Advice needed on managing ltd grazing please!!

M

MissieSFW

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 October 2011
Messages
70
Location
York
Visit site
Hi everyone,
My first post so please bear with me! Would love some advice on how those of you with limited grazing manage it, particularly in winter and particularly with regard to poo picking (do you really have to, are there other ways of managing eg. harrowing, and how to do it in least labour-intensive way possible!!)

I have a 15hh TB, and a shetland, on approx 2 1/2 acres at home. The land is reasonably well draining though it can get quite wet in places in winter, and is divided into 1 large field and 1 small one. Both horses are out 24/7 as I have no stables. They have been at my dad's farm all summer as I had my second baby 4 months ago, but I really feel I should take them back, however after last winter which was horrendous, I need to find a better way of managing them living out all winter. I can't cope with poo picking every day or so like I did when they were at home before - just don't have time with 2 little ones to look after. Plus our fields back onto our garden and driveway and I can't stand to look out of my window onto a horrible mess of mud, poo and hay everywhere!

Here are the options I'm currently considering - any advice very welcome!!

1. Section off a smallish area and put down some sort of base (eg. thick base of bark chippings) where I can shut them when it's very wet, and put large round bale hay feeder in there. Then clear it out in spring and hope the grass comes back. But what to do with the poo? Can you just keep putting more bark on top or would I have to keep clearing poo out?

2. Buy field shelter and put hay in there, but for the size I would need is about £2000 - ouch!! And presumably would need to keep clearing poo out of there, and also would it need some sort of base/bedding?

3. Section off the bottom of the large field furthest from the house and let them trash it, and hope to repair damage in the spring... Again - is it necessary to poo pick?

4. Divide large field in 2 and rotate between the 2 halves and the smaller paddock - but guess I'd end up with all the fields getting trashed plus I'd have to move the hay feeder around which isn't ideal as I have to borrow my brother's forklift which is 30 min drive away!

Thanks very much in advance for your thoughts! :)
 
I've found in the past that sectioning off smaller areas just means that it ploughs up quicker, nowadays I let them roam the whole area after strip grazing over summer/autumn to gradually use the whole field.
I do have a stable that I feed in which makes a big difference as I can keep in if the field gets exceptionally wet. I also had a paddock with a turnout area built in front of the stables about 30ft x 30 ft and surfaced with road planings that I sometimes kept them in overnight and that was a big help.

I'm afraid I poo pick religiously once or twice a day and it does make a difference to keeping the grass maintained and helps stop souring.

The thing that I try to remember is that the grass does grow back and really worn areas are easily overseeded come the Spring.

If you really can't bear the damaged ground over winter though then I'd invest in a shelter.:)
 
HI, I had 2 on 2 acres and I would say you definately need to poo pick at least a couple of times a week. I do it twice a day and it literally only takes 10 mins - much easier than leaving it too long and ending up with an hours worth. The smaller an area you shut them on the more it will need doing - I would be tempted with the idea of the base to put hay on although you will probably need terram underneath otherwise it will sink in winter (I would poo pick on it each day and not clear the base away at end winter but leave it there) or even better a field shelter but again you may find you need a base around it to stop poaching and again you will need to poo pick if shut in every day.

Sorry no shortcuts but it literally is 10 mins twice a day and good exercise ! a friend picks hers up straight into old feed sacks and puts it outside house saying "free manure" and it always goes - saves making a muck heap or lugging wheel barrow around.

if not poo picking very often you will need a very strict worming program - same applies if you harrow it in as unless a very cold spell you will be spreading the worm burden around your ground.

Good luck,
 
I have three on 2 acres out 24/7
Depnding on how wet it gets I would let them have it all to reduce the stocking density unless they run round all the time. I have a feed station which this year has walls of the really large heston bales stacked 2 deep in a right angle from the prevailling wind, so they have shelter, something to chew if they are really that hungrey. One bale spread acts as the floor and they seem to wee and poo there and love lieing in the straw.
At end of the spring, move the bales and harrow. When the grass starts growing I divide into 2, use a long acting fertilizer on one half, Suregrow and then move them over when it starts to take effect and do the other. I spot harrow spray and reseed bare patchs as I go. Even with this years dry it did recover.
I have no machinery and do all of it by hand.
I winter I only poo pick dry areas, the mud is so bad you can not get a barrow thru it. The feeding station means they to poo mostly there. In the spring when I split the field, I then clear and harrow what is left.
 
Last edited:
Hi - Thank you very much for your replies... It is the poo picking that is the problem really as it is just so labour intensive. I used to do it every day, and that is fine in summer, but in winter when the daylight hours are so short and you're working around little ones it's so much more difficult, plus I found last winter was just such a pain as it was so cold the poo cemented itself into the ground! Or got covered by snow!! :mad:

Have considered bagging it up, but my husband isn't too keen on having bags of manure permanently stacked outside the gate!! Plus I'd have to buy the bags as my two don't get any hard feed :(

Am actually considering paying a company to come and hoover it up at regular intervals, just not sure how much it would cost.... will have to make some enquiries.
 
