Field maintenance for a good doer

[Indieanna6]

Hi - hoping someone more knowledgeable in field maintenance can let me know if I'm barking up the wrong tree with this plan?

Background:
My turnout area is a quarter of an acre which has been over grazed by it's previous habitants so is always quite bare with a lot of weeds popping up, mainly buttercup.
It is closed for a couple of weeks each Spring for spraying. I can only use a different area for turnout for these two weeks.
We are not allowed to strip graze and I bring in at night.

I have an very good doer so I don't want to reseed with paddock seed and end up with far too much grass. My plan is to save up the seed from filling haynets, scatter this over the paddock and then roll in with a hand roller.

If I do this, firstly do you think this will help grow enough grass to stop as many weeds but not give me a lush paddock? And secondly, can I still graze this paddock while I do this?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[JBM]

I’m not sure I would generally not graze reseeded land as horses will just pull the young grass straight out of the ground as their roots haven’t developed fully And horses will graze on very short grass
They eat lower than sheep

 

[Widgeon]

To be completely honest I think that with such a small space and so little time, you're on to a bit of a loser really. I have one good doer out 24/7 on 0.6 acres and that takes pretty careful management - strip grazing is what I use to keep the ground and the horse in good shape. But if you can't do that, I think you might be wasting your time. As JBM says, a horse will graze on grass that's barely there so the new stuff won't have any chance to get established.

Sorry to be a downer. If you have a very good doer though, does it matter that you don't have much grass? Can you feed controlled amounts of forage to keep him slim? You could see it as a positive!

 

[JBM]

This is a good article on grazing horses horses covers how to improve current grassland without reseeding
A soil test may be beneficial?
Maybe consider a rye grass? High in nutrients but low in carbohydrates

 

[Indieanna6]

Yes, it is a bit of a losing battle isn't it

My problem is YO doesn't like the field being too bare or weed ridden.

 

[w1bbler]

Sorry, but 1/4 of an acre with no ability to rest does not give you any scope for land management. The bhs recommend a minimum of an acre per horse for a reason
Chucking some grass seed around could help a bit, but without rest to allow it to establish its unlikely to do much.

 

[Abacus]

The only thing I can think is to split it in half and reseed half, and leave it a good long while to grow. Then swap with the other side. If it takes until summer it may be too dry for new grass so you might have to wait until autumn to do the other half. Agree though that it’s a very small space for a horse and likely to get churned up again next winter.

 

[Nasicus]

Yes, it is a bit of a losing battle isn't it

My problem is YO doesn't like the field being too bare or weed ridden.

Your YO can't have it both ways, and sounds very inexperienced/lacking in any knowledge of good land management. 1/4 an acre, year round, is an absolutely pitiful amount of land to try keeping a horse on and expect it to look good.

 

[9tails]

Yes, it is a bit of a losing battle isn't it

My problem is YO doesn't like the field being too bare or weed ridden.

That's YO's fault for giving you such a paltry space and it will be overgrazed. It would be better for him/her to be out on a larger area and muzzled.

 

[Zoeypxo]

I used to have about quarter of an acre 6 months of the year then you would rotate onto the other quarter the other 6 months. In the winter it was just mud and in the summer it was just dirt. I moved !

are you allowed to feed hay on the field ?

 

[Goldenstar]

The YO is nuts if they think they have any rights to make complaints about 1/4 acre paddocks that are grazed all year round .
Theres very little you can do to make any difference except hand dig up weeds as they appear .
Poor you and poor pony .

 

[The Xmas Furry]

A quarter acre is about 50ft x 50ft, or 15 metres x 15 metres if a square...... less than half a std 40 x 20m dressage arena.

OP, you cannot do much (anything! ) to improve it except to put grass mats down. Is there nowhere else to move to?