Scorched grass - nutritional value

Mine are also looking tubby on scorched non existent grass having had no rain at all since the 29th may ! However they are hungry in the mornings and desperate to come in for hay. With no rain predicted for us into August I now need to consider the long term damage to the grazing so will shut them into one field and hay them so the other fields get a chance to come back. I've let them 'top' the winter grazing that we usually flail but if they don't come off it now it will have nothing and turn into a bog this winter. After the long wet winter and now prolonged drought my grazing is struggling. I'm considering bringing mine in at night in there next few weeks if it doesn't improve whereas normally they are out 24/7 until November/December
 
None of ours have lost any weight but the big boys are definitely hungry coming in now. We've never brought them in before but we have been during this heat - more due to flies than anything and as of the weekend they're actually eating the hay we've been giving them now. M is eating the straw they have too. A hasn't resorted to that yet!

Our YOs have signed up to some agri-environment scheme which meant they couldn't cut the hay until Aug 15th but they've now been given permission to cut it early as the quality will be diminishing so I'm reading from that that long grass is probably quite good (or less bad) for lami prone horses now? Few of us have long grass though, we've all got scorched super-short stuff! Part of me is happy as the horses will go down onto the hay fields shortly now they've been cut so they'll have more to eat but part of me is gutted as the hay fields are so bloomin' far away. Those with proper fatties are worried though as they've not lost any weight on the bare field and are now going onto 18 acres of freshly cut hay fields.
 
My grass is weird, my tiny paddocks were fertilised just before the last rain months and months ago so they started growing fast & I shut half off.

I've been strip grazing into it so I have half a paddock of bare grazed stuff that seems to be completely unproductive, and half standing hay *with fresh green stuff growing underneath*

It's amazing how there is lush greenery under the hay. yet the areas that I have already grazed and fenced off again are not growing back at all. I guess the hay must be trapping some dew or something?
 
milliepops said:
My grass is weird, my tiny paddocks were fertilised just before the last rain months and months ago so they started growing fast & I shut half off.

I've been strip grazing into it so I have half a paddock of bare grazed stuff that seems to be completely unproductive, and half standing hay *with fresh green stuff growing underneath*

It's amazing how there is lush greenery under the hay. yet the areas that I have already grazed and fenced off again are not growing back at all. I guess the hay must be trapping some dew or something?
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Yes I’ve recently added a bit extra onto my track of the rested paddock which I didn’t get topped when I normally would as there was too much ragwort. Glad I didn’t as seems to have some green in it and hasn’t all burnt off due to the tall grass. Although also a lot of weed.

My good doers have dropped slightly, which is good. But as others have said, worry about the impact later in the year.
 
Our fields are like a desert and we have put them on ad lib hay. 2 horses got through a large round bale in 10 days. They have not bothered grazing. They just seem to wander from the hay to the water trough. I am quite glad really as mine has got Cushings and I prefer him to eat hay rather than grass with a high level of sugar which might trigger laminitus.
 
SO1 said:
Useful link to BHS article which mentions grazing - http://www.bhs.org.uk/our-charity/press-centre/news/2018/july/hot-and-bothered-so-is-your-horse
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That is an interesting link.

Spent this evening closely examine my paddock as I poo picked. There’s definitely green coming through. I guess this will vary massively across the country - I’m Warwickshire. This means mini must be restricted - but will switch from day to night as it’s sooo hot everyone needs access to all shelters during the day. My Arab is also looking fat - sun is her thing and she’s a good doer in summer anyway.
 
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