Planting trees in horse paddocks to take up moisture

[JennBags]

As some of you know, I've been lucky enough to buy my own land and move my horses onto it. I've been really spoilt for years being on lovely chalk which is well draining but now I'm on clay, and there are 4 or 5 spots in the field which are really wet. I'm considering planting some trees in these spots, as trees take up lots of moisture and I'm thinking they'll help with the ground. Would this work? Specifically I'm considering willow as they really love the wet, but can thrive in any sort of ground conditions, and they grow quickly.

Ideas and suggestions welcome as always 😎

 

[Hack4fun]

We did this on clay soil - before we had horses - and planted a weeping willow. They grow quickly and are not toxic. The tree was big enough to stand up to the horses when we got them. I don't know if it helped with the ground to be honest, but we like the tree and it provides shade in summer. In winter, when our land is really wet, it does not soak up moisture of course.

 

[Mule]

It does make a difference. Wet land will always be wet land but it helps to plant some in groves in the worst parts

 

[JanetGeorge]

Heavy clay has ruled my life for the past 32 years. Yes, willows in bad wet patches MIGHT help a bit (if there aren't underground springs causing the wet patches - I have them in almost every field.) But the things that help most are muckspreading - and a mole plough. When we came here, we had virtually no top soil - or grass. SO no worms and none of the natural drainage aids - moles. Well tillered grass is vital to horses, so electric fence off the bad bits, re-seed where necessary, and top regularly. And - of course - rest fields. I spread literally hundreds of tonnes of muck every year - obviously alternating fields so they can be well rested. But it's a ruddy nightmare.

ETA - and test your soil. When we first came here, I had sheep. Lost some lambs very suddenly and found out we had a serious cobalt deficiency. I believe mineral deficiencies are more common on clay soil - and it's worth finding out before it causes problems.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

We did this on clay soil - before we had horses - and planted a weeping willow. They grow quickly and are not toxic. The tree was big enough to stand up to the horses when we got them. I don't know if it helped with the ground to be honest, but we like the tree and it provides shade in summer. In winter, when our land is really wet, it does not soak up moisture of course.

Just remember it maybe big enough to stand on it's own, but may not be strong enough to withstand horses rubbing on it. You may need to look into a tree guard, we are doing this as we have lost 5 to the horses rubbing.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TREE-GUA...9fad6c210:m:mVcbsimcUKy_3em7nCgw9nw:rk:1:pf:0

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We are not on clay but we do have one very wet corner where the sun doesn't really get to, we planted a mix of rosa rugosa and hawthorn, which has made a lot of difference, even last year when everything was wringing wet. We do have that area fenced off from the horses still and the bushes have been there for several years now.

 

[Abby-Lou]

Is it possible to drain the land ? this made a massive difference to my field, at least you would not loose grazing

 

[Fiona]

We've planted willows in wet bits before, they are lovely, quick growing and certainly won't do any harm.....

Fiona

 

[Merrymoles]

I'd vote for willows too if additional land drainage is not an option. They are fast growing (like weeds) and the horses love them. We brought ours home to my house over the summer a couple of times and they did a great trimming job on our willows.

We are not on clay but it can get pretty soggy here as it's very flat so there are willows everywhere.

 

[JennBags]

Brilliant, thanks everyone, sounds like it might be a good option then. Although the land searches brought up no underground water courses, I have a feeling there may be one as I could hear running water the other day.

JanetGeorge, getting the soil tested is a good idea, thank you.

What other sorts of drainage could I get done to improve the wet areas? I'm totally new to all this stuff.

 

[JennBags]

@JanetGeorge are moles a good thing then? I have one patch which is infested with mole hills, and was going to try to get rid of them but maybe I shouldn't.
Also, how does muck spreading help? Was planning on doing this anyway, but for fertilisation rather than drainage, I didn't realise it woild help the soil.
Have found a place that does a complete soil analysis including organic matter, so will get a lot from them.

 

[JanetGeorge]

Is it possible to drain the land ? this made a massive difference to my field, at least you would not loose grazing

In my experience, drainage doesn't help a lot with clay. Drainage gets blocked very easily - and creates new wet patches. The only thing that has helped here is open ditches (quite shallow) at the lowest part of the field and then regular mole ploughing from the ditch UP the field. And I mean a OT of mole ploughing - no more than 2 yards apart. And of course it has to be done at a time that the ground is 'right' 9not too wet, not too dry) and it's hard work. My 55hp tractor struggles - especially as we have a lot of rock in the soil as well. but it helps. And when the soil is less 'right' for the mole plough, I have the root rake behind me when taking haylage to fields - or when I can spare a few hours to keep at it. Aeration is everything.

