Feeding hay in a trashed field...flaming weather!

cblover

cblover

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I know we are all suffering with very wet field this winter but I'm loosing the will to live. I've got 3.5 acres and have over an acre of it resting for spring and it looks fab. I use my bigger field over winter and boy is it a totally mud bath. I have been feeding hay on the ground in several piles as the ground was dry enough to take it...but now its just a mess.

How are you all coping and how do you feed your hay in the field? I have 2 cobs and a shettie. They still need fed of course as the grass has drastically reduced but I'm trying to save the land too.

I do have stables and I think the time has come when they will have to come in for a few hours each day....I believe they should live out and be free to carry out normal behaviours with each other but I don't think I have much choice.

Roll on spring!
 
We made 'boxes' out of pallets and fill them so that the hay/ haylage doesnt get trampled into the mud and wasted. Because they spend so long stood there eating the area around the boxes has got really trashed but has saved the rest of the field, a bit. Once/ if it dries up, and they stop being fed that bit of the field will be fenced off and allowed to rest until next winter!
 
I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. I have got 3 acres and I'm using about half at the moment (clay quagmire) and resting half for their summer grazing. I have got 2 stables which are open constantly for shelter and a break from the mud with their hay/bedding/water in so they can come and go as they please. At night jazzy has a stable to himself and the ponies share a stable and have access to the corral at the front of both stables so they can get away from each other at least (not that they ever do!)

Last year I did as you are doing and fed the hay in the field but they wasted so much and just poached the ground everywhere. Now they are fed in their stables they aren't wasting as much and they are in a much easier routine :)
 
I would say to feed the hay in the stables. :)

We have 2 large horses and 2 ponies living out 24/7 on roughly 3.5 acres (believe me I'd love to have more!). They are hayed every morning and evening and parts of the field are extremely muddy and really getting destroyed. We feed our hay in the stables now and it saves the mess, reduces wastage and also means that the horses are stood on a good, dry surface for several hours (and that also means they spend less hours wrecking the field).

ETA: It just occurred to me that that doesn't really make sense unless your stables link straight to the field as ours does. What I mean is that we keep our stables open, like field shelters, so the horses are free to roam 24/7. Just realised that probably isn't an option for you so apologies for the pointless post. Hope you find a solution!
 
I know its not just me and it will be spring soon but looking at my fields is depressing! Last year they did really well and to be honest they have done ok with so much rain this winter but after we had a small amount of snow and two days of very heavy rain....the damage has been done and can't be undone I'm afraid.

I do have an option, well its hubbies idea really and that is to use a big plastic container to put the hay in and open up part of the field onto the hard standing part where we normally park when we bring the cars into the fields. I know it seems logical but I'm not totally on board with changing the layout of the field and letting them in that top bit. It's very near the road too and I prefer them behind electric fence and a gate.

Plus the field is so bad now, they can't possibly make it any worse..I just need a cost effective way of giving them hay and not wasting it. Best way will probably just to put the plastic container (old oil tank cut in half and cleaned) in the field and hope for the best. lol
 
We have a field shelter with a hay bar and hay rack which I think has saved loads of waste this year (first year we've had them) and we also have 3 large tractor tyres that we put hay in, great for keeping it in one place. I know some people don't like them but they are free, have no sharp edges,nails, splinters, can be rolled to a new spot (best to do when they ground is frozen so you don't get filthy) and pretty indestructible!! :)
 
Hollywoozle - not a pointless post at all. I appreciate your reply. My stables are right next to my big fields, separated by a post and rail fencing and some elec fence. I couldn't leave them open though as one of my mares would go mad if another horse tried to get into the stable with her. She's a bossy horse...although a total delight most of the time. I know her very well now, we've been together for year and I know that would mean war! lol

I'll experiment a bit this weekend and see what would work best but I know its going to mean they have to come in at least a few hours each day to fill up with hay and that way I'd only be putting hay out once a day. That would help.
 
I tie haylage nets to the trees! Where depends on which direction the wind's blowing but I've split them off a winter trash paddock that's just about big enough for them to have a tank around. In one part of the field the clay is so sloppy my shetland was up to her elbows in mud and I was worried she'd pull something. Before that Alfie cut his legs on barbed wire (down the bridlepath) and the vet advised to keep him in until they dried out, only I couldn't because my stables were full of junk metal :(

I've found the haylage nets work a treat, the only problem is wading through the swamp with three at a time so I don't get mowed down by the hippos :(
 
Mine come in every night and i am lucky enough to have a field shelter with rubber matting. I feed their daytime hay in there as the field is trashed and gets trodden into mud otherwise.Alternativley would put in large trugs to reduce wastage.
 
ring around recycling companies and get some of the free woodchips they often give away. Get it dumped on a corner of the field. Then stand your hay on that in a pallet box, round hay feeder or hay rack. It will slowly disintegrate into the soil the wetter it gets but takes months to go, so will last until at least spring as semi hard standing.

ETA: If you can't get the free stuff use whatever un treated stuff you can get from garden centres. It'll only cost max of £50.
 
I would make a straw island. Buy some large hestons or rounds, open one or two up and keep adding to it. You then can hang haynets on the hestons or use a feeder, I have used pallets cut in half, as as feeders.
I have used this method for several years, it keeps all the mess in one place and if they have enough to eat they leave the rest of the field alone without having to fence it off.
 
