ten things to consider when buying a

TEN THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A HORSE PROPERTY

BY ALEX ROBERTSON, BROKER | FAY RANCHES

Prior to being a broker with Fay Ranches, I spent a ridiculous amount of time around horses. I mean a lot. My mother has been training and breeding horses for over fifty years, and our family tree has many generations with strong ties to the equine industry. The first thirty-three years of my life were spent riding, hauling, feeding, grooming, assessing, and cleaning up after horses. Needless to say, between horse shows, rodeos, ropings, clinics, trail rides, and auctions, I have seen all different types of horse facilities. Some good, some bad, some fancy, and some just plain dumb, or scary. After obtaining my real estate license, I realized my wealth of knowledge was a valuable tool for people buying and selling horse properties. I noticed a lot of nice facilities had overlooked some important things. So, here is my list of things you might not have thought about when looking at a beautifully decorated horse barn with a $50,000 chandelier hanging in it.

MANURE | On a horse property, it happens every day (actually 4-12 times per day, per horse). You will never run out of horse manure, and if you don’t have a good plan, and the infrastructure to handle it, you will be buried in it. Look and see if the property sequesters it into a pile (as far away from the barns or horse pens as possible) or has spread it across pastures via a manure spreader. Spreading green/fresh manure is good, but aged, composted manure is by far the best, so you might still want that pile. Also, notice how manure is moved from stalls or paddocks to a pile. Manure management is a 365-day-a-year job, so make it easy: do not lift muck buckets into spreaders, trailers, or trucks. Your spine will thank me later. If the horses are going to be in large paddocks/pastures, you can drag manure to spread it.

PASTURE | Obviously, unless your horse “pasture” is with the cows, it is likely to be smaller than a cow pasture, for reasons such as corralling the horse for horse/rider activities. So, you have a horse pasture, and maybe you harrow or drag the manure a few times a year to spread and break it up to compost into the ground. Sounds good, but this is where horse people are way behind cattle ranchers. If you keep horses on the same pasture day after day, year-round, eventually you will start losing topsoil and quality of grass due to the grass being overgrazed without rest (think of working a seven-day-a-week job without a vacation). Cattle ranchers, especially now, use multiple fields to graze, rotate,

and allow rest for pastures. This increases grass production (which might mean less hay for your horse and more money in your pocket) and soil health, which has a multitude of benefits (fewer weeds, less fertilizer, fewer parasites). So, if the property you’re looking at has only one horse pasture, look for ways to divide it up into multiple pastures and reap the benefits.

DRAINAGE | In western Oregon, mud season is roughly six months out of the year (it rains a little in the Willamette Valley). Even in central Oregon, we are prone to warm Chinook winds and rain following thirty inches of snow. This is a huge problem for horse barns: if you don’t have ways to get water away from areas holding a high density of horses, you can be in for some serious trouble. Being stuck in moist, muddy areas can cause numerous health problems, especially for hooves (even in Shakespeare’s time it was said, “no foot, no horse.”). Look for slopes away from barns/sheds; drainage channels; French drains; gutters, and other methods to direct water away from horses.

FLIES/MOSQUITOES | With horse facilities, as in life, you want to keep the manure as far away as possible. This will help the most with flies. Also, since stagnant water is a mosquito nursery, keep water moving if possible (automatic stock waterers with smaller reservoirs can be a good option). If not, consider a fix that is big in Thailand: put goldfish in any body of water; they will eat the lil’ blood-sucking demons. Fly spray systems are available, much like fire sprinkler systems, but costs can be substantial. If you’re looking at a horse property with a lake and/ or pond close by, plan on bug spray, and other mosquito control tactics.

HAY STORAGE | This is a pet peeve of mine, and I see it all the time. A fancy barn with all the bells and whistles, nicer than most Americans’ homes, and the hay is in an empty stall. Sure, it works, but is that the best use of the space? The Fay Ranches slogan is “Invest and Enjoy”, not invest and break your back. Make sure the hay storage is open, with large access (you do not want to carry a 4’ bale through a 4’ stall door), is easy to back up to with a trailer, pickup truck, bale wagon and/or hay squeeze, and tall enough for the equipment (or for you to stand on the pickup bed without hitting your head). Sure, you might find labor to handle bad, hard to access, tight hay storage, but do you want to keep paying for that? Or, what if you can’t find labor to do the job? Proper, well thought-out hay storage is a must.

DUST | Most likely, if you’re looking at property in the western United States, which is predominately an arid climate, you will deal with dust for much of the year. Some places less, some more. We live and play in the rural outdoors to get a little dirty; it’s not all bad. If the dream home overlooks your arena to the west, with a distance of 20 yards, you might want to invest in some Swiffer dusters. Even the most well-managed horse facilities will have dust, whether they water the arena and paddocks or not. Cowboys on horseback literally created the saying, “Eat my dust,” so consider the placement of the home relative to the rest of the horse facility. Your housekeeper might thank you.

PESTS | Horse barns are like a Chinese buffet for rodents; they want to stop eating, but they can’t—and before long they are bringing the kids along for a cheap meal. Horse feed has made many a fat rodent. Simple fix: include the barn cat with purchase conveyances.

TACK/VET ROOM | If you’re going to have more than a couple of horses at the facility, you need to have a good, finishedout tack/vet room. You want it to be finished with walls (drywall or paneling), heat, a sink, and electricity. Some horse medicines need to be kept at room temperature, and warm leather (or at least not freezing) is much easier to deal with— hence, the finished room with heat. Also, you will need a sink more times than you would think, from washing vet supplies (or even your hands), to mixing feed or medicine. Most importantly, you need electricity for a fridge for beer (and maybe antibiotics and vaccines).

FENCING | I get it: this seems like a no-brainer, but I have seen good money spent on bad fencing. Remember this one rule: the smaller the confinement and proximity to other horses, the higher the grade of fencing needed. Big open pasture? A single hot wire might suffice. A couple of mares in neighboring 12’ x 24’ runs? A wood post and rail fence will fail. No one ever said, “Oh, I put way too strong of a fencing in.” Also, if you are planning on stallions, it is better to isolate them. Keep at least a 12’ buffer between stallions and other horses. Final note: Don’t let anyone tell you that white vinyl fencing without a hot wire is good for horses.

LIGHTING | If you’re going to be busy with horses, you will be out in the dark often. Nothing makes things harder than trying to feel your way through things with a horse in tow. Look for well-placed lights in areas where you might need to operate in the dark (barnyard, hay shed, gates, and stalls you might use for sick/ injured horses and for foaling mares). Light pollution is real, so make sure you can easily turn off lights when they’re not needed and enjoy the nocturnal wildlife.

There you have it! Maybe you thought of these things, maybe not. When you look at your next horse property, some of the points on this list will give you a hand in evaluating its pros and cons or help with how to improve the horse property of your dreams. Most of all, it’s about keeping manure as far away as possible.