Mushrooms and blackberries in paddock

HaffiesRock

HaffiesRock

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Good morning all, apologies in advance for the numpty questions. I have always been on a livery yard where field maintenance was included.

Someone on my yard has just left so I am now able to extend my field backwards and double the size. Fabulous news as my field is quite small and has no grass. We are on a private yard and its the kind of place where you pay for your field and get on with it. I spent ages when I first moved onto the yard getting my field ready to be grazed as it looked like it had never been poo picked, EVER and was covered in ragwort.

Anyway, I temporarily fenced off the extra field last night (someone has chucked their horses into the field, which is very large, as a stop gap apparently, and I don't want to lose my bit!)

It was full of ragwort which I knew already so I spent yesterday pulling all of that. It is now ragwort free. While I was doing it I noticed a small amount of mushrooms growing in the grass. Are these safe for horses? Will they ignore them? Or am I safer digging them out?

Also, the hedge row has a lot of blackberry bushes in it. Should I fence these off or are they safe for horses/horses ignore them? They are very sharp and thorny and I would hate for my pony to scratch himself or worse still his eyes.

And finally a moan. Why are people so lazy?! Half of the hedgerow in the new field is a muck heap. Lazy woman who had the field before has chucked all the muck into a massive pile along the hedge. It looks horrible and I just cant see the point of piling up at the side of the field! The muck heap is 30 seconds away! There is too much to move so I''l have to ignore it for this year.

Anyway, hoping to put up the electric fence today and after a last check around the grazing, open it up so he can have some grass and more space.

Thanks all
 
I have never know any of mine to eat mushrooms and they love blackberries so let them have access to the hedge, it is good for them to be able to browse and nibble at hedgerows as long as there are no harmful plants growing, yes they get the odd scratch but they are not stupid and will not do any real damage, in my view the benefits far outweigh any possible harm, it is also a good natural shelter.
As for the manure in the hedge it will rot down and soon be gone.
 
Field Mushrooms are no problem it's a great year for mushrooms we can't eat all that coming on our fields ( helpful advice don't eat them yourself unless you are confident they are field mushrooms not something esle)
Browsing in hedges is good for horses I would let them get on with it as long as you have checked it for poisonous plants .
 
Yum! If they are field mushrooms they are no worry to horses and being a fungi you won't get rid of them due to the micro spores. I would be picking them early in the morning and cooking them up - delicious !
Blackberries the same, I wouldn't worry at all and again cooking with some Bramley apples!
 
Goldenstar said:
Field Mushrooms are no problem it's a great year for mushrooms we can't eat all that coming on our fields ( helpful advice don't eat them yourself unless you are confident they are field mushrooms not something esle)
Browsing in hedges is good for horses I would let them get on with it as long as you have checked it for poisonous plants .
Click to expand...

Off on a slight tangent but we have loads of mushrooms in our field this year. I'm 99% certain they're field mushrooms. They certainly look like them and some are the size of dinner plates! Is there a way to be certain? I've tried to find someone locally who would be able to confirm one way or the other but have failed so far.
 
They tend to leave mushrooms alone. They also tend to leave brambles alone during the growing season, but will strip them right back, leaves and all in the autumn/winter! I get rid of the small patches and try to contain the spreading because they grow super fast, but like the natural browsing it gives them in the winter months from the bigger patches. It's amazing how far they climb in so make sure there is a secure fence outside the bramble patch. I've never noticed any damage from them either.
 
The only thing mine do with the mushrooms is stand on them before I get a chance to pick them.:( They love blackberries and my old mare walks along the hedges picking them off herself, my cob isn't so clever and he waits until I pick some for him.:)
 
Are they small beige coloured mushrooms? We have ten foot high brambles in places, never had any injuries from them and both of mine eat twigs up to a centimetre thick shoving their faces in to get the leaves! Mine don't seem to actually eat the berries which is great as I love them! I also tend to pile the manure around the brambles so I can get some good berries and grow the hedges for shelter, maybe that's what she's done? I don't have a heap though other than ones I decide to make... And I do poo pick and dig ragwort :-)

It's kind of easier to spread the manure into smaller heaps at the sides as they tend to break down by the next year, I'd rather fertilise my hedges than pay someone to take it away :-)
 
Even my severely sugar intolerant mare was fine eating blackberries, I used to love watching her curl her lips right back to pick the berries with her teeth. We have several kinds of mushrooms too, which the horses just ignore. I'm never sure which ones are fit for human consumption, so continue to buy mine at the supermarket.
As for the muck at the bottom of the hedgerow; definitely leave it there, the rain will wash all the nutrients back into the ground and the hedge and your grass will benefit from that.
 
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