Field Management - Help please!

[JennBags]

I have just been offered a field to graze my horses on over the rest of the summer - yay, something for them to eat!

It hasn't been grazed at all for about 10 years, so, although definitely no ragwort, the field has quite a lot of weeds and also some v long grass, so I was thinking it needed to be topped first before I put them out on it. (I could strip graze them, but don't really want to spend out lots of money on electric fencing for just a couple of months).

So - any help on this welcome:

- How much do you think it would cost to get someone to top it (about 1.6 acres)

- How long should I leave it after topping before putting them out on it?

Thanks all

 

[WelshD]

I dont have horses sorry I have sheep but I took on a field last August that was in a similar condition

Its 2.8 acres and costs me £150 to have topped

I've had it topped twice now and the grass is looking a lot better and the Ragwort hasnt grown back which is good

I left it about 10 days after topping before moving the sheep in