How are your fields?

[poiuytrewq]

After managing to keep them out last winter, well out as in summer routine, out over night and in for a chunk of day I think I’m going to have to leave them from tonight
My field is soaked and looking trashed, not helped by my horses not getting along and the fact darling Ziggy has entered winter phase and started being really unsettled. This year apparently fence walking/cantering/bucking is the in thing

I’d over grazed it anyway after Mr P decided to get nitrogen spread on my other field so I had to use the current one too long.
So little grass, way too much rain and horses who hate each other really hasn’t gone well

How are yours looking? I feel like it’s way too early for this!

 

[Michen]

Not much grass left thankfully but dry and dusty in Colorado! They will soon be snow covered. The ground is such here that when it does rain it gets very slick, but also dries quick.

 

[catembi]

My clay fields have gone from concrete to mush and mine have been restricted to the hard standing for the last few days. I was hoping it would dry out so I could turn them out for a bit longer. Surely this can’t be it til spring!

 

[Bellaboo18]

Worse than this time last year so not a great start to the winter!
It's just my gateway that's muddy so far but it's still September. I've fenced half the field off which I'm saving till spring, I can't risk it taking as long as this year to bounce back.
This is only our second full winter here so still getting to know the land but hoping I've planned it better this year.
My mare has also gone in to winter phase and seems a little less happy, not fencing walking but almost field walking, looking a bit fed up.
I'm refusing to let it stress me out this year, we can only do so much and It got to me last year. I'm not sure how long that mentality will last for though!

 

[Bobthecob15]

Terrible, clay so they are already waterlogged. Horses have been in the last 24hrs and not going to be out much the coming days with the amber rain warning we have tonight! This is kind of normal for us though, they go on the walker/turnout pen or school twice a day over winter, they all cope surprisingly well with it. Hopefully we will have a few dry days next week so they can go back out....

 

[SEL]

My fields have had about 150mm of rain since Sunday night

I was really hoping to leave the horses on there until December but I'm not sure the ground will take it now, especially as we've got another amber warning tonight.

Fortunately I am strip grazing through standing hay so the long grass is protecting the field for about 75% of it. Their shelter flash flooded though so they are extremely grumpy.

All the fields north of me are in Bucks housing allocation. I swear if they tarmac over that lot then my fields will be a write off because the water is going to flow down at a much faster pace than it does at the moment.

 

[AdorableAlice]

60mm forecast for middle England overnight, but it's going rather black now. I fear it is going to be a winter of extreme wet again. We are a month earlier starting the wet than last year when Storm Babbett hit us in last October and it did not stop raining for the following 7 months.

I just try to let them graze for short parts of the day and in overnight plus work them as much as possible., in the vain hope of being able to graze for longer into the autumn/early winter. It has taken months and much work to mend all the damage from last winter, it would be foolish to rinse and repeat the damage this time round.

 

[vam]

Holding on by the skin of their teeth. I track round the edge and its ok for the most part but I do have some standing water at the lowest part of the field. I'm putting off moving her to the middle as long as possible as it needs to last but I think its going to happen soon.
I have mud mats in the gateway that has really helped but the track leading to my field is the biggest issue, it gets over ankle deep and the yard owner said they would sort it this year, it needs the mud scraping off but so far it not been done and its starting to get muddy and i cant do another one walking through it.

 

[saddlesore]

Still rolling in grass!

 

[dorsetladette]

Like an ice rink! But I'm not going to moan to much as I know a lot of you have it much worse than us at the moment.

The rain has been something else this last few days!

 

[sport horse]

Mine have not been out this week and the old pensioners have all come in. My youngsters are still out but they have 17 acres between 4 of them! Hoping that by preserving the fields now we will get a drier spell and they can all go out again.

 

[WrongLeg]

My fields have had about 150mm of rain since Sunday night

I was really hoping to leave the horses on there until December but I'm not sure the ground will take it now, especially as we've got another amber warning tonight.

Fortunately I am strip grazing through standing hay so the long grass is protecting the field for about 75% of it. Their shelter flash flooded though so they are extremely grumpy.

All the fields north of me are in Bucks housing allocation. I swear if they tarmac over that lot then my fields will be a write off because the water is going to flow down at a much faster pace than it does at the moment.

Any housing/ development will have to mitigate and compensate for runoff into your fields as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, which is must be submitted with the application for Planning Permission in Principle.

I would check this: it’s reasonable grounds for objection/ can be made part of the planning conditions.

