turning and arable field into one suitable for horses

[zulu705]

I have the chance to buy a 4 acre field to keep my horse in and have some practical questions.
It is currently stubble and so would need to be converted to grass to graze horses on. Can you reseed over the stubble or do you have to plough and reseed. What type of grass seed is best to use? How long does it take before horses can be put on it? Has anyone done this recently and how much did it cost?

The other thing I'm not sure about is whether I need a planning permission, change of use type thing from agriculture to equestrian? It also has a single farm payment thingy on it and I'm assuming that if I change its use I won't get this payment. This is in Scotland too if that makes a difference.

Thanks for anyone that can answer any of my questions.

 

[VictoriaEDT]

Hi
Not sure regarding the reseeding but almost certain you will need PP for change of use to equestrian

 

[Tia]

Yes you can seed grass over stubble - it is called No-Till farming, No-Till gets fields up and running MUCH quicker than ploughing etc

. Alternatively you can have the field ploughed, harrowed, rolled and seeded. Always try to buy a grass seed specifically made for your land (if you have a seed merchant close by, they will do this for you) as some grasses grow better on certain types of soil. You may wish to have the soil analysed as this will tell you if the ground is deficient in something. It will take about a year to have the grass stable enough to keep horses on it; better off if you can leave it for 2 years though as this will really strengthen the root network. You would be able to take a cut of hay from this next summer though and depending on how stable/dry/wet your ground is, perhaps you could put some horses on it a few weeks after taking the hay. I am in a different country to you so no idea of the cost. Top quality grass seed over here is very expensive. We over-seed some of our hay fields every couple of years and it costs us thousands of dollars to do this.

I've no idea about the planning permission over there nowadays and I don't know if you would get the single farm payment if you are keeping horses on it, as in the UK they are not classed as farm livestock (they are here thankfully!)?

 

[Orangehorse]

You don't need pp for grazing a horse, but if you want to put up stables, etc. you will need pp - in this part of the world anyway.
Best thing is to phone you local planning office as different places may have different rules re horses.

Grass seeds are notoriously difficult to get started, but once established grass has wonderful powers to recover from drought and wet. It is usually planted in the late summer and is allowed to grow through the winter

Most farmers would plough and put the seeds into a fine seed bed.
You need proper horse pasture grass seed, but they are widely available from any agricultural merchant. Seeds are surprisingly expensive though, so it will cost a lot. You really need local advice, an agricultural merchant should be able to point you into the right direction.

 

[minesadouble]

OH is in bed but will be able to answer your Qs better than me so will get on to him in morning. Am pretty sure you would have to plough and sow with grass. You are probably looking at 6m to 1 year till horses can go on it. You can claim Single Farm Payment for land grazed with horses but must not be over-grazed.
Will update you tomorrow with more accurate info re cost etc.

 

[nijinsky]

I've just bought a 3 acre field adjoining my house & land. The wheat was taken off, left as stubble and the guy I use to harrow/roll/seed my fields came in and rather than turn it over completely (which would have been extremely expensive), disc harrowed, rolled, seeded & harrowed, that was 3 weeks ago. I paid £120 per acre.

I'm sure there'll be some wheat coming through but he said that will happen anyway.

Regards grazing it - his advice was "in an ideal world" not to horse graze it the first year but the second year. I can't wait til the 2nd year as I have 4 horses on 3 acres now & I have no grass at all. He recommended borrowing sheep to graze it down completely and then it would spread & grow better for the following year.

I'm not sure about change of use, my solicitor told me I wouldn't need change of use but maybe it depends where you live.

 

[Tia]

I just Googled the Scottish Government site - the info on SFPs and grazing horses is right at the bottom of the page.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Agriculture/Agricultural-Policy/CAPRef/News/

 

[zulu705]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have emailed the local council to ask about PP.
Thats interesting about no-till farming, going to look that up now !

 

[PeterNatt]

With regard to planning permission horses are only deemed to be agricultural if they are destined for meat, not feed apart from the grass in the field and not used for recreational purposes. Otherwise they are deemed recreational and you will require Planning Permission for change of use from agricultural to equestrian.

Firstly get a soil test carried out to determine if theer are any nurtients that are deficient and may be required.
Your best bet would be to use total kill on the field so as to kill all remaining crops and weeds. This would best be now done in Spring when they start growing again. Having done that I would suggest that you put in drainage and a water supply. You can either plough the field, then have it cultivated and seeded and then rolled or alternatively cultivated it and drill it seed it and roll it. Add any required nutrients after ploughing but before cultivating.

I would not put horses on it for 2 years so as to allow the root structure to establish itself.

There are several specialist equine grass seed companies who make a range of different grass seeds.

 

[PennyJ]

There is usually a stocking density that triggers change of use from agricultural to recreational. If you are just going to put the horses in there to graze, then you should be fine if they are predominantly (not necessarily exclusively) getting their nutritional needs from the grass. Check with your local authority as to what their local guidelines are. You may not need to do anything.

Obviously its a completely different matter if you're going to put up stables field shelters etc etc.

 

[jrp204]

You won't be able to reseed it now until the spring, you can min till it or most people would plough, cultivate etc. We used a mix specifally for horses and haven't been over impressed with it, its quite coarse, OH would use a permenant pasture mix now. Depending where you live you may want to get the PH tested as establishment will be hard if it is low. Agree with earlier post, once the grass is up and jumping put some sheep on it or cut it for hay, Keep the horses off it for as long as poss.

 

[Donkeymad]

Seed for horse grazing is designed to be 'coarse' as other grass, grown for cattle etc, is too rich for horses and one major cause of laminitis.