo taxes. They also re-assessed everyone, and I think they estimated high, or the market is cooling. A house 2 down the block from me has been for sale 97 days now, they started at what the town assessed them at, now $20k under that, still no bites.

Anyway, if I do find a place, and my wife gets her way and gets a horse, what else might I need?

Another horse or similar animal to keep the horse company. I thought about getting a donkey and naming it after the wife.
ATV or Tractor? What size? What attachments? I figure I'd need a plow or blower for the driveway. We don't get as much snow here as we used to, but still, we might get 8-12 inches in a rare occurrence. I'm not going to want to clear a 1/2 mile driveway with a 26" walk behind blower.
Mower deck?
Bucket?
Anything else?
Wagon? Not sure what I might need to haul on it.
Manure spreader? I figure the horses would spend their time in a pasture, but if we do end up with a dry lot somebody is going to have to clean it.
I suppose if we clear a spot for an arena, we'll need a drag.
Chainsaw bigger than the one I have today.
Bigger, better weed whacker.

What am I missing?

Title inspiration

[Tobra]

Your wife wants a horse? You should talk her into something cheaper to own and operate, like a boat or a helicopter.

I think goats are the companion animal of choice for horses

[KFC911]

I'll defer to Nick ... he can $pend yer $$$ a LOT faster than most here can

Enjoy .... hoot!

[stevej37]

Snowmobile....new ones will go well over 100mph.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Your wife wants a horse? You should talk her into something cheaper to own and operate, like a boat or a helicopter.

I think goats are the companion animal of choice for horses

Horses ... cheaper than divorces

Mebbe not ...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Snowmobile....new ones will go well over 100mph.

Need two in order to race

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

What am I missing?

A serious estimation of the time and energy such an endeavor will entail. You'd better be physically healthy and expect to stay that way for the duration. What you are considering is a LOT of work, with no vacation (you can't put your horse on hold for a week). If you're lucky, there will be someone in the neighborhood you can hire to help out when you want a break.
Swinging a weed whacker gets real old in a hurry. So does mowing.

[masraum]

I suspect it really depends upon how much property you get, and how much maintenance you might need.

We've got ~6 acres. It's very rural. We could probably use a small tractor. The PO of our property had 2 horses, so there's a fair amount of fence, not just around the perimeter, but also separating the property into 3 separate "fields", and a horse barn. The PO had a small-ish (maybe medium) tractor with a few attachments. I know that one of the attachments was an auger which would be very useful for dealing with fencing, and they used it when building the horse barn. Depending upon how yours is laid out you probably want a mower attachment ,and a shredder may also be useful. I don't know if any tractors have blower attachments, but you may be able to get something that you could use as a plow if snow is an issue.

At the very least, a nice zero turn mower would be a good idea. We probably only mow 4-5 acres of our space, and it still takes 4-6 hours.

We have a dump cart that we can tow behind our ZT. (kind of like this)

It gets a fair amount of use, but something bigger would be nice. It gets used to move stuff around, dirt, wood that's been cut up, branches/twigs that have fallen, etc.... The dump feature is nice, and I can't imagine not having it.

Assuming there are trees, then yes, a good chainsaw would be essential. I think the one that we have has a 16" bar which means that it can cut up to 32" diameter. Bigger and more powerful would be nice, but I haven't found that I need bigger. But hey, who doesn't want more power?

We use a Ryobi 18V brushless weed eater. It's adequate. I wouldn't think you'd need anything crazy. And here in Texas, a lot of folks use an herbicide on their fence-line, around barns, etc... I think a lot of folks spray from either an ATV or tractor. But you'd probably want a trimmer for the "yard" portion of the property.

I'll bet that SH/Paul is one of the guys that really needs to respond here.

[Seahawk]

Have you or your wife ever owned a horse?

How often does she ride now?

If she rides, what kind of riding?

I'll just say this: Horses are dumber than chickens without the personality.

Whatever anyone estimates the cost to be, double it. Time sink as well.

Lease.

[oldE]

Your list is looking like a good start.
Horses?
You need: a barn, hay supply, farrier three or four times each year, depending upon the ground
and vet. For pasture you should have an acre or two per animal, depending upon the amount of moisture, which affects grass growth. We went all in on electric fences. They are 1/4" braided rope with copper strands woven in. Relatively maintenance free. Posts should be pressure treated with about 30' spacing. Some horses get along well with miniature donkeys. Goats were put on this earth to cause insanity.

