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My husband and I plan on relocating to NM. We are very interested in the history there and better weather than ol' Michigan.
We'll be bringing our horses, so am looking for information on what localities are horse friendly, hay availablity and cost, (grazing?) places to ride, average cost of acreage/small ranches. Looking for just a small place with acreage.
Moderate temperatures are a plus! We are used to grass and trees.
Is this possible?
thanks!
Kathy
COMPLETELY understand your thoughts! My wife and I were about ready to take $10 for our whole herd and head to a condo last week. Had a big storm come up which blew down a horse shed (with the mare inside), took out 30+ feet of fence, and had a high dollar emergency call vet bill. Plus the ground is frozen now which makes it real interesting putting in wood posts. for the fence Life in the upper midwest. But enuf, lets talk Land of Enchantment!
Anyway, we might be able to help. My wife and I just did the same thing you're thinking about. We just bought land in Lincoln county (outside of Alto, Ruidoso area) boardering on BLM land. And there are great people here on this board who will be very helpful. So if you have time, go back in the threads and you'll find a lot of good discussions. Ours was "Is Ruisoso the place" and it was really helpful. But first, we better find out where you're thinking, as New Mexico is a huge state. Are you thinking North, more central, or south? Are you thinking lower elevation high desert area, more in the mountains, or somewhere in between? How many horses are you thinking to bring down?
Just a quick bit I think will be universal for NM that is a bit unusual for us. Alfalfa is grown locally, and that's perhaps $8 for a small square. If that's what you feed now, great, but if you have Arabs like we do, grass must be brought in (Nebraska, Colorado, etc) for perhaps $15-$18 bale (transport costs.) Vets are a long ways away generally, and more large animal general rather than equine specific. TONS of quarterhorses (especially near Ruidoso Downs) and lots of working ranches. Have to real careful on overgrazing the land. It does not rejuvinate well like the pastures we have up north. NM is a fence out state, so you're responsible to fence your property to keep other livestock out. Water rights is a huge issue, won't get into that here. Barns are quite simple, and often just a lean to. Hay is stored generally outside with just a roof and maybe a rain cover part way down the side. Barb wire on most properties you'll look at so that will be job 1 to tear that off.
So maybe you can pin down what you're looking for and everyeone here is very, very knowledgeable. Or give me a note and we can share what little knowledge we have from our experience.
Tularosa is worth checking out ....very good weather ....average daytime highs mid 50's to high 60's in winter ...low to mid 90's in summer ...almost no snow
A good place for horses too
And it's close to both Alamogordo and mountains
Lot's of places for recreation....hiking ...riding ...skiing
Looking for just a small place with acreage.
Moderate temperatures are a plus! We are used to grass and trees.
Is this possible?
thanks!
Kathy
Actual trees (ie pines) will only be at higher elevations (except for river beds), but even there the climate will be much milder than MI. I live in Ruidoso which is definitely a horse friendly area... big horse race track, lots of Texas ranchers are retired or have 2nd homes here. I bought land in Vista Rio Bonito recently. Parcels are 10+ acres and $100k+ (would likely take 20% less though), and are right next to BLM and NF land. That is about as cheap as it gets for land that has good access and is near civilization.
The Center of New Mexico would be my Preferred area if i had horses or livestock. Maybe the Smaller towns but close to Albuquerque and Santa Fe for Vets. The Capitan Area and Carrizozo area are nice and warm but not as warm as Tularosa or Alamogordo and im leery of forest fires and floods and wild animals and icy windy roads that take their toll on the Tranny. Becky Washburn is a Vet in Capitan close to Alto. Also the Hindis in Duran New Mexico use to raise Arabians but i didnt know they needed special feed. >>> As a Kid i use to love to Ride this White Arabian that liked to dance and Wow he could run and he ate whatever the other horses ate. I always mention the center of New Mexico because its the Perfect place to explore the whole state till you find what youre looking for because each place in New Mexico is Unique and LOTS of History. If you love the Country and the best People the East Mountain area with lots of Activities in the Summer and Fall and they use to have Good Schools years ago in the Moriarty Estancia area. <<< Kid Tip >>> buy west of 41 the water is not that Great to the East. el pintada kid
My husband and I plan on relocating to NM. We are very interested in the history there and better weather than ol' Michigan.
We'll be bringing our horses, so am looking for information on what localities are horse friendly, hay availablity and cost, (grazing?) places to ride, average cost of acreage/small ranches. Looking for just a small place with acreage.
Moderate temperatures are a plus! We are used to grass and trees.
Is this possible?
thanks!
Kathy
Horses love southern New Mexico. You don't need a barn but you do need shade and windbreak and cover in the winter in case it rains. It's great for their hooves since they never have to stand in muck, you don't need to muck out a barn unless you want to do that because they can just stay outside.
Lots of riding areas, but more if you like to trailer them to other places. The great thing about southern NM is that it's near perfect weather for riding all the time. It gets hot but not humid like where you're from. The cost of hay is higher, I like mixed bales alfalfa and grass and those you can find around $6 a fairly large bale. The year round riding with every day a good day to ride and no need for a barn makes owning them more worthwhile.
Wow, thanks for all the input. I think I will start perusing the internet for properties in central and lower NM (or Ruidoso). Our horses eat the hay we grow and it is at least 50 percent alfalfa content. Our 3rd cutting is all alfalfa.
I would love temps in the 50s in the winter. Yesterday morning it was 14 degrees here. :-(
I currently have 11 horses, but will be bringing 4. We have a very nice set up here in Michigan, but don't ride much in the winter due to the cold (my age) and the icy footing -no indoor arena.
I've visited a website called Ghost Towns.com, and am very interested in exploring the history of NM. Hubby is just as eager. He is a Union Electrician and would have to be within an hour of some steady construction to keep a paycheck coming in. I don't want to be "off the grid" or anything that remote.
You have all been very helpful in giving me some idea on where to begin my search for real estate. Thank you sooo much!
Kathy
We just watched a PBS show on the hunt for "The last Wolf in New Mexico". It was shot in and around the area east of Raton (Folsom). Beautiful country but does have snow. You know sort of snow, not Michigan lake effect snow. Last year a property sort of nearby was listed at 48k for 160 acres.
I, like many others, suggest you drive on down and look at a couple areas. My preference, for the scenery, would be in the Raton to Las Vegas corridor. I will probably wind up snowbirding to central NM in the Socorro area.
The cost of hay is higher, I like mixed bales alfalfa and grass and those you can find around $6 a fairly large bale. The year round riding with every day a good day to ride and no need for a barn makes owning them more worthwhile.
Malamute,
Are you close to the Ruidoso area? We've been told by some pretty knowledgeable people that in that area, we should figure about $8 for a decent 50# bale, but it will be straight alfalfa. There just isn't much grass grown (at least not commercially) so assume we'll need to truck it in. If you have a better option, sure would like to know as our friend in 'Zozo is spending a small fortune right now bringing in a semi load every fall. Of course, prices may have come down since the height of the summer when she was getting hay secured.
We're spoiled here as I just set out a couple of 1200# Orchard/Timothy grass round bales last night, (it's Old Country Buffet day today for our herd!) and these cost us about $50 this year. So we're cutting down the herd by quite a few before we make the move to the hills.
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Sick of breaking ice out of buckets already?
