Horse question (Colorado Springs: real estate, rental, how much)

[glowbugs]

My family will be moving to Colorado Springs in the next month with our three horses. I have contacted a real estate agent about a rental property with approximately 20 acres. I have 3 horses. I was told that my horses could only be out on the acreage grazing for a max of one hour a day. My horses have been stalled for the past year and I really don't want them stalled 24/7 anymore. So, is this normal for Colorado? The real estate agent said this is the Division of Land Managements reccomendation. I have read through other posts here and have not seen such rigid grazing restrictions advised. So, anyone with experience with horses and Colorado grazing please help.

[sunsprit]

The problem with Colorado grazing is that there's not a lot of water, so the quality and quantity of forage may be very minimal. In many areas, there's a great risk of overgrazing the grasses and whatever else may be planted in the 20 acre pasture with 3 horses. For much of the year, there will be no regrowth from what the horses have eaten down to, so they can quickly turn 20 acres into a barren patch of weeds without any nutritional value.

The daily limit that the realtor is advising you may be a guideline number that prior users of the pasture have determined was the maximum allowable amount of grazing that the pasture could sustain. Of course, this is highly dependent upon the horses ... some will need more forage per day than others.

You need to do an assessment of how much forage tonnage is available, and make a realistic estimate of how much your three horses will eat per day. That will tell you how many days of grazing they have available. As we enter the fall season to winter time ... there will not be a lot of growth. You will be feeding your horses during the winter months.

As far as shelter goes ... I prefer to keep my horses on pastures where they have room to exercise and be exposed to the elements 24/7. The only time my horses come inside a barn is when it's a howling blizzard and sub-zero temps; otherwise, they have a couple of three sided covered shelters where they can choose to get out of the wind/sun/rain/snow.

[beezle1]

I think it all depends on the quality of the pasture you have them on. One option, is to pasture them for part of the day, and then have a smaller 'sacrifice' area to put them in instead of stalls. This would basically be a smaller area that will likely become just dirt, where they can run around a bit and kick up their heels.

[lalahartma]

What do real estate agents know about horses? Unless it was a stipulation of the landlord. And that is ridiculous.

I would never depend on grazing for the bulk of their calories.

[froggin4colorado]

Our horses are outside in the pasture all the time except for inclement weather. There isn't much for them to graze on them due to the lack of water/growth so we (my family who lives there) feed them twice daily. There is a rule that says you can only have 1 horse per acre. Otherwise Chance and Roper roam their yard 24/7.

[glowbugs]

Thanks everyone for your responses. My main concern is for my horses to be out "being horses". I don't expect for grazing to be a primary food source. So, I will continue my hunt for a house just not with this particular real estate agent.

[froggin4colorado]

Good idea!