Equestrian division
Services for horse farms and equestrian estates
Five lines of work, planned as one sequence around the horses and the property.
Pasture, paddocks, fence lines, riding trails and access usually fail together on a horse property, so Huntly plans them together. Each service below is scoped on the same site walk and written into one proposal, in the order that most affects how the farm runs.
Equipment is matched to the ground: low-ground-pressure track carriers with drum mulchers, industrial brush cutters and grapples.
Services and guides
- 1.
Pasture and paddock reclamation for horse farms
Pasture reclamation returns neglected ground to turnout-safe pasture. On a horse property that means three things in order: cut the woody invasion, grind what remains, and finish the surface so nothing is left standing that a horse can step on, run into or pick up.
- 2.
Fence-line clearing for horse farms and estates
Fence-line clearing opens the perimeter of a paddock or field so the fence can be seen, maintained, repaired or replaced. On a horse farm the scope names which side is opened, how wide, what stays, and how the ground must look at gates, corners and the next paddock over.
- 3.
Riding trails and bridle paths
A riding trail project opens a corridor through woods or along field edges wide enough to ride and to maintain. Huntly connects fields and woods, coordinates the route with drainage, sightlines, gates and existing farm circulation, and mulches the understory into the trail floor where it helps hold the surface.
- 4.
Invasive control in turnout and paddock edges
Invasive control on a horse property starts by naming the target vegetation, the areas to protect and the follow-up needed. Multiflora rose, autumn olive and briar are cut standing with an industrial brush cutter, ground where they stand, and the edge is put on a maintenance schedule so they do not walk back into the paddock.
- 5.
Storm cleanup on horse farms
Storm cleanup on a horse property is triage. A fence down with horses in the field and a lane to the barn that will not take a vehicle come before a trail that can wait a week.
- 6.
Hunt country land stewardship
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.
- 7.
The site walk on a horse property
The site walk is where the scope is made. Huntly walks the ground with you and records how horses, people, vehicles, gates and water move through the property before any work is planned.
What carries the work
Compact track loader
Low-ground-pressure track carriers work slopes, paddocks, soft fields and stream-side ground without the rutting wheeled equipment leaves.
Drum mulcher
Dedicated drum mulcher heads reduce brush, saplings and small trees to a soil-holding mulch layer in place, with no burn piles and no root balls to clean up.
Industrial brush cutter
Industrial brush cutters handle multiflora rose, autumn olive and briar standing, for pasture, paddock and fence-line work.
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
- Hunt country land stewardship
- 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.