How muddy are your fields and do you panic?

[Supertrooper]

Trying to stop friend worrying about state of the field as it's muddy and wet ATM but we've had a lot of rain. Horses are still going out 6-8hrs a day and aren't bothered at all and are still grazing happily.

Any pics of what your fields look like xx

 

[BBH]

It's not a surprise is it that fields get wet and muddy in winter as it happens every year.

The only problem is if the whole field is under water and mud but for most people it's around the gate and parts of fields but not the whole thing.

I never worry as they always dry up .

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

If they are grazing happily, then she has her answer

 

[Supertrooper]

I know that ;-) but my friend panics that our field is the muddiest and wettest but she does like to worry

 

[FayeFriesian]

Ive got 5 fields, ive shut 3 off and using 2. They only have 2 horses in as my other 2 are on box rest ( nearly lost foal so her & mum are in). Theyve turned the top field over, but bottom is coping well!

I went for a walk in the others the other day, and you can literally hear the water running through them!

They are seriously wet! But the rain weve had is mental - probably 50 days now without no rain!

 

[Marydoll]

Its winter, its wet, the fields churn up , it happens every year and as long as the field is rested, harrowed topped and rolled it should recover

 

[ExmoorHunter]

Trying to stop friend worrying about state of the field as it's muddy and wet ATM but we've had a lot of rain. Horses are still going out 6-8hrs a day and aren't bothered at all and are still grazing happily.

Any pics of what your fields look like xx

Sorry no pics but one of mine is looking a bit poor. They are in two adjoining fields and the nearest one will need some work in the spring. They tend to gallop down this one to the gate so plough it on the way down! The gateway is rather muddy too.

Very wet but it can all be sorted out when the weather dries up and we change fields. Mine are out about the same time as yours and are very happy to be out and like getting muddy! Don't worry about it as long as horses are happy!

I am lucky that I've only got 3 horses on 10 acres. I can only imagine the state of the fields with more horses.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

Our fields are out of bounds, as so wet, and YO don't want them trashed, but we do have all weather turnout so are better off than some.
There are 5 ponies near where I live who are knee deep in mud on a small field no more than 1.5 acres, this week I noticed they were coming in for nights... The fields near us are all muddy but they do recover come spring.

 

[HaffiesRock]

Mine arent too bad after reading about other with lakes in them! This picture is from yesterday, my gateway and the corner where the gate is is muddy, but its only ankle deep. The top of the first paddock and the rest of the second paddock are fine. I closed off the furthest, largest paddock to protect it. There is actually grass growing through the mud in the closed paddock!

They live out 24/7 and I tend to feed the hay down at the bottom to prevent the top getting trashed too.

 

[Auslander]

My motto is "Don't worry about what you can't change". My fields aren't too bad, apart from the small one I trashed by chucking feed and hay over the fence for the others while Spike was ill. i feed them (usually) on the driest bits, and tape them off the gateway - then move them every couple of weeks. They always come back ok. My top tip is to make sure you don't leave trashed winter fields empty once they ground dries up. I put mine back on the trashed ones once they're firmish, and let them tamp the ruts down before I rest the field.

 

[Polos Mum]

We've a lot of standing water but actually not too much mud as it doesn't seem to be being ploughed in yet.
Ponies are getting bored of it now though and doing lots of racing around - I had to bath my grey when I got them in this evening - you genuinely couldn't tell he wasn't bay!

I;ve seen some truely trashed fields (knee deep liquid mud all over) recover in the spring with just some basic rolling and a bit of seed thrown around by hand in the gateways/ by water troughs. Grass is very resilient, do a search on here, there was a lady with fields last year that really did look like they had been ploughed. That seemed to recover OK.

 

[cob&onion]

By the gate-way (the taped one) the mud is half way up the horse's legs between the hoof and the knee :/ its real welly loosing territory! furthur along and back they go its not too bad. I have 2 horses on 3 acres. The top of the field has been fenced off for building and even though there is nothing on there it has standing water.
This is my 5th winter there now, and it does come back every year with the exception of last years long snowy winter it never really recovered grass wise. This year i plan to turn them on the building plot (no work started yet! and if its still clear!) which is around 2 3rds of an acre so i can harrow, roll and re-seed it.
The piccie of the mud above looks nothing like my mud bath!

 

[TheresaW]

This was my field last weekend. The field is massive (I have no idea of acreage), and there is plenty of grass when they get out of the mud. Was taking a photo of the boys though, so didn't do a long shot.

This is the worst I have ever seen the fields, and we are now restricted to around four hours a day. They have been bad other years, not this bad admittedly, but have always recovered. We are in Essex which is clay.

 

[siennamum]

My fields are awful, worse than they have ever been. I hate Spring grass though and in the Summer we usually have issues with keeping the weight off the horses so not too bothered. I would rather have trashed fields with horses getting turnout than nice green fields with horses in stables 24/7. In an ideal world I'd have 100 acres for 10 horses and neither of the above scenarios.

