Big fields vs. small fields

[Polos Mum]

I have 3.5 acres in a rectangle shape on a steep ish hill. It has been in 5 fields (place was a livery yard).

We've taken down the internal fencing (mostly taken itself down after 25 years!) and walking around tonight I'd welcome pro's and con's of small fields vs. leaving the whole lot as one.

This section is used in winter (best draining). 4 horses all fatties but I do put hay out in worst of weather.

I usually put them in one from end September and use a new field each month through to Feb. which stops any of them getting too poached and allows them to have 'fresh' grass in January each year.

Not had much success with electric - the grass is always worth a quick blast!

 

[Dexter]

I'd put a track up round the outside and leave the middle to make standing hay that you can strip graze in the winter

 

[L&M]

We have a similar acreage and find when we divide it into smaller paddocks it is a lot are easier to maintain, poo picking is kept to a contained area, and helps if you need to restrict grazing in the growing mnths. I do worry that they have smaller area to move around, but as this time of year and being out 24/7 does compensate.

The con's are that in the winter smaller areas churn up quicker, but we find if we move ours around and rotate the paddocks, the paddocks recover very well even in the depths of winter (it is amazing how a weeks worth of rain will flatten any poached areas).

The obvious solution is to use electric fencing, then you can change your paddock configuration according to the time of year and your horses needs - we have ours split into 2 with post and rail and a proper gate, then sub divide into smaller paddocks with electric fencing - why have you had issue with electric?

 

[Polos Mum]

Thanks both - interesting.

I'd have to sell a kidney to set up a track system and my understanding is you can't use tracks in the winter

My thugs just walk through electric - even mains on pig setting. I had an older horse who taught them all that a couple of quick zaps were worth the grass on the other side - so they just don't have any respect for it at all sadly

 

[rextherobber]

I have mine (7 acres) divided into 6 small fields from now on, then in winter I take down the dividing fences and just have two big fields which i use equally until after Christmas, then restrict to one to minimise the poaching. Is this your only grazing? If not, I would just divide into two....You really need to use electric fencing though, for the flexibility and to see what works well before committing to permanent fencing...Have you tried putting more earth stakes on your electric fencing? A properly set up (especially mains) fence should easily deter even the most determined horse, they are successfully used in some countries to keep wolves out!

 

[windand rain]

We have M&M ponies who would if given the chance eat too much. All are now pretty much off restricted grazing but will have to put the tracks up once the grass grows it is stubbornly refusing to do so and even quite big fields are like bowling greens but still being fed to keep guts going the poo rate has dropped to one barrow every 24 hours for 5 ponies. Fortunately they are big sloppy poos just not enough of them. It is my constant worry about how muh or how little the grass will grow before winter. Two per acre is about where we are just now with little fatty on a 60x30m grass school Have ordered oat straw chaff to see if we can increase the poo without increasing the calories too much. It will be here tomorrow hay soaked or otherwise just makes her balloon and the others wont eat it while there is half a blade of grass to find. So 1acre fields are our maximum size and rotate round them when needed. End of winter the gates are all opened and they get the whole 5 acres

 

[ycbm]

I have 10+ acres I leave as one with 2 or 3 horses on it and the pros are that it never needs poo picking and it's great to see the horses moving all over it and sometimes going for a complete blast. Con is that the good doer needs a muzzle.

I wouldn't think that 3.5 acres is a big enough space to manage as one unit, it could just all get trashed and poo filled.
.

 

[windand rain]

Even with 10 acres I would poo pick daily but I like the job, as long as it is done every day at least once. It makes the grass better no roughs and lawns just smooth clean grass

 

[claret09]

having had my boy on small individual livery yard paddocks and on a 5 acre plus field, i can safely say he much prefers the large field. it's great to see how much he wanders round during the day. he is also able to safely go out with a companion as they have space to move.

 

[ycbm]

Even with 10 acres I would poo pick daily but I like the job, as long as it is done every day at least once. It makes the grass better no roughs and lawns just smooth clean grass

You couldn't pay me enough to poo pick 10 acres of rough grazing sloping at 20% ?

Rough grassland, wheelbarrows and slopes are not good bedfellows.

 

[windand rain]

You couldn't pay me to leave the poo but as I said I enjoy poo picking and find it soothing and rewarding. Might need to get a motorised barrow for the hill though

 

[NR88]

I would (do) make paddocks and manage the Equicentral way.

There is research that tracks arent the best way to manage good doers and land. Trackers on horses showed that they moved similar distances in a paddock as a track around the perimeter.

