IF YOU HAVE HORSES (and you live in a dry climate), double-fence your property to create a "pasture" that is actually an alleyway circling your property. In a dry climate, the horses will turn this "pasture" to dust in short order; in winter, when grass wants to sprout there, the horses will churn the sprouting grass into the mud. (Creating such a "pasture" in chaparral would require heavy equipment.) The alley will also encourage the horses to move more, and thus they will get more exercise.
I am an engineer and I have experience with combustion in the metals industry. One can build a house that can not burn down. Use steel frame construction, gypsum exterior sheathing, cement fiber siding, steel roof, aluminum window and aluminum shutters like every house in Germany has and finally put a five foot rock garden around your house. This isn't rocket science.
IF YOU HAVE HORSES (and you live in a dry climate), double-fence your property to create a "pasture" that is actually an alleyway circling your property. In a dry climate, the horses will turn this "pasture" to dust in short order; in winter, when grass wants to sprout there, the horses will churn the sprouting grass into the mud. (Creating such a "pasture" in chaparral would require heavy equipment.) The alley will also encourage the horses to move more, and thus they will get more exercise.
Well done
I am an engineer and I have experience with combustion in the metals industry. One can build a house that can not burn down. Use steel frame construction, gypsum exterior sheathing, cement fiber siding, steel roof, aluminum window and aluminum shutters like every house in Germany has and finally put a five foot rock garden around your house. This isn't rocket science.