Living with Horses on Under 3 Acres

I live on under 3 acres and am here to tell you it’s entirely possible to have horses!

Is more land better? Yes.

Is more land possible for everyone? No.

When we moved to Charlotte my husband and I made a list of our must haves when beginning our home search. My husband’s was that he would have a 30 minute or less commute to his job. Mine was that we had enough land for at least 2 horses. We knew in order to have the things we both wanted without spending a small fortune, we would be required to get creative on a smaller piece of land.

Perhaps you’re in the same position we were, or you’re looking to downsize for whatever reason. Maybe you’re like one of the several people who have knocked on my door or messaged me on instagram asking how you can have a horse property similar to ours while living 15 minutes from an international airport and uptown.

Zoning laws will vary from state to state and county to county. The absolute first thing we did when we were house shopping was confirm that the property was zoned for horses before we even looked at it with our realtor. Besides that, keep in mind just because a property is zoned for horses there may be a variety of other hoops you have to jump through before you can actually put them on your property. I’ll be talking specifically about Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Our property was not already set up for horses, but it was zoned for horses. As I researched further, I found that in our county you can have 1 horse per acre. This was perfect because it meant I could have 2 horses. 

I also discovered that even though our property is zoned for horses and even though I would be abiding by the 1 horse per acre rule, I still needed to get approval from Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Care & Control. I filled out some paperwork which involved going door to door and speaking to my future neighbors. I had to collect names and numbers so that Animal Care & Control could confirm that none of my neighbors would have an issue with us having horses. All of my neighbors were ok with it, so I’m not entirely sure what happens if any neighbors are opposed to it. An officer came to the property and inspected it, just to confirm the property would be suitable for horses. Once approved, I paid a $40 fee for a permit which I renew annually. 

My property did not have a barn or an outbuilding that I could turn into a barn. In our county, barns with the intent of housing livestock must be a minimum of 200 feet from all property lines. Our property is shaped like a rectangle and not wide enough to abide by this rule. I had to pay a substantial fee (~$700) and apply for a variance request. My husband and I had to present our case in front of a committee explaining our intent and reason for the request. Keep in mind there’s no guarantee of approval and the better you can present your case the more likely it will be approved. One of our future new neighbors was a retired architect and equestrian (she’s sadly since moved away) and was kind enough to help me put together a rockin power point and be present at the hearing to speak in our favor.  Thankfully, our request was approved. Typically, you’ll have a set amount of time to complete the project (12 months from the date of approval in our case). Once complete, we notified them and they sent someone out to inspect to give it the official seal of completion/approval.

Before you order your barn, you’ll need to have a piece of ground leveled by a professional. I chose the location and the individual I hired used his bobcat and screenings to level the area. I did have an area a few feet wider and longer than the size of the barn leveled to make placement easier. 

We opted to go with a simple shed row style barn from Keystone Barns (keystonebarns.com). You can customize your barn because they are made to order, and even though they are located in Pennsylvania they can ship for an additional fee. I ended up getting a 30’ x 10’ barn with two stalls (one 10’ x 10’ for my pony and one 12’ x 10’ for my horse) and a feed room for hay storage (8’ x 10’). My barn is entirely fenced in and they can come and go as they please from their stalls 24/7. I wanted the ability to lock them in if need be (bad weather, for example) and for them to both have access to shelter for shade in the summer and just to get out of the rain if they’d choose to do so. 

Porky and Atticus in the barn for the first time

I’ve since installed drop down hay feeders (https://www.statelinetack.com/item/hay-hoops-ii-collapsible-wall-feeder-with-net/E015992/) which makes it super convenient to feed them in their stalls on those rainy or snowy days and have zero waste. I’ve also installed bucket hooks and besides their stock tank that gets a heater in the winter as needed, I put up insulated buckets of water in their stalls on below freezing days/nights as well. Insulated bucket covers can be purchased through Smartpak (https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartpak-insulated-water-bucket-cover-5-gallon-11423?_br_psugg_q=insulated+water+bucket)

I’ve also stained the barn, but I highly recommend getting it stained by the professionals prior to delivery because it is extremely time consuming.

