What is the national recommendation for how many horses per acre??? The county here in IL is thinking about trying to put a restriction on how many animals a person can keep per acre...This is really gonna hurt quite a few 4-Hers in this county that live on 4-5 acre farmettes...What is the recommendation on how many animals can be kept per acre??? We are going to try and get as many people as possible to go to this meeting to protest...

I think the pasture stocking rate for a cow and calf is 1 per acre here in IL. I think a horse would be similar. But this is an absurd way to solve the problem that I would guess your county is trying to address. We already have too many rules and regulations on the books now that are not being enforced. If the county has an issue with over crowding and poor animal husbandry practices then someone should look into what regulations already exist that could be enforced by the Dept of Ag here in IL.

Paul

I am from Iowa and I have always heard 2 acres pr horse. I have 2 horses an 2.5 acres and I suppliment with hay probably at least 10 months of the year. I always offer hay and until they quit eating it late spring  I start again when the pasture looks eaten down I start offering it again and add only what they will clean up.

You are talking two different subjects here.

1st off is how many acres does it take to support a horse,  That will depend as stated on the soil fertility and products. Around here it takes about 2 acres to provide pasture for 1 horse.

2nd and the more important point of living in a community. Is at what density will neighbors allow you to keep horses next door.  We've all heard stories of the person with 100 cats in their home and wonder what the heck was that person thinking. Same thing goes for horses.  Just how many horses are too many on a small piece of ground.  My city allows 2 horses per 1/2 acre.  Granted that 1/2 acre will not provide pasture for 2 horses.  It will become a dry lot very quickly with the horses. You willl have to feed the horses daily. But two per 1/2 acre is the max density that have deemed acceptable,  My small place is 1.25 acres in size and I keep 4 horses. But at over $100,000 a raw acre for land, Who can afford to buy 5-10 acres for horses to stand on?

As communities expand and housing sprawl encompasses existing homes. You will have to deal with the complaints of the many about activites of the few. I for one don't think that horse manure stinks. But a lot of my new neighbors that have moved in around me do. When they put new homes on 1/4 acre lots you can very quickly get 100 new neighbors on the 25 acres that used to be a farm next door. Now you are 1 voice against 100 voices in a city council meeting.

Push your neighbors and city councils to accept realistic numbers for what can be kept on small acreage plots. Not everybody needs 10 acres, Nor does everybody need 10 horses.  When you are paying $200,000 for a 1/2 acre building lot and putting $600,000-$800,000 home on those lots,  Isn't it a better use of the lot/money to spend the $500 a month for a stable to board your horse vs consuming your back yard?

I had my land and horses before the neighbors came. So I will be grandfathered for as long I want horses. But if I had to go get premission Now to own horses. It just wouldn't happen. Go into you city councils and make your voices heard. But understand they will have to place some kind of restrictions on density for all animals inside the city limits. Or you will have the person will 100 cats in their home and 100 horses on 1 acre. Work for a realistic number.

We have 5 on approximately 5 acres,and,here in Arkansas with good soil and average to above rainfall especially this past year,I can tell you that is  too many.Our land is starting to show the effects of it. That's why we have one of ours for sale,we have 5 nice horses but,it is just too many.

Zoning has nothing to do with this, regular city council is the only board that can regulate this.  Call city hall and get it right, so that you don't go to the wrong meeting!

Actually, I've been on committees that wrote these ordinances.  You are looking into animal control ordinances and they will become more strict as the developments move in around you.  Stocking rate is not how you want to fight this, it will eventually eat every hobby farm around you.  I wrote ordinances based on land size.  Example, we only wrote ordinances that controlled lots under 5 acres.  You want this number just under your lot size, with your size and larger being unregulated (with the exception of hoarding.)  Get the 4-H leaders, members and families involved.  There really is nothing like packing the room with kids.  I mean if these kids were mot involved with animals, they'd be off doing drugs or crime, a great point to make at the meeting.  At the meeting ask that a committee be formed to draft animal ordinances, offer to be the leader and then pack it with horse people...that's what I did! 

You also need to make friends with someone at city hall, so they can call you when animal ordinances are on the docket for a meeting.

If I find my drafts, I'll send them to you.  I wrote them in legal ease and the city lawyer didn't change a word.

Ours is 3 acres for the first horse and an acre for every head after that. I have 2 on about 10 acres of 20 total.