How soon can horses graze in a field after lime application? I’ve read that it’s best to wait until rain washes the lime into the ground, but what if it doesn’t rain? Will it hurt horses to be on a freshly limed field?
My fields need lime but I don’t have a place to isolate the horses for more than a day or so. Even if lime isn’t applied directly to a small paddock the wind will likely blow it so that every field will have at least some lime on it.
Yes, turning out horses on newly limed fields may be harmful to them. The initial problem is that they will inhale lime dust while grazing. Even if you use the pelletized limestone there will still be dust from the pellets being beaten up some as they pass through the spreader ( broadcast spreader being worst for this than a drop spreader, of course.).
Next risk is ingestion while grazing. This is why you should not apply any potentially harmful dry product on damp pastures, as some will adhere to grass blades and be chomped up along with the grass.
If you apply to a nice dry pasture, you should wait for 2 to 3 days at least for any dust to settle and for the pellets or dust to settle onto the soil below the grazing line of the grass. Or, ideally, wait until it rains,
I apply lime, and I am of the rain school. Sometimes it happens right away, and sometimes it might take a much longer time, so I try to hold off applying the lime until rain is pretty definitely in the forecast for the next day.
Like anything related to horses, though, if you ask two horse people the same question you will probably hear at least three different strong opinions. One will be, "I do it all the time, and my horses have never had problems. 
From your comment about lime blowing in the wind, I presume you are using powdered lime. I would suggest going with a granulated lime instead because it will get results faster in your fields. Granulated is easier to handle, doesn’t blow around at all, stays where it lands more than powdered. It breaks down quicker with rain or even dampness on the soil. Powdered lime takes a lot longer to get into the soil and break down to show results. With the much slower break down of the mineral, it does have a longer lasting effect than granulated. So they each have benefits in making your choice.
So far as I know, there are no ill effects to horses grazing on lime ground. Powder may continue to blow around if you have no dampness, so a small posibility of horse breathing some lime dust in during grazing time. Grass may have lime powder on it without rain to wash the plants clean. I don’t want my horses eating lime dust!
So it is kind of “pick your spreading date” by watching weather forecasts, plus time you have to apply it, for choosing the right time to spread the powdered stuff. I PREFER to spread my granulated when rain is predicted in the next 24 hours. But weather doesn’t always follow a forecast, so my granulated may sit on the soil a couple days before getting wet. We get mostly nice dews (pretty darn damp!) in spring and fall when i would spread, starting the break down process, cleaning off the foliage of any dust. So even without good rain i would wait a few days before turning horses onto the limed field. Horses won’t get damaged grazing over granulated pellets on the soil.
Each location is different, you have to take that into account in making choices.
Definitely use pelleted or granulated lime, it will be at ground level, not where horses are eating it (but a few pellets here and that isn’t going to hurt) and they won’t breathe in dust. And, no wind carrying anything where it’s not needed and wasting $
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