Harrowing/rolling

[chaps89]

I seem to have it in my head that you shouldn’t graze fields for a couple of months after harrowing due to a grass sickness risk but I’m not sure why and how accurate that is, can anyone clarify please?
Also, I posted on FB about finding someone to barrow/roll and had a few people say rolling isn’t recommended now, but not why. Any ideas please?
My land is split into two, I was hoping to harrow the side being rested and roll the other side that they’re still grazing - it’s been very wet and poached so I don’t really want to leave it fully as it will be horrid when it dries

 

[Muddy unicorn]

As far as I’m aware rolling isn’t recommended now as it further compacts the ground which will already be compacted by the horses.

 

[rextherobber]

I keep the horses off for 6 weeks after harrowing, which allows time for the grass to get going and reap the benefits of being harrowed, and hopefully deals with the grass sickness issue, if it is indeed a thing. Better safe than sorry!

 

[PurBee]

Harrowing, depending on equipment used, can disturb a lot of mud and smear/sprinkle it all over the grass. Especially harrows with tines on uneven land or tines going over very poached, muddy land. Mud has bacteria grazers avoid eating much of.
Also if it’s a field thats not poo-picked, the spread-about pieces of dung will have all kinds of fecal bacteria the horses shouldnt be eating (hence why they dont eat grass around their poo piles and it grows lush and long)
Also if you have a lot of leaf-dropping from autumn onto the field, harrowing can drag-up rotting grass/leaves which have bacteria horses dont want to eat.

So, ideally, after harrowing, you’d want a few rain showers to wash the grass clean of bacteria/mud/dung, and UV light from sunny days to kill bacteria thats been brought to the surface/disturbed - so best to wait, depending on weather/growth, and rest the field to stabilise back to healthy growth after harrowing ‘disturbance’.

Rolling is difficult to do when the ground is too wet and most dont, as you can easily ‘smear’ the topsoil mud layer which can dry to a crust and ‘seal’ the topsoil so it doesnt absorb rainwater or ‘breathe’ so easily, which also impedes growth of grass.
Rolling is done when the soil has warmed and drying-out…like firm play-do, but before it dries crusty hard. The roller then rolls far more easily rather than catching and drags/smears along the surface.

Rolling also can cover the grass in mud soil particles, depending how poached the land is, and the horses dont want to be eating mud bacteria covered grass. So similar to harrowing, its best to wait to graze a rolled field, if it is particularly muddy, for rain to wash grass clean, and UV light to kill disturbed bacteria.
As mentioned, rolling can compact the top soil - but generally thats more an issue with the larger modern tractors and seriously heavy rollers used, than the ‘lighter’ farm machinery that can be used.

You could stick to your plan to harrow one side, but leave the grazing side, and see how the poached field works-out, as i tend to find that when the ground warms up and dries out, the horses moving on it evens-out the high and low spots and it becomes flat from their use.
I now only roll areas that are seriously poached, where its impossible to roll a wheelbarrow across. Some winter fields can get like that, so its best to move them off and keep them off, after rolling.

I’d only harrow if you have lots of moss, and lower layer old dead grass/thatch - to enable grass roots/soil to get warm/breathe and grow better, many horse grazing fields dont have much thatch/moss, as horses are low grazers. Harrowing tends to be done by tradition than being useful for the field. Harrowing is mostly done to spread manure about - after which it really needs leaving for many weeks for the dung bacteria to die-off, and the rains/sun to clean and grow the field afresh.

So if your poached field is worse than your other field you think needs harrowing - move them to the harrow field and dont bother harrowing, and get the poached field rolled and rested.