Grazing management over winter - thoughts?

Cobiau Cymreig Wyllt

Cobiau Cymreig Wyllt

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Hello all
My 2yr-old Sec D shares an approx 3-acre field with a 14 yr-old overweight Sec B. Field has loads of natural shelter either end and two gates. Field currently has tiny 'paddock' fenced off at one end (smaller than a menage) which is used as a starvation paddock for Sec B and as an area to do groundwork with my boy.
The farmer we rent from has said it would be good to give half the field a rest over winter, so was planning to do that and give them both half the field including the tiny paddock (which also has natural shelter).
My boy will def be unrugged (unless rain scald kicks in) and planning at this point to feed ad lib hay when grass is gone/snow on ground with haylege nets for my boy if need be. Not sure what field sharer intends to do re her pony but think the same, though she is inclined to rug.
This will leave them with approx 1-acre to roam in...with 2 acres resting to be available for spring grass..will then rest where they have wintered when they go on the spring grass.
Does this sound like a reasonable management plan, given their native status/age/weight needs? Or would you suggest that they need a larger area to roam esp unrugged and divide off field beginning of spring?
The tiny paddock and gateway that they will have access to is already pretty poached. Land is poor draining and quite marshy and reedy down this end. The better grazing is the far end we were thinking to section off and leave for spring.
Probably won't section off until we are feeding hay. Both are only in very light work and I will prob turn my boy away when weather is v bad.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts :)
 
One acre for 2 horses over the winter is not very much if they are out 24/7, they will trash it terribly when the ground turns wet and if that destroys the grass roots it will struggle to come back completely the following spring. Is there no chance of having some field shelters that they could be shut in at night to eat their hay and fence the field in half so that they have a larger area? Or possibly have one month in one half then swap them over into the other half for the next month so each half gets a decent rest over the winter?
 
I would use the two acres that are the driest over winter, less likely to get poached.

Then in spring make a track around the edge of remaining acre for the fatty, spilt the middle in two and rotate for the youngster.
 
I don't actually see the point in letting one half rest. Grass doesn't grow in cold conditions and this winter is supposed to be very cold. I guess it will stop them turning it muddy but if it's well drained, muddiness should only be a problem around the gate and the routes the horses use to go back and forth.

But I suppose we have to do our bit to keep the landlords happy.

I spent ages sticking up leccy fencing, planning to make my girls strip graze my field to make the grass last longer and stop them from gorging on it (the grass is knee high atm) . However, they had other ideas. The youngster spent an hour testing the strength of the electric fence with her feet, before deciding she could cope with the pain and ploughed straight through it, closely followed by her mother. :mad: I've given up now.
 
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Personally i strip graze and use a back fence. If you fence off the 2 acres now with luck you'll get an autumn flush on it. Then move your front fence every day so they have a little fresh grass and erect a back fence behind them that stops them churning up the bit they've grazed.

IMO 2 1 acre for two horses all winter will just be churned to mud..
 
scrunchie said:
I don't actually see the point in letting one half rest. Grass doesn't grow in cold conditions and this winter is supposed to be very cold. I guess it will stop them turning it muddy but if it's well drained, muddiness should only be a problem around the gate and the routes the horses use to go back and forth.

But I suppose we have to do our bit to keep the landlords happy.

Yup - my first winter renting from this particular farmer and there's not too many that will rent to horse-owners round here so within reason, if he thinks it'll do the field good and has been farming for nearly 70 years...the grass won't grow but they won't go back in there until it has..and in the meantime it won't poach so I guess they're all good reasons to oblige him! ;)
Click to expand...
 
Having always up until this winter manage with 2 horses on an acre - it can be done! I would only shut off the 2 acres by Christmas, that way you will get a good spring grass crop on it and limit the poaching on the whole. I now have a much bigger field, but will be shutting off at least half at Christmas for a spring grass crop.

If you are feeding adlib haylage/hay then all should be fine. Mine never tore around - they would be happy to have a roll and just munch allday. :)
 
If you are feeding adlib haylage/hay then all should be fine. Mine never tore around - they would be happy to have a roll and just munch allday. :)[/QUOTE]

These two are definitely 'stand at bale and munch ad infinitum' types :D

Great cross-section of approaches there, which I was hoping for, thanks all who've responded. :)
 
I have a sacfrice paddock for winter it is the worse wettest bit we use straw to give a dry standing area and put in big bales for ad-lib feeding. In the Spring as soon as it drys up we take a strip from the sumner end put them in there and the farmer does whatever he thinks is best for the winter part rolling etc whatever it needs when the grass is well away in the main part of the sumner end we let them in give the strip a chance to come away then take away the electric fence. We use the winter end over the sumner when it's come away give it a rest from mid august then about now they go into it. It's a fiddle always having to keep on top of it but the paddock is better now.
 
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