Grassland management - advice needed

[moosea]

We are about to move our two older horses to a new yard. The yard has eight acres of good grass with it which has not been grazed for two years and is currently about 1.5 feet long.
Both horses are good do'ers - one aged 20 the other 18. Neither horse has history of laminitus (sp? )

My problem is should we top the grass now - with one week before we move in? Or is it true that if the grass is left longer it will contain less sugars, and is therefore less likely to cause laminitus or colic?

 

[JoBird]

Yes you are right, the longer grass does contain less sugars. I wouldnt top the grass unless you know lots of rain is forecast. I know so many people who have done just that and then it hasnt rained and they havent had any grass all summer! I would definitely graze the grass (perhaps strip grazing). They may well stuff themselves at first but then should calm down.
By strip grazing you will get a much neater result as they will eat it down properly rather than you having patches of long tufty grass and some short bits. Also when you have a grazed short area you can move any "fatties" onto that for part of the day and leave the others on the long grass.
Definitely less likely to get laminitis on old established grass than new growing grass but may well get grass bellies!

 

[Honey08]

We topped ours (had it flailed so chopped into smaller pieces) and the horses were back on it a week later - they weren't remotely interested in the chopped bits when there was good grass around. The land was so much better for it - on previous years when we didn't top it, the long grass went to seed and got weedy.

 

[AndySpooner]

In your circumstances I would definitely go down the strip grazing route.
This sort of grazing is ideal for your horses.
I wouldn't consider topping until you have completely grazed the field and the rejection factor in the regrowth means that it is going to seed and not being grazed.
Is avoid top dressing at all costs as less poorer grass is better than lush high in sugar grass.

 

[Rob Lakeside]

Hi
I agree with the top two,with this hot summer it is also about saving the soil from drying out. so leave the grass long and let them eat their way through and if the grass sends up seed heads you will have a thick sward next year.

Topping is often carried out to encourage the fresh grass through, Light to the base. but not this year, only likely to have one flush of grass so make the most of it all.

 

[amage]

If there is old grass in the paddock it is not "good" grass and while it may be long it will be stemmy and not as easily digestible. I would be stripping it and topping it. Leave one strip for the horses, top the rest and with new growth you will get super grass

 

[AndySpooner]

If there is old grass in the paddock it is not "good" grass and while it may be long it will be stemmy and not as easily digestible. I would be stripping it and topping it. Leave one strip for the horses, top the rest and with new growth you will get super grass

Exactly what you don't want.

 

[Rob Lakeside]

One extra comment to add is,
nitrogen causes laminitus and problems to horses, and lush grass is high in nitrogen as grass ages and turns to hay the nitrogen decreases.
Also cellulose is a complex sugar and difficult to digest( hence why we ferment it, to make hayledge, turning it from a complex sugar to a simple sugar and easier to digest ( or for humans raw parsnips are not nise to eat but roast parsnips are sweet and nice)
Hay is all fibre with with some release of simple sugars and complex and low in nitrogen.
Rob

 

[ISHmad]

Could you put tracks up in the field, or strip graze it somehow and use the rest of it for hay or haylage?

 

[pansy]

Hi Sorry I wanted some advice on his subject as well - apologies for hijacking thread !! but didnt see the point of posting another similar 1

I have just moved some 4 horses onto about 6 acres that has been divided into 10 paddocks - the land has not been grazed since about October November & the horses are loving the grass !! the horses are in now in the third paddock - eating the grass happily - my concern though is that they are all putting on a bit a weight (& Laminitis is at the back of my head) - I know we have not had much rain & that there is not much predicted so grass shouldnt be growing too much - but what should I do with the other 7 paddocks - where the grass is still quite lush- paddocks arent really big enough to strip graze - should I top the grass ??? I did think of maybe swapping paddocks about on a regular basis ie- half a day & then move back to a grazed paddock again (but then they are still stuffing their tummies!!) - I am at a bit of a loss really - any advice appreciated Thankyou

 

[stencilface]

I would not top the grass - long grasses are good for cleaning teeth (so I'm told) and certainly are good for variety - you don't need to have a horse field that looks like a mown lawn. Plus, if we do have a drought, you'll want as much standing hay as you can get I would imagine

Pansy - if you have excess grass I would not top it, a bit of a waste imho! Can you do a deal with a farmer to graze his sheep there in exchange for hay for next winter, or in exchange for him harrowing/rolling/topping your fields? We graze sheep in our field in years when we have an excess and get x amount of straw in return

 

[pansy]

Hi Thanks for your reply - I didnt think topping would be the right way to go especially with the way the weather is at the mo. To be honest though we havent been there long & havent got to know the local farmers yet !! There doesent seem to be a lot of sheep around - maybe I need to look a bit harder
or even get one of my own & maybe a goat as well !!! Who ever thought I would be complaining about too much grass