Turning rough, rutted, weedy ground into grazing

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Overgrown Pony

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Hi there

My fiance and I have just bought a house which has a 2.5 acre pasture out the back. It's been my dream to have my horse at home since I was a little girl and now i'm lucky enough for it to come true!

My problem is that the paddock is in a bad shape. It's not been grazed for at least 3 years. It's rutted with lots of weeds and what worryingly look like the sort of weeds that like water. I'm no expert mind you... The paddock has been seperated off from a larger field which is owned by a farmer. It's in lovely condition so i'm confident that my wee paddock can be transformed to look like it.

I have a photo but i'm not sure how to attach it.

Any advice greatly received. I'm going to speak to the famer to see if he can help me out with it but I like to go armed with a bit of knowledge.

Kim x
 
picture.php



Here it is

Kim x
 
You need to find any dangerous stuff, old machinery etcetera, I would ask farmer to quote you for topping / thistle bashing, and maybe ask if he has any cattle that can be run on it, pigs do a good job too, but need penned in, Weeds are best dealt with as young plants, the picture is not a lot of help I'm afraid!
You may need to create some sort of drainage or clear out any existing ditches.
 
Cheers for that MrsD123. That gives me a good starting point. I'll get into to search for any dangerous bits and pieces (old machinery etc). On inspection from the gateway I did see a bit of tree which must have come down in the last winds that'll need moved.

Here's a bigger picture...

picture.php
 
I think you'd have to see what needs to be removed first. Then take a brush hog & tractor to it. Till it, re-seed it, let it grow.
 
ditto above - saying that it'll die off anyway soon
how quickly do you want horses on it?
i'd be inclinded to do a full spray of roundup tbh from looknig at it - then plough up and re-sow - then ideally have sheep on for a bit to graze it a bit but to get better quality of grass etc (the golden hoof - they improve the land ;) even if they are thick as lol)
the only thing though is that i'm not sure if its too late now to do anything before spring (seeing your location) but the farmer would advise that
also - if you get farmer to do it remember that he'll prob just think horse = grass - and may well sow a siliage mix or something - unless you want restricted grazing and problems with laminitis then say you want a horse seed mix - it will be more expensive but def worth it in the long run :)
 
Don't plough it - it will take a year before horses can go on it.
Sheep are good ground clearers - pigs will plough.

Walk the land - checking for poisonous plants and any scrap or rubble or holes. Check the fencing too. Remove any nasties.

If there is nothing dangerous horses can go straight in at this time of year but you can then have it topped when they've thinned it a bit. Whack thistles and nettles & horses will eat them once wilted.
One you have the top stuff away get it harrowed. Maybe overseed part next March.
 
Thank you all so much for your help and the information. I've noted it all down. I'm off to call the farmer to sound him out.

I sold my horse when I was fat pregnant. I've not bought a new one yet but i'm hoping to get one asap. We don't get the keys to the new house until the 11th November so i'm worrying that nothing will be able to be done to the paddock now until next spring. If that happens i'll just have to put my feelers out for a paddock to rent until then. Got my eye on a lovely horse and i'm having to put myself off going to view him everyday :)

Kim xxx
 
Congrats to you first of.



1st check the fencing

2nd. I would walk round the field remove all dangerous things, metal bottles any bits of metal sheets ,electric cables any thing thats dangerous rabbit holes look properly for hidden objects too ( though looks clear)

3rd i would dig up any poisonous plants like ragwort

4th check the water

[B]not much more you can do really this time of year ,
How ever if you want to move horses in asap , then i would partition the field up by electric fencing, concentrate of clearing one side so safe for horses.also you can rest one half
see if the farmer will top the field nettles etc which horse will eat when dry

[/B]
5th next year i would get it harrowed then weedkilled then fertilized. Though take a few years for some of the stubborn plants to die off. As you can only kill whats above the ground.

if you have a footpath running by you will need to check some **** doesn't through things over .


6th You could always buy you own sheep if you want to keep stubborn plants down.

also check for any dangerous branches from trees or trees that might come down on the fencing or the horses

7th you could also get a tree surgeon to remove dead or dying trees

8th Any trees you want to keep spray them with paint so tree surgeon knows which to keep and which not
 
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Wow! Thanks Leviathan. Lots of fab advise :)

I would absolutely LOVE to get a horse and pony in there asap. I had a good walk round and across the paddock yesterday and it's only very wet in one part. The rest just looks like a swarm of thistles that have died. I'm thinking that it may be possible to get it all topped, dig out any poisonous plants (I saw a handful of ragwort that needs to come up and be burnt), section off the wet part with electric fencing and possibly get a horse and pony on what's left.

I managed to get ahold of the farmers wife this morning and he's going to give me a call. My fiance and I are more than happy to do as much as we can with it ourselves (i'm sure the farmer is very busy). We've got a ride-on mower which I believe you can buy/hire various attachments for. I'm sure it'll come in useful for the paddock. We have an acre garden that needs cut too.

Oh I so can't wait to move out there. Only 4 weeks to go :) This'll be the first time i've kept a horse at home. Have always been on livery so absolutely no experience in paddock maintenance.

xxx
 
It depends on how you want the grazing to be long term tbh.

If you want thick good grass you definitely need to start from the beginning and re-seed. BUT you're looking at 2 years before any horses can go on it.

If you don't mind having poorer quality grazing, ie patchy, lots of weeding, and you'll be looking at feeding hay all year round then just do as you have said.

Also if you're thinking about turning out 24/7 during winter I wouldn't worry too much about it as 2.5 acres will soon become a mud bath.
 
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