Summer Turn Out Plans - Any Ideas?

[LauraMacarthy]

Hi there,

We are planning to move our two cobs onto their new summer grazing in the next few weeks. They have been lucky enough to have constant turn out througout the winter, and have been on about two acres over the past month, keeping our neighbour's field of grass under control, this is for about 8 hours a day.

Their new summer turn out obviously has the lush spring grass on there, and we have sectioned it off into acre paddocks, to try and limit their eating in the first off.

We want to build their turn up out so that they are out 24 hours over the summer period, which is possible with all of the fields we have access to.

What we are trying to work out is how to do this best, so they don't gorge themselves on the rich grass waiting for them, thereby making them fat and possibly poorly! This is what we have come up with:

1. First week on new summer grass, reduce the turn out to about 5 - 6 hours a day;
2. Second week onwards, gradually increase the daily turn out by half an hour every so often.

What I am wondering is:

1. How long should we allow to build them up to the 24hr turn out?
2. Is building it up by half an hour every so often too little / too much?
3. What time period should be leave from when we increase the turn out, to the next increase in turn out time?

The horses are in light to moderate work, of hacking and a couple of schooling sessions a week. They are a 16.1hh cob and a 16.2 cob x shire, and in tip top form, at about the right weight.

With this in mind, is it neccesary to support a 24hr grass diet with hard feed?

Ermmm, I think that is it. This is my first time (in a VERY long time) doing DIY livery, and I just cannot remember how I did it way back in my teens!!

Any help gratefully received, thank you in anticipation.

 

[The_Blonde]

Regarding hard feed - I have a good doer on quite rich grass atm, I have cut his feed right down to just a small amount of fibre plus supplements so he is getting all his vits and minerals. After qucikly getting a bit of a belly when he first went out on it, he has settled down nicely to his summer diet and weight is now more consistant.

As you say yours are a good weight already just monitor them week by week. Use a weigh tape every few weeks, just to check your eyes are seeing any weight fluctautions right, then you can control the quantity of hard feed as necessary.

 

[teddyt]

What I am wondering is:

1. How long should we allow to build them up to the 24hr turn out?

No set time- depends entirely on available grass and its growth.
2. Is building it up by half an hour every so often too little / too much?
As above- depends on grass!
3. What time period should be leave from when we increase the turn out, to the next increase in turn out time?
As above- depends on grass!

The horses are in light to moderate work, of hacking and a couple of schooling sessions a week. They are a 16.1hh cob and a 16.2 cob x shire, and in tip top form, at about the right weight.

With this in mind, is it neccesary to support a 24hr grass diet with hard feed?
If their weight is ok then they shouldnt need hard feed, just a mineral block or handful of chaff with a vit/min supplement. And hay when stabled

If there is a lot of grass i would say an acre is too much to start with. providing te horses get on well, make the paddock very small to start with. Extend as needed depending on the grass growth. Once big enough to be safe they can stay out 24/7 but only extend grass when needed. If you look at the other side of the fence to the horses you will see how much they have eaten by how much grass is growing. if they start to put on weight then they are getting more than they need, so cut down.

There is no set answer- depends on the grass and the horses. But monitor closely to see how much they need

 

[katherine1975]

I had the same dilemma. My two good doer cobs have three acres and it was chain harrowed and fertilised (first one half then the other), so the grass is very good and lush. As above post says I fenced off about a tenth of the field into a small paddock and have been strip grazing, giving them a small strip every other day. They get a handful of spillers happy hoof per day. Doing this has enabled me to leace them out 24/7.
Only problem is my cheeky cob learned yesterday how to get to the lush grass! She puts her head under the electric fence and runs as fast as she can - she showed me yesterday when I was poo picking. So lots more fencing going up tomorrow!!

 

[Dirtymare]

I have recently moved my mare to a yard where there is both winter AND seperate summer grazing - something which she has not been used to for a long time. The summer grazing is very very lush and I have been concerned that she would get laminitic, so she has been strip grazed and at least some work 6 days a week. she is kept in at night and has just a "token" feed in the mornings. A section of soaked hay for her to nibble on through the night. This regime has worked a treat.
However, yesterday she found a way of getting through the electric fencing to the part of the field as yet ungrazed! Needless to say, she came in very sheepish and very very full!!!

 

[LauraMacarthy]

Thank you so much everyone - this has been really useful. Love those stories of the cheeky cobs finding ways around our best efforts to keep them well and healthy - if only they knew!!