How far does horse stable smell travel

[Cmac77]

I saw a nice property that was 400 feet from a horse stable on a horse training facility. There is a training area/ field very close. Curious how far the smell travels and if it would be bothersome.

 

[Double R]

Welcome to the forum!
Flies and dust are more of an issue vs the smell for horses as long as their manure pile isn’t real close to you. We have a manure pile about 50 yards from us that they add to daily and turn regularly. We are down wind and don’t really notice much. Having said that mismanaged facilities could be a smell problem. Not sure where your locates so can’t say if there’s other factors that will effect you but that’s the first things that come to mind.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

We've had horses for 20+ years.
For a while we had three, now just one.
Had as many as 60 chickens at a time, too.
Personally, I never noticed any smell, except when mucking out the stalls, and even that didn't bother me.
NOW, if you're a life long suburban dweller moving to the country for the first time, there may be an adjustment period. Don't worry, the "country fresh" smell beats the "city smell" 6 ways to Sunday.

 

[Peanut]

Every area has "prevailing winds". Here wind comes from the NW in winter and SW in summer. The national weather service would have info you need about prevailing winds.

If up wind you'll probably never notice it.

 

[Tirediron]

A good healthy horse barn just reminds me of my happy childhood

 

[Amish Heart]

Animal poop does smell. Depends how sensitive you are. Just left my cousin's farm an hour ago and it was raining. Walked out the door and she said it smells like cow. Ha. They do have alot of cows. Rain and wind will make it smell. Farms smell like farms.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Cascadian]

Buy some horses and it will smell like home.

 

[Aerindel]

In my experience, not very far, and horse smell is not a big deal. Horse dung is pretty dry and grassy.

What you want to watch out for is Dairy Barns, Pig Pens, and Feed lots.

 

[joel]

We had horse all my life, so I would barely notice, if you are not use to animal poop/manure then you will smell it.
If that is a problem, you should move to or stay in the city.
When you say horse stable I think compost for my garden & I would make sure I was close to a source.

 

[Tirediron]

If anybody wants to know and of course to derail the thread a bit, Mule deer manure smells a lot like horse manure, imagine that they eat about the same food.

 

[Alaskajohn]

If the wind is blowing just right you will likely smell it. Nothing wrong with the mild organic smells. Horse manure is mild compared to others. Pig farms and some others would have bit more aroma.

Maybe stay at some horse farm B&B and see how you do?

 

[Spikedriver]

At 400 feet, you will smell it at some point. It's inevitable. But it shouldn't be a real big problem. If it becomes a big problem, country life probably isn't for you.

I knew a farrier who had a boarding barn. It had been there for 30 years before some genius bought the land adjacent to build a subdivision. People paid good money to move in, and then complained about the smell, to the point of trying to get zoning laws changed to shut him down. In a farming community, that went over like a fart in church. The stable was there first. What did those people expect? Horses pee, poop, and procreate outdoors. It ain't pretty, but it ain't changeable.

OP, even if it does smell, if you spend any time getting to know those horses you may find that you enjoy interacting with them so much that the smell won't matter much...

 

[Sourdough]

It is kind'a like airplane noise. People who live near airports complain about the "noise". But to a pilot that is a soft sweet lullaby.

 

[Neb]

I lived down wind of a pig farm during a draught. Makes your eyes burn.

Ben

 

[Spikedriver]

I lived down wind of a pig farm during a draught. Makes your eyes burn.

Ben

You are absolutely right. I grew up on a pig farm. In the county where I grew up, there are about 20,000 people and 400,000 hogs. It can be...ripe.

 

[joel]

We had hogs, but not that many, cows, horses, other small animals. Chickens can be bad for up close.

 

[Aklogcabin]

My concern would be the flies. The ones that hover in mid air then split n hide when you try to kill them. Little bugsters! I mention flies because you're next to a large amount of manure. Not a couple of horses. And mice n rats that will be attracted to the feed.
I worked on and lived at an egg farm with 200,000 chickens. My job was to clean the manure 6 days a week. I never had a problem with it.
Is the option of asking some of the neighbors what it's like available. Or the seller? Or can you ask the realtor to find out.