Paddocks mean that you can rest fields as ideally you want longer grass with lower sugars. This means that fields need to rest to recover and grow

 

[JoannaC]

My approx 3 acre field is split in 2 and I mainly use it in the Winter with two smaller paddocks for the Summer months as mine are very good doers. Definately think bigger is easier in the Winter, i've had less deep mud since i've done it this way.

 

[spotty_pony]

My 3 are currently in about 6/7 acres - half which is on a slant and the bottom fields which is flat. Water is at the top near the gate so they have to walk back up to get a drink. We have loads of grass and some fields resting too. I will restrict down if necessary but I bring them in most days but about 7-8 hours off the grass.

 

[Esmae]

I would divide it. Easier to manage and rotate giving the grass a rest . We do this and our poor ground has markedly improved for this sort of system.

 

[meleeka]

I would (do) make paddocks and manage the Equicentral way.

There is research that tracks arent the best way to manage good doers and land. Trackers on horses showed that they moved similar distances in a paddock as a track around the perimeter.

Paddocks mean that you can rest fields as ideally you want longer grass with lower sugars. This means that fields need to rest to recover and grow

I’ve done it both ways and it’s now a hybrid of two throughout the year. I’m certain mine move more on the track than they do in a paddock. They can also get up speed to have a good hooley round the track and are certainly slimmer and less stiff (veterans). The track is a figure 8 with stables and yard in the middle which they use a lot.

Anyway as it’s not possible for OP to have electric I’d have two separate fields, one bigger for the summer months.

 

[saddlesore]

Leave as one field, group turnout in a larger field is better IMO, even if you need to muzzle

 

[Bradsmum]

Very much depends on the type of land and the size of the horses. I manage 7 acres of stoney soil in Wales which was previously used for sheep diffently to the 4 acres of clay soil in Surrey where I was previously. Surrey pasture was best in smaller sections whereas Welsh pasture is better in bigger sections. I use electric fencing to divide as necessary but then they respect it so not such a problem. No matter where he is, the 16.3 only has to walk about to create divots and cut up the field sometimes

 

[SEL]

I prefer big fields in winter because my big horses poach the land less if they have more space - I also don't need to worry about sugar levels so much.

I've got a track around 1.5 acres since the grass started to flush and I'm still having to muzzle. No way could they have the whole 3 acres.
It's trial and error to find what works though

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I've 4.5 acres to play with.
Originally it was 1 field, then we divided it roughly equally into 3.
Having had a good amount of small dieters I then sub divided with tape and strip grazed, a couple of the tape dividers I them changed to permanent fencing.
Currently 3 v small permanent paddocks which are ideal for tiny A and 5 other paddocks.
However I haven't removed the dividing other fences but I have a gate in every fence, so I can let mine free range (little A in grazing muzzle) between as many paddocks as I like.
I only have the water tanks down by the yard do they have to move about.
This works really well for me, I have 3 gates off the yard to 3 different paddocks which again works v well in not getting poached area's in wet times.

 

[canteron]

Can’t you have the best of all worlds - a couple of half acre fields for convenience then the rest as a large field?

 

[Polos Mum]

Thanks all some great suggestions.

I should have said I have other fields for the summer so this area is only used October to March - it's the driest of the land but a track in Yorkshire in the winter would be a total disaster. I think I'd need to hardcore / surface the whole lot to make it usable in winter which isn't an option for an area that size.

I poo pick the summer side but not in winter (totally impossible physically) and not necessary as they get harrowed, then 6 months rest and x grazed with sheep.

I like the ideal of gates between so they can be connected up if bigger works. but rested too when we get 6 weeks no stop sleet !

 

[Dexter]

I would (do) make paddocks and manage the Equicentral way.

There is research that tracks arent the best way to manage good doers and land. Trackers on horses showed that they moved similar distances in a paddock as a track around the perimeter.

Paddocks mean that you can rest fields as ideally you want longer grass with lower sugars. This means that fields need to rest to recover and grow

Have you got a link to that research? The only stuff I've read is the exact opposite, which fits with what I see, but I'd love to read it

Equicentral is a bit of a scam. They wont give you any rea details without paying out a fortune. Its basically managing your land well and only feeding older grass. Mine is a bit of a hybrid approach. Track only in the main lammi risk months, then access to long seeded and standing hay the rest of the time. It would be impossible to do on limited land though, as you would have to ensure you had enough space to rest land to leave for spring and summer while the used paddocks grow to long seeded grass again. Not something many people can do.

