3 ponies on 1.5 acres for the summer?

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Ponysquisher

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Hi,

Have been offered grazing close to home for the summer - it's somewhere between 1.5-2 acres & not been grazed for a while so looks like a golf course! Just wondering if this would work for my 3 ponies for a few months or if they'll just destroy it all in no time & end up with nothing to eat?! Last summer they were on a field that size & I had to move them to a barer paddock as they were piling on weight! But I'm a bit worried about moving them onto such a small space full-time as I won't have anywhere else to move them short-term if it doesn't work out.

What dyou guys reckon?

Ta!
 
i had 2 horses (15.2 and a 13.3 youngster) on an acre (if that) all summer :) can be done with very careful rotation/poo picking and regular stop downs

a lot of work but it is do-able :)



ets - they were best friends and got on really well - and one was a fatty and one a skinny! so tough one but i made it work with separation bits for feeding up the not such a good do-er at the time :)
 
It really depends on the land itself. Last summer I had a 17hh, a 16.1hh, a 13.2hh, a 12.2hh and an 11.3hh on 2.5 acres. We rotated it in 2 paddocks. We ended up having to put the two smallest in an even smaller section as they were piling weight on.
 
I had 2 14.2s and a 12hh on less than that all summer last year. It was perfect as they all kept nice and slim! However, they were all good doers and it was good sandy soil so didn't get trashed.
 
I have a cob and two minis on a 1.3 acre field all year round and they are still all fat as fools.
 
Think if they are good doers you will need to strip graze that much grass at least for the first few months til they get it eaten off then they should be fine as long as you poo pick daily and have good fencing. In summer I have four ponies 14.2 2x13 and on12.1 pony on an acre now they are fully grown I have to control their weight and I hate muzzles so they stay on short grass year round
 
Thanks for all the replies. We have 2 ponies that are14.2 & one pony is 12.2 so it sounds like it might work after all. Of course, you never know how good the ground is until you've been on there a while but fingers crossed!
 
First of all maybe check the exact acreage with this brilliant tool.
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm

It's sometimes surprising how people over estimate the size of fields.

1.5 acres would be plenty for 3 ponies if the land is well drained, but as you say you won't know until you use out.
I have .75 acres at home & 1.5 up the road for two around 14.2
& although mine are part stabled in winter I barely use the paddock up the road.
 
Ponysquisher said:
Hi,

Have been offered grazing close to home for the summer - it's somewhere between 1.5-2 acres & not been grazed for a while so looks like a golf course! Just wondering if this would work for my 3 ponies for a few months or if they'll just destroy it all in no time & end up with nothing to eat?! Last summer they were on a field that size & I had to move them to a barer paddock as they were piling on weight! But I'm a bit worried about moving them onto such a small space full-time as I won't have anywhere else to move them short-term if it doesn't work out.

What dyou guys reckon?

Ta!
Click to expand...

You will be fine as long as you maintain the field properly - depoo it and bring them in over night, if they are out 24 .7 then you may struggle. If they are out 24.7 I would def divide in 2 and maybe use a muzzle
 
I kept one horse, 2 ponies and a donkey on just over 1.5 acres for several years. It was hard work, meticulously poo picking and weed pulling and divided into smaller areas to graze in rotation . The 2 bigger ones were in at night through the winter and one patch was used as a sacrifice patch, and I sometimes had to give hay in the summer but I managed just fine.
 
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