How to manage grass going in to winter

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kat2290

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I have a 1 acre field for my two yearling Shetlands. At present it is split in two halves and has been for about 2 months, Shetlands are on one side while the other side is resting. Shetlands are looking very well, a little too well probably but I'm not too concerned as they are still young and growing and I know the winter is probably going to be tough. Over the last week or so the side which the Shetlands are on has changed quite dramatically, the grass is very very short and it is generally looking over grazed, it is more of a brown colour now due to seeing more earth than grass. I don't really want to take it in to winter in its current state as it will just be totally bare :(

The grass on the other half is doing well and is lovely and lush, far too lush to put the ponios on! So I feel I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, I want the bare side to have a chance to grow which means taking the ponies off but I don't want them to gorge themselves on the lush stuff and risk laminitis.

I have a couple of options...

Option A.
Leave the ponies where they are and allow one half of field to become totally bare. Swap them over on to lush side at some point during winter.

Option B.
Section off a smaller part of the bare side, keep ponies on there for a while and supplement with hay. Open up once grass has recovered slightly.

Option C.
Make postage stamp sized area on lush side (or could do a half and half area), keep ponies in there while bare side recovers. Put back on to bare side when it looks better.

I'm not sure which is the best way to go and I'm going round in circles in my head. I'm hoping to have a stable built come winter so in theory that should take some of the pressure off as I know they can be kept in at night if need be but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch!

Ideas gratefully received :D
 
I would subdivide what you have on your bare side and then go for your option C. You can then let half of that bare side recover a bit more before you need to move them again.
 
Keep the rested half for winter and strip graze it. Spilt the used half in half and alternate the two quarters it so that it gets rested then used then rested etc.
 
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i think i would allow them to very slowly, very carefully strip graze a small portion of the lush bit down, and at the same time fence off an area of the bare bit to recover...so as you move the strip graze fence OUT, you move the other fence IN behind them to allow more and more land to recover?

they wont need all the lush bit between now and winter, so you should end up with a really nice long lush area, a moderately well covered area (and you can open those 2 up together for winter) and a bare area that you can keep fenced off to allow it to recover?

TBH my winter paddocks are like jungles, you could lose a 13.2hh in there! we will use the 2 TB's to graze them off a bit before fatty Bruce and my livery (had lammi previously) use them. Its waist high in places!
 
Strip graze it - that's what I would do. Extend the overgrazed part a little strip every day/week/whatever into the rested bit - that way they won't trample and poo all over the new grass, and they will fertilise the bare bit for you :)
 
My worry with giving them a foot or so of the lush stuff each week or so is that they would eat in right down very quickly and then by the end ill be left with a whole field that is pretty bare. I don't have enough fencing or a powerful enough energiser to have a second fence to follow them with. With the fencing I've got I would effectively be opening the field up to them a bit more each week so by the end the whole field will be open. But I do have enough fencing to square off a little corner where I can use the existing wooden fence as two sides.
 
Once again... I have the same issue with my two!!

I am going to start letting mine in the lush stuff for an hour or so a day so they eat it down and when I feel happy with it I'll put then on the nicer paddock and rest the bare one.

I'm sure it would have been easier to get normal ponies haha!
 
If you can't strip graze how about putting them on the lush side for 3/4 hours a day? the bare side will get some rest - as when you put them back they'll be full and sleep for a few hours
 
This sounds similar to the situation I have. I have a starvation paddock that the mini lives in (had lami before). My 'look at grass and I get fat' mare stays on here with him but is supplemented with hay. She gets let through into one half of the big field for a maximum of 3 hours ever evening after I have ridden. The other (ungrazed) half will be left through the winter then is cut for hay in the spring. The farmer takes it in return for cutting, spraying and moving my muck heap !
 
Aww muckypony!! Everytime I have an issue I think to myself 'I wonder if she is having the same problem' :D

I *think* I've worked out a plan! If I'm crafty with my electric fencing I should be able to gradually create a little area for them with which will be half lush grass and half bare. I'm going to move the fence a little each day so they can eat the grass down first before I create the little paddock and hopefully they will be able to stay there for a week to let the rest of the bare half grow a bit.

That's the theory anyway, Im predicting I end up in a heap on the floor with masses of tangled fencing flapping around me!!
 
Every year, I start off with my ponies going onto around an acre of winter grazing ( knee high ) for 20 mins a day while I do jobs; From end Oct ( or when is becomes too wet ) for about 2 months I extend the time they go on; They should have eaten it down enough by now that they can go on it overnight, then in during the day. As soon as the weather gets below 5 degrees they stay out 24/7. I have 4.5 acres and I extend the paddock by about half an acre a time. ( Lots of fencing!; ) It is not that expensive to buy from Farmcare.
 
Haha I think we may aswell be! We go through exactly the same problems at exactly the same time...maybe we were separated at birth?!!
 
I was in this position a few years back. As others have said, if you can strip graze do it... really saved my field, and I had no bouts of lammi when it came to spring- result!!
 
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