The stained barn on a rare snowy day in North Carolina

I do recommend an outdoor hay feeder as well. If you feed round bales there are a variety of round bale feeders but my favorite is the hay hut (hayhuts.com). I prefer to feed small squares and use a small square bale feeder called The Natural Feeder- though the company doesn’t seem to be in business any longer. I did find a similar design made by High Country Plastics (https://highcountryplastics.com/products/sfs-slow-feeder-saver)

My small bale feeder

I store my horse’s grain in my garage because I do add warm water to it and it’s more convenient to have it at the house where I can easily mix it and take it out for each feeding. If I didn’t need access to warm water for each feeding I would store it in the feed room with the hay. 

I’ve placed a small chest of drawers and shelves and hooks throughout my feed room. I put blankets/fly sheets in the drawers and I have a grooming tote with fly spray on the shelves. I also store my barn cat’s food in a plastic bin on one of the shelves along with a handheld pool skimmer which I use to clean the leaves/debris out of the stock tank. I hang halters, lead ropes, fly masks, and grazing muzzles from the hooks. 

My horse trailer is parked close by and it’s much easier for me to simply work out of there instead of storing all of my tack in the feed room. I tie my horses to the trailer where I can easily groom and tack them up. Everything is in one place and I don’t have to move anything around if I’m hauling out for a lesson or show. I also use my trailer to pick up hay. 

Atticus tacked up at my trailer on our property

We did decide to fence in our entire property to allow our horses to have some access to grass. We still feed them hay year round, and even though with the size of our property we wouldn’t be able to sustain them on grass alone in the warmer months, it is nice to have the option to let them have run of the whole property. A good portion at the end of our property is wooded, but if it were all grass we would likely choose to divide it up into several smaller sections to rotate. 

Porky and Atticus out grazing, you can see their dry lot/paddock with the barn in the background

As for riding, I do have a great (mostly) flat area to ride where I have a few jumps set up. Of course, I much prefer arena footing but we’ve decided at least for the time being not to have an arena installed. I did do quite a bit of research and gathered quotes, and it is certainly not cheap. You could just dump sand/screenings on top of the ground, but in North Carolina we have red clay. Several people highly recommended having some of the ground dug out, professionally leveled, and having some type of drainage under the footing so the sand/screenings wouldn’t mix with the red clay over time. 

Jumping Atticus on the flat area located just in front of their paddock

A project we intend to complete this summer is to install a wash rack. Over the years I’ve brought the horses to the hose and just let them eat grass while I held the lead rope in one hand and gave them a bath with the other. If you’ve ever done this you know how much easier it is to give a horse a bath when they are tied up and you can use both hands! If you don’t have a trailer, this could also be a nice area to groom and tack up your horse. 

For manure disposal, you can create a manure pile or spread the manure. Depending on where you’re located you can also offer it for free pick up once it has composted or even sell it! Some places also offer disposal through your local garbage companies in the form of trash bins or dumpsters. If you’d like to go this route, you must make the proper arrangements. You’ll be given container(s) specifically for the manure disposal. You can NOT dispose of manure through your regular waste bin. 

I do not have electricity or water at my barn, mainly because it is only 200 feet out my back door. I have a hose at the house that reaches the stock tank and is reeled up in a hose storage container when not in use. I have a battery operated lantern that I take to and from the barn if I’m out there in the dark. I also have some battery operated light bulbs in the feed room that hang from a string that I purchased at Target. If I had a larger property and my barn were bigger and/or further from the house, I would likely invest in having water and electric put in. 

Besides our horses, we do have a small garden on the property where we grow fruits and vegetables as well as pear and apple trees. We are also in the process of constructing a chicken coop and will have chickens in the future. 

We really enjoy our little piece of land and making the most of out of it! If you’re looking to do something similar and I can help in any way, please let me know!