Beachbabe
Well-Known Member
Hi
I have two equines, both of them good doers and one is a recovered laminitic. I have to restrict their grazing down to the bare minimum and strip graze them daily, ensuring they have enough going through them to poo normally and not look tucked up or empty. I've adopted this method every summer for about 11 years and it works well. I did have them on a track in their field one summer and that worked even better. They looked awesome even after a couple of days off if I was really busy working.
I am trying to ride as much as possible and generally they get some form of exercise either 3 or 4 times a week. One is looking pretty good, no grass tummy and lots of energy, the laminitic I am struggling with a little as his weight is fluctuating, but hopefully once my work has settled down again I will be able to exercise him more.
Their current summer field is about 1.5 acres of which they have stripped about an acre and are working their way through the rest, a little every night. They also have access to some of their winter paddock, although it's mostly fenced off but the only gate out is through the winter field. I am topping up their forage with hay every night as I've found a good supplier of second cut timothy hay which I know is really low in calories.
The field was rolled in April and then harrowed a month later. We have had such little rain that the fields are desperately low in grass and it's pretty thin on the ground as well. As with most of us, the ground is pretty hard, and even the winter paddock isn't looking great. When we turned out on the summer paddocks, they had virtually no new growth on them, although the patches that have been fenced off have grown nicely.
The man who is paid to harrow and roll them has said my field is badly poached, but I thought that meant the boggy patches, of which there are none. The fields suit my two nicely, but my landlady has been listening to this guy and I think she's worried about her fields. I was always taught that fields benefited from being eaten down as it encouraged thicker growth and I've also always thought it's best to harrow first then roll. Whenever we employed someone to carry out our maintenance they always looked great even after a real hammering either in winter or summer. I'm quite happy to buy some meadow seed to add to the winter paddock now, but without rain it's going to be waste of money, or should I sow it when rain is due? I'm trying to keep landlady and my two's health needs happy as it's a lovely place and a good price, so what can I do?
I have two equines, both of them good doers and one is a recovered laminitic. I have to restrict their grazing down to the bare minimum and strip graze them daily, ensuring they have enough going through them to poo normally and not look tucked up or empty. I've adopted this method every summer for about 11 years and it works well. I did have them on a track in their field one summer and that worked even better. They looked awesome even after a couple of days off if I was really busy working.
I am trying to ride as much as possible and generally they get some form of exercise either 3 or 4 times a week. One is looking pretty good, no grass tummy and lots of energy, the laminitic I am struggling with a little as his weight is fluctuating, but hopefully once my work has settled down again I will be able to exercise him more.
Their current summer field is about 1.5 acres of which they have stripped about an acre and are working their way through the rest, a little every night. They also have access to some of their winter paddock, although it's mostly fenced off but the only gate out is through the winter field. I am topping up their forage with hay every night as I've found a good supplier of second cut timothy hay which I know is really low in calories.
The field was rolled in April and then harrowed a month later. We have had such little rain that the fields are desperately low in grass and it's pretty thin on the ground as well. As with most of us, the ground is pretty hard, and even the winter paddock isn't looking great. When we turned out on the summer paddocks, they had virtually no new growth on them, although the patches that have been fenced off have grown nicely.
The man who is paid to harrow and roll them has said my field is badly poached, but I thought that meant the boggy patches, of which there are none. The fields suit my two nicely, but my landlady has been listening to this guy and I think she's worried about her fields. I was always taught that fields benefited from being eaten down as it encouraged thicker growth and I've also always thought it's best to harrow first then roll. Whenever we employed someone to carry out our maintenance they always looked great even after a real hammering either in winter or summer. I'm quite happy to buy some meadow seed to add to the winter paddock now, but without rain it's going to be waste of money, or should I sow it when rain is due? I'm trying to keep landlady and my two's health needs happy as it's a lovely place and a good price, so what can I do?
it would seem I have yet again landed myself with a landlady who’s happy to collect my rent, but not spend it out. ?