I keep 7 horses/ponies here on 14 acres. None are bigger than 15.2hh and they range down in steps to 11.2hh! None would come close to the body mass of a Shire - let me guess 3 Shires to my 7.skeptik wrote:A couple of questions for horse owners.
How many acres of land does it take to support one shire horse - with no other external inputs?
How many man hours a week does it take to look after one, and it's tackle?
However 14 acres is a little in excess as I usually make hay off their winter pasture each summer and have extra to sell on top of what they get fed in winter. So possibly 3 to 4 acres for a Shire. Although it all depends on your land etc.etc.
These horses only get extra feed when they are in hard work or if one is not maintaining weight. At present only the Arab is getting additional bucket feeding.
So a smaller area could be used with more bought in feed.
Not sure that answers your question...
Here are some of my ponies....
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Okay I got a little carried away there! ...... Not 'working' horses in the sense of the thread... but we do do some long distance riding for sport.
Sal