 

[palo1]

We have 4 acres of horse grazing split into 2 fields which we bring the horses off for the winter - using a smaller field for turnout in winter - which in summer is used for 'schooling' (lol) and 'loafing' as effectively it has no grass - trashed totally over winter, then harrowed and rolled for the Spring/summer. It has lovely mature hedges which the horses like to graze though! This is linked to a hard (scalpings) yard and open barn with stables. Our hilly but valley based fields on clay in a wet Welsh winter would just be destroyed if they were grazed over the winter.

In the summer we effectively 'mob graze' small areas. We poo pick twice daily and move the horses up and down our fields in a small 'floating' electric fenced paddock. They are on new longer grass every 24 hours. It sounds labour intensive but is pretty easy and our grass and grass diversity has improved no end now that we work hard not to let the grass get short, overgrazed or stressed. We also cross graze with cattle and sheep, apply cattle muck in spring or autumn (depending on ground conditions!) and have limed the fields. Our horses have never been healthier though I know that some folk look at our grass and sweat about it (it is long and lush looking!!). My Welsh cob is muzzled BUT she can have time out of her muzzle and this system has kept our horses feet and health far better than our previous track system which resulted in compacted areas and really badly trashed areas. My Welshie is able to graze happily in her muzzle and has lost weight this spring (now at a lovely healthy weight).

When the ground is wet in summer we can still put the horses on the winter field and yard/barn with hay which they are quite happy with. They can also use this in the summer when they want to get away from the flies so it is a kind of 'managed' equicentral system; I have to bring the horses in depending on what they want; if they are happily grazing they stay where they are, if they are looking to come in then they get that; I am very well trained lol!

We chose this method because of what we understand now about healthy grass/pasture management, because of our very wet ground conditions and because we wanted to improve the diversity of our grazing which really requires a 'lighter' touch. Although it is nowhere near the real thing, our horses are grazed as if on a far larger acreage; they don't revisit any one part of our fields usually for 2-3 weeks after a 24 hour grazing period. They do get to graze lovely longer, mature grass every day in the summer. I think this is a really good way of managing a small acreage tbh but would be nigh on impossible in a livery situation. The floating paddock we set up has enough room for 4 big horses to graze as they wish as well as go for a gallop if they like!! It is not a huge area however.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

How many strands of electric tape do you use? Mine laugh at 2 strands, but 4 strands keeps them contained! (unless they're rugged ?)

 

[marmalade76]

Big field in winter, paddocks in summer. The bigger the field, the less it will be cut up.

 

[Hallo2012]

i have 2.5 acres split in to 2 x winter fields of approx 1 acre each and then a roughly 0.5 acres summer paddock for the pony in work and a tiny bald area for the lami risk (get soaked hay and straw instead of grass)

that works pretty well for 2 x small ponies that dont need loads of grass.

i fertilise and seed in spring and autumn to maximise the grazing i have and obsessively cut out nettles and thistles.

we are on clay too but ponies are un shod and the winter fields just about survive with 7-2pm turnout.

smaller areas work better ime.

 

[marmalade76]

How many strands of electric tape do you use? Mine laugh at 2 strands, but 4 strands keeps them contained! (unless they're rugged ?)

One will does for mine if it's electrified.

 

[HollyWoozle]

We have probably 3 acres or a little more in total and it's primarily one main field which has 3 on it (2 big, one medium pony) all year long. It works well because there is a small lake in the middle, fenced off, and the field wraps around it but only 95% of the way, so it's like a sort of C shape but they can't go a whole lap. In this sense they have a lot of movement travelling from one 'end' to the other. I know it's probably not enough grazing in theory but we find it much easier to have poor grazing and top up with hay most or all of the year. Some areas do get undeniably poached in the winter, but much of the field remains fine and they have open stables so always a firm, dry area to stand (and they have 2 small hills). Some areas seem to go from mud to dust but we always have enough for them to nibble on.

The area directly around the stables can be closed off as a smaller paddock, which is very useful, then there is another smaller paddock for our EMS pony and his friend. In summary I would prefer to keep the field open but I would always think it wise to have at least one smaller paddock as they always come in handy in my experience. You never know when one might need to be separated for whatever reason or taken off the main field in an emergency and contained somewhere.

 

[Winters100]

For me what works is a small paddock which can be opened up to let them into the field. This way if I need to separate one to be fed I don't have to bring them into their box. Also means I can bring all 3 to the small paddock when i take the first to exercise so I don't need to trudge through the field 3 times. Unfortunately I am in the same situation as you regarding electric fencing. My older mare is very well aware that with a rug it poses no risk and has happily imparted this knowledge to her brothers.