Need Help with options...

B

Blackhawk

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Re my post about no grazing and the floods.

The water has receeded somewhat, leaving behind very sodden grass.

So I have to figure out what to do. The flood should receed soon, but I'm unsure what my grazing will be like in the short term for my two horses (we've got 5 acres, all of which flooded)

Note: the neighbor will only take one horse (very kindly)

Option 1) Move one horse to neighbors, move 2nd horse to livery yard.

Option 2) Move one horse to neighbors, leave one horse here and see what the weather/grazing is like in a week.

Option 3) Find new homes for both horses.

Option 4) Find a new home for one horse, keeping other horse at livery yard or neighbors.

Any advice would be greatly recieved, I'm in a bit of a faff over this and not relishing the thought of giving them up due to lack of grazing. I can't afford to put both on livery.
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Yes they'd be alone in my field but they have companions over the fence from them (who are in a lovely unflooded field!) who they can touch.

Loaning would be option four, but I can only loan one as the other is on loan to me and I could never part with him.
 
Hiya BH

Just caught up on your dilemma! Yikes, sounds nasty! Makes my tack room window being blown out and losing all the arena floodlights seem mnothing compared to your lakes!

Is there not another livery yard at the other side of L.O.O. by the sharp bend going down towards the toll bridge, and isn’t there another one near the railway line towards York?

If it were me, I'd pop one in livery nearby and then another next door......

JB xx
 
Oh dear!
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It's an awful winter this year, isn't it?!

Both of those yards aren't taking on liveries atm. It's been a nightmare trying to find a place that will take on new ones over the winter. The livery yard I'm thinking about is just off the ring road £28 per week for DIY plus YO will bring in, turn out rug and feed. I haven't be able to find anything grass only in the winter. Farmers aren't going to be able to help much as the flooding is quite bad round here and so much is poached up.
 
I think that's the best option too atm. Neighbor has been very kind and offered me my own paddock. It's got hardly any grass in it but he'll put haylage out for him. I'm phoning tonight to arrange a price. Just cringing at the thought of how much everything is going to cost.
 
They're full atm. Ones has no grass left at all, fields have gone to mud. Wouldn't be much different to keeping them here to be honest.

Realistically the neighbor will only let me have the space for 2 weeks. It's far better than nothing, but only a short term soultion.
 
Get one to the neighbours and then one to the ring road yard ASAP, then at least it gives your a couple of weeks to get things organised - and the pressure is off a bit then.
Feel fo you hun - its been a crappy winter, I have NO grass whatsoever, Cowbag has 5-6 hours of chilluing out in the swamp, stretching her legs then it in for dinner and 2 massive haylage nets. Its horrid at the moment - everywhere!!

JB xx
 
Is there really no scope to rope off a turnout yard by your stables..I know the ground will get trashed but it will be a small area to sow and rest once the fields are useable..you would just need to get in enough hay to compensate for the lack of grass.
 
I have some grass (less than an acre) atm that is covered in silt and as it's been so boggy they've poached up some areas but most of it is just rutted rather than muddy. So it should recover fine but my worry is that if they go out onto it now they could get sand colic from the silt (can they?!) and as the ground is saturated they've churn it up and I'll have no hope of good grazing in spring.

So is the ideal option to take them off the land for 2 months to let it recover?
 
Not yesterday. I have a 5 foot strip outside my stables. Today I have less than 1/2 an acre that is still saturated.

I could keep them in for a couple of days as it should receed more, then turn them out into a small area and feed large amounts of haylage. Is this a fesible idea?
 
It is by far the the cheapest and easiest option..having horses in two places, especially if you don't drive, will be a nightmare and horses survive with very limited turnout at many other yards
 
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It is by far the the cheapest and easiest option..having horses in two places, especially if you don't drive, will be a nightmare and horses survive with very limited turnout at many other yards

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Very true. This is the worst it's been though the bottom paddock has been flooding all winter. At past livery yards the grass always seems to recover even after it's been turned totally to mud.
 
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I could keep them in for a couple of days as it should receed more, then turn them out into a small area and feed large amounts of haylage. Is this a fesible idea?

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I've been there and that what i did with my four. I lead them out as well. It was about four months before my grass recoverd but it was sea water that we got flooded by so it killed off all the grass. although they where back out as normal with the dead grass fenced off. If you can affort to re-seed the worst field I wish we did
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I personally think you are stressing a bit too much! I do think the_watcher's advice is sound and what I would follow - so long as the horses are exercised then keeping them in wont be that much of a big deal
 
I agree with Watcher. The most simplest and cheapest way would be to section off an area for the horses to trash. Sacrifice paddocks, they're called. The horses will be fine in a small area of land until your pasture comes back. All you need once the water has receded is a bit of rain to wash the silt back into the ground....of course you don't want too much to have the river burst it's banks again
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I think you'll be fine keeping them at home.
 
Even though your neighbour has very kindly offered to take one of your horses, could you rope off a small turnout area with lot of haylage for one at your yard, put the other next door and just keep swapping them about to give each one a day in the field.....?

Must be better than splitting them up having one at a yard, which would be a nightmare to get to and even more work?
 
Some stables near us, they only have the tiniest of paddocks for the 3 horses they have, and what they have done is sectioned off a small area, about say 20m x 20m at the most, directly outside the stables. They have surfaced most of it in a black cinder sort of stuff so its not filthy, and the horses are out in that with haylage so they are out and can move about, but it saves their paddock for summer. They have nets up tied to the outside of the stables.

Works very well for them.
 
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