Grass Management for Horse Breeding Lands
When you plan to keep and breed horses, it’s crucial to pay attention to the management of your grassland. Like any precious plant in your garden, grassland also needs proper care. To ensure it’s kept in good order and as worm-free as possible, it requires attention in the form of resting, fertilizing, and harrowing, especially in the early spring.
Useful Resources for Effective Grass Management
If this all feels new to you, don’t worry! The British Horse Society provides a handy and affordable guide called “Keeping a Pony at Grass.” This book is packed with user-friendly illustrations and advice on suitable fencing, using water containers, and other important topics related to grass management.
Planning Matters: Early Bird Gets the Worm
Your planning phase for grass management should start soon after Christmas. This is when you decide on which fields will be manured, harrowed, and rested for 2 or 3 months. It’s a bit like planning a trip – having a clear idea of what you’re doing and when helps everything run smoothly.
Rotating Rest and Care for All Fields
Just like people, fields too need rest. The fields that continue to be used for turning out horses must also get their turn of rest, manuring, and harrowing as soon as possible. Think of it as giving your land a well-deserved vacation so it can come back stronger!
Nourishing the Grass: Fertilizing
What does manuring mean? It’s like feeding your grass. By adding nutrients to your fields, you are essentially ensuring that your grass grows well. This nourished grassland is essential for your brood mares and young horse stock in spring and summer.
Assessing Soil Quality: The Do’s and Don’ts
Understanding your soil quality is a crucial part of grass management. Consider using the County Agricultural Services for free tests to determine what key minerals your soil lacks. It’s like getting a health check-up to know which vitamins you need more of. This way, you only nourish your soil with what it really needs.
The Local Expert Advantage: Your Farmer Friend
Your local farmer can be a great source of practical advice. With their hands-on experience and knowledge of the local terrain, they can guide you in your grass management efforts. Don’t hesitate to ask for their opinion—it’s like asking a friend for their best-kept secret.
Fertilizing Your Horse-Grazed Land the Right Way
Keeping your horse-grazed land healthy and thriving requires using the right kind of fertilizers. Luckily, there are convenient and effective options available to support your grass management efforts.
Hiring a Contractor for Fertilizer Spreading
If the thought of spreading fertilizer on your own feels overwhelming, a contractor has got your back. Think of them as a skilled professional equipped with the proper machinery to ensure even distribution of the fertilizer across your fields.
Lime: A Horse-Land Friendly Ingredient
There are many types of fertilizers, but if you’re looking for one that works wonders for your land, limestone is an excellent option. Lime helps balance the soil’s acidity levels, promoting healthier grass growth to keep your land in prime condition for your horses to graze upon.
The Tried-and-True Straw Manure Option
While there are various modern fertilizers, sometimes old-fashioned solutions work best. Well-rotted straw manure is a fantastic choice for fertilizing your horse-grazed land. This decomposed organic material helps to nourish the soil with essential nutrients, ensuring lush and healthy grass for your horses.
Bedding Choices: Sawdust vs. Straw
Selecting the right materials for a horse-friendly environment is a crucial part of maintaining fertile land. For instance, sawdust is not a suitable bedding option for a stud farm. If you do use sawdust, it must be burned before being applied to your land. Instead, stick with safer choices like straw bedding to avoid potential issues that could negatively affect your land’s health and fertility.
Weed Control in Horse Grazing Land: To Spray or Not To Spray?
Balancing between the right amount of weeds and healthy grass on your horse-grazed land can be challenging. While some farmers regularly resort to spraying as a means of weed control, it’s essential to evaluate whether this standard farming practice is necessary or beneficial for your land.
The Case of Docks: When Spraying Becomes Necessary
Every plant growing around your land has its special role, but an overgrowth of specific invasive weeds, like docks, can be detrimental to the overall health of your grassland. These weeds can crowd out your grass and other desirable plants, making spraying an efficient way to reduce their proliferation. It’s like weeding your garden: sometimes, you need to remove those that impede the growth of others.
