How much land does a miniature pony need?

Clemsem: How much land does a miniature pony need?
Like I wanna get a Fallabella or a Shetland Pony or just something small but I don’t have much land. How much land would one need?
So everyone knows, I live in Australia, so in the winter that is when the horses thrive on the grass.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Morgan
A good size of grazing land would be nice. I’d say probably 2 acres would be big enough for him. I have a mini but he shares a fence with a horse so it’s bigger than it needs to be. That would give him enough grazing land that it would grow back up before he eats it all down. They may be small but you’d be suprised at how much they eat in a day. If you are planning to give him hay through the summer too (we don’t feed hay in the summer) then you could give him less land. I would hope you know that there is more to horses (even mini ones) then to a pasture. He will need shelter- at least a run in for the winter cold, not a tree. You will need a brush for him so he does not gets mats and stays clean, keep in mind vet bills and buying him hay for the winter. So then you need a place for the hay and other supplies. You will need 1-2 water buckets. He will need grain for the winter too and some way to keep the water in his buckets from freezing. ( if you live where it gets cold) Such as a heated water bucket. Also keep in mind farrier bills when you need his hooves trimmed, deworming costs. Fly spray, or a fly mask. Make sure you can also afford one. Don’t get one to realize you can only afford him for a month. You will have to spend a lot of time with it so it doesn’t get wild like most pasture horses do if they are not handled regularly. You will need a lead rope too incase you need to take him somewhere, and a halter. If you don’t have a local horse vet you will need a horse trailor to take him to the vet which do cost quite a lot.

Answer by sport gal
60 by 60

Answer by HorsesGod&Capitalism
First make sure you are rurally zoned so you can have a horse. A small pony needs at least 1 acre of grazing, but the catch is you can NOT keep any equine singly, it has to have a companion. Be that another horse, a goat, llama, alpaca, or barn cat, it has to have somethign out there in the pasture and barn living with it at all times.

Answer by Missy B
Laws will vary from state to state and county to county.

In NY, for example, you need to be rurally zoned and must have 1 acre per head of horse. Size of horse doesn’t matter. A mini and a Clydesdale are equal in the state’s eyes.

Answer by HorseCrazy
Well they say that you need 6 acres per horse so you would probably need 3-5 acres 🙂

Answer by Jay
In PA, it’s 2 acres for the first horse, then an extra 1 acre for every other.

Miniatures, I’m assuming, need less than that. You could probably cut that in half.

BUT. I have a neighbor who keeps minis somewhere much smaller than that, but exercises them every day. Her ponies really seem quite happy with that.

Answer by LGP14
well its 1 acre per horse, so i would get an acre and split it up ( 1/2 or 1/3s) and then rotate the pony. but make sure there isnt too much so it doesnt get laminitas! as they are prone to it