MOST horse lovers dream of moving to a luxurious home overlooking rolling acres of lush green meadows, the latest and greatest in stabling, and all the facilities that make up "equestrian heaven".

While it may not always be possible to fulfil this dream to the letter, there are limitless possibilities which allow you to live in a house and keep a horse (or horses). As long as you have easy and quick access to public gallops, or can rent a nearby field, all you really need is room for comfortable stabling and a small paddock where you can turn out your horse for an hour or two a day. Even a country property with, say, a third of an acre of land, is perfectly adequate.

The ideal, of course, is to purchase a home with stables attached. If you are hoping to build your own you should be aware you may need to obtain planning permission from the local authority.

In some instances, though, planning approval is not required. This is known as permitted development rights. Provided your site meets several criteria, permitted development can apply. For a start, your stable building must be within your garden curtilage (i.e. not paddock) and sited behind the main building line or at least 20 metres from the nearest public highway. It must also be at least five metres from the house and a metre from the boundary. It must be less than 30 square metres in floor area and less than four metres in height to the ridge and cannot, of course, have a business use.

It's a myth that you cannot buy an equestrian property without spending a fortune. Prices in some areas can start below £200,000. For instance, in Lincolnshire, a solid 1920s family home set in an acre, with two stables, a tack room and hay stores, plus all weather turn-out/lunging area and paddock, is on the market for just £187,000. This property is on offer through East Anglia Equestrian Properties (http://www.eaequestrian.co.uk/), one of a number of U.K. estate agents who specialise in equestrian properties.

At the other end of the financial scale, £1.85million buys you a recently-renovated five bedroom detached period house with matching detached annexe, five-bay walker and 17 stables in two blocks set in 5.5 acres in South Buckinghamshire.

If the rolling beauty of Herefordshire ticks your box, then £650,000 is the asking price of a Grade II listed farmhouse, four miles from the cathedral city of Hereford, with five bedrooms and paddocks extending to 4.5acres together with outbuildings and stables in the heart of ideal riding country. This property is on the books of Borders Estates, another equestrian property specialist (http://www.bordersestates.co.uk/).