 

[tony2]

Most of our fields are doing ok. I have 10 mini shetty mare on 4.5 acres & it is looking great just a bit of mud round the gate & hay feeder. 3 shetty fillies on 1 acre again not to bad. But I then have 2 gypsy cobs & 3 mini shetties on 3.5 acres and they are turning it to mush. Im sure they gallop round the field just to upset me. Lol

 

[Pamfyson]

I have 2 winter turnout paddocks, I keep them especially for this purpose and each year they get trashed and every summer they recover. No dramas.

 

[Bennions Field]

Thankfully i took mine off half the field in early november, its looking lovely right now, you can feel how saturated the ground is but its fine with nothing on it. The other 2 acres is another story. Its trashed beyond recognition, its got standing water on top of churned up mud (clay soil). Hopefully it will eventually get overseaded and harrowed etc, its just awful putting them out in it. I had got stoned ares around the gateways, these are under 4-5" of liquid mud, and the stone is being churned up into it, so looks like its going to need redoing this summer. Think im going to have to keep them in every other day now or its going to get too deep in mud to safely turnout, roll on summer !!!!

 

[tinap]

Ours are wet but not too muddy except for the gateways which are absolute quagmires horses aren't too bothered & they're only winter paddocks but I do wonder how they'll recover & I am very sick of seeing mud now!

 

[DW Team]

The fields that I have are up a small rise and every step you take is water rising over foot. The track I have go up to get there is a bog with lake at the bottom. The track is now so bad I have made the decision to keep mine in for the time being. I hate not being able to get them out but it is cutting up so badly and they just stand by the gate in hock high mud and water.

 

[AmieeT]

We're really lucky as we're on the top of a hill in south Gloucestershire- most of the rain just runs away from us. There is a few livery yards down in the village that have completely flooded out!

The biggest worry i had was getting my boot stuck. Only thing to grab a hold of was the electric fencing!

Consider myself lucky in the scheme of things though x

 

[Janee]

Very!! They are currently on winter turnout, which is at the top of the hillside with a track fenced across the rest of the grazing leading to a "gate" into the turnout area. The track has had running water on it most of the time since November. The gated area was trashed by some of the other horses who insisted on standing there most of the day in late Autumn, these horses are now kept in 24/7 so only ours are being turned out. The grazing is holding up, and I think I have almost trained them not to stand in the bog waiting to come in, but the wait higher up the hill where it is drier.
Plan for today is to make a sneaky entrance at the side of the trashed gated area so they don't have to go through the bog, and open a gate which we haven't used before because we have to bring them out onto the road that way.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Mine are amazing, hardly any mud so far. Last year they were trashed/under 3 feet of snow. I have 4 out 24/7. They recovered last year. No point worrying about it.

 

[Foxy O]

My winter field is water logged at the moment and very churned up. When I turned them out within 30 minutes they were at the gate again wanting to come in, so they are both in 24/7 for a couple of weeks. We are doing some fencing work as well so we will see once that is completed if they want to stay out again. I can see patches of spring grass growing through the drier areas already though

 

[Cortez]

Mine are fine, because I don't turn out in pasture when it is very wet (i.e. most of December/Jan/Feb). Horses are either exercised AND worked or turned out in the arena for most of the day. Farmers house their cattle over winter for the same reasons I have my horses in; to save the land, feed appropriately and prevent conditions such as mud fever. It's awful to see horses standing about in seas of muck, just can't see the point of subjecting them (or the land) to that when a proper exercise program would be so much more beneficial. But then that would be hard work for the owners, wouldn't it.

 

[Hippona]

I have 2 winter turnout paddocks, I keep them especially for this purpose and each year they get trashed and every summer they recover. No dramas.

Ditto.
My tiny trash paddock is utterly trashed....other paddocks are lovely but very wet,horses will go back in them in March hopefully.
Trash paddock will be knee high again by July.

 

[pottamus]

Yep mine is trashed and OH is making comments about the state of it...but it will be more of a problem in the spring and summer when it is knee high in grass and I have a previous laminitic! I have seen my old field literally ploughed when my horse was fence walking to extreme...mid welly mud in a huge area. I chucked some grass seed down and harrowed and it was back to long grass by the following winter.
So whilst I do not like it at the time, I do not worry as grass is very good at growing back.

 

[windand rain]

Mine are fine, because I don't turn out in pasture when it is very wet (i.e. most of December/Jan/Feb). Horses are either exercised AND worked or turned out in the arena for most of the day. Farmers house their cattle over winter for the same reasons I have my horses in; to save the land, feed appropriately and prevent conditions such as mud fever. It's awful to see horses standing about in seas of muck, just can't see the point of subjecting them (or the land) to that when a proper exercise program would be so much more beneficial. But then that would be hard work for the owners, wouldn't it.

Not as easy as keeping them in 24/7 get sick of people saying it is lazy and cheap for horses to live out 24/7 done properly it is much harder work and as expensive if not more so than them living in and I for one wouldnt keep my horses in for a minute longer than absolutely necessary It takes about two minutes to skip out a stable and less than 10 to muck out and it means you are not usually pushing a barrow through mud and wet ground. Mine are poo picked every day regardless of the weather are fed and watered and hayed the same as if they were in and the only small saving would be bedding but then again the time and effort of keeping the out is far greater so I think they would be comparable. Oh and they are ridden every day too
My fields are wet but not muddy we have sand over rock so the sandy area collects water but it takes time to soak through the rock