How much grass per horse?

[tremorfa]

We are moving Clyde and his two new horsey girlfriends into another field. They have been sharing a field with approx 1/4 acre each for a few weeks. The new field has been untouched for 5 months and was fertilised a couple of months ago. The grass looks fantastic! And here lies the probem. OH has fenced it off acrossways with three fields running down the fields. Each field is about 25 yards long and 30 yards wide. Is this enough for each of them? One of the horses is a Haflinger and lives on air. so she will probably OK. Clyde has only just had the maze removed so he can trot a bit. The new girl. Pride is a 16+ 20 year old TB. Are we doing the right thing by restricting grass this much? The idea is we will just move the across fencing down the field as they graze it.

 

[__Annie__]

i always wish i could see these scenarios

from what you've said i'd a/ think about laminitis, what with lots of lush fertilised grass b/ have they been recently used to lush grass c/ are they sharing the paddocks, if so do they all get on d/ shelter e/ are they the type to graze to the point of not stopping for breath

or are there run around types involved

i think strip grazing is a very good idea, help them maintain or lose weight whilst giving them something to look forward to

sorry, i'm a bit pants at this sort of thing

 

[Kristine]

Boyfriend's mum's just done paddock managment!
So
We are splitting up this paddock up(1.8 acre):

First of all we are going to fence the biggest circle we can get out of the field.

Then we are putting a smaller circle on the inside.

We are then dividing it all up into 8 wedges (like terry's chocolate oranges!)

Then we are going to put 8 alpacha's (sp) and a horse divided between 2 segments opposite eachother a rotate them weekly!

It's always good to be able to rest a section or 2 so that you can always make sure your horses are getting the best possible out of the grass.
This isn't always possible so the next best thing is stip grazing!

Try splitting your paddock in 4 so one bit is always at rest (if possible) and change which horse get's the new juicy grass

Hope this helps!

 

[darksecret99]

Always better to start the paddock small then expand as suits each horse than have problems with laminitis/ colic etc!

We do the same... start in a really small patch and gradually expand... then move the patches down the field so the grass can recover behind too....

All the horses seem happy with the system and its much easier to keep them the correct weight and avoid bullying etc too...

 

[tremorfa]

Thanks, guys. We are lucky because we have 3 fields of just over an acre each. So, I shall keep to what we've done and play it by ear!