Please help resolve an argument...

mattilda

mattilda

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I have had the majority of my fields topped today until rain stopped play. Guy left a message with a friend to say he will finish off tomorrow but will just cut it and leave it. I said no way forget it, hubby says it will be fine. The grass is the long wispy stuff but I still think it should be moved.
Any comments, suggestions.
 
i would say it would kill the grass its lying on so no it should be moved. if its that long why didnt you make hay!!
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No the horses are grazing which is why I want it shifted. I was under the impression that if horses ate cut grass it caused colic.
Jessquoi.. we don't bother making hay becuase it's not really good enough quality.
 
I leave it if it's dry, but then we mainly only top to get rid of docks and nettles and stuff, not usually much grass, I wouldn't want to leave much lying around in the wet.
 
I'd want it moved. Yard owner where I was last summer topped his fields then just left the grass there. It soon got wet and horrible and killed all the grass underneath, fileds got ruined as a result.
 
it causes colic if it is fermenting, which it does if it's heaped up, and if it has enough moisture, so if you have a very sparse field topped on a blazing hot day, it seems unlikely as the grass dries out quickly. If it's wet however, it will ferment straight away, as it will if you heap it up in any way.
That's my reasoning anyway.
Are you expecting the guy who does it to move it? My husband does topping for people, but he's not equipped to go round raking up and disposing of the grass, that would be their gig!
 
Dont worry just leave it, we have 4 acres and only one horse so topp all the time and we just leave it, it eventually just dries up and goes away, never had a problem of it killing off the grass its laying on. BFWIW, we start topping in May and do it every two weeks to keep the grass under control so we are never topping 2 foot high grass and leaving it laying there. We do it so it doesnt get like that. Also the horse doesnt touch it anyway. Topping frequently has improved our pasture loads, we never have long lank grass, its more like a lust green lawn.
 
Find yourself a contractor that has a 'cut and collector' which removes the cut grass a bit like a garden lawn mower. The advantage of this is that it stimulates denser growth or grass and removes the seeds from the weeds. We get excellent results using them.
 
Cut grass only causes colic if it is short so the horse does not have to chew it properly OR it is piled up and moist and starts fermenting.
 
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