The 15 acres we have used over winter are absolutely trashed whether hay has been fed there or not, horrible clay soil and no stables so they have all had to live out. We have two other yards that we are moving to later this week as the big yard has been sold, gorgeous green fields at the moment. We are fencing of a small part of each, putting in big bales and will save the rest for summer and then we have another 12 acres coming in the next month or so, we will hay that and then use part of it over winter. If we didn't have all that lined up I would be concerned about how well it will recover, but as it won't be my problem I couldn't care less this year. The top of the big field we are moving to is suprisingly dry, I got a shock when looking at it today, so hopefully it will hold up ok for the next few months until we open up the rest for them.
 
catherine22 said:
We made 'boxes' out of pallets and fill them so that the hay/ haylage doesnt get trampled into the mud and wasted. Because they spend so long stood there eating the area around the boxes has got really trashed but has saved the rest of the field, a bit. Once/ if it dries up, and they stop being fed that bit of the field will be fenced off and allowed to rest until next winter!
Click to expand...
We've done very similar to this but we've tied one of the huge builders bags inside which we put mainly straw in then tie haynets on the corners, so they hang inside, the amount of waste is very small as any hay they pull out falls into the bag which they can still eat.
 
Reading this post makes me feel better :)
I have 3.5 acres and probably a 3/4 acre is resting - the 2 horses are in separate paddocks - (mare and a colt) the mares field is totally boggy and the colts isnt too bad. The field is mainly clay so holds the water big time :(
Roll on spring!!
 
Hi haven't read all posts - sorry - we have about 4 acres & have separated 1 area for winter grazing - the horses come in on a night to stop ground getting too trashed & during the day we feed hay out of 3 llorry tyres - pack them with hay not much wasted when the ground gets boggy roll them somewhere else - working ok so far - 2nd year we have done this x
 
I would if you can put it in double hay nets and spread them around even tie them to a fence/post if need be. Can you leave stable doors open so they can go in and out to feed.

They always end up soiling and trashing the hay on the ground but either you persevere and just let them trash one area but then the grass will take ages to come through. I have even raked up the soiled hay in the spring.

Double hay nets to make them last longer for nibbling.
 
All these posts are making me feel better too! I have much less land and save two thirds for summer. Am always suprised how the trashed winter paddock recovers if I get them off it as early as poss - usually March - and rest and fertilise it. Looks disgusting at the moment though!
I feed large round bales to avoid waste and save time. Works great, no feeders, just keep netting on and rubber sheet around sides.
 
I'm using my slow hay feeders, which have been an absolute godsend, hardly any hay is wasted now. They are under the lee of the trees where it's sheltered, and it's horrible there now, looks like a plowed field. The rest of my 5 acres isn't too bad though, and I keep telling myself it will soon be Spring. That's all that keeps me going some days! I think the horses are more fed up about this than they were about the snow.
 
The lovely green fields that we took such care over (we have our own land & live on-site) is now just a distant, distant memory :( - its so disheartening.

Poor horses, on the increasingly rare times when they do go out, come in looking like something the RSPCA has just used for a poster campaign; ditto the dogs - its just impossible keeping them out of it and so almost every night they're into the shower to clean up :) Poor dogs.

I'm lucky in that I do have some hard standing for my two; but having to feed hay/lage is costing a fortune plus because they're not getting the turnout they're used to, and are missing their hooning sessions, they're not exactly novice rides to do anything with either.

Old country folklore says that when the moon's "on its back" then thats a sure sign of unsettled weather; look for this when its in the first quarter as (apparently) it will dictate what the weather will be for the rest of that lunar month.

Interestingly, the moon has been "on its back" almost every single month since last "summer". So I'm going to be looking to see what this next new moon does. Let's all hope to goodness that things WILL get better.

Farmers around here have still got fields in stubble from last autumn and hedges uncut; plus its not easy rearing lambs/youngstock at the moment. Nightmare weather :(
 
Interesting hay situation in Kent. Some farmers were going on about a shortage last year, and still have their prices high. Rang a local place and it's £4.95 per bale still. However I know one farm where they've been selling heston bales off cheap at £15 each (Don't get excited anyone, they're gone!), and I picked up some really nice hay today at £2 per bale.
 
I had some haylage delivered and the chap said he had loads to sell and was worried as he needs to buy fertilizer for next year. I don't think ther is areally a shortage as my hay chap made 5,000 bales and he is a small farmer.
 
I put the hay in hay hutches and put them just outside the stables under the stables (and haystore) overhang. This means the horses have shelter when eating and saves waste. I have 4 horses and 2 stables so putting hay in the stables would cause a bit of a fight!
 
Its a struggle for us all it seems.....roll on spring and I know my fields do repair really well and get a good rest. At the minute you could never imagine that would happen. I'm going to bring them in for a bit this morning to let them fill their bellies and turn out this afternoon. More work but its a must!
 
A while back someone showed pictures using plastic compost bins (round or square) with the bottom hatch removed. The hay was kept clean and dry and came out of the bottom for eating. I thought it was a really good idea and intend to try it next winter. The only thing is you have to fasten it to a fence post or something to stop it being pushed over or blown away.
 
Here are my feeders, I've posted this before. Since making these first feeders I've made larger, heavier ones with more bungee cords and they are the ones out in the field.
DSC04739.jpg
 
i get round bales put in my field, and knock 5 round posts in around it and 1 row of rails. does the same job as a ring feeder but i cant use them as they would get knicked.
 
To feed hay in my field I've laid two heavy duty rubber mats side by side. This in in an area that gets trashed, normally, so I don't lose any ground from it. The hay or feeds go on that, with there being anough room for the ponies to get out of the mud. If the weather is really pooey, I put it in the shelter, also on rubber mats.

Sympathise with the ground situation. I think we all do. We're on sand and it's still dire!
 
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