GRAZING

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welshies

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Any tips on improving grazing in these drought conditions!?! Have 3 horses (sec D, dartmoor and young shire) on approx 4 acres, been there 6 years. Clay soil, docks and lots of rough areas where they won't graze, poor qauloty grass when it is there! 2 field shelters but horse live out 24/7 all year. (it's rented so don't want to spend a fortune!) have to feed hard feed and hay all year, grazing adequate for pony (to be sold soon anyway) very under adequate for shire. Worst it ever been this year due to weather. Any help appreciated.
 
I suggest you get it sprayed for the docks, and then fertilised, half a time.

Do you pooh pick?

Is any of it given the chance to rest or have they been on all of it for six years?
 
Very difficult. Even if you set a paddock aside, nothing is currently growing. You need to pray for rain.

We have 5 acres which is only used from spring and it is fast disappearing. I supplement feed 2 of ours with feed and hay for a laminitic who is on a deliberate dust bowl. I have not yet planned what I shall do when the remaining grass has gone - short feed too I suppose.

I do use feed balls with alfalfa pellets for the one laminitic and one fatty on restriction. Sorry I cannot be of more help.

Hay will be sparse and expensive this year, it's rather doom and gloom.
 
Bug2007 said:
I suggest you get it sprayed for the docks, and then fertilised, half a time.

Do you pooh pick?

Is any of it given the chance to rest or have they been on all of it for six years?
Click to expand...

I strongly agree with the fertilising half say springtime and half in the autumn. This really does help improve the grass quality and quantity.
 
Hi, yes poo pick twice a day, rested as much as possible, tend to strip graze rather than rotate as the 2 shelters are fixed and helps control weight better. but think i maybe need to move them around a bit more, trouble is as it isn't growing the stuff i take them off isn't recovering to put them back on! what are peoples thought on lime, fertilizer etc?
 
Is it possible for you to burrow some sheep to cross graze for a bit to get rid of the scrub bits too.

They help improve the grazing as they aren't as fussy as horses.

Feel for you we have lush cattle grazing that grows ono the morning dew.....i've got too much.
 
Do people not lend out sheep round your way?:D:D

We have them come and do some nibbling then we send them back again.
 
Yes i probably could borrow some sheep as i rent a off a farmer. think more that anything we need rain, it's rediculous! when it does rain it's nothing to speak off, we've even resorted to putting the sprikler on where we can, which has made a very small difference. Wouldn't be so much of a problem but my shire is only 3 and could really do with some lovely lush grass! also makes it even harder to rest as if they are all in together the pony get's too much and shire not enough, plus shire is bottom of the rank and get's bullied a little, but as i say pony has to go, not used so bored and i've just bought a house so uneeded expence!

please help me pray for some rain! or send me some of your if you have too much!

thanks
 
Not sure how much it is to fertilise but the little rain that we do have will make more of a difference if the grass is given a hand.

Understand the house buying we have just done it too.
 
In the short term, get rid of the docks, ideally by spraying, but otherwise by slashing - you can get wonderful light slashers that look like a hockey stick but when y ou rest them on the ground the two-sided blade is horizontal to the ground.

Long term have you thought of fertilizing with calcified seaweed. It's great, for three reasons.

1. You don't have to take the horses off the land
2. It's slow working, and doesn't give you a 'dairy cow flush', just improved steady growth
3. Your neighbours will love it because it smells of the seaside

You won't see huge benefit this summer, but next year the grass should be much improved. I last did our field (hilly, half water meadow and half upland type pasture with underlying rock) and I don't think it'll need doing again until 2013.
 
Great, thanks for the advise, i'll look into that seaweed thing. We have put down some fertilizer especilly for horse paddocks so supposed to stop the risk of laminitis etc, and i'm going to try and get the farmer to lime it in hte autumn, but fertiliser where you don't have to take the horses off would be ideal for me! is it expensive
 
Are you sure you need lime? Have you had the soil pH tested? You'll need to pH test the soil anyway to find out how much (if any) lime you need.

If you don't want to spay, keep cutting the docks and they'll eventually give up. When I bought my land 11 years ago it was covered with docks (had been set aside), I now have only a few in the non-grazed areas behind the school.
 
Harrow!!!

It

a) will pull out all the dead thatch so the new grass can come through and
b) helps create little indentations where the water can collect and so be more effective in helping the grass establish.

Could also think about over seeding, fertilizing, etc.
 
welshies said:
Any tips on improving grazing in these drought conditions!?! Have 3 horses (sec D, dartmoor and young shire) on approx 4 acres, been there 6 years. Clay soil, docks and lots of rough areas where they won't graze, poor qauloty grass when it is there! 2 field shelters but horse live out 24/7 all year. (it's rented so don't want to spend a fortune!) have to feed hard feed and hay all year, grazing adequate for pony (to be sold soon anyway) very under adequate for shire. Worst it ever been this year due to weather. Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...

What drought would that be?! We've had peeing rain for about a week now!!
 
Hi

If you can keep them off and agree with spraying ie Grazon or there is a thread on here about Headland too?

I grazoned my docked field every other year(for a couple of years) and it has really improved I just now spot spray early in the spring as you use less ie grazon when the plant is small.

I would not fertilise but top the field(which is probably the last thing you think you want to do or the sheep would be excellent as fertilise and nibble)
The reason I would not fertilise is my sisters horse was seriously ill, initially thought horse was diabetic she was uncontrollable etc, out of character etc and the vet then blamed the over rich grass from the field being fertilised.She didnt know. I dont know about horse friendly fertilisers? ?

I am in the same situation poor grazing which is good for my good doer but I gave hay the other day our ground is bone dry, cracked and like we have had a drought in Herts.I usually keep half the field to grow well for the winter but it is even seeding very short now.

Good luck
 
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