Best
Les

[Evans, Marv]

A medium sized tractor with a loader and box scraper is something you'll find a thousand ways to use. If you have a lot of area to mow, a pull behind mower is maybe what you'll need. If it's not a huge amount of mowing area, a good string mower is a good bet. You can spread manure with the loader bucket or a drag behing landscape rake. I can't comment on horses, since I'd never consider the expense and time they require.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by KC911

I'll defer to Nick ... he can $pend yer $$$ a LOT faster than most here can

I am good as spending money and really good at spending it on equipment!

How much mowing are you thinking you'll do. A zero turn with a 72" deck will cut a lot of grass a lot faster than most belly mounts on a tractor. But being retired, does that matter? A Ventrac or Steiner (owned by Bobcat) are good options for acreage and you can get a variety of attachments for them. A good friend of mine who sells mowers, tractors and construction equipment has a Steiner for his property and swears by them.

https://www.ventrac.com/industries/estate
https://steinerturf.com/

If the driveway is stone, forget about the blower unless you like tossing stones all over the place.

A compact tractor is a good option with a loader, PTO and 3 point attachment. Tractor attachments are a lot cheaper than attachments for skid loaders which is a big plus. I'd want one big enough to have a cab with heat and air but I'm a big baby. I'd probably get something with around 40hp and enough weight to keep that HP connected to the ground.

I'm a big fan of a skid steer loader or compact track loader for owners or larger properties. Just so many things you can do with them and most rental yards have the most common attachments. For the Horse I'm thinking you're gonna want a post driver to drive fence posts. If you're gonna have a wooded property, a brush cutter for the front is a nice tool to have to clear walking/riding trails. Pallet forks or bale spear for the horses. Lots of things a SSL or CTL can do. Only downfall is they aren't a mower even though you can buy a finish mower for the front. Anything worth owning is going to be over 7000 lbs.

Trimmer? I'm growing quite fond of my battery powered string trimmer. I have Dewalt's entry level trimmer that isn't brushless. With a stacked lithium battery I can trim and edge most of my place on one battery.

Chainsaw. That's a FB Marketplace item in my book. If you're going to do any heating with wood, then buy a good one.

Now, how much ya got to spend and I'll get to work.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait! I almost forgot.. Bobcat Toolcat 5600! Expensive but truly an awesome piece of equipment for acreage.

[rockfan4]

Snowmobiles are out. We get maybe 3 weeks of use per winter if we're lucky. Or tow 2 hours north. My neighbors have a side-by-side, and they'll bring it home covered in mud. It looks fun.

I have never owned a horse.
My wife has never owned a horse.
On weekends, she won't get up in the morning to feed the dogs.

My plan here is to show her the property purchase is only part of the expense. We'll need $$$ for equipment, $$$ for a shelter if there isn't already one, $$$ to fence the place.

She started riding again about a year and a half ago, she takes a one hour lesson once a week. About 3 or 4 times a year we'll go somewhere for a trail ride. We haven't gone to the same place twice, although the last place we went, Woodside Ranch near Mauston WI, I'd like to go again. There's also one I want to check out just north of Winona, MN. They let you ride double with a small kid, and we'd take the granddaughter along.

The barn she rides at has carts like that. Imagine one filled with horse poop on a 80 degree day.

Seahawk, how can you say horses don't have personalities? There's about 30 of them at the barn my wife rides at, and every one is different. I don't go with her for every lesson, but I'll go every couple of months or so, and I've volunteered there for their therapy program fundraiser.

Lately she's been riding a Gypsy Vanner. A big wide one. She had him loping circles in the arena last night, and you could feel every hoof beat. She rides western. When she was a kid she rode english.

I was mugged last night.
There's a gelding there, about 10, but he has navicular. They can only use him to give little kids pony rides, and he's a little too lively for that, so he sits in the pasture most of the time. But he's the sweetest guy you'd ever know, and he will follow you around like a dog. I went out to visit him last night and feed him a couple treats. The next thing I know, I'm surrounded by four horses and they're all grabbing for the treats. One of them lipped my watch and tried to pull it off my wrist. He didn't get it. They're good boys though, nothing like the mares. Just goof balls.

[masraum]

I've got super limited experience with horses. I've probably ridden horses 3-4 times and "met" them without riding another couple of times, but they always seem like amazing animals to me. I can see the desire to have one, but I can also see the many reasons not to have one (lots of $$ and time).

[unclebilly]

It’s a pretty great time to own cattle right now… just sayin.

[Seahawk]

I was kidding about their personalties…I have been around them all my life and know how different, breed to breed, horse to pony, they are.

