I would go for concrete stables and tack room. Much better and safer alround. Always go for separate hay and bedding storage in case of fire risks. Having had our barn go up in smoke due to arsonists and hearing of a couple of locals stables being tourched too. Better to be separate from stabling.
You can never have too much storage so i would over estimate. Work out what hay and bedding you use. Remember its cheaper if you can buy hay in in bulk. So make sure theres good access for hay deliveries. Will you have a separate field entrance from your house.
Grazing wise I would make sure you sort a good perimeter fence from the off, then worry about sub divisions and paddocks once you are actually using it. What you plan on paper in advance has a habit of changing once in use as ive discovered over time.
Water supply to paddocks is the biggest thing. I purchased a 100 metres of blue water pipe, in 50 metre sections which means i can T in where i need. Ive left the pipe surface which means i can move the trough and pipe to stop ground churning up. Being surface in winter does obviously have its drawbacks with frost and cold climates, but with climate change for 10 months of the year ists not been a problem.
If its been arable and fallow for a year. Just get a farmer in to top any growth, plough, level and seed with a suitable grass ley. Is it already fenced or is the farmer fencing it as he sells off plots.
Im sure if its only over the road from your current yard you can still link up to ride out with people.
Its daunting suddenly having your own land but over time you will look back and realise its a wonderful thing. I think if you have a horse on a yard away from where you live, once you have your own land at home you very quickly appreciate not having to get in your car to travel to see them. Not having to abid by yard rules is another huge plus
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@chunky monkey, great advice. I was planning a small L-shaped stable block in my head, just two stables, a feed/tack room and a store room, but I get your point about keeping the hay/bedding store separate, plus having easy access for deliveries. So maybe the two stables and feed room in a line and a separate store somewhere that still provides a shelter from the wind, with an outward facing access for deliveries and inward for me.
We have access at the bottom of our garden which we rarely use - the previous owners used to bring their caravan in that way, but we've let it grass over and the conifers and other shrubs have blocked the access up the garden. However, we can take down some conifers (which are awful anyway) and make the access into the field, rather than the garden, but we will need hard standing to drive the wagon (and any tractors, delivery vehicles etc) up to the stables. it will need to be as cheap as possible!
We have to post and rail fence our bit of the field, part of the terms of sale. I suppose I'll have to learn all about electric fencing too. Thanks for the tips re the water, like you say it will be handy to be able to be flexible with where the water outlets will be, since I haven't a clue how to split up the fields. We can't afford more than two acres, I know it isn't really enough for 2 horses, so I'm envisaging that we'll need to micro manage it over winter to avoid trashing the whole lot. I'm also thinking I'll get a little yard fenced in in front of the stable block, so that if anyone needs to be on restricted turnout they can just go in there - but is concrete suitable for that (ie an extension of the hard standing that the stables will be on) or does it need to be something softer?
I really don't mind my yard rules, in fact I don't think there are any overly restrictive ones - no lunging in the outdoor arena, clean up after yourself, turn lights/taps off, no bitching etc. There is the 'yard opens at 7 am, closes at 7 pm in winter, 9 pm in summer' one - and it will be lovely to be able to ride early if I feel like it in summer, before work. That is something to look forward to!
Some things I remember wishing I'd already had in place when we brought them home to live the first time:
some kind of hard standing - if you're employing someone (a contractor) then get it done properly right from the start. Get your gateways stoned up too, otherwise they can lead to all kinds of misery. At the end of one long hard winter at our old house we were practically marooned and hacking was almost impossible due to the gateway out and the track leading to the road. Get your hard standing put in - I know field mats are rated and do work for some people but depending on where you are in the uk they can quickly disappear! I spent a fortune on some and the only reason I couldn't have hard standing is because where we lived it required planning permission.
However you mentioned you're having someone sort this out for you? They should pretty much have all that covered.
If you can afford it, get water in there. It will save aching arms and winter misery (and summer too when the horses kindly poo in the water buckets). Again, that's something I wish I'd had done. (We eventually moved to a different area of our land and with the proper planning permissions had all of this put in)
I would say go for electric if you can afford it. Depending on how far away your stables are going to be sited, running it from the house isn't that big a deal. Ours had to go across a big field and it didn't cost that much in the scheme of things. If not, invest in plenty of re chargeable lights - and always make sure you have lots of torches.
With regard to the actual stables and tack room - if you can obtain permission for concrete, go for it. We weren't allowed as where we came from the council disliked you having them as many people later on after a few years pass try and obtain permission to convert to housing! I don't know your council or how strict they are. But we had Redmire timber buildings put up - they cost around £10,000 and the concrete about £5,000 plus brickwork. They are nice and the timber looks lovely but I personally didn't feel that they weathered as well as stone or concrete would have done. (But it was harsh weather wise where we were).
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@Trewsers. Never thought about the gateways, and I should have done because I've seen plenty of posts on here about muddy gateways. Such a good idea to get them sorted while everything else is being done.
I think we can bring water and electric from the house. I wonder if we'll have to go on a water meter though. We're not on one at the moment and I hope we don't have to go on one, but will they make us I wonder? My youngest son is an electrician (handy! ) - he was travelling, making his way to Australia before the pandemic hit and he can't wait to get off again, so I'm kind of hoping the situation makes it impossible for him to go until after he's sorted out the electrics for us (mean, I know). Must stock up on torches too, in case of power cuts - never thought, but it must be difficult dealing with horses in the total darkness!
Gosh, aren't timber buildings expensive? We'll be trying to keep costs down as much as possible, but not sure if going for timber will make that much difference, especially as we have a friend who is a builder who will do the stables for us. Not that we won't pay him properly, but we know he won't rip us off and he'll be honest about costs etc. Funny what you say about people trying to convert their stables to housing - a few years ago our previous neighbours erected a stable block in their garden which looks exactly like a bungalow. He was a builder though, and not an honest one (went to prison for fraud for a year or two) so there may have been a fair few backhanders involved.
If your yard is only over the road, can't you reduce to stable and facilities?
Unfortunately not - it's just full livery (except weekends). YO says I can still use the arena though. Whether I'll make the effort is another matter, it's touch and go now! I did use it tonight, but only because there's so many combines about today.
Maybe, once it's all sorted, pop over with coffee and biscuits once a week?
Good idea - bring food! That should work ? I hope I'll be allowed to stay in the group Whatsapp too, so I'll know what's going on. It will still be strange though. New chapter I suppose.
