For those that strip graze

[Birker2020]

How much do you bring your paddock forward by and is this every day?

I normally bring my forward by about 2ft daily but last night gave him a bit more last night as nothing had gone out by the time I left and I wanted to go home as I didn't feel well. He's pretty good on his own for half an hour or so until the next livery turns up to turn out.

You can see the demarcation line, the grass is growing quite quickly, that was 2 weeks growth. He'd be a right fatty if his grazing wasn't controlled! He's got another 100m or so before he's at the end of the paddock!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

This time of year I give more as the grass isn’t as nutritious. Faran got the rest of his summer paddock last night. It’s long but not lush and has been rested for about 3 months. He still has another acre of grazing that has had a cut of hay taken off of it, there are two acres but the other half is someone else grazing but we both restrict grazing so farmer takes a cut off of it for us. So I have plenty for winter.

During the summer he was getting about 4m every third week.

 

[Carrottom]

I usually go about a meter with the idea that if they graze with their head towards the fence the dropp8ngs are likely to fall on the eaten down bit.

 

[Birker2020]

This time of year I give more as the grass isn’t as nutritious. Faran got the rest of his summer paddock last night. It’s long but not lush and has been rested for about 3 months. He still has another acre of grazing that has had a cut of hay taken off of it, there are two acres but the other half is someone else grazing but we both restrict grazing so farmer takes a cut off of it for us. So I have plenty for winter.

During the summer he was getting about 4m every third week.

Oh you surprise me, I was led to believe that grass has a second flush in October and it can be full of fructans.
We've had a lot of 15c days lately with sun so the grass has been growing quite a lot.

 

[Bobthecob15]

I agree the autumn grass can be very high in sugars, we've restricted our pony again the last 2 weeks as his neck was getting very plump!

 

[Birker2020]

I usually go about a meter with the idea that if they graze with their head towards the fence the dropp8ngs are likely to fall on the eaten down bit.

Love your thinking!

 

[SEL]

I've got one with a cresty neck and a pony who looks like a hippo with feathers - so about 6 inches into the long rested stuff each night. That's only because as soon as we get any decent rain the track fence needs to come up and I'd rather they'd have made some inroads into the rested bit

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Oh you surprise me, I was led to believe that grass has a second flush in October and it can be full of fructans.
We've had a lot of 15c days lately with sun so the grass has been growing quite a lot.

mine is long and not as lush as the grass that was cut to make hay. His poos aren’t as loose as they have been in the shorter stuff as stressed grass is known to have more sugar than longer grass. This is is him in it this morning.

Mind you up in Scotland we get colder quicker so maybe different from you guys down there. Last winter was mild so the grass grew all winter but I’m not to sure about this year. He will have this until is as short as this stuff then he will move down to the stuff that was cut in July and baled for hay.


He’s coming back into work soon as I’m healing up well so he will be getting ground work done In Prep for me getting back on in November.

 

[SilverLinings]

How much I move it depends on the horse, the time of year and the state of the grass. My vet reports that there have been a lot of laminitis cases in the area in the last fortnight due to the autumn peak in grass sugars, so I am being particularly cautious at the moment.

 

[Lady Jane]

Autumn grass is normally pretty dangerous especially after the rain we have had (here anyway). My strip is about 25m wide and I have reduced the fence move down to just over 1ft. Only one native type and the field I am moving up hasn't been grazed since last Autumn. I do wish there was a very scientific way of knowing what to do........

 

[Birker2020]

mine is long and not as lush as the grass that was cut to make hay. His poos aren’t as loose as they have been in the shorter stuff as stressed grass is known to have more sugar than longer grass. This is is him in it this morning.View attachment 100698

Mind you up in Scotland we get colder quicker so maybe different from you guys down there. Last winter was mild so the grass grew all winter but I’m not to sure about this year. He will have this until is as short as this stuff then he will move down to the stuff that was cut in July and baled for hay.
View attachment 100699

He’s coming back into work soon as I’m healing up well so he will be getting ground work done In Prep for me getting back on in November.