Keep the Good Weeds: Natural Mineral Boosters for Horses
Contrary to what we might think, not all “weeds” are bothersome. Many of these plants flourishing in your field borders and hedgerows are a natural source of extra minerals for your horses. They work like a natural supplement, providing necessary nutrients that your horse might not be getting elsewhere.
Spray with Care: Protect Your Horses from Poisonous Weeds
Any control method should always consider the safety and health of your horses. Spraying is not an exception. It’s crucial to make sure that sprayed materials aren’t accessible to your animals. Withered weeds, especially if treated with chemicals, can pose a significant threat as they can be highly poisonous. This danger can be even more pronounced if spray residues are carried by the wind to neighboring fields where your horses are grazing.
And, just like humans, horses need to observe social distancing too – from hedges or areas where spraying is performed. By taking these precautions, we ensure that our fields are places where horses can graze, trot, and explore safely.
Utilizing Cattle Manure: The Secret for a Healthy Horse Pasture
Grazing Patterns: Horses and Cattle, the Perfect Team
Pair up horses and dewormed cattle in your fields and watch the magic unfold! When these two grazers collaborate, they effectively consume all the grass, leaving no uneven patches. This horse-cattle tag team offers a win-win setup where one eats behind the other, ensuring a neatly grazed field. It’s like a natural lawnmower getting the job done!
A Worm-Free Zone: Why Horses and Cattle Make a Great Combo
You might wonder if parasites could be an issue with mixed-species grazing. Rest easy! Interestingly, horse and cattle parasites are species-specific, meaning they can’t survive in the wrong host animal. To put it in a fun way, picture a lost horse worm ending up in a cow’s stomach, realizing it’s in the wrong home, and promptly expiring. This parasite control strategy is like setting up an animal-friendly defense mechanism for your grazing fields.
Pasture Maintenance: Cross-Harrowing Technique
Taking care of your pasture involves regular maintenance. One proven method is cross-harrowing. Drag your harrows east-west then north-south at intervals throughout the year to ensure thorough coverage. This action breaks down and disperses the droppings across the field which serves as natural fertilizer.
Limited Space: Adapting Your Maintenance
When dealing with a smaller area, a little tweak in your maintenance would be beneficial. In limited acreage, carefully picking up droppings should be implemented. Just consider that undertaking breeding in a substantially confined space might not be ideal, similar to a city-dweller hoping to start a large-scale farming operation in their backyard.
Selecting the Right Fencing for Horse Pastures: Safety, Cost, and Efficiency
Just as crucial as good grass quality and regular maintenance, the right type of fencing guarantees the safety of your horses and the security of your pasture. Several options exist, each with its pros and cons, but it’s crucial to prioritize the safety and comfort of your animals.
Wooden Fencing: Aesthetics Versus Cost
The gold standard for horse pasture fencing is post and rail—no doubts about it. It’s sturdy, safe, and also adds a pleasant aesthetic to your ranch. But, beauty comes with a price – it can be quite expensive.
However, fret not! If budget is a concern, a cost-effective alternative is available. You can source rails and posts from forestry commissions or large estates. While these may not have the polished look of store-bought fences, they’ll effectively do the job of keeping your horses secure.
Barbed Wire: The Unforgiving Nemesis of Young Horses
While on the topic of materials to avoid, let’s talk about barbed wire. Yes, it’s cheap and may deter potential intruders, but it’s a peril for horses, especially the younger ones. It’s best to imagine barbed wire as bad news waiting to happen. The heavier the thunderstorm, the greater the damage—so stay clear.
Gates: The Importance of Double Fastenings
Gates play an important role in your fencing system, but they can be the weak point if not appropriately secure. Horses are clever and occasionally mischievous animals—they have a knack for fiddling with catches and fastenings. Hence, ensure your gates have at least two secure fastenings. It’s like having an additional lock on your door for that extra peace of mind.
Double Fencing: The Newmarket Endorsement
For the optimum security setup, consider double fencing. Think of it as an extra layer of security between your precious horses and the big, wide world. How far apart should these fences be? Newmarket standards suggest a gap of 12 feet, large enough to prevent fights over the fence, yet close enough to discourage horses from getting trapped in-between. Safety first, always!
