Every afternoon, serene paddocks in Canberra's north-west are slowly inundated by people quietly calling to their horses, preparing saddles, and making conversation as they pour out feed and water.

Teenagers Lola-Lee-Lou Hoefer-Dunne and Lauren Abbott often catch the bus straight from school to get some riding in while the sun is still up during winter.

"It's so close and convenient," Lauren said.

"The community's very close and it's a lovely spot — the views and the sunsets you get from here, I can't get them anywhere else."

The area known as Parkwood makes up just some of the land earmarked for development as part of Ginninderry, a project that will see homes for 30,000 residents across four suburbs stretching into New South Wales.

As a result, the open space beyond Macgregor and Holt will be radically transformed.

Many fear that, with development in the area and rising demand for land across the ACT, the cost of agistment —that is, horse holding paddocks — will rise, and they will be forced to travel much further to keep their horses.

For Rose Deren, a Parkwood agistee for more than 30 years, it will mean the loss of a community of horse lovers that has been a part of her family for generations.

"I just wonder what it will be like for those who come after me," she said.

A house being constructed at Ginninderry, west of Canberra. ( ABC News: Jake Evans )

'Not everyone's necessarily happy'

The Parkwood Government Paddocks make up the ACT's largest government-run agistment, and were rezoned in 2016 for future development. Ginninderry is a joint project between the developer and the ACT Government.

Construction on Ginninderry's first suburb is under way and the first residents are expected to move in by the end of this year.

But Ginninderry's project director Stephen Harding said the project would be decades in the making and could take up to 40 years to reach Ginninderry Gorge, its boundary.

"Ultimately, there's potentially up to 30 stages of development and it's a very large-scale development," Mr Harding said.

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Some paddocks have already been relocated in preparation for further construction, while the Bicentennial National Trail, a horse track connecting to Parkwood, will also be moved.

"With all the existing uses on the project site, we're very conscious that people have become accustomed to those uses," he said.

"It's always the case that not everyone's necessarily happy with how you do it, but it's about consultation and I think we're going about that the right way."

ACT Parks and Conservation Biosecurity and Rural Services director Warren Schofield said they had put aside money to investigate where the agistments of the future might be.

Lola-Lee-Lou Hoefer-Dunne, 15, with Misha at the Parkwood Government Paddocks near Belconnen. ( ABC News: Niki Burnside )

But Hamish Sinclair, a research fellow at the University of Canberra, said Canberra was unique in having horse paddocks so close to suburbia, and that other parcels of land would be appropriate for keeping horses.

"It is rather a luxury to have private paddocks or horse paddocks in the middle of a city," he said.

"[It is] very rare, if not impossible to find a similar situation in other capital cities around the world.

"There are surrounding areas of the ACT that are more than capable of meeting that need for agistment."

Uncertainty weighing on Parkwood community

Ellie Bryson started keeping her horse, Apples, at Parkwood about six years ago.

Like many of the more than 80 horse-lovers who agist there, the paddocks are one of the most affordable options in the ACT.

"It just means that you can come down and check on them whenever you need to, you never know when you might need to come down and check on things, see if everything's alright if there's been a storm" Ms Bryson said.

The fear for many is that costs will rise as land grows scarce.

While the paddocks may not be reduced or relocated for another five years, horse owners said the uncertainty was adding to their anxiety for the future.

"Losing this particular land will be very sad, but if we can keep the whole community together, and move everyone to a new area that would be ideal," Ms Bryson said.

"But just not knowing what's coming is probably the hardest."

Rose Deren has been keeping horses at Parkwood for about 30 years. ( ABC News: Niki Burnside )

Ms Deren said she wanted more information from Ginninderry about what to expect.

"I have been told that they are looking for alternate agistment to relocate the horses," she said.

"But I am not sure if it is intended to relocate all horses or leave some in small paddocks where it is unsuitable for development."

She said it would be upsetting to see it broken up.

"It has been a part of my life for a very long time, I have been at Parkwood for 32 years with three generations enjoying the agistment facilities and Pony Club," she said.

"This gives me some very dear and great memories."