Over seeing poor pasture

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Spirit7

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Hello
It’s that’s time of year where we can harrow our paddocks, however after a long warm wet winter I’m down to (dry thankfully finally) mud mostly in my woodland field.
It was never great but improved massively once grazed (levelled out etc) but not I need to overseed and I’m wondering if anyone has any great advice or deals. I don’t want any rye as all my horses are unshod and fed good gut health diets but wondered what anyone else is using please? Anyone seen any offers? I do have a farmer who could purchase for me if I need to ask. Thanks and Happy Monday
 
Lots of places do ryegrass-free mixes for horses. The best germination rate I've had in the last few years has been from the Grass Seed Store. No-ryegrass mixes at the bottom of this page:
https://www.thegrassseedstore.co.uk...H9A0AaRLOWgeoVFFYWWKVfVqZGT9yeSmYX0gLF74hgHt-

But if you are grazing hard on wet ground and ending up with a poor sward a mix with a small proportion of rye in it will recover better. The variety of ryegrass in the diverse pasture mix on that page is diploid so it's not as high-production a variety as most grown for cattle. Many of the finer grasses that people want for EMS types don't hold up well to set stocking or over-hard grazing so ryegrass can be necessary (and was always a component of natural meadows). Don't let it seed if you don't want the ryegrass to spread, and avoid spraying to reduce the impact of pollution on your horses' microbiomes.
 
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Anything marketed as 'equine' may be more expensive than an agricultural mix (but also may not)- it's worth looking at the components of the mixtures and comparing price.
We've had some from Cotswold seeds as well- they do mixes for different land types as well, we ended up going for the heavy land mix, as we have (very wet in parts!) clay soil. It has a little ryegrass (PRG rather than IRG) in it, but also clover and broadleaf herbs, so was better for our purposes than the horse mix. It only contains two grass species, but our pasture has a decent variety of grasses, we were more looking to add clover etc in hopes of outcompeting some of the buttercup!
We did buy a herbal mix for reseeding the fatties track though, as they didn't need more grass/clover adding, just a top up of broadleaf species.
 
I'd go for a seed mix that suits your land first & foremost otherwise you'll be wasting money. I have let a couple of my rested fields get long over the past 2 years and the seed that has come from doing that has probably helped more than over seeding.
 
Burnttoast said:
Lots of places do ryegrass-free mixes for horses. The best germination rate I've had in the last few years has been from the Grass Seed Store. No-ryegrass mixes at the bottom of this page:
https://www.thegrassseedstore.co.uk...H9A0AaRLOWgeoVFFYWWKVfVqZGT9yeSmYX0gLF74hgHt-

But if you are grazing hard on wet ground and ending up with a poor sward a mix with a small proportion of rye in it will recover better. The variety of ryegrass in the diverse pasture mix on that page is diploid so it's not as high-production a variety as most grown for cattle. Many of the finer grasses that people want for EMS types don't hold up well to set stocking or over-hard grazing so ryegrass can be necessary (and was always a component of natural meadows). Don't let it seed if you don't want the ryegrass to spread, and avoid spraying to reduce the impact of pollution on your horses' microbiomes.
Click to expand...
My horses are fine with Rye, (I’ve fed rye haylege at times this winter due to it being the only haylege that’s palatable to them- main bale brand they won’t touch ANY horsehage and I’m scared of fertilisers which are the devil) maybe I should mix seeding with some rye and some non rye?
 
SpeedyPony said:
Anything marketed as 'equine' may be more expensive than an agricultural mix (but also may not)- it's worth looking at the components of the mixtures and comparing price.
We've had some from Cotswold seeds as well- they do mixes for different land types as well, we ended up going for the heavy land mix, as we have (very wet in parts!) clay soil. It has a little ryegrass (PRG rather than IRG) in it, but also clover and broadleaf herbs, so was better for our purposes than the horse mix. It only contains two grass species, but our pasture has a decent variety of grasses, we were more looking to add clover etc in hopes of outcompeting some of the buttercup!
We did buy a herbal mix for reseeding the fatties track though, as they didn't need more grass/clover adding, just a top up of broadleaf species.
Click to expand...
I don’t have a buttercup issue in this paddock. It’s a woodland so started with more brambles and big wide grass then anything else. No clover at all last couple of years - my grass paddocks are full of red clover though!! Grrrrr
 
SEL said:
I'd go for a seed mix that suits your land first & foremost otherwise you'll be wasting money. I have let a couple of my rested fields get long over the past 2 years and the seed that has come from doing that has probably helped more than over seeding.
Click to expand...
Lucky if you have the land to rest for years!
 
Spirit7 said:
My horses are fine with Rye, (I’ve fed rye haylege at times this winter due to it being the only haylege that’s palatable to them- main bale brand they won’t touch ANY horsehage and I’m scared of fertilisers which are the devil) maybe I should mix seeding with some rye and some non rye?
Click to expand...
ok, your OP said you didn't want any ryegrass (rye is a different plant btw)? By spraying I meant herbicides - if you are grazing hard you do need to put something in the way of fertiliser back, even if it's muck rather than an artificial.
 
Burnttoast said:
ok, your OP said you didn't want any ryegrass (rye is a different plant btw)? By spraying I meant herbicides - if you are grazing hard you do need to put something in the way of fertiliser back, even if it's muck rather than an artificial.
Click to expand...
Sorry I meant I don’t want pure rye. I Don’t spray any herbicide or fertiliser on grazing land. I used the woodland paddock all winter as doesn’t freeze, lots of cover and keeps the horses moving as lots of tree dodging to find the hay (bit like an open track system) it will be rested for 3 months now. And then 2 end of autumn.
 
Burnttoast said:
ok, your OP said you didn't want any ryegrass (rye is a different plant btw)? By spraying I meant herbicides - if you are grazing hard you do need to put something in the way of fertiliser back, even if it's muck rather than an artificial.
Click to expand...
we Harrow and spread muck, I’m just trying to get a thicker cover on the woodland as started with virtually zero grass when I first grazed it. Last 2 years it’s done well but I’ve never used it as an open track before this winter.
 
If you have a lot of trees then due to lack of light and water (trees use an awful lot of water) you may well struggle to get a good germination and/or growth rate. Pro green are an excellent company for advice and products to suit most situations. They helped us enormously. My first port of call would be to them and see the bast way forward.
 
Esmae said:
If you have a lot of trees then due to lack of light and water (trees use an awful lot of water) you may well struggle to get a good germination and/or growth rate. Pro green are an excellent company for advice and products to suit most situations. They helped us enormously. My first port of call would be to them and see the bast way forward.
Click to expand...
I do have a lot of trees albeit in ground that has been very wet all winter. Thank you for your advice
 
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