finding the correct breed for rough grazing

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cumbriancowboy

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hello everyone, i have one of many questions to call on youre experience on.
im finding out everything i can before deciding on what horse would best suit me.
bearing in mind im a man and 16 stone it will have to be a bulky horse.
the field where i would keep said horse has rushes, bracken and nettles as well as grass, and is similar terrain to general cumbrian upland ground. where its dry it is quite dry and you can take the landrover over it even in winter as it is about 1 foot of soil then 500m of sand, but there is a wet patch in the middle that i'd fence off if i were to put a horse in there. the dykes are hawthorn, blackthorn and beech hedges. it is good meadow grass with buttercups and sweet grass, but there are the rashes, bracken, thistles, docks, and occasional ragwort in there aswell. this would be the main field for the horse but other pasture would be used too, as well as a winter yard and stable. the field supported 2 fell ponies for a summer a couple of years ago and i know they were quite smart ponies able to distinguish edible plants from inedible plants.
basically what i want to know is how intelligent horses are in selecting what they eat. are they going to go and eat the bracken and cause trouble or are they going to just eat the grass and leave the rashes bracken and i'll dig out the ragwort just in case?
fyi im mainly looking at gypsy cobs and allrounders like irish draught or IDXTB OR clydesdale crosses.
any info is gratefully recieved
thanks
 
This is what I call an "It all depends" question. There are quite a few like that on here!

My Highlands have access to a couple of fields which have bracken in them. They appear to occasionally nibble the bracken without ill effects. I used to cut it but now don't bother. But then they are not starved, just managed properly. Starving animals will eat a lot of things that are not good for them, and some that will kill them, but mostly they have sense and prefer grass.

One thing you don't ask about is keeping a horse alone. Horses are social animals and need company. If they don't have company, expect all sorts of stress related problems.

Horses are rather fond of browsing rushes and, over time, they will nibble them down. But they can't eat them in quantity. Ragwort is another thing that is eaten by hungry horses but the poisons are cumulative with the end result being liver collapse so you need to get rid of them.
 
thanks for the reply,
i would hope a 3 acre field with about half cover of good grass and half rough/rashes would feed a horse sufficiently, with occasional breaks in other fields would be enough for one. if im wrong please tell me :-)
im planning to be doing about 20 miles in a day with the horse so will probably need something bigger than a highland (if im wrong again just say :-) )
i doubt the horse would ever get hungry enough to eat bracken or ragwort, i just wonder if some horses generally eat stuff thats bad for them without thinking..
on the issue of companion what would be suitable. would a sheep be ok? or maybe a shetland or miniature shetland to keep as a friend to the bigger animal?
i may be able to mix up grazing to mean the horse will be with other horses about 30% of its time, for instance putting it in with a TB for a few weeks to get grass under control etc, would that be enough or do you mean all the time is best.
thanks again
 
In my experience, all horses can live on rough grazing, as long as they are used to it.

I know a couple of horses/ponies that came up here from down south and they did not thrive on the rougher grazing, as they were used to lush green pasture (which is the worst for a horse IMO)

When I say they did not thrive, they did just fine as long as bucket fed and or given ample hay in the winter time.

I have a tb x an arab x and a sports horse on rough hill grazing, all are fine, and actually on diets... one is still thriving in her 40s and the other 19.

They love to spend time in the marshy area where there are lots of different grasses, herbs and plants. They eat the new shoots of the gorse (a delicacy... and very interesting to watch them picking them and eating them without getting spiked!) They will pick at the new shoots of rushes (which are a constant battle to control) but mine have never eaten bracken, not that we ave much in the field anyway.

ets: if you are looking at a gypsy cob type then I would say that poorer rough grazing would be ideal- they are prone to being porky! ;) easier to top up grazing with hay than be on high quality grass and on a diet 24/7 and run the risk of lami etc.
 
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I have a 3 acre 'bracken bank' and I use a couple of ID youngsters to help me in reclamation (and it's working!) Timing is everything. I put them on it in early spring, before the bracken comes through. As it starts to come through, their nice big feet stomp it back into the dirt. I supplement with haylage to ensure they won't be hungry enough to pick at any they miss with their feet. Once they've eaten all available grass, I move them off and rest it for 6 weeks, then put them back on to eat the grass (and stomp the new bracken fronds). After that, there is rarely much (if any) bracken appearing. I've never seen any evidence f them eating bracken - the bits they miss get quite high (close to trees and fence) and when I get a chance, I either spray it or slash it down.
 
A cleveland Bay would be ideal for you.

They are a real 'man's horse', weight carriers and hard working and will hack all day at a steady pace or put on a turn of speed if you need it. They have proven very good at endurance (they recover quickly) as well as all round sports horses.

They are big animals but good doers who DON'T need rich grazing (I have to restrict mine) so your grazing sounds ideal, Although I would be inclined to try and get rid of the bracken and ragwort and buttercups(mainly because the ragwort and buttercups will take over if you're not careful)

Any horse would need an (idealy equine) companion but 3 acres would easily sustain two horses, particularly if one was on the smaller side...
 
Another CB fan here. They are good doers and weight carriers.

However, I like my pasture to look clean. In Scotland I had very wet and rush filled paddocks, I still maintained them. I divided my grazing, which was topped, spot sprayed, or flame gunned to keep weeds under control. I even hand pulled and burned docks!!

One of the most experienced CB breeders is at Stainmore in Cumbria. You could ask her advice, she is on the CBHS website.
 
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Rollin said:
One of the most experienced CB breeders is at Stainmore in Cumbria. You could ask her advice, she is on the CBHS website.
Click to expand...

I was going to say he is in the perfect location to find a good'un!

I agree re the weeds thing and but I have also found unfertilsed pasture best for my boy, which is where I prefer 'rough' grazing on meadow grasses rather than rich ryegrasses...
 
Even rough grazing can put the weight on quickly though as most natives are good doers so do keep an eye!! You'll definitely need 2 horses, sheep are no substitute for company as they are not horses, and horses will often kill sheep! A shetland may work but they need next to nothing grazing wise so really hard to mix with larger breeds, who may need a bit more food, to prevent laminitis so a larger pony type maybe a more suitable option. Any of the draft breeds, CB's, larger cob types, shire, clydie's and their crosses, friesians etc - mine love the mixed summer grazing we have which does have alot of plants other than grass including sedge and bracken which they've almost eliminated from it being trampled and we're in cumbria so know what you mean by rough ground!:) You'd have to see how the land copes with 2 gg's as it may not last 2 horses for year round grazing but it maybe doable if maintained well.
 
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