how are everyone fields?

A

amandaco2

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 November 2006
Messages
6,705
Location
sheffield up t'road
Visit site
My summer ones are dry, too dry.


The 2 fatties are on the one with least grass, 1 acre and get hay 2x day. The 2 less good doers are on 1 acre not interested in hay.
got a 2 acre field which I will give 1.4 acres to the 2 poorer doers, rest to the 2 fatties....hoping about mid October time they move onto that...

once we get to jan they all go onto their 6 acres for 13 weeks, hoping this rests the previous 4 to grow a little! It only gets grazed 13 weeks per yr plus hay taken, so its got tons of grass! I have a further 3 acres if needed.

Love having no mud all yr round but I need a bit of rain to get that last spurt!
 
It's been too dry down here in Dorset during the summer and I was worrying seeing that our grass is not growing, but now it's really starting to come on beautifully. The winter grazing is looking lush. It's so lush that I topped it yesterday to make sure that it stays leafy and the stalky grasses don't start taking over. I feel bad to top it when it looks so nice and green, but it has to be done. As much as I hate our natural springs, this year they really came in handy.

ETA: I am winning the fight against rushes with continuous topping and this dry summer, which is something I am really pleased about.
 
Last edited:
Ours are too dry also.
However, much prefer them like this to being boggy. We're on clay so the fields don't survive wet weather!
 
This was July

c1fc78024764405cd449a4417e997ea6_zpsb18c0d35.jpg


This is now

845c5e084c290c84417d896342cd5f8c_zps887458fb.jpg


It's growing but it hasn't grown enough to get a second cut of hay :(
 
Lots of grass hoping to stay on summer turnout to end of october weather permitting' I love dry autumns. There is something in the air that make me feel good!
 
So much grass - we normally have very little,but it hasn't stopped growing this year.
I don't set a date for moving the horses from summer to winter grazing - depending on the weather, I play it by ear. Last year we moved them mid November, and then they broke back into the summer grazing during the new year storms and with the ground so wet we couldn't fully fix the fence until March. I was despaired at the loss of grazing, but it's all come as though nothing ever happened, so have decided not to worry now and just move them when they look like they could do with more grass again!
 
Three resting fields have done very well, lots of grass ready for winter. The big fields have been under grazed with standing hay in all three. Our fatty is only allowed a third of his field, so the rest has been untouched for a year. Lots of standing hay. Would like a bit of rain now as husband has seeded the walkways and is desperate for the grass to grow there!
 
Perfect. Plenty of grass, having to restrict them a bit at the moment in fact! I keep mine on a dairy farm though with over 250 acres so we are never short of grass and the fields are really well looked after. :)
 
perfect really.

the 2 x summer fatty paddocks have enough grass but not much, they are still both on lammi watch.

The 2 x TB summer fields have got plenty of good bright green grass left.

all 4 winter paddocks are belly deep in good thick strong rough grass which will last them all winter and wont churn up :)
 
Knee high grass in most places, a few bits grazed down so pony is muzzled when out, everything looks very fat and healthy.
 
WAY too much... Genie has been on the same two small paddocks since May... She gets the less grassy paddock for 2 nights, then the grassier paddock for 1, etc etc. I can't see myself needing to change this until at least November, and my winter paddocks are horrifically grassy - very dense and it was topped in July.
 
Just tons and tons of lush green grass! Not ideal when you have natives but we have one less this year so it hasn't been eaten down as much.

I am hoping for a cold Winter rather than a wet one as then they can stay on the Summer paddock for as long as possible. It's clay unfortunately, so once we start getting the Autumn/Winter deluges I have to move them off as it's so wet.

Our Winter field is also covered in long, thick, lush green grass. Going to have to get it topped in the next couple of weeks otherwise the hairies will actually explode when I put them on it!
 
Mine is like the Fuzzy Furry, though I also have areas of dense green clover that isn't worth having while there's so much grass. I'm quietly optimistic that the cover of grass will be enough for the yard owner to let us stay out this winter, I think I'll have a breakdown if we have to stay in 24/7 like last year because of mud.
 
Generally very good.

The summer paddocks are finally grazed down enough to let them have the whole paddock, rather than having to strip graze or restrict.

The winter field is looking great with a lot of standing hay, so unless we have a lot of snow, or very wet conditions, am hoping the grass will last until March.
 
9tails said:
Mine is like the Fuzzy Furry, though I also have areas of dense green clover that isn't worth having while there's so much grass. I'm quietly optimistic that the cover of grass will be enough for the yard owner to let us stay out this winter, I think I'll have a breakdown if we have to stay in 24/7 like last year because of mud.
Click to expand...

Well bring yours over to join mine if that happens!
I have one and a half fuzzies ;) on 4.5 acres, of which they have been using around 1.2 acres since early June!!
Cannot see me feeding hay till next easter at this rate, unless I bring tham back in to diet even harder.....
 
Great. They've just moved down to the hayfields - about 6 weeks later that they normally do as the grass up the top was still so good. Even though they've been on their winter grazing most of the year it's still looking really green and lush and in 2 months when they come back up I imagine it'll have enough to sustain them for quite a while before they need hay. I think they're going to have to come in a few hours a day though as there's too much grass where they are now. We're never happy are we! I'd always rather too much than not enough though. Just praying it stays relatively dry so they can stay out as a long as possible. We normally get to the midlle or end of November but one year managed to get to the week before Christmas and it makes the winter feel sooo much shorter!
 
Last edited:
We were only discussing the difference between this year and last when doing the water in the field yesterday. This time last year, we had had to bring the horses in overnight as there was so much mud, everywhere.
Thank goodness the ground is nice and dry, with grass growing well this year, as I have a broken foot and cannot muck out until at least halfway through October.
 
lovely fields of short grass where they have been grazing and a field full of standing foggage for winter it just hasn't stopped growing this year. Ponies all fat sleek and shiny but no laminitis
 
Best they've ever been. We're on heavy clay and usually have to move the horses on to the winter paddocks by this time but they're still doing great. I've topped the winter paddocks three times this year so the grass is good and thick for the winter. Not too much rain this year please!
 
Ours are good too. They are getting a bit of mud in places, but are generally boggy fields. We have sheep on to keep the grass short for my fatties, but the winter field is looking lush.

Pearlsasinger hope you're not too sore and hopping around ok.
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Well bring yours over to join mine if that happens!
I have one and a half fuzzies ;) on 4.5 acres, of which they have been using around 1.2 acres since early June!!
Cannot see me feeding hay till next easter at this rate, unless I bring tham back in to diet even harder.....
Click to expand...

Right, you're on!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top