Need advice about winter field and fatties ?

[Anna2015]

I have an 8 acres field I have left grow since it was baled in July. It's now probably a foot in length. I was going to use this as a winter field but I have a a couple of fatties and some one told me I should have them on a small bare patch through winter...

I was led to believe wintering horses out helps them loose weight? So can they go into the 8 acres for winter ? Or do they still need a small bare patch which in a week would be a bog when winter hits ?

They will be out 24/7 and either naked or in a rain sheet?

 

[DD]

depends on the breed and coat and what shelter is available re rugging. a cold horse will use more calories to keep warm. you could put the horses in the field in December and January as the grass will have lost much of its feed value mid winter.

 

[Pinkvboots]

depends on the breed and coat and what shelter is available re rugging. a cold horse will use more calories to keep warm. you could put the horses in the field in December and January as the grass will have lost much of its feed value mid winter.

I agree with this I tape half of my field off about now and let them on it in December although it was still 14 degrees here last December so was looking very green and lush, but it still won't be as rich as it is now I would just see how they go if they start to put on loads of weight you could split it.

 

[Anna2015]

Breeds one TB who gets rugged well and stabled when bad. The rest are natives good wooly coats. The whole field is surrounded by over hanging trees and hedging so that's used for shelter.

So put them in there December?

 

[Mince Pie]

Essentially when the weather turns cold the grass will lose a lot of it's nutritional value, it is essentially hay so shouldn't put loads of weight on the fatties. If it does you can always give them a bib clip

 

[Janovich]

My native and his field buddies have had half of the field (around 6 acres or so) all summer to graze on (started off quite restricted to begin with for obvious reasons), divided up by the usual electric tape set up. It's only these past 3 weeks or so, we've been giving them a little more by moving the tape over, giving them more of the 6 acre field as the weeks have gone by. It's working well so far and there's loads of 'foggage' to keep them happy enough (and it also saves on using haylage/hay at night in their respective nets, as they're filling up out in the field). Everyone's happy so far!...and there's a lot of field to go at yet. By December/January time they will have the whole of the field back as their winter playground.

 

[SuperH]

My two fatties have a 2-3acre winter field. They will be moving on in the next couple of weeks when the apples in their summer field start falling. They only start with a little patch by the gate and I gradually move the fence out until they have the full length of the field, usually by January. I will then start pulling it back again as the grass starts to grow. We are on heavy clay so I have to juggle giving them enough not to churn it up with not giving them too much grass. Mine are only out during the day, the field is too wet to sustain 24 hour turnout. Mine love the long poorer quality grass (their winter field is grazed by cattle right up to the day they go on it so they have it pretty short from day one).

Is starting with less and gradually giving more as the winter goes on an option for you?

 

[Birker2020]

My two fatties have a 2-3acre winter field. They will be moving on in the next couple of weeks when the apples in their summer field start falling. They only start with a little patch by the gate and I gradually move the fence out until they have the full length of the field, usually by January. I will then start pulling it back again as the grass starts to grow. We are on heavy clay so I have to juggle giving them enough not to churn it up with not giving them too much grass. Mine are only out during the day, the field is too wet to sustain 24 hour turnout. Mine love the long poorer quality grass (their winter field is grazed by cattle right up to the day they go on it so they have it pretty short from day one).

Is starting with less and gradually giving more as the winter goes on an option for you?

Blimey I am sure you must be a mind reader, I was lying in bed last night (as you do) worrying about how I can make my winter paddock at my new yard last over winter/summer and was thinking exactly the same thing!!!!

I will be given a long paddock I'm guessing about 70m + by 25m and I am wondering how to go about maintaining it, planning to have the horse out in winter from 8-12 and summer overnight. I reckon that by sectioning it off it will work better, plus the fact its ex dairy grazing and very rich, my horse had upteen colics on it over the years I was last there but the last three or four years hardly had any so did get accustomed to it in the end.

I reckon starting with less is better. The long range forecast for the Midlands at least is as follows:

October: Warm and changeable until early October, then dry, with variable amounts of cloud, but some regions notably sunny. Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and perhaps also Southeast England are forecast to be wetter than average, with other regions nearer to normal.

November: a fairly blocked month is on the cards, with rainfall amounts seeing a west to east split - wettest, and wetter than average in the west. Temperatures are currently forecast to be close to, or milder than the seasonal norm.

 

[Dry Rot]

My Highlands are strip grazing fairly lush once grazed grass behind an electric fence which is easy for me to do because most of my fencing is mains electric. They also have ad lib access to a bale of hay. I just adjust feeding according to condition and judge that by a quick feel for ribs. Just now I have to dig deep but they are fattening up for winter so no worries.