The feeding station is a great idea.... how annoying though, my dad had a load of straw bales until a few months ago but has got rid of them now, so would probably have to buy some in. Still cheaper than a shelter though!!
 
I feel for you with 2 little ones, it is never easy. But unless you have about a dozen acres you have no choice but to poo pick.

Horses poo and if they were stabled you would be mucking out daily so if they are in the fireld (2.5 acres) you will also need to remove their droppings.

A seperate area for when it is really wet sounds fab. You could fence off an area of about 50ft square and how about putting a concrete or gravel base down, with a big hay feeder in it and some sort of shelter, even if it is a thick hedge or even better a car port style roof over one end of it.
You will still need to clear the area daily, but it will be much easier if it is all in once place that wadding round the field in the mud. Perhaps keep them in it from the hours of darkness and turn them out on the field during daylight hours. You could put gym balls, nut balls, and salt licks and other bits to keep them busy like a couple of kilos of carrots chucked round the pen to keep them foraging. If they are in the field only 8 or 10 hours a day then there is not some much to poo pick and it could be left to do once a week and it would only take an hour.

Poo picking is a pain. But on that size paddock you have no choice. Could you afford to pay someone to do it? And let them keep the manure? Or sell it for themselves. Or perhaps bag it and sell it from your driveway.
 
Hi Marleyandme...thanks for your reply. I know - always thought having the horses at home would be easier, but in some ways it's harder!!! I've wondered about putting a hard core base down before, but do you know if there are planning regulations about this? As I asked a planning consultant once and he seemed to think it would require planning permission... I guess you would have to consider drainage and water run off also. It's finding something to put down as a base which will stop poaching but not make a mess/be impossible to remove later!
Honeypot- what do you do with the bales from your feeding station in the spring when you no longer need them?
 
Poo picking is an nightmare esp in winter when your body is frozen. I keep 2 horses & my foal on 5 acres & must admit i dont poo pick summer or winter. A million odd birds come along and have the poo picked through and scattered every where every day so id have no hope anyway!

I have a friend who has 2 acres for 2 horse & she has never ever poo picked in 3 years... everything seems fine & she worms regualrly. i however poo picked 1 or 2 times a week when i kept them on a smaller plot but i didnt have little ones (which i do now) and it makes everything so much more difficult finding time.

Keep them on as large an area as possible if your not going to poo pick.
 
Hi ya

I think you are probaly right if it was a concrete base, as there would be run off. If you go for a permeable (sp) surface...one that water can run through (such as gravel) you should be fine.

A quick google suggests a permeable fabric (geotextile), then 200mm of open graded aggregate (hardcore) followed by a decorative layer of stone chippings (gravel).I dont think you would have any problems with planning depending on the size. The above is what is required for driveways and front gardens.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/pavingfrontgardens.pdf

Another option....what about matting the entire area round the hay feeders. The field matting stuff isnt cheap, but certainly needs no planning permission and you can pour gravel over it. You could even use it inside a fenced area. Much easier to install than a hardcore surface too. And much easier to remove droppings and contain the hay mess.

http://www.fieldguard.com/field_path_mats.html

My car port roof idea may also need planning, so what about fencing 3 sides of the pen with 6ft fence panels, as wind breakers?
 
Wow thanks, that's really helpful!! I've just been talking about the mats with my husband, they do look good...as you say not cheap but at least you can re-use and re-site them.
I was also thinking about Honeypot's idea of using large bales as windbreakers, and was wondering about doing something similar with wrapped hay/haylage bales- I would need to buy these anyway for winter feed, and it would mean I could store them outside (helpful as storage is a bit of an issue!) I was thinking I could stack them at right angles to the hedge so they create a windbreak and screen to hide messy hay/poo area and stop hay blowing everywhere, and they'd be in the right place so every month or so I can just open one and put it into the big feeder for them to eat. Admittedly I guess my shelter would get gradually smaller, but if I got a couple extra it'd probably do the job...and certainly cheaper than a field shelter! My only worry is that they'd chew the plastic to get at the hay inside, even if they have an opened bale... So might have to mess around with electric tape, not ideal!! Any thoughts?!
 
If you strip graze, I'd recommend using a back fence to keep them off what they've already grazed. That might sound silly but someone told me that grass will recover after being grazed (yes, we knew that!) but if the fresh shoots are grazed off again too soon it really punishes it so it doesn't recover as well as it should. I tried that last winter (short of fodder) and it definitely worked, so worth a mention. If you just leave horses to graze without the back fence, they will selectively graze the new shoots and it will take much longer to recover.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top