1 pony and 1 horse on 5 acres

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Gypley

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Would it be a bad idea not to split the field?

Moving yards at the end of the month. Horses will live out on 5 acres and will be poo picked regularly.
The field has been rested for most of the summer, has lots of grass and good drainage. I'll also be rolling out round bales once the grass is gone/ there's no goodness in it.
We can manage the field as we like, but I'm tempted just to leave them on the whole of it.
I'm planning on fertilising when necessary in spring too, to give the grass a bit of help.

Am I making more work in the long run? Would you recommend splitting?
 
When I was a kid all the ponies went out in 5 acres or more and that was normal. Now it seems everyone splits their paddocks up!

So ultimately, do what you choose..

However I split mine
It allows me to preserve some grazing, let some areas poach (e.g. where hay is fed, or around the shelter,) without worrying as I know I can shut it off again as they can have a fresh bit. At the moment I'm strip grazing into fairly lush grass that has grown since the hay crop. The ground is excellent at the mo so having them on a smaller area is fine. I'm planning to keep about 2 acres until the middle of winter when I will appreciate having lots of untouched ground to let them on.

It depends how you want to keep them and how much grass they need now. mine are all a bit fat so they'd either trample the rest or blow up like balloons if I let them have it all now.
 
I would be very cautious at least with the pony even if not an obvious candidate for laminitis 5 acres of rested ground will have more grass than it will know what to do with and fertilising in spring could be enough to push both over the edge.
As a guide I have 4 on 6 acres, it is keeping them rather well, 1 16.2, 2 15.2 and a 14 hander, only one 15.2 is in work and is still too fat really, the field was rested last Sept/ Oct then grazed all winter by the 3 retired ones and they hardly needed any hay to maintain weight coming out of winter very well so be very careful if you want to avoid laminitis and having to muzzle them. I never fertilise but do harrow and top, it is too big to poo pick and life is too short to do so.
 
I would divide it and have a plan for how you will restrict access to grass when it’s necessary.
I had three large horses ( in light work ) on an acre and a bit most of the summer they where off the grass all day they are all too fat .
On five acres they would have been off their feet .
I think a sacrifice pasture is the way to go a field that’s trash in winter and repaired in spring then rested and topped .
I would divide into three and have a small well fenced bare area .
 
I have about 8 acres for 2 horses (+ 2 alpacas), never been fertilised, semi-upland and an amazing mix of old pasture sward. No way could I leave them with free rein on it though; one would be OK (she has a self-regulator, if I could harvest it I'd make millions!) but the other would explode. I rotate around it, and will probably only hay November - April, most of that after January. I can normally avoid creating too much mud too by moving things around, which I couldn't do if they had free access as they have favoured spots and gateway pinchpoints etc.
 
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I have 3 large horses on 6 acres...I rotate the grazing using electric fencing, otherwise 2 of them would eat to the point of explosion! it also means I can harrow and roll as necessary. I have never fertilised and poo pick daily, after 4 years we now have a lovely varied sward that isn't too rich, but with plenty of fibrous grasses to keep them full.
 
I agree about the fertiliser it won’t be needed .
If you want to improve your pasture some sure grow csm would be more useful .
You a plan for topping and weed control
 
We have 4 smallish ponies and an ancient cob on just over 5 acres. It sandy soild so well drained. They are on a track system round about 1.5 acres all summer and are fed into the foggage all winter. The past two winters we have used fewer than 40 small bales of hay with this method. They are made to lose weight over winter (old man excepted) and gain it again slowly over the summer. Kitten is new to the mix this year so she will likely be kept fatter as she is still growing. They live out 24/7 and are fed 365 days of the year with appropriate to their needs fibre feed
 
Yikes, 5 acres which has been rested for ages - I would only pu my skinnies on this! The fatties might be allowed in the dead of winter, but they wouldn’t be allowed round bales!!!
 
Nasicus said:
Whatever you choose to do, I'd recommend getting it harrowed and rolled in spring as opposed to fertilising. It'll smooth out all the lumps, bumps and poaching from winter, and it'll spring back lovely, especially if you leave part of it to rest then.
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agree with this, mine is only fertilised every other year for the benefit of the hay crop, this time the weeds will need spraying off instead ;)
 
I have a 16hh and 2 small ponies on 7 acres free access to all. The grass is super but they aren’t over weight. I think with free access to larger areas they regulate their intake more and I find them snoozing lots. When previously kept on another 1.5 acre field they were much fatter and seemed to eat all the time, rarely saw them rest.
 
If you strip graze it , it should last most, if not all of winter without needing to put any hay out unless it snows hard or one of them is a poor doer. We have 4 on 5 acres through winter, strip grazed and it usually last until about february before they need hay.
You'll need to split it in the spring. There is usually plenty of goodness in winter grass to keep native types going if they get enough bulk of it.
 
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Lucky ponies having good turnout - and I agree they do move a lot more which helps.
If you are in a dry part of the country do be wary when it rains though and lush new grass comes through, it has been so dry so the grass here has been relatively poor.
 
The problem with having all on one patch is how do you rest after harrowing, weedkilling and fertilising/liming etc. If you divided in to two with a good gateway you could shut off what you need to or let them roam as you want. Without proper management your field will become weed infested and have patches of rough grass that never get eaten - but if that's what you want, fine.
And as above, beware of the pony gorging and getting fat/laminitic, horses don't seem to have a self regulating function!
 
You won't need to fertilise, the grass won't need any help if it's not over-grazed, which it won't be. I would put a track around the edge to keep them moving in Spring/Summer/Autumn and let them have the middle in winter, or some similar system which makes access easier for you.
 
I think you need to think about drainage, too. So maybe use the wettest area now going into winter and then be able to rest it if we have a lot of rain/snow to avoid the ground getting too poached up. Obviously if it all drains evenly ignore this!!
 
Yes I would split it. I have two on four acres (14.1 and 14.3). It is split into four unequal paddocks and they rotate round.

In summer they are restricted to one paddock, although one gets time out in another paddock while the other is ridden and the ridden one gets about 30 minutes on it while I am picking up muck and doing other bits and pieces.

Eventually they are released into another paddock using strip grazing. That paddock is eventually closed up behind them. I like them to be out on as much ground as possible over winter to make the ground less trashed, but they never get through all the grass. They only get hay when the ground is frozen or there is snow on the ground.

I had a third pony for years and didn't get through all the grass even then.
 
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