Managing during winter

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shadowboy

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A few questions- we have just under 3 acres and two ponies. No access to stabling unless emergency (next door neighbour has two boxes if we are desperate) Currently we are strip grazing at a rate of half an acre avery two weeks. We have been living here for 6 weeks and have used just under 1 and a half acres. Over winter do I continue at this rate? or increase/reduce. The first half acre we grazed has recovered nicely, and is probably ready graze again but we dont want to have to touch it till christmas, and will continue moving down the field. The grass that has yet to be graxed is just under 2 foot high! so the field is well rested. How would you manage the land over winter?

Also- should I feed haylage or hay? I only have a 8 foot x 6 foot shed to store the horse' s bits and pieces so wont have room for many hay bales- but will be able to fit approx 10 haylage bales in. Do you think haylege is unsuitable for yearlings (one os 17 months the other 18 months)

Thanks folks.
 
I think you will need to feed hay 3 acres is not a lot to sustain 2 ponies for the whole winter.
mind you a lot will depend on how wet or poached your land becomes through the winter and how much your ponies run about and cut it up.
As long as you store it on pallets off the ground and fence it off haylege can be store outside though it is quite rich for native pony types.You could use electric fence to keep the ponies off.
I would also be wanting to shut off an area of 1 acre or so in feb/march to allow some grass to push on for first spring grazing.
Do you have a hardstanding area on which you can feed hay as this is also useful in saving the land from getting too cut up.
The first winter will show you how your land copes with your stock.
 
if you don't have much room to store hay then haylage in its wrapper seems like the more sensible idea. at least it can be stored outside. it should be fine for your little ones.

the grazing sounds ok to me - at least that way the field will get used evenly. maybe try to reduce the amount that you move the fencing by each time, and wait til it is well grazed off before you move them on. that way they will graze it thoroughly and your grazing should last thru the dark months until the grass starts growing again.
 
libh- thanks for your reply- I am however suprised that you feel 3 acres is not enough for 2 ponies! We used to own 5 acres and during winter would use the 3 arce larger paddock from clock change to clock change and this was always enough to see us through. However the difference was that the horses were not strip grazed- merely because we had a 2 acre paddock for summer so it didnt matter how much they cut up the land. But I wasnt sure if I was grazing my current field too fast/slow. At the rate we are moving through the field it will take three months to get from the first piece we have grazed down the field back to that first piece which I was hoping was enough time to allow it to regrow. This is what I was unsure about. But yes time will tell how the field hold out but I can only hope this winter is dry!!
 
I was thinking 3 acres with no hay .I have 8 acres with 4 horses which are stabled at night and I put hay out in the day for them in the winter even though they are stabled at night with plenty of hay.
I guess it really depends on how much rain we get and how much cutting up there is but I have found that if I put hay out it locates them and stops them running about and cutting up the fields.
Given the wet winters we have been having lately I find feeding hay seems to save the fields from too much damage.
I must admit that I have never needed to strip graze .
 
I have 3 1/2 acres with 2 horses and 1 small pony on it. It is strip grazed from roughly end march til end november. I usually run out of grass about end of november, and then I just turn them on one area of the field, roughly an acre, which just gets totally trashed through winter. They usually come in at nights from december until end feb.There is also a hard standing and shelter in the area I use so they can get out of the mud, as the field does get really poached.
Come March, they come off that bit, which I then harrow, roll and top throughout summer,and it usually makes an amazing come back.It does have more weeds(but mainly thistles that the horses eat and thistles don't seed if topped regularly) than the rest of the field, but why trash the whole amount when you only have a limited area?This has worked well for me for over 15 years.
I have old tractor tyres to put the hay in, and that also keeps the hay and mud in one area.
I usually shut my big, 2 acreish field down by end septmeber, and then strip graze the remaining area.The big field usually has enough grass end march to start strip grazing again, but I also have the remaining 1/2 acre if not.
Of course, this may not work if the quality of your grass is poor. Ours is old meadow, but I do try and look after it as well, so it productive most of the year.
Hope you made it to the end of this!!
grin.gif
 
Like you Spottyappy I always keep one field good for first spring grazing .My land is divided into 3 fields two of 3 acres and 1 of 2 acres .
I can rotate grazing until about Christmas then The one field is shut of until march time .The other two are used one for January then the other for february .
Like you as soon as I can I roll and harrow .Mine don't get trashed they are usually okish within a couple of weeks by April all fields are back up and running .I feed hay on hardstanding in the lea of the barn so the horses have shelter to stand and eat it.
Mine are stabled usually end of Oct to march/april.
I have done this for 27 years and it works for our land .
You will see how your land copes after a couple of winters
I couldn't cope without feeding hay in the fields to save the grass and to locate the horses and stop them running about
 
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