How to Care for Your Horses Paddock

8/4/2019 How to Care for Your Horses Paddock

1/4

How to care for your horses paddock. 2006.

How to care for your horses paddock

Providing adequate grass for feed and enough space for healthy exercise and horsecontentment are basic needs that horse owners need to consider.

Follow these steps to ensure your horses pasture is in the best possible conditionand that he/she is provided with everything they need in the field.

Pasture planning and budgeting

The cost of maintaining good quality grass and grazing land in good heart is normallymore than compensated for by an improved equine health, lower feed and vets billsand better horse performance. Where paddocks are over stocked, poorly managedand allowed to get out of control, the results can be disastrous. A planned pasturemaintenance programme with rest or break as part of the rotation is a key factor ingood horse grass management. Choosing the right fertiliser is equally important.

Initial field care and safety checks

Before moving horses on to new pasture, it is important to check the field condition

and if possible its history. What is the state of fertility, weed incidence, worm burden,drainage, poaching, lime status of soil and appearance of grass? Are the hedges andfencing satisfactory and is adequate clean drinking water available?

It is most important to make sure there are no poisonous weeds present. Ragwort,whether it is alive or dead can inflict incurable liver disease and ultimately a mostpainful death. Poisonous weeds should be pulled up/dug out and burned or carriedaway or alternatively treated with an appropriate weed killer and the dead matterremoved and safely disposed of. If using a herbicide carefully follow the instructions.Always rest the field after applying chemicals until they have bio-degraded. If unsureabout weed identification, seek further expert advice.

If the pasture is badly poached, it probably indicates poor drainage. Check theditches after rain to see whether any drains present are running and look for wetspots/boggy areas.

SeedingAreas that need reseeding should be raked or harrowed and dressed (by handbroadcasting direct drilling or injection) with a good reputable horse paddock seedsmixture. Choose a mixture with up to 50% of two or three perennial (diploid)ryegrasses, 25% creeping red fescues and cocksfoot if the land is dry but roughstalked meadow grass is wet.


2/4


Seeding can be done from April to October providing adequate moisture/irrigation isavailable. A light dressing of fertiliser 2/3 weeks before sowing will help get quickestablishment of the sward. Ploughing and total re seeding should be avoided if at allpossible, and only undertaken as a last resort.

Some horse owners also provide an area at one end or headland of a paddock or agrazing strip with beneficial herbs such as fenugreek, vetch and comfrey. These canbe a useful source of minerals, but it is generally more practical to supply these as afeed supplement or mineral block in the field.

Field division, rest and rotation

Horse pasture ideally needs to be divided into separate grazing areas. Electricfencing is a convenient and flexible means of splitting a paddock to get controlledgrazing.

Where convenient sized/sufficient paddocks are available however, maintenance andresting periods should not be a problem. It is important that pasture doesnt becomehorse sick and that stock rotation and field rest are practiced to avoid this.

Managing rotation

Grazing horses - Assuming the initial care as above has been carried out, horsesmay be put out to graze on a fresh area once any fertiliser has been washed in. It is agood idea to worm horses before moving them onto fresh pasture, and also clearaway any horse droppings. Worm infestation can seriously impair a horses healthand temperament (see separate guide How to worm your horse).

Grazing period by cattle or sheep - These bovine animals are not generallyaffected by the same species of worm that afflict equines, and cattle or sheep shouldreally be left to graze and clean up after the horses are taken out. Bovines also tendto graze less selectively than horses and graze off the rough area and weeds thathorses tend to leave. Topping of rough grasses may otherwise be required.

Seasonal maintenance, rest and re-growth - After removing stock from an area,spiked/chain harrows should be used to spread any droppings and aerate the soil.Spreading the droppings exposes the worm eggs to weathering and helps kill themoff by frost and heat exposure. This should be done in drying conditions. Grass

heavily infested with moss however should not be harrowed as this spreads thespores. (A dressing of Iron Sulphate or moss herbicide may be advisable if theproblem is severe).

Extra fertiliser can be given at the start of any rest period. Harrowing in early springcan help remove dead matted grass from around the roots and subsequent rollingshould improve tillering and the production of more leaves. Rolling may also becarried out to push in stones and level out poached areas, but should not beoverdone.Getting the right fertiliser programme


3/4


Soil that is impoverished and nutrient deficient will not only produce little grass ofpoor quality, but will allow weeds to compete with the grass for nutrients and riskinducing nutritional problems for the grazing animal.

It is certainly advisable and may be very important to know the fertility level of the

pasture before deciding on what fertiliser to apply, and particularly the pH or limestatus. Ideally the pH should be between 6.25 and 6.75 (slightly acidic) and it isrecommended that if possible you ask your local lime merchant to test the field andcalculate the amount of any lime that may be required.

Failing that for DIY exponents, there are various soil testing kits available or pHmeters that will give a useful guide. Alternatively soil samples can be taken and sentto a laboratory for analysis. The analysis report will normally give the pH and showthe amount of Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) and Magnesium (Mg) available.

Generally fields require a dressing of lime every 3/4 years unless on chalk/limestone

areas. Soils that are low in Magnesium should be given Dolomitic Limestone.Calcified seaweed is also a useful source of lime and trace elements and is acomplimentary to fertilisers.

Clover

Whilst a proportion of clover can be beneficial in grazing pastures and helps build upthe soils nitrogen reserves, too much clover can be too rich and cause digestiveproblems for horses and lead to an imbalance of soluble carbohydrates and theCalcium:Phosphate ratio of the herbage.

Preferably pasture (or hay) should not contain more than about 40% clover andpreferably less. Where there is a danger, it is recommended Ammonia Sulphate21%N be used. Providing nitrogen in this form and reducing the phosphate input willtend to inhibit the growth of clover. In the event of clover becoming a serious threat tohorse health a suitable herbicide may be required.

Laminitis

Laminitis is a complex and serious disease of equines and manifests itself by painfulinflammation of the fleshy laminae in the feet, which can be crippling and if nottreated, fatal. The problem is generally the result of a build up of endotoxins by the

micro-organisms of the gut, often as a result of ingesting too much solublecarbohydrate from an over-rich spring flush of grass but also by Calcium:Phosphorusimbalance. Luxury uptake by the grass from excess nitrates (i.e. quick actingchemical forms of Nitrogen) should be avoided.

It is important therefore to use a balanced fertiliser, which contains no added quickacting nitrates. Horses that are prone to laminitis should be kept off the grass duringspring or only allowed restricted access.

You will need

Paddock Mix (Grass Seed)


4/4


FertiliserSoil Testing KitElectric Fencing

For queries or related product details email [email protected]

Information Source: Palmers Fertiliser.

The information in this publication is meant as a brief and general guide only and is not intended to be an exhaustive treatmentof the subject. Countrywide Farmers plc advises that you should always consult a professional, as it is possible that theinformation in this guide may not relate to your particular situation. In the absence of its negligence, Countrywide Farmers plc

does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage, however caused, as a result of any reliance placed upon informationgiven in this guide by the reader or anyone to whom such information is communicated. (CWF 2006)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

How to Care for Your Horses Paddock

Documents

Transcript of How to Care for Your Horses Paddock