 

[Boughtabay]

Mine live on a bog in the summer when it’s “dry” hasn’t been much of that!! but it’s finally back at true bog status & also run out of grass … problem is every other field has too much! They’ve been moved to the “worst” field now but I’m expecting a pair of porkers when we get back from honeymoon then they’ll be in at night and worked again hoping they don’t make too much mess while we’re gone or FIL might kick them out

 

[Peglo]

2 horses have just gone onto the summer field. Lots of grass in there. The winter field is wetter than I’d like. I think they will be coming in overnight earlier this year than last.

 

[meleeka]

Mine is ok so far. Puddles in places, but no mud yet. I'd already decided they would come into the yard if it gets muddy, but was banking on November, not September

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Muddy clay…brought girls in this morning and I think I’m starting winter routine from tonight..out in day in at night…the youngster won’t like it..but oldie will!

 

[tda]

Bottom paddock bald
Top paddock, track bald, middle quite thick, should strip graze for a couple of weeks then that will be all gone

 

[SEL]

Any housing/ development will have to mitigate and compensate for runoff into your fields as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, which is must be submitted with the application for Planning Permission in Principle.

I would check this: it’s reasonable grounds for objection/ can be made part of the planning conditions.

Oh we've had that with all the housing developments. The EIA is nonsense and the councils don't have the budgets to bring in their own specialists.

The developers build great big reservoirs which are not up the the job (even ignoring this week's unprecedented rainfall) so housing and fields further down take the brunt and no one takes responsibility.

They built houses on a field known to be part of the flood plain 2 years ago. The developer protected the new houses, but now everything else in the village struggles and there is no come back.

 

[WrongLeg]

In

Oh we've had that with all the housing developments. The EIA is nonsense and the councils don't have the budgets to bring in their own specialists.

The developers build great big reservoirs which are not up the the job (even ignoring this week's unprecedented rainfall) so housing and fields further down take the brunt and no one takes responsibility.

They built houses on a field known to be part of the flood plain 2 years ago. The developer protected the new houses, but now everything else in the village struggles and there is no come back.

 

[WrongLeg]

I’m aware from friends who work in England that the planning system is corrupt, and not all councils are made equal…

 

[Barton Bounty]

Mine are bone dry still but maybe not after this weekend

 

[SantaVera]

Lots of grass but soggy

 

[Hackback]

We're on sand so not muddy yet but the grass looks very tired and the horses are not impressed by the rain and wind and have been galloping about, cutting everything up. So they've come in early today and I'm contemplating putting them into the winter paddock tomorrow. It won't take them long to eat up in there and then I'll have to put hay out. I was hoping for another month too, but want the summer paddocks to be ok for next year. Have I left it too late to put seed in the trashed gateways and fence lines I wonder.

 

[southerncomfort]

Mine are in tonight as the track is turning slick with mud.

I think I'm going to abandon it and start strip grazing the winter paddock tomorrow.

 

[JoannaC]

My gelding has been in at night since the weekend, was hoping to leave them out tonight but then saw the forecast had changed grr! The mares have their stables open and hay in there but can go out to the small paddock if they wish. I'm trying not to put them on the winter grazing yet as it hasn't grown much as they stayed on it longer than usual due to how wet the Spring was.

 

[Gloi]

Yesterday it was fairly dry for a few hours and pony had rolled in a wet clay patch which had set on his back like pottery that I could rap my knuckles on. Today it has peed down hard all day and everywhere is horribly wet. I don't think it will be long before they are off the fields and onto sand padlock turnout unless things pick up.

 

[Burnttoast]

Being on gravel/sand in Norfolk I'm just thrilled to get some rain today/tomorrow and hoping for some more next week or we won't get an autumn flush of any description!

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

We are on sand so don't really get much by the way of mud other than a bit in the gateway that doesn't get that deep, but we switched onto winter routine (in at night) 1.5 weeks ago now when this downpour was showing it was going to start. It felt early at the time but I know the YM just has to do her best, it is galling that it's only Sept though! We have 10 horses/ponies on between 10-14 acres I'm not 100% sure so do have to manage it. Grass is fine and horses are fine.

 

[EventingMum]

Remarkably fine considering I live in one of the wettest places in Scotland. Although we haven't had a great summer the last month or so hasn't had continual rain and there have been dry days between the wet spells so the fields haven't done so badly. However, I have have no illusions that this will last for long, we are low lying and on clay so the mud will be here sooner rather than later but I'm enjoying it while it lasts and the horses are still out overnight.

 

[LouisCat]

Under water