Poo picking and field maintenance

[Highflinger]

Hi everyone
Just wanted your opinions on the benefits of poo picking and what maintenance I should be doing to give as much grass as possible. I have 3 out 24/7 on a total of 5 acres which I divide up with electric tape and rotate. I poo pick usually twice a day and still have some grass at the moment. The weather had generally been mild so grass has probably grown a little more than a usual winter. I think poo picking makes the grass last a lot longer. What do others think?
Also I have had the field for about 18 months and have not done anything to the land such as topping, fertilizing, harrowing etc. It is fairly light well drained sandy soil and was previously grazed occasionally by cattle but otherwise just left. I have no mud as yet!! There are a lot of "tufts" of grass the horse don't eat and although I want them to have plenty of low grade roughage as they are good doer natives but don't want anything too rich. The "grass " is a mix of grass and various weeds. They also have mainly natural hedges with some trees. I know last summer was exceptionally dry but I do find that the areas I rest don't tend to grow very long other than the "tufty" bits. I am giving hay now as they do seem to be hungry despite their still being some grass and I am happy for them to drop some weight before spring as they were all fat going into winter and now about right.
Any guidance / opinions appreciated.
Thanks

 

[SEL]

On small acreage the advantage of poo picking is that it stops grass 'souring' as well as helping with worm control. The nitrogen in fresh poo can cause grass to be not very appetising to horses. It does mean though that you are reducing nutrients going back into the soil - but if you have good doers that is less of an issue. The ideal scenario is removing the poo, leaving it to rot for 2 years and then spreading it back on the fields to put some nutrients back in the soil. The heat from a muck heap destroys parasites.

 

[Sprout]

I poo pick at least once a day, rotate the horses regularly to rest the grazing, and harrow maybe a couple of times a year.
I dont fertilise as 2 are at risk of laminitis and the grazing is naturally quite rich.

 

[Polos Mum]

Can you borrow some sheep to use on your rotated rested bits? They will top, fertilise and harrow for you in a very un-invasive way (suitable for your good doers) and at low cost. If you do nothing the grass won't have any nutrients to grow with as all you are doing twice a day is taking goodness out. Eventually on that regime the grass will stop growing altogether.
also worth a soil sample to see what vits and mineral situation is - especially on sandy soil where goodness washes away easily.

If you want the grass to feed your horses then you have to feed the grass

 

[CJoe]

I poo pick daily, usually with a head torch! - I have limited grazing and cannot bare to see a field covered in poop that the horses have got to graze from...…..don't fertilize etc, do occasionally top, and harrow every spring. Mine are mostly good doers...

 

[nikkimariet]

Mine are on decent enough grass that I can leave the poo picking a few days. I aim to do it every day but don't panic if I leave it for up to 3 days. With only 3 out during the day (9 hours approx) there isn't much to come off it (except Bruces paddock!).

 

[Hallo2012]

mine only have just over half an acre each for winter paddocks and just under for summer.

i poo pick every day and i think you are right it encourages them to graze more evenly and not leave huge sour patches.

i strip graze in summer (out 7-4pm) and do half day turnout in winter currently to make sure i have grass for all the winter months. hoping to buy more land in spring so they can stay out until 3/4pm year round

 

[Highflinger]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I agree I need to put something back to get good long term grass growth! The sheep sound a good idea - how many would be reasonable on five acres and for how long and I assume the summer months - May/June to ??

 

[Polos Mum]

I rotate mine round after the horses almost all year round (not Jan to Apr when it's too wet).

You could have loads for a short period or 5 /6 for a month - to do a similarly job. Perhaps start with a chat to the local farmer and see what he has that he could lend you. I have 3 tups from August to Nov when they are too annoying for the ladies, and just weaned lambs in the summer.

 

[Fiona]

We have three on about five acres split into three fields and two small paddocks. Everything is poopicked (though not every day in the winter).

We used to borrow some cattle in the summer months, but haven't for the last five years or so and I don't notice any great difference in the grass.

Fertilizing is done every 3 or 4 years, and rolled/harrowed every spring. Any bare bits are re-seeded by hand.....

Fiona

 

[nikkimariet]

I've got approx 5 acres split into 6 paddocks (unevenly due to fatties and Fig doesn't eat much grass).

I try and poo pick daily but I don't stress if it gets left for 1 or even 2 days. There's plenty of grass and the crows eat Figs offerings (I struggle to find a whole poo!) and Nova doesn't do many. Bruce you could see his from space but it still doesn't crowd the ground.

I'll probably have to think about getting some sheep at some point to graze the rough bits down, they're just so annoying with the fencing!

 

[Suechoccy]

Sheep sheep sheep! I borrowed 40 sheep to put on 3 acres for 2 months (July/Aug) to eat it down (too sparse and weedy for hay but too long/too much to top and rake off). Rested it through Sept, horses went onto it Oct and it's gorgeous full short cover (moss gone, bare patches gone), and sheep farmer gave me 4 round bales of hay as thanks for the grazing too (which I've just finished eating last week). Previous years the horses have grazed it as foggage and by this time of winter it is eaten-down with lots of bare and mossy patches visible.

 

[soloequestrian]

Mine is slightly different - 3 big horses on 8 acres though I don't particularly restrict grazing so perhaps it would work out similar for good doers on less ground. For the last few years I've cut about 4 acres in the summer for haylage and we've not had to buy in any forage which has been great. We fertilise the bits that get cut about every two years. I have a kind of hybrid track/strip graze system in the summer - the track starts of narrow and gradually gets wider until they have the whole field. They start off in the field that's not getting cut and then move to one of the two cut fields, graze it down and then have the other cut field in the autumn when it's got longer again. That grass keeps them until around Christmas when they go on to haylage until about the start of May. I don't poo pick at all - spend the time wrestling with electric tape instead! I used to poo pick but stopped about 8 years ago when my back gave up. This has had no effect on either worm burden or grazing area as far as I can see, though I do have a patch of buttercup infested rubbish that needs dealing with - I don't suppose sheep help buttercups??

 

[Antw23uk]

Poo pick religiously and you will reap the benefits. My neighbour keeps a few horses on small acreage and she doesn't poo pick, harrows the poo in and wonders why her horses arent eating the grass and breaking/ jumping out of the paddocks! I have two large horses on 3 acres and similar to you havent done anything other than a bit of spot spraying weed control but this year i will put a fertiliser and seed down and then continue to spot spray weeds and poo pick daily. I dont want lush green grass though, they arent dairy cows so wont be fertilising often!