Last month we talked about some considerations for moving to the country. This month we’ll go over some of the important natural features to consider when shopping for a new home in the country. We’ll wind up the 3-part series next month with a review of the suitability of structures and buildings on your potential new horse property.

Soil Type

In considering the natural features of a potential horse property, start from the ground up. Soil type is one of the most important considerations in buying horse property. Unfortunately it’s usually one of the last things most buyers think about. There is a good reason for paying attention to the dirt since you are going to be “farming” (or ranching, if you prefer) and you need to think like a farmer or rancher.

A good farmer knows his soil. While you won’t be growing a crop per se, you will be growing grass and caring for horses, both of which depend on the right soil type. Loamy, organic soils are going to be best for pastures. Gravely, well-drained soils are better for buildings and confinement areas as they will cause the least amount of mud problems.

It would be wise to check with your USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), your local conservation district, Cooperative Extension or in Canada the nearest Agriculture Canada office. The NRCS or another of these agencies can give you all sorts of useful information about the soils on the property you are looking at.

If you will be building on the property you can use this information in determining where to locate structures such as barns, paddocks, pastures and your home. If buildings are already in place, soils information can tell you if the current locations are suitable. They will help you determine if the paddock areas are likely to have a mud problem because the soil is wet and mucky, or whether the pastures will ever be productive because the soil there is too rocky.  Having the soils appropriate for your needs in the right places on the property will make life much easier for you down the road.

Vegetation

The vegetation present on the property will also give you important information about the property. Different classes of vegetation tend to grow in specific areas. For example, if you see sedges, rushes and hardhack growing in pasture areas this indicates that these areas are wet, maybe even too wet to have horse on them possibly until the very end of summer. Skunk cabbage and cattails indicate wetlands -- no place for a pasture or livestock.

I have been to many barns and paddocks that have wetlands plants growing all around them. These structures were placed in low areas characterized by wetlands soils without thought to the impact on the environment and the resulting problems.

Check your local library, Cooperative Extension office or conservation district for a listing of plants, trees and shrubs native to your areas as well as a listing for the types of soils and conditions they prefer. Using this as a guideline, the existing vegetation will give you more information on what uses the property will be able handle if it is to become a useful, manageable horse property.

Topography & Drainage

Topography and drainage are two more natural features that are important considerations. If at all possible, visit your prospective place in the rainy season and during a storm event. See how the water runs and WHERE it runs. Does it all roll off that hill behind the barn right down into the confinement areas?  Or does it gently drain into the pastures and paddocks away from buildings?  During the winter months is there a creek running through the middle of the paddocks?  Or have paddocks been located in a high, well-drained place?   Checking the water flow across a piece of property can tell you a lot about how you will need to set-up and manage your horses and farm.

Creeks, Wetlands & Ponds