Mules... for the uneducated

[mt terry d]

You’re going to be buying hay and feed regardless of which property you buy. If you don’t they’ll be on their 3rd layer of dirt by fall.

 

[deserthunter2016]

You’re going to be buying hay and feed regardless of which property you buy. If you don’t they’ll be on their 3rd layer of dirt by fall.

What do you mean by this? Having irrigated pasture definitely cuts back on the hay bill for half the year depending on where you live and the growing season.


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[mt terry d]

Just how much of that ten acres will be pasture and how much will be used to grow grain and enough hay for winter ?

 

[HighUintas]

Just how much of that ten acres will be pasture and how much will be used to grow grain and enough hay for winter ?

Not sure, but it looks like it could be maxed out at 8 acres if i really wanted to. It's only a 1600sqft house and has zero landscaping.

 

[missjordan]

Personally i would go for the 10 acres. However The 1/2 acre would work fine also. Either way You really have to be committed to equines 365 days a year. If you figured a basic dry lot at a boarding barn the size could be comparable or maybe even a bit smaller. The smaller space is not really out of the ordinary for some people.

To put this in perspective too, the way Ryan got into mules and riding is 100% the way all beginner horsemen should do it. Buy quality animals and not be afraid to spend the money getting educated themselves. And use that trainer to keep furthering your animals education or if it needs a tune up you can lean on them to make the corrections.

In the long run people are way more money ahead than some that buy a cheap animal they don’t have the skills to work through. Then try and piece it together and end up making the horse/mule crazy. Or worse, get themselves hurt really bad . That is not the flex most people think it is and it happens all the time.


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[mt terry d]

You should be able to contact the local ASCS office and see what the carrying capacity of your ground might be.

*EDIT: apparently now it’s called the FSA or something. I’m sure you can find it as obviously you’re much younger than I.

 

[Skerhunter]

5 acres is about as small of a property I would want for 2-3 head! You need some where to store the feed, pile manure, park all your new equipment and still have room for them to move around while having some type of actual yard. Adding acres usually doesn’t pencil out unless you have enough to put up your own hay, even then it might not depending on prices.

 

[Maverick1]

@HighUintas - mules or horses can be exceptionally effective in the backcounty. Getting from point A to B, packing out meat, traveling long distances, traveling in the dark, packing in camp, etc. They are a lot of work before and during the hunt, and come with year-round responsibilities, but can really pay off under the right circumstances. One thing to keep in mind - most hunters that use stock have a story (or several) of their mule/horse throwing them off at some point or another on a hunt, running around going ape-shit for no apparent reason, going berserk when packing meat, or treating them like a flap-jack an an inopportune time. Even the most seasoned veterans, it seems.