 

[JanetGeorge]

@JanetGeorge are moles a good thing then? I have one patch which is infested with mole hills, and was going to try to get rid of them but maybe I shouldn't.
Also, how does muck spreading help? Was planning on doing this anyway, but for fertilisation rather than drainage, I didn't realise it woild help the soil.
Have found a place that does a complete soil analysis including organic matter, so will get a lot from them.

Depends how heavy the clay is. Moles obviously accumulate where there are worms - we had virtually none when we first came here except in a quarter of an acre behind neighbour's garden. The muck increased the top soil (about 1/4" of it when we first came - the earthworms couldn't survive in that. Earthworms are helped by muck, and the moles help with drainage. I value moles - they help aeration AND drainage. Only a pain having mole hills if you're making haylage.

 

[Abby-Lou]

When I first bought my field it was a clay bog, we had 4 lines of drainage pipes laid down the field which ran in to a small beck, the pipes were back filled with graded stones. I had to apply to the local drainage board so I could connect to the beck it was a small admin fee. I can't tel you the difference it has a made and don't regret it for a minute. I also had willow growing naturally in the field, but in my opinion this did not do enough to take away the water a way. I can now walk across the field in the middle of winter at its worst with no fear of loosing a welly. its not cheap going down this route but I don't regret it for a minute.

 

[JennBags]

I may have to wait until next year to get that sort of work done Abby-Lou, but it sounds like it's worthwhile.

I'm not planning on making haylage Janet, so might leave the moles alone then.

 

[catkin]

Willows are lovely - but keep the horses away from them whilst they grow or they will be eaten to stumps and debarked.
it might be worth having a quick chat with local conservation-type people who can recommend which species of willow or other trees are native to your area.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Keep taking photos of the land through the winter, you have it all as one field still and plan to divide later?

I have got my 2 'wet' paddocks fenced as 2 paddocks now, both just about an acre each. Much easier to deal with and keep fuzzies off, the fuzzies go in them if it's a dry winter, and when dry in summer.
The other paddocks came about as when I had a number of breakers in, I ran electric fence to separate them, this led onto permanent fencing within a few years, all having gates linking them which means I can run a few acres as one, or shut fatties in barer patches as the need arises.
As you know, I have willow tree copse in the corner of one of the wet 2, to be honest it doesn't do that much to dry and can be a pain when needing trimming back off the fence lines. Fuzzies help with trimming lower stuff but that can cause problems as the higher branches then drop...

Hope you find the right solution for the future x

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

We're on Devon red-Clay here, oh the joy of the dang stuff!!

What we did when we moved in 25 years ago, was to let little shoots of ash, oak, beech etc, grow up on the road hedges (we've got a lot of hedges), and this not only soaks up any moisture but also now the trees have grown up nicely, gives plenty of shade.

Don't know how much pasture-land you have, and don't know whether this is still valid, but some local authorities and/or The Woodland Trust were giving away tree-saplings a few years back - think you had to have a certain minimum plot - but it might be worth enquiring??

 

[turnbuckle]

Willow does drink like a horse but will also look a bit odd in most settings. No disaster but it's kinda nice to leave the land nicer in every sense. However, it does contain salicylic acid, which is the main ingredient of aspirin, so that's good.

Spending money on some drains is really the answer but you do need at least some fall...

 

[GreyMane]

For another appropriate looking native tree, Alders (Alnus glutinosa) may be worth considering. They do well in wet conditions and/or on poor soil, such as along stream banks, and improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Willows are lovely - but keep the horses away from them whilst they grow or they will be eaten to stumps and debarked.
it might be worth having a quick chat with local conservation-type people who can recommend which species of willow or other trees are native to your area.

Indeed! we have some willows that are fenced off from the horses. I moved the electric fence yesterday to give them a bit more grass and realised my mistake this morning. They had managed to reach one of the willows under the bottom tape and removed bark from one side of it. Needless to say, the fence has been moved away from the tree now.

 

[EventingMum]

Just be certain there are no land drains as tree roots can break them and cause even more problems.

 

[Rowreach]

Honestly as someone who farmed on clay for years and years, properly laid land drains are the way to go. Definitely worth the money.

 

[JennBags]

Thanks for all your valuable input everyone, a lot to think about, that's for sure.

 

[PeterNatt]

Putting in good drainage is the solution as this will move the water away.