Preventing muddy fields

[pinkypoopoo]

My rented field is on a slight slope so the rain water runs off into an adjacent stream, however the crop field from the farm next door is next to my field and it drains onto my horses grass field which makes it very muddy throughout the winter. Does anyone have any advice on how to keep fields from getting boggy during the wet winter months? It's November, is it pointless to put down grass seed and fertiliser now in an attempt to soak up a bit of the rain water with grass? It already has a hardcore area around the gate way and we don't turn out after heavy rain. I've read on google that sinking a fork into the muddy patches may help to darin excess water away. Any other advice?

 

[CrazyMare]

I know what sort of weather makes my horses spend the day churning up the field, and what sort of weather means they keep their heads down and graze.

They don't go out on the former!!! Or they go out for a few hours, then they come in again.

 

[WelshD]

Could you ask farmer or landlord to create a ditch between crop field and yours maybe?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Could you ask the farmer or the people who own the field if you could dig a soak away , at the point where the water flows in?? or you could do one at the bottom of the hill where it gets muddy

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I had a rented 7 acres for a long time next to mine, we dug (slowly & by hand!) a drainage gulley between the 2 plots to let rainwater away - this then went to a bigger proper ditch further on.

I gave up the rented land around 10 years ago & its been fallow for the last 3, but I still manage to clear the gulley - and have since dug a small channel on my side to help water flow even more - it doesn't stop my front paddock getting wet, but it does prevent it from becoming a complete wreck in heavy downpours.

Good luck

 

[CazD]

I guess its probably too late (and wet) to do anything this year. Tractors on the land will completely wreck it. Our field is slightly lower than the field next door which then drains onto ours so we dug a ditch all the way down the one side which has helped. We also got a local farmer to mole plough the field which made a huge improvement to the drainage.