Help with choosing the right grazing method

L

lilaclomax

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 January 2007
Messages
312
Visit site
Please can you help... I have a NF pony who is a good doer and like many he has come out of winter with a good condition score which I need to maintain.

The grass is now growing and I need to work out the best way of limiting his calorie intake. He started going out in his grazing muzzle but his new field buddy is very apt at removing it, my boy now knows that all he has to do is ask and it will be off in minutes :(

The fields are ex cattle grazing and maintained, we are allowed to put up fencing and I have tried both strip grazing and the paradise system in the past... just need to persuade my field companion to try the Paradise system - this is where I need your input :) I believe I may have put her off by mentioning the word 'track' and just need to have as much information as I can before asking if i can try it for a week.

My list of ideas so far are...
Muzzle - failed
Strip grazing - daily grass sugar rush when fence line moved and the rest of the field becomes stressed.
Double strip grazing - great to rotate the field as we move along but again that grass rush when the top fence line moves (and I have a pony who is happy to eat until it has all gone!)
Paradise system - I am a fan and have also worked out a way to electrify the middle fence.
Limited turnout - I don't think I would have a happy boy if he was made to be in during the day for more than 6 hours
Individual turnout - completely against all my views on having companionship and the very last resort.

Have I missed any out and can people post their own experiences please

Thank you
 
I don't know how to help sorry - I would also like to try paddock paradise but I'm not sure I have the room unfortunatly ! :-(

So its a muzzle and restriction for us !

I hope you find a good solution - are there no articles you can print out and give to your grazing buddy about the benifits?
 
A track system would def be my first choice - restricted and controlled grazing, but they can still roam and graze naturally while having the benefits of companionship and you can maximise the movement benefits of turnout. Muzzles are fab, but they rub, get pulled off, and they must be rather hot and uncomfortable in the summer weather. If I could rig up a track system then I def think that would be preferable - not just for good doers, but as a much more natural grazing set up than rich green squares!!
 
I know just what you mean. Even though there is a sugar rush with the strip grazing, the actual amount of grass consumed also has a bearing, so if they can't eat very much they should, hopefully, be OK. Do you give them hay in the field as well, or before they go out on the grass, as that can help?

I have considered a track, but I only have two and a small paddock and to have the track wide enough would take up nearly all the paddock anyway, so I stick to strip grazing at the moment. I think of the times when they want to have a gallop and buck, and would have to negotiate the corners. I also used a grazing mask at one time but the pony found it easy to remove in the end, by pulling on a fence post!
 
http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/paddock-paradise.html

Any search on paddock paradise will throw up heaps of info.

I would use this system over strip grazing any day, less work in the long run for one thing.

Ladylina, you don't need a vast amount of land, I think there is/was a HHO member who had it set up on just an acre or two for her horses and she always seemed pleased with it.
 
i run a paradise system in the summer on about 3/4 an acre, very good doers and also keep the oldie moving better. just moved bits of it 1/2 a foot in to the middle and out so bits got a rest and there was fresh grass (very small amount) to eat every so often

also helps with the fitness level as they have to move more
 
pillion said:
call it doughnut grazing lol!, or instead of a track do a spiral fence so the whole field is in use
Click to expand...

How does the spiral fence work? I don't have enough fencing or elec to do a track system plus the people we borrow the field from don't like seeing lots of unsightly White tape and poles in theirvfield (which is all I have!) Last year I halved the square field then ran a single fence down the middle so it was almost a track.
 
Spiral fencing is you make a track in a decreasing track but you leave the end open so that it returns to the track again, might be easier to show a diagram tbh, but imagine a snails shell, when you get to the middle leave it open, a good place to have your water (increases movement), I use wooden posts and string, alot more aesthetically pleasing, and if I need to open the field up I just remove the string :)
 
I have this month just set up a paradise track system and I am loving it!!!!! So much easier than strip grazing and just to see how much they walk about in a day is amazing!
I move the odd post in towards the middle once a day and they have to play "hunt the moved post" rather than just running to the fence line and finding the fresh grass!
 
Track system for me every time, I have had mine up and running for a few years now, it has completely sorted the weight control for our good doers, I think it is as much about getting them to move round more as restricting grazing. They very quickly get used to negotiating tight turns!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top