According to the British Horse Society, horse owners in this country spend around £2.5 billion on horses and riding every year, and that breaks down to £150 million on buying horses, £1200 million on their upkeep, £500 million on lessons and £350 million on clothing and other purchases.

As a result homes which appeal to equestrian enthusiasts make up a very important part of the national property market, and houses which have the horse-friendly land and the right ancillary buildings often sell very quickly – and at a considerable premium.

James Lawrie of the property specialists Strutt & Parker sees a lot of equestrian properties, and he says, ‘The ideal equestrian holding would have between five and twenty acres of good, level, well-fenced pasture, with running water, close to the main house and with easy access from the road. In addition there would be stabling, tack rooms, a hay store, a barn and all the other odd buildings which always come in so useful.’

If you were to find such a property it’s very likely that the asking price might make you wince, but if you can find a house with land then it’s not too hard to bring together the components to create the ideal ‘horsey home’.

So far as how much space is needed to keep horses, the rule of thumb used to be ‘one horse per acre’, but that is really a bit tight. If you are going to give the horse hay and maybe some solid food through the winter then an acre and a half is the minimum, but if the beast is fed on solely grass then each horse needs between two and two and a half acres. In terms of land area most people still talk about acres, but the metric hectare is becoming more common: an easy mental conversion is to remember that an acre is 40% of an hectare, and a hectare is just less than two and a half acres.

Talking of land, Mark Hall, who is based at Strutt & Parker’s Cambridge office, says, ‘The land needs to be good quality pasture of course, well-drained, and preferably with its own water supply.

‘Fields need to be as level as possible, and preferably free of protruding rocks, half-hidden roots and half-buried debris such as old barbed wire, which might trip a cantering horse and bring it down. Fencing can be very expensive, so buying a well-fenced property will save money. Shade is also essential – on very hot days horses do need to get out of the sun, and if there is no tree cover a shelter of some sort will have to be built.’

Existing stables and ancillary buildings such a tack rooms are of course a great advantage, though in most parts of the country it is not difficult to obtain planning consent to create small stable blocks, especially as timber stables count as temporary structures. This will vary according to local authorities’ individual attitudes and policies however.

Stables can be bought ready-made or – for the more advanced rider and those with deeper pockets – bespoke. Stables need to be in an appropriate location, needless to say, and be on well-drained ground and facing away from prevailing winds. A two-bay loose box from a reputable manufacturer, made of timber and erected on your base, with cost towards £3,000. An attached tack room measuring eight feet by twelve will cost an additional £1,000. The price of a ten foot square field shelter will also be around £1,000. These are starting prices, remember; it’s not at all difficult to spend £10,000 on building half a dozen or so loose boxes plus a larger tack room, a hay store and perhaps a carriage house.

If you are converting an existing building don’t forget how much height is needed; a minimum of eight feet throughout (low beams included) and preferably more. Security is a very important consideration these days, for both horses and tack. If in doubt take expert advice (your insurance company will appreciate it -and it will lower your premiums). The ever-falling cost of new technology means that it is now very cheap and simple to have closed circuit television coverage of your horses – you can simply change channels during the commercial breaks to keep an eye on Dobbin! It is of course a great advantage if the stables are near the house, both for security and so that you stand a good chance of hearing a horse if it starts coughing with colic or any other ailment.

For anyone wanting to compete in eventing, a manege is a great advantage, and for the serious rider who has ambitions to reach the summit of the sport it’s simply essential. Building an outdoor, mid-sized manege will cost £12-15,000 and a full-size one will be around £25,000. A barn-style cover will cost, at the very least, as much again and all manege’s will require planning consent.

In conclusion Mark adds, ‘The British are a nation of horse-lovers and equestrian pursuits are more popular than ever. Over and above that eye-watering £2.5 billion spent on horses in the UK every year, it’s impossible to say how much is spent on buying or creating equestrian properties, but it’s going to be a very large sum indeed – one which has increased greatly over the past couple of decades and is going to keep on rising.’