Horse Agistment – What You Must Know First
Horse Agistment is a term derived from the old English laws of agistment, where a cattle owner pays a land owner to graze cattle on their land. This practice first began way back when the King would charge the people money for grazing their cattle on his land. These days, however, horse agistment is simply when a horse owner pays a land owner to keep the horse on the land and allow it to graze. Having said that, there are also a lot of variations to these agreements.
Operators of horse agistment properties offer quite a range of quality services and necessary care for the horses and their owners. These include other types of agistment such as spelling agistment, riding agistment and full care agistment. Your decision on where your horse will be placed should depend on whether or not the following points have been considered: The quality of the pasture, the size of the field or paddock, the seasonality of grasses, which means your horse should have grass all year round, no matter the season. Unnecessary excess feed bills are not something you want to be hit with during a harsh winter. Other things to consider are the quality of fixtures on the property, such as fencing, shelter, windbreaks, natural shade and man made things like stables and barns.
Will the property organise regular worming (many require that your horse be wormed prior to arriving at the property) and will the property organise regular dentist visitations. When looking for the appropriate property, all of these factors can make your horse ownership as hassle free as possible. Some properties will even organise social rides, adult riding clubs, junior riding club, natural horsemanship clinics, fun games days etc.
It is ideal for you to visit the property first and inspect the facilities. It is also beneficial to know if there are experienced staff on site who can offer help and advice where needed. Do they have a passion for horses like you do and can you be confident that they will offer your horse the best care while you are not there. Many great properties adjoin forests or national parks where you can enjoy many riding trails, these are popular choices for horse owners.
So in conclusion, if you are looking into horse agistment, it does not matter which “side of the fence” you are on, there are plenty of things to discuss when it comes to drawing up the contracts. Unfortunately, these days, contracts are an essential for these kinds of things so make sure both parties are agreed on the responsibilities of each and that all costs, fees and pricing structures are double checked before signing. Not to mention things like contingency plans for natural disasters, like flooding and forest fires, all the way to things like procedures for unexpected illness, diseases and injuries of the animals in question.
Learn more about horse agistment. Stop by Michelle Rudge’s site where you can find out all about horse agistment and how to make it work for you.