Gosh Lari says to ask you please can he come and share Farans paddock?
Someone said to me the other day that strip grazing causes stressed grass, I'd not heard that before and was suprised.
Its is much colder in Scotland, we are practically sub tropical in the Midlands at the moment

 

[Birker2020]

Autumn grass is normally pretty dangerous especially after the rain we have had (here anyway). My strip is about 25m wide and I have reduced the fence move down to just over 1ft. Only one native type and the field I am moving up hasn't been grazed since last Autumn. I do wish there was a very scientific way of knowing what to do........

I know, its a nightmare having to move it when its not a straight forward 'across the width' move.
Mine is a big little 'r' shape with fencing all down the length (to deter him from boxing his mate over the fence whilst he rests his SI after treatment) with the top of the r being stretched out every day in a weird curve lol

 

[Hormonal Filly]

This time of year I give more as the grass isn’t as nutritious. Faran got the rest of his summer paddock last night. It’s long but not lush and has been rested for about 3 months. He still has another acre of grazing that has had a cut of hay taken off of it, there are two acres but the other half is someone else grazing but we both restrict grazing so farmer takes a cut off of it for us. So I have plenty for winter.

During the summer he was getting about 4m every third week.

I also gave my mare some rested grass last week. It had 3 months rested and was quite long, looked like yours if not longer. Solid poos so must not be to high in sugar or they go loose.

Birker, yours looks short and rich. I’d probably move that amount but every 2 days, depends if your horse is fat.

 

[Lady Jane]

I know, its a nightmare having to move it when its not a straight forward 'across the width' move.
Mine is a big little 'r' shape with fencing all down the length (to deter him from boxing his mate over the fence whilst he rests his SI after treatment) with the top of the r being stretched out every day in a weird curve lol

Makes us very artistic!

 

[Lady Jane]

Gosh Lari says to ask you please can he come and share Farans paddock?
Someone said to me the other day that strip grazing causes stressed grass, I'd not heard that before and was suprised.
Its is much colder in Scotland, we are practically sub tropical in the Midlands at the moment

Strip grazing does stress the grass and make it more sugary. In a ideal world you should progressively move the fence behind you so they are not eating the short stuff for too long. But if you don't strip graze they gorse themeselves, its a no win situation

 

[Birker2020]

I also gave my mare some rested grass last week. It had 3 months rested and was quite long, looked like yours if not longer. Solid poos so must not be to high in sugar or they go loose.

Birker, yours looks short and rich. I’d probably move that amount but every 2 days, depends if your horse is fat.

Yes its an ex dairy farm and the grass is quite rich I assume because of that or that's what I've always felt. So its good in one respect but you have to exercise caution in another way.

 

[Sir barnaby]

I give about a foot a bit less for the Shetland, then as they move forward I put a line behind so I follow them along the paddock so the eaten bits get chance to recover and regrow, I leave enough room so they can still have a runaround if they want to.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

How much do you bring your paddock forward by and is this every day?

I normally bring my forward by about 2ft daily but last night gave him a bit more last night as nothing had gone out by the time I left and I wanted to go home as I didn't feel well. He's pretty good on his own for half an hour or so until the next livery turns up to turn out.

You can see the demarcation line, the grass is growing quite quickly, that was 2 weeks growth. He'd be a right fatty if his grazing wasn't controlled! He's got another 100m or so before he's at the end of the paddock!

View attachment 100685View attachment 100687

I have two small ponies and move it up 18 inches every few days, as they are both laminitic

 

[scats]

I barely move mine when I’m strip grazing. It’s Rye so it’s the devil for good doers.

 

[Twoblueeyes]

I have the laminitis risk app on my phone. Depending on what it says I move the fence. It’s been quite interesting seeing when it moves up towards the red.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I took some pictures for comparison

this is what he’s got access to just now, mixed grass paddock.

This shows the difference in grass in the other side of the summer field divide



And this is his winter grazing that’s had a cut of hay. There is two acres (one is mine) and it goes right the way down the hill to the tree line. No way is he getting this right now ? he’d pop

 

[Peglo]

Like CC we’re up north but have 3 on the paddock. I don’t give too much deep wise but do a decent long strip so they can all get in and eat without too many arguments. My fencing is hellish squint and I really just move it until the fence is tight again. ? they are getting long grass that hasn’t been touched since spring so shouldn’t be very sugary and looks like it’s died off since last month. It doesn’t look at good as Cheeky Chestnuts.