Where the name comes from
Hunt country land stewardship
The name comes from the hunt country west of Chadds Ford, where pasture, hedgerow and fence line have to be kept open every season or the woods take them back.
Hunt country is the rolling ground around Unionville and West Marlborough in Chester County: the Cheshire Hunt country, the land around Plantation Field and Willowdale, and the farms between them. It is open, conserved and ridden across, and it is the ground the Huntly name was chosen for.
The wider Brandywine Valley, including Pocopson and Chadds Ford, shares the same mix of pasture, mature tree lines and rolling access.
What this ground asks for
Big farms, long fence lines, hunt-country turf and conserved ground that carries real stewardship obligations. Multiflora rose and autumn olive close in on hedgerows and field corners, fence lines disappear, and trails that riders depend on narrow every season.
The work here is large-block pasture reclamation, fence-line clearing by the mile, access lanes and riding trails, and invasive management on eased ground, finished to a standard the neighbors will ride across.
Conservation easements
Much of this land sits under conservation easements, and easement language often requires invasive management and field maintenance that a farm mower cannot deliver once woody growth establishes. Mulching leaves roots in place and soil undisturbed, which fits most easement terms. The easement language is reviewed with the owner before scoping.
Scheduling on large ground
Multi-day bookings are normal in hunt country. Work is staged in blocks on the same property, sequenced around turnout, events and the hunting season, with the schedule confirmed in writing before equipment arrives.
- Large-block pasture reclamation
- Fence-line clearing over long runs
- Riding trails and access lanes
- Invasive management on conserved ground
Asked about hunt country land stewardship
Do you work around the hunting season?
Yes. The schedule is set on the walk around the property calendar, including hunting, events and turnout.
Do you work on eased ground?
Regularly. The easement language is reviewed with you before the scope is written.
Five steps, in this order.
- The first messageSend the property location, rough acreage, a few photographs and what is getting in the way: turnout, access, a fence line, a trail.
- The site walkWe walk the ground with you and record barn approaches, turnout routes, electric fence, water lines, gates and retained trees.
- The written scopeWhat stays, what changes, where the work starts, and the finish expected at gates, corners and paddock edges, all in one proposal.
- The work, sequenced around the farmPaddocks and lines are worked in the order agreed on the walk, so turnout and the rest of the farm keep running.
- The walkthrough and the recordWe walk the finished ground with you against the scope, and the before and after record stays with the farm.
Cost, timing, permits and the ground
Regulatory notes are general guidance; Huntly confirms the rules that apply to each site before work.
What shapes the cost of horse farm land work in Chester County horse country?
Density and stem size, ground and terrain, access and staging, finish standard, resource plan, stewardship and schedule. Haul-off of non-organic debris, stump grinding below grade, permits and licensed applications are quoted as separate visible lines. Every job is priced in writing after a private site walk, and the walk carries no charge inside the service region.
When is the best time of year for horse farm land work in Chester County horse country?
Dormant season, from late fall through winter, gives leaf-off sightlines, firm or frozen ground and visible stems, and it is when Huntly has the most capacity. As general guidance in Pennsylvania, cutting of larger trees is commonly timed to the October 1 to March 31 window, when bats are not roosting in trees. Huntly confirms whether and how that window applies to each site before scheduling.
Do I need a permit for horse farm land work in Chester County horse country?
It depends on the township, the slope and any water nearby. In Chester County, earth disturbance over 5,000 square feet needs a written erosion-and-sediment-control plan, and one acre or more needs NPDES coverage. Whether a mulching scope counts as earth disturbance is a question for the approving body, so for Chester County horse country we confirm with the township or conservation district before work.
Is forestry mulching better than bulldozing?
For most brush and small-tree work, yes. Mulching leaves roots in the ground and a chip layer on the surface, so slopes stay put, stream-adjacent ground stays stable, and there are no burn piles or haul-off loads. A buildable surface, root-ball removal, grading or drainage work may call for a broader clearing or excavation plan.
What happens to the mulch and the timber?
It is left as a thin layer that holds soil and suppresses regrowth for a season or two, then breaks down into the ground it came from. Merchantable timber is decked on the property for the owner rather than hauled away.
Will the equipment rut the ground, and can you work near horses and water?
The track carriers work on low-ground-pressure tracks, so slopes, paddocks, soft fields and stream-side ground are worked without the rutting wheeled equipment leaves. Whether horses stay on the property during the work is settled on the site walk for that farm, and turnout is worked when horses are moved or the paddock is closed. Ground beside streams and wet areas is flagged on the walk before any work is scheduled.
More from the Equestrian & Hunt Country division
- Pasture and paddock reclamation for horse farms
- Fence-line clearing for horse farms and estates
- Riding trails and bridle paths
- Invasive control in turnout and paddock edges
- Storm cleanup on horse farms
- The site walk on a horse property
- Land work in Chester County & SE Pennsylvania
- Land work in Northern Delaware
- All counties and towns we serve
Four answers, and your walk is scoped.
hello@huntlyland.comSend the town, rough acreage and two or three photographs. We reply by email with site-walk times, and a written scope follows the walk.
Office hours Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On call 24/7 for storm and emergency cleanup. If anyone is in danger, call 911 first.