Standing Hay?

[WelshD]

I've seen this mentioned a few times and am curious.. My field has 3ft long grass in places, i was leaving it for standing forage for winter. One of my ponies is turned out on part of this area overnight but only eats the green grass under the long grass.

Come winter should they readily eat the long grass? I didnt think they would be interested given the one pony's ignoring of it so planned on getting it topped

 

[doriangrey]

Mine does, when the grass stops growing she has no choice. However, she has ad lib haylage under those circumstances. She'll still eat the field down first though.

 

[Kallibear]

I've got s lot of long grass at the moment (nearly flopping over height) and am strip graze it. They graze it to nothing that way.I have to give them a thin strip else they dive in to the middle and flatten it and poo on it then won't eat it. But to make it more complicated, if it's too small an area they just churn the ground. I've found about 2-3ft deep about 100yrs long works best. A couple of meters deep by 10yrs wide doesnt work at all as they trash it and churn it. So easily shift electric fencing is essential. I've tried just letting them out onto all the acres and they waste such a lot.

This year I've tried to rotate patches so most of it's 6 inches long as the grass stops growing. They trash less of it like that. I've achieved it for half the field but the other halfs still up to my waist in places.

Basically they're a royal PITA .

 

[WelshD]

Thank you both

I think i will split the field in to three and run a moveable section up a few feet at a time then.

Hopefully that will last from nov - march along with the hay i have already bought!

 

[LynH]

I stripe grazed 5 acres (in 4 paddocks) of standing hay last two winters. It lasted my three from October until the end of January and I added hay from February until the grass started coming through which was much later this year.
They are currently in a 3 acre field with very long grass and they eat it all as long as I don't move the fence until all the long dry grass is eaten too. I muzzle the two good doers when I move the fence then when the green grass is eaten I take their muzzles off for a day or two before I move the fence again and the muzzles go back on.