I don’t have an acreage or horses or anything related to this topic, but I am taking mental notes reading this thread like there’s a final exam tomorrow.
Acreage tips from the Fanatics
- Thread starter cdnlngld
- Start date
We have 5 acres and mowing is a pain in my ass. Luckily for me, my wife likes to mow because she can just listen to her podcasts and mow away.
I do wish I had a skid loader to use for snow and various other projects that come up.
It depends on your driveway. Mine is basically in a ditch so drifts over very easy.
We weren’t at our current home in 09-10, but if I remember right, that was a brutal winter. This last winter was the worst we have experienced at our place, and we’ve had some doozies. I actually broke the wench link on my 4wheeler, even trying to plow out multiple times a day, and got the old man’s truck stuck. Had to bring out the Bobcat this year
I like mowing for the same reason except audio books instead of podcasts. But, a ZTR is lifechanging. It goes so fast now I have to stop for 'breaks' to make it last longer (TWSS).
I'm selfishly looking forward to following this thread for a year or two. Please keep us updated with your adventures. You'll get some great advice here. You already have. And congratulations!
Moral of the thread: buy a condo with no maintenance.
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the most infuriating thing about it all though was my wife’s boss literally told her this exact phrase “well, I was able to get to work so there is no reason you shouldn’t”. Her boss lived in Des Moines. We lived in the country. They were literally not allowing us to leave town and that Bit$ch told my wife that. Still sticks with me.
Luckily, My wife works from home full time, I WFH 2 days a week. My work is fairly flexable with WFH if I need extra.
How far are you from a main road? Guessing pretty close if you live in a HOA. We were stranded for 5 days and live 2.5 miles from town.
Lol thats currently what I live in here in Chicago. Getting ready to sell it though and move back to the DM area. While it would be nice to live on a few acres someday, reading this thread has taught me that maybe I’m not ready yet.
A goat makes a FINE pet. Have the HOA tell you differently.
And there's an HOA for a property with 4 acres? They can pound sand.
I don't have anything to add experience wise as I don't have an acreage. I would like to say congratulations though, looks like a nice place.
You will want a zero turn mower to mow the house yard. Trust me on this, it has nothing to do with obstacles. They are just FAR more efficient.
You'll use a small tractor with a bucket for odd jobs, and I'd buy a bigger mower attachment for this to mow the pastures from time to time. You will not want to "just let the horses keep it down" to manage the grass. And if you only use a ZT mower to mow pasture, you'll spend an entire day at it.
You can usually pick these up used to save some short-term cash while you are figuring out the operation.
Long-term it may be worthwhile to invest in a snowblower attachment for snow. Stick with a cheaper blade and/or the bucket to manage one season and see what you think with what you see in snow pattern. Also just consider hiring the snow removal done instead of investing in that right now.
Double-kudos on the recommendations for insurance. You will need a special policy for an equestrian business, and you will want to post an "inherent risk" sign to help cover yourself for liability.
You'll use a small tractor with a bucket for odd jobs, and I'd buy a bigger mower attachment for this to mow the pastures from time to time. You will not want to "just let the horses keep it down" to manage the grass. And if you only use a ZT mower to mow pasture, you'll spend an entire day at it.
You can usually pick these up used to save some short-term cash while you are figuring out the operation.
Long-term it may be worthwhile to invest in a snowblower attachment for snow. Stick with a cheaper blade and/or the bucket to manage one season and see what you think with what you see in snow pattern. Also just consider hiring the snow removal done instead of investing in that right now.
Double-kudos on the recommendations for insurance. You will need a special policy for an equestrian business, and you will want to post an "inherent risk" sign to help cover yourself for liability.
Be aware that many insurance carriers will cover the liability when you own your own horses, but boarding horses for others can typically be excluded, and requires a commercial liability policy, or at least a special endorsement to bring that coverage in. Care, custody, and control is also an issue. Many insurance companies have been burnt in the past by anything to do with horses, and are very reluctant to provide liability coverage. Coverage can be obtained, just make sure that your agent is aware of everything upfront to avoid surprises later on.
There is a learning curve to figure out all the nuances in caring for horses. Hopefully you have a neighbor or a good friend that you can call upon for advice.
FYI, we own 16 acres and have 4 horses (all our own) on the property.
I think we are 6 miles from county line road.
Edit: we are 3.2 miles from county line road.
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Full disclosure, I wasn’t ready for an acreage when we bought one and I didn’t know it. I thought I was, but…
We got smacked in the face a few times. It’s all good though. Have had some good neighbors when in a pinch, and have learned a lot. We are over 10 years in now, and would not have changed anything related the experiences past, present and future.
Oh…and if you’ve ever wanted land, one thing to keep in mind…they aren’t making more of it.
Mowing just seems to need to be done when I have more important stuff to do (the racecar). If I have time to do it I don't mind it because I just listen to my music as I do it.
