What grasses to sow in field?

Spotherisk

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We moved house in August, only about ten miles as the crow flies but we knew the soil and land was different - we’d been on old pasture over granite for years, and now we’re on red soil, no granite just shale, and it’s semi-clay. It’s also been ploughed and reseeded probably within the last couple of years, and you can actually see the drill lines and plough rows. I’ve had three (unshod) on this six acres since October and it’s holding up okay but long term I want to improve it. The previous owner had no stock but a farmer did run sheep on it and cut it for hay. Fields close by which haven’t been ploughed have the typical close cropped look of moorland turf, whereas mine seems to be aiming for either docks, clover or bald patches! I have contacts who can do the actual contract work, but my question is how do I source the right kind of seed for the land, and how long will I need to keep the horses off it (I could split the field in half if necessary).
 

PurBee

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Are you in the uk?
Test soil to see what ph/nutrients levels are and adjust soil based on that, then sow mixed species grasses. Ph of 6-6.5 for grass works best.
To get rid of the dock and clover if theres loads, organically, id deep plough it, then spread farmyard manure, then rake to even out the plough, make a crumbly top texture, then seed, then roll.
Really a whole grow season is needed for a firm rooting of new seedlings to take hold and withstand heavy animal traffic. Allowing them to graze before the plants really establish will ruin the job. Depending on weather, growth speed of new grass . You might get away with grazing it in autumn if spring sown and its rooted/grown well.

Ive used cotswoldseeds.com in the past - theyve got great variety of mixes. Some without ryegrass too. Theyll make up a bespoke mix to suit your horses. They are farmers there and have loads of knowledge so worth calling them and describe your soil/climate to them to see which species suit your area best.
They also do organic seeds.

It might be worth doing half your acreage this year and half next year, as i presume you need some for grazing this year, unless you have other land available allowing you to do the full 6 acres in one go?

Fast establishing leys are more ryegrass based, while slower establishing ones are older grass species more suitable for horses. Its worth the wait to have a really decent pasture of mixed grasses.

They say 10-14kg seed per acre to sow from bare ground, but ive found it to be more like 18kg needed per acre to get a really dense grass ley more suited to hooves less inclined to poach.

Im sowing this year too, cant wait for the soil to warm up - ive got a great seed mix for hay cutting, first year ill be able to make my own bespoke hay mix, im very excited!
 

GSD Woman

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I know there are some areas in the USA where certain types of clover are desired. Clover does add nitrogen to the soil so maybe have a nice clover mix with your grasses?
 

PurBee

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Clover is great for adding nitrogen, i have some of it in my fields, but not much.

The clover species to avoid sowing would be aslike clover. It causes photosensitisation and liver issues.
The black spot fungus on other clover varieties causes slobbers but its thought to be non-toxic other than that.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/know_what_you_grow_clover_toxicity_and_horses

When i found out about aslike clover i went hunting in my fields trying to identify it...i found some on the land but not in the grazing areas, so can be found dotted about on old pastures.

I dont prefer to sow clover because it spreads so easily and can take over a pasture, especially bare bits.

Here’s an interesting website about grasses suitable for horses, and their take on clover:

https://calmhealthyhorses.com/grass/nitro_clov.html

Their stance is pastures should be mixed species low nutrient grasses due to horses eating so much volume when grazing. By fertilising all the time, adding new hybridised ‘supercrop’ ryegrass species, creates in the end many nutritional imbalances in the horse which results in us having to use supplements etc to correct the rich pasture/hay feed imbalances.

Obviously, horses engaging in heavy work/sports need the boost in nutrients and calories in comparison to ‘leisure horses’ but i personally think thats better coming from added bowel feeds, that can be measured/regulated by the owner than to have them free grazing acres of very rich, high legume, highly fertilised pastures 24/7.

My pastures worried me when i first grazed them as there is mixed species old meadow grass varieties, not very dense grass growth, the only weeds being clumps of rushes which they graze around. But the horses do great on it! They look terrific and have a great temperament while on majority grazing of this ‘crappy’ land! Ive been re-sowing areas with still the same grasses i identified here, to have a thicker coverage to prevent poaching...as that became a problem.
 

Sussexbythesea

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I read recently that clover is a legume like alfalfa (Lucerne) and can cause hormonal and therefore behavioural issues as it contains phytoestrogens. Not looked into it much further than that yet. So maybe avoid and stick to grasses.

It’s an Australian / NZ page but interesting. Called “calm healthy horses” .

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Spotherisk

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Wow,thank you all for your input. Purbee yes I’m in Devon, on the southern edge of Dartmoor at 600 feet. You’ve all given me a lot to look into - I’m sure the grasses here are ‘richer’, I haven’t fed any hay yet this year and two of the three are still too fat with the 28 year old looking perfect. I can get researching now :)
 

SlinkyMinxy

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As you're in Devon, it might be worth contacting Matford Arable/PG seeds for some advice. They are based in Starcross and offer a consultancy service as well as seed mixes specifically for equine paddocks.
 
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