Just start very slowly…expand from your current horse involvement until you both understand the commitment of ownership and agree on the path forward.

The other thing, owning horses requires a daily commitment to their care which can really dampen the flexibility you guys may want in retirement.

Don’t race to buy. If you go forward, I’ll be happy to give you the details for the baseline requirements for one or two horses.

[LWJ]

First. I have been a fan of the Presidents for a while. Heard Lump on the radio today. Funny.

Your list is pretty good. I filled my truck bed up with a load of junk / tools / equipment to take to the family farm this weekend. It sort of stops where ever you want it to. Meaning, I rebuilt the old tractor one year. I drug a farm truck back to work on. We bought a John Deere Gator and made a bunch of trails to entertain ourselves.

You can do lots - we have an enormous family and a bunch of timber that covers the expenses. Or not.

I say do it.

(but does she REALLY want a horse???)

[rockfan4]

My wife thinks she will have enough saved for a horse by September. She's scheduled a week's vacation to visit a guy near Chicago that her trainer trusts to pick out a horse. I don't know what might happen if she doesn't find one there that suits her. She will pick with her heart, not her head, which explains how she ended up with her current husband and two dogs.

Her grand plan, if everything were to work out the way she dreams, is that we would have two horses, trailer them to various parks, and trail ride. I'm more or less okay with that, I'm just worried with the costs I haven't considered yet, hence this thread. If I can get away with a $5000 tractor, great, but I think that's fairly unrealistic unless I want to be fixing it all the time. Is closer to $10k reasonable? I think I can get away without a skid steer, maybe rent one for fence projects or whatever. I suppose I'll have to get a bigger truck, a horse trailer, and a flatbed to haul the tractor / rental skid steer / hay.

My more fiscally conservative plan is this. She boards the horse at the barn she's currently getting lessons, we either find or build a house somewhere closer to the barn, on a little more land than I have now. I have a 0.45 acre lot now, but it's 92 ft wide and the sometimes the neighbors are a little too close. If she wants to go on a ride together, we can go somewhere for a trail ride. I know, it won't be on her horse, and we'll only trot a little bit and never canter, but I won't be living in a cardboard box in 10 years either.

[greglepore]

So, a long post...
I have a horse, as does my spouse. Two of our best friends, husband and wife, only 40, also each had a horse. I say had because last Saturday the husband, one of the best guys I've ever known, fell off in a very freak accident while just standing in a river, and the horse apparently stepped on him. He walked over to his wife, said a few words, and dropped over dead of a hemoragic event. She's left with their adopted teenager and a hundred acres to care for.
Why do I tell you this? Because in the horse world, manure happens. Make sure you're committed enough to accept the risk, physical and financial.
Am I going to stop riding? No. It was an odd event, and likely less risky than some other pursuits I engage in, road cycling and formerly, motorcycles.
So, what do you need? Here in Va we get by without a barn. We have an open shelter, basicly a 20 x30 carport that we side with shadecloth. Where you are you'll need at least a big run in.
A compact tractor at minimum, to handle manure and round bales. Will need a loader for sure, and something to drag fields to spread manure. Chain harrow works. Manure spreader only if you've got major acreage, as once you spread the horses are off that pasture for a while. You can drag what they poop but not add to it. Once you have the tractor you'll likely buy other useful stuff, tiller, spreader yada...
Water and electric where the horses are. Fans for the summer, bucket heater in the winter.
A plan to deal with the manure.

A lack of desire to travel.
A pile of vet money. If all goes well, its only about a grand a year for farrier and vet, but one colic can eat up thousands.
Hay here runs about 250 /mth, grain around 100. Hay prices don't come down, hay is water and diesel essentially.
A big pickup to haul the hay and the trailer.
Probably a flat arena or just a round pen, but lots of trail riders get away without that.

Our setup with just the carport, 300 ft of electic and water, and the fencing was 35k, and I already had the truck, trailer and tractor, so that's another 30 to 40 on top.

Fence is easy. Horses respect the rope electric. Heck, we don't even turn ours on much of the time, once they figure what it is they stay away. And if they're so scared that they'll run thru it, it doesn't matter if its on. They'd jump a board fence under those circumstances. We did wood posts every 20 ft on the pasture out front, but use metal t's with safety caps elsewhere.

Respectfully, its not a hobby, its a lifestyle. You might find that you like it, I did, but its not for everyone. And once you're in, you're in. You're not just going to sell them on Marketplace and reconfigure the land.

[greglepore]

dp