The Marks Of Good Horse Land For Equestrian Businesses

Horses can cross diverse terrain and live in a wide variety of geographic regions, but every piece of land that's well-suited for an equestrian business has certain notable features. The following are the marks of good horse land.

Gentle Terrain for Pathways

While there can be steep slopes on horse land, the pathways that criss-cross the land shouldn't directly traverse any steep incline or decline. These slopes can create expansive vistas at the top, and it's alright to have some on the land, but you want to make sure there's a different way to get around the land that provides horses with a more gentle grade. 

Slopes that are too steep place undue stress on a horse's body when the animal ascends and descends the terrain. Tendons and ligaments stretch and strain if a horse climbs up or down too quickly.

Soil That's Just Right

The soil on a piece of horse land doesn't all need to be perfect and uniform, but overall it should have a good consistency. You don't want soil that's too soft and mushy because regular walking through muck can cause horses' hoof walls to deteriorate. You also don't want soil that's too rocky, as pounding on rocks can create bruises and cracks in horses' hooves.

If you're unsure whether a particular piece of land has the right type of soil, consider what it'd be like to walk across the land all day yourself. Would your feet be overly wet or sore? If your feet can handle the soil, then a horse's hooves likely are able to as well.

Water That's Readily Available

Of course, an equestrian business needs a source of water -- and a lot of it. A typical horse will drink somewhere between 5 and 10 gallons of water each day, and businesses must be able to water all of the horses on their land. Moreover, businesses must be able to maintain a water supply even during times of drought.

While you don't want land that's predominantly mushy swamp because this would be too soft for horses' hooves, you do need a large water supply. This can be a deep well with a high yield, or it can be a pond, river, or lake. If you have a pond on the land, you just need to make sure a freshwater source replenishes the pond so that it doesn't dry out when there's less rain.

To learn more, contact a property owner who is offering horse land for sale.