I live in Reed City, which is 65 miles north of
Grand Rapids. We have 20 acres for 5 horses. We also have
sand. We figure about 100 bales of hay per year per horse. Horses
get grass June to the end of Sept, part hay and part grass end of April and
May. By mid Oct, they are on full hay but still out in pasture. Gun
season starts Nov 15, and then they will be on about 8 acres.
I feed KMart or WalMart metamucil for two days
(quarter cup a day) once a month to get rid of the sand in their
guts. So this is something you will want to do since MI is mostly
sand. One can keep a horse on less land but I love having the land for
them to run on. Helps to keep them in condition and it makes them
happy. Zoning is important to consider, how close you will be to trails is
another thing to consider. I don't remember much state land by Kalamazoo
but there could be some, just not sure. We do keep our horses in the barn
at night from mid Oct to about the end of April, but then we live on top of a
hill and it gets pretty windy. We have no outside sheds and no where
except against the barn for the horses to get out of the wind. Just some
more ideas. Jeanie
