Horses grazing on freshly seeded land

[DoesDressage]

The yard I am at have just seeded my mares paddock. I have asked if she can come out as i don't want to eat the seed. It's something personally I would never so if I was managing my own land. Is it safe to graze horses on freshly seeded pasture? It is a specialist horse seed. I have reached an agreement that she will not back into the paddock until it has rained (forecast for Tuesday). Am
I doing the right thing? Is it safe after it's rained?

Thanks

 

[Spring Feather]

It shouldn't cause a problem tbh. It does seem a bit of a silly thing to do though while horses are still in the paddock; they will compromise a lot of growth if horses are walking all over the area that's been re-seeded. When I over-seed my pasture fields, they are so big that it's not really an issue but even then I do keep the horses in the paddocks attached to the fields for about a week to let the new grass shoots get a chance to grow.

 

[Zero00000]

Hay is full of seeds, I use it to reseed my grass, livery and home.
Its a shame they havent taken them out though, we are forecast rain from tomorrow through until wednesday (Kent) and it could have taken and grown a bit and read in a week or so

 

[Booboos]

I don't think it would be a problem for the horses, but check with the bag the seed came in, it should tell you if animals have to be kept away from the paddock for a period of time.

I would imagine though the whole thing to be a waste of time because if the paddock is not rested after seeding, not much of it will take.

 

[Polos Mum]

I would imagine though the whole thing to be a waste of time because if the paddock is not rested after seeding, not much of it will take.

This certainly - I'd just double check the mix didn't have any fertiliser etc in. Much more seed in a bale of hay than they could lick off he ground when spread for overseeding.

 

[Dry Rot]

I'm going to be the odd man out here and say while it is not something I would do, it might actually help the grass if not over done! Grass needs a shallow but firm seed bed as it is very vulnerable to the soil drying out. The way to counter that is to heavy roll, so the horses' hooves will do that for you. If grazing is actually pulling the plants out, that is obviously a bad thing.

As for the seed harming the horses, well, you feed seed all the time either in compound feed or as straights (oats?) or, as has been mentioned, in hay.

Even if there is fertiliser, it will be at soil surface level and is not likely to be picked up by horses or livestock. I sometimes spread fertiliser (the granular stuff) and lime while animals are in the field and so far so good! But, your horse -- your risk. Do what you feel comfortable with. I definitely wouldn't graze horses where muck (farmyard manure/dung) has been spread until it has all been washed in, but that's something different.