If this was your field WWYD?

[WelshD]

My ponies are currently grazing this paddock. Last year I pushed them back to half of this fenced off with tape




BUT I could do with using this field really as this has a pony proof boundary which my smaller livestock dont respect so its largely unused - this field would give me more room overall.



I have LOADS of electric fencing so was thinking of making a paddock paradise set up in the second field

The trouble is do I have it topped (but lots of fresh sweet shoots) I'm guessing its much too risk to leave at its present length though. Apart from a few months over winter this hasnt been grazed in 4 years.

Or do I leave them where they are and use tape to make it smaller when needed?

 

[Kallibear]

Could you get something else in to eat it for a week or so? Cattle or better still, sheep?

Unless they're laminitic, they should be fine strip grazing it in small sections.

 

[Clodagh]

Tall grass is generally lower in sugar than short grass. I would set up a track that isn't too wide and do it that way I think.

 

[WelshD]

Unfortunately if I put my small flock of sheep on this they would be in the next county by tea time the outer fencing is decent but Shetland sheep dont really understand the concept of staying put and their lambs are just days old so teeny tiny and even more likely to escape

I had the ponies on the larger field for a short while and so some of it already has an 8ft wide track set up so thats a start, its just the green-ness of that long grass thats freaking me out! up close its actually very patchy and lots of it is very coarse

 

[LynH]

I have exactly the same problem. I'm having my carefully managed fields sprayed next week so I have to move my 3 horses from their short gazed field to my next door neighbours 3-4 acre field which has been rested since Feb and has a lot of good long grass.
I've started with one hour out on it yesterday, 4 hours on it today in muzzles and will gradually increase with muzzles on until they have to go on it full time (dependent on when farmer comes to spray my fields.). None of my horses have had laminitis but two are big built, ID and Highland, and need their food intake managed. I'm thinking of strip grazing as that worked best with my paddocks last year. Normally I keep them on a pretty bare paddock and move them into the new paddock a metre at a time until I can close the used paddock gate behind them. Unfortunately they have to move completely onto the new field so will need to give them a largish area to start with.
I'm hoping muzzles and strip grazing will suffice but I do feel quite nervous about it.

 

[becca1305]

If you can manage for longer I'd be tempted to leave the other paddock and ask a farmer to hay/ haylage make off it to be honest if you have a local friendly one who doesn't mind getting paid to do it when he does his etc- if its worth doing that is, I don't know how many acres your field has? Our local farmer makes our own haylage off one of our 5 acre fields, its SO much cheaper than buying. We had 94 big square bales off it and even feeding to initially 3 then 4 horses over winter I've still got 47 big square bales left now so I'm actually selling half of those . It has made a huge difference to our costs of keeping them in winter. Then you could use it later in the year but obviously that might not suit what you need to do now/ the amount of land you have etc, was just a thought .

 

[indie999]

If they are not laminitic and you want to use the longer grass just section off an area and let them strip graze. I wouldnt top to get rid of the long grass now as has been said its less sugar than shorter grass.

Or as suggested cut for hay(although you may lose the lot if the weather goes against us, most farmers will do their own hay first). But if it works could be cost effective.

Lucky you to have so much to choose from!

 

[magicmoose]

I would set up the paddock paradise track around the outside and keep the middle for foggage strip grazing.

I had this setup in my previous field and we didn't have to feed any hay at all some winters.

 

[WelshD]

Thank you all. I did use part of this as standing forrage last winter and it did work really well especially with all the mud in the other half! i would love to get a cut of hay/lage off it but the access and the access road is too akward for the machinery apparently

Its three acres in total, there are two paddocks like the first one and the rest is as I say largely not used

 

[Polos Mum]

I'd strip graze and see how they go, weight tape every week to keep a close eye and record.

Standing forrage also a great idea but with 3 acres you could easily do both

 

[Honey08]

Personally I would leave them in their current paddock for another two or three weeks, get it cut and baled - either to keep or sell - then do your track system.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Am not sure what acreage you're talking about??

The problem with cutting it for hay, as suggested, is that you'll have to rely on a local farmer to do it for you, and TBH it won't be economic - most farmers would not want to be doing it anyway as really anything under 10 acres will start to cost them (and/or YOU!!) in terms of time, fuel, and payment for contractors. It will have to be cut, then laid out to dry, then turned, THEN baled, etc etc., so would be very expensive in terms of attention needed and time/equipment which will need to be paid for. We thought about doing it for our 10 acre field last year, but it simply wouldn't have been economic to do so as we'd have had to hire in contracted labour for it.

So whilst it might sound a good idea, it will probably not be feasible.

Yes you COULD graze it with sheep, but your problem here (sorry!!) is that it is quite high - and sheep don't actually like grass if its too high, they find it harder to eat and so may look for alternative routes out of the field!!! Cattle.......?? well, the problem with cattle, as any farmer will tell you, is that if you're wanting to restrict them to one section of the field, this can be problematic, you'll need a good reliable at least 12v electric fencer/energiser or else they won't respect it, plus a good supply of water readily available, and very strong/substantial fencing to boot. The sort of temp fencing you might put up for horses, just won't cut it with cattle, OR sheep in fact, you'd need to put up a fence which they wouldn't be able to go through, and your best way, if going to do that, would be to approach a local farmer who has sheep and might appreciate grazing off your field for you (then let THEM put the fence up!!!). Sheep are a blessed nuisance to fence for, believe me! But VERY useful for improving grazing!

But your best bet might be to just strip-feed it for now, and use it for standing fodder. As its long grass they shouldn't gobble it down quite so fast, and being longer it won't be so sweet as shorter grass, so less attractive from the guzzle-down-quick factor.