Anyone else on Clay - as just feeling like they have so much mud?

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winchester

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Anyone else on Clay - and feeling like they have so much mud?

My fields look terrible but the rested ones are lovely and green but still just too wet under foot!

How are yours looking? When do you move on to rested fields?
 
Having lived in Staffs and Shrops I thought I had seen the worst clay soil had to offer...until we moved to our part of the south of France! We get a tiny bit of rain by comparison here but a day's rain results in a the most horrific bog you have ever seen. We had to abandon two fields earlier in the year because the horses were nearly falling over just trying to walk on them - extremely dangerous. Those fields have been rested since November but still retain water from the last time it rained.

We are just about to start work on two dry turn out paddocks as this is the only thing that would work here!
 
Yes YES and Yes !! - Bl***y awful soil - wet and turns to sticky mud at the slightest drop of rain, dries quickly with strong winds and then bakes as hard as Iron in the summer ! Wish I could lift up yard and place 50 miles west to that lovely sandy soil they have !!

Clay takes a lot of work to look after to keep paddocks decent
 
abina said:
Yes YES and Yes !! - Bl***y awful soil - wet and turns to sticky mud at the slightest drop of rain, dries quickly with strong winds and then bakes as hard as Iron in the summer ! Wish I could lift up yard and place 50 miles west to that lovely sandy soil they have !!

Clay takes a lot of work to look after to keep paddocks decent
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Yes, this exactly.
 
Imagine how I feel! Two fields away they are on sand so quickly drying and don't get in a mess. Mine are clay and the paddy field, all two acres of it, is virtually fetlock deep on the bottom half, the top bit is a bit better bust still no grass.

I've had enough now and would love it to dry up so they can go on the top field for some grass and relief from the mud.
 
Its driving me insane... Ive got 6 acres of marshland !! No grass just the fluffiest moss Ive ever grown. The gateways are just liquid clay.

Thankfully the horses are all looking fine but if it doesnt start to try out soon we will have no grazing for them for the summer.
 
booboos where in the south of france are you? , im in dept 86 and we r on clay too its a nightmare i have a river running through the middle of my winter and summer grazing but it floods the bottom of both the fields im going to have to move them on to summer grazing next week as im all out of grass but the fields are so wet and still in some places flooded but needs must just hope the grass keeps growing and the rain stops
 
I was totally sick off clay and hock deep mud, I moved to a new yard 2 miles up the hill and am now loving the sandy soil, dry fields and bountiful grass all year round - can't imagine why I didn't move years ago! Where I am (bedfordshire) it is tradtionally heavy clay, there is a good reason why there were lots of brick works round here, but there is a sand ridge that runs through the county and if you can hit that, its amazing.
 
aah but sand in summer means no grass and colic, hay and feed supplements. Yes, dry legs but big feed bills!

Clay, yuk, yuk, yuk, but since moving a month ago, my feed bill has cut to a quarter, no hay required, just a shoe off, ho hum.
 
lauracrawly said:
booboos where in the south of france are you? , im in dept 86 and we r on clay too its a nightmare i have a river running through the middle of my winter and summer grazing but it floods the bottom of both the fields im going to have to move them on to summer grazing next week as im all out of grass but the fields are so wet and still in some places flooded but needs must just hope the grass keeps growing and the rain stops
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On the edge of 81 with 31. I think the clay is a very localised thing, we were just unlucky. Also the field have been abandonned for years so there are no grass roots to hold the soil together at all (we are re-seeding but it will take a while as we need to do it in parts). The soil is so weird here you can't roll it, it's either so boggy the tractor leaves huge ruts, or so dried out the roller does nothing. Everyone re-seeds instead of rolling!!! :eek:
 
AHHHH th dreaded clay.... my mam has land at her house but Ive never kept my horses on it because of how sticky and deep it gets! We do rent it out tho and have either heards of dartmoors or shetlands on it all year round and they all cope really well! I think im just soft, but its managed quite well and is sectioned of and ponies rotate regulalry. theres planty of bushes, I think the hardy breeds thrive on it... but warmbloods and TBs dont seem to like it much! think my ponies have just been too soft lol. xxx
 
giveitago said:
aah but sand in summer means no grass and colic, hay and feed supplements. Yes, dry legs but big feed bills!

Clay, yuk, yuk, yuk, but since moving a month ago, my feed bill has cut to a quarter, no hay required, just a shoe off, ho hum.
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It's not that sandy here, no extra feed or hay needed and so far no health issue with any of the horses. If you get a handful of soil, it's soil and not sandy soil, however dig 18" below and start to see the sand kick in.

We were on clay at our last place and what a nightmare that was(though it was bad even for clay), never again.
 
Nightmare clay in Essex/East London!!! Pulls your wellies off! :( Green grass in summer fields but yes, so wet! Come Summer.... baked dry dust by the gates! :(
 
I'm on clay too and it's horrible. I get no where fast when trying to push the wheelbarrow to poo pick and when I poo pick, I end up with a poo picker full of mud!!! I've only got 1 cre split into 4 little paddocks so have to make do. Good thing our two are VERY good doers!!!
 
We are on clay and in the gateways it is a nightmare. Just about bottomless it seems. As you say OP our rested fields are looking lovely and green but far too wet to move the horses on to. We are lucky that part of their current field is on a hill and that drains well at the top. The bottom is a completely different story though.

The one thing I always have to keep saying to myself is that at least clay does recover well. The silver lining in the otherwise huge cloud!
 
I'm in Essex and we have clay but must admit the fields aren't too bad but the gateways are! We will move our onto summer turnout in about may.
 
carolineb said:
Doesn't anyone actually do anything about the drainage in their clay fields by putting land drains in? They do help enormously!!
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Not when the field belongs to someone else, no. Would spend the money to improve my own land but not somebody elses. Fortunately we have dry areas otherwise I'd think about it.
 
Yes! After a mud overload and grass shortage in our fair sized field we decided to turn them into a huge field with lush green grass and now I am in absolute regret, the green is now brown after 1 WEEK! And as the field is new to them they have decided it is neccessary to canter and gallop around for every first hour of turn out prior to them grazing, making things even worse! Grrr the joys of being on clay! :(
 
Yay I`m not the only one with a trashed field :)
Summer field is coming along nicely but winter field is gross!!! Gateways is a nightmare plus nobody lived at the property 2 years before us so nothing was done at all, waiting for it to dry about a bit and then its bye bye rush hello grass :D

Any yes I have drains and trenches but doesnt do much :rolleyes:
 
If it makes you feel any better I am on sand and I have mud this year for the first time :o Normally, even in winter I can walk out to the field in my work shoes. This year I am in wellies. I am on sand on a hill and I have mud *horrified*
 
Oh yeah .... we dug ditches and a water 'hole' I just give up now .... there is nothing I can do ...:rolleyes::D
Photo0139.jpg
 
Booboos said:
OMG I AM SPEECHLESS! That photo should win a competition and the person who has to groom those beasties should get a sainthood!
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That will be me then - it's a mucky job;)

You need waterproofs,a hose with a spray end, LOTS of shampoo and a lot of time :)

Here is a video of it - very funny :D
 
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