Is Your Real Estate Agent An Equestrian Specialist?

Is your Real Estate Agent an equestrian specialist?

Your real estate agent may know houses - but what do they know about horses and farms?
A real estate agent that does primarily residential homes will most likely NOT know all the ins-and-outs when it comes to dealing with horse farms.
There are literally HUNDREDS of questions that an equestrian specialist should know to provide guidance for their clients. [And it goes well beyond knowing which end of the horse you give the hay to.]
Here are just a few questions to ask your prospective real estate agent:
How many acres do you need per horse?
Answer: Do you intend to provide full care with stalls, feed, & supplements? Or are you going to provide solely field care, with only a run-in shed for shelter?
For Kansas and Missouri, its fairly accepted that to sustain a horse, its 2.4 acres per horse with constant turn out and no grain supplementation. If you provide feed and rotate pastures, it can go as low as 1 acre in some areas - but this minimum is becoming restricted out by many government zoning regulations.
Ask your real estate agent for guidance.
Have the fields been seeded/planted with any type of pasture mix grasses suitable for horses?
Answer: Hay/grass suitable for cows is usually NOT high enough quality for horses. And if you have pregnant mares - you better check if the property has any Tall Fescue. Mares can abort their foals if they feed on this grass. Fescue is a common grass for grazing because its easily established, tolerates close grazing, survives drought conditions that can wither other grasses, and it stands up to heavy traffic. It is also resistant to disease, insects, and weed competition. But, this “wonder grass”, can also carry a toxin that is associated with an endophyte fungus. The fungus lives within the plant and cannot be detected visually; however, you can test the fescue for the level of endophyte infection. So you need to know, particularly if you have mares: is there any Tall Fescue on the property? Please note that there are some endophyte free varieties of fescue available - most of these are called short fescue.
What type of fencing is appropriate for horses?
Answer: Fencing for other livestock is probably not what you should use for horses. Remember the old term “horse play”. Theres a reason why that term exists. Horses are active, large animals that when they get going, they can get themselves into trouble in a hurry if you don’t provide them a safe environment within which to roam.
There are LOTS of choices available: diamond mesh, no climb, PVC, HTP, etc, etc.
However, one important thing to note: installing fence for maximum safety is different than installation for aesthetics.
Installation for aesthetics has the boards placed on the outside of where the horses will be. It is visually more appealing - but if a horse builds up a good head of steam and runs into the fence, instead of having to break the boards, all they have to do is push the nails out - and the boards with the nails still in them, will be laying on the ground while your horse is roaming free.
Installation for safety has the boards placed on the inside where the horses will be. That way, if a horse runs into the fence, they actually have to break the boards to get through. Common way of finding out if the fence is installed this way, is asking a non-horse person: “does the fence look like it was put in backwards?” If they say yes, then you know its probably installed with safety taking a priority over aesthetics.
And there are 2 main types of wood used for this type of fence: Oak and Poplar. Oak is harder and as a result, horses don’t chew on it as much - but it can be prone to splitting, cracking, and warping. Poplar is a softer wood that generally stays straighter, and is less prone to split, crack, or warp - BUT horses like to chew on it. A lot of persons go with an oak board for the top rail, and poplar for the others. This allows the horses to chew on the hard oak (which they don’t like usually), while having the benefit of straighter boards on the bottom rails - where horses are less likely to chew regularly.
The 2nd type of fence is a new product that is gaining acceptance within the horse community called Electrobraid. It looks essentially like a yachting rope, that has wire woven into it. Since its rope, its flexible - with no hard edges or sharp points. And unlike board fence that you may end up replacing every 5-7 years - it comes with a 25 year warranty.
Again, ask your real estate agent for guidance on what may be best suited for your needs.
These are just a few of the MANY, MANY questions (and answers) that your real estate agent should be able to provide if they are a proficient horse farm real estate professional.
Other questions include:
Riding Arena construction: Most arenas are constructed incorrectly. Did they remove the top soil and get down to clay to begin construction? If they had to place fill, what compaction % should the sub-base be rated at? what grade should the arena be? what base should you use: gravel? dense grade? stone dust? what about top coat choices - did they use regular sand, or angulated sand? or did they go with one of the composite materials? or perhaps a blend? did they use a french drain?
Barn design: how large of an aisle do you need? what about ceiling height? how large do the stalls need to be? how much hay storage do you need per horse?
ETC.
ETC.
The list goes on and on and on.
Hundreds of items that your real estate agent should know. Do they?
Make sure your real estate agent is knowledgeable - and that they are able to provide for you in your search for your horse farm. A real estate agent that is an equestrian real estate specialist can provide very valuable tips, advice, and guidance to ensure your needs are addressed in your horse farms purchase.

Until next week, Happy Trails!