I recently moved my horses from a very over-used and practically useless 1 acre field to a cozy 10 acre farm with 4 pastures. The fields have not been grazed in a few years so even after snow and harsh temps the grass is still in good shape. The horses have been out 24/7 except for the recent snow and have not even been touching their hay (I’ve only used one bale over the past 2 weeks and most of it has gone to waste!)
There are some weeds, however that I want to take care of in the spring. My original plan was to just rotate fields and let the previous one rest an entire season before moving back on it but now I’m wondering if I should maybe do some seeding or fertilizing? One of the fields is connected to their stalls and is less than an acre so I plan on having that as sacrifice area. The other fields are roughly 1 acre, 3 acres, and 5 acres. What are some maintenance tips that you guys have?
First thing I would suggest is contacting your local extension agency. They should have guides for you for your area and your type of grass.
Yes, weed control is good. Fertilizing/seeding is just going to depend. Often, it helps keep the grass nicer to mow it level once in a while when the horses aren’t in that one. Seems to keep things “growing” better. Also nice to drag the pasture so that you can break up the poop piles.
And pasture rotation is key!
mow often is the key.
be a little militant about using the sacrifice paddock - better to keep them in a few days than have the grass roots torn up. Mow often.
How many horses will be on it, and will it be 24x7? There aren’t many ways to divide 10 acres into 3 or more lots such that more than maybe 2 horses can have full time access and not eat it down if they’re on it for a full season. You’re looking at 2 acres for a decently stocked pasture for 1 horse if they have grass full time. Possibly 1 acre per horse if they are muzzled. It’s not necessary to rest a section for a whole season. If you have 3 paddocks of 3 acres, you can put 2-3 horses in a paddock for, say, 2 weeks, then move them, take care of what they just came out of, and cycle through the 3 sections. That gives each 3 acre section a month of rest
but now I’m wondering if I should maybe do some seeding or fertilizing?
Absolutely. The first step is your county extension agent to get a soil sample so you can get whatever lime is needed asap (it just takes a while to work, and if it’s more than about 2 tons per acre that’s needed, you want to split it into a couple applications, don’t do it all at once), and what it needs nutrient-wise. You will then plan on the timing of the fertilization. Like the lime, if the needs are high enough, multiple, spaced applications may be necessary.
Seeding will depend on what you’re putting down. Cool season grass like fescue needs to go down in late Summer/early Fall so it can develop roots while the soil is still warm but the air is cooling off. Warm season grasses like Bermudas need to go down in the Spring, once soil temps have warmed up, and the air temps are warming up as well.
One of the fields is connected to their stalls and is less than an acre so I plan on having that as sacrifice area. The other fields are roughly 1 acre, 3 acres, and 5 acres. What are some maintenance tips that you guys have?
Ok I missed this when I typed above. It still matters how many horses there are. The 1 acre paddock will need the shortest grazing time. 1 week, maybe 2 when grass is growing the fastest. The 3 acre lot can take probably 2 weeks - maybe 3 during fast growth. The 5 acre lot can probably take 3 weeks.
Between the time on the 3 and 5 acre lots, the 1 acre one will gets lots of rest. But it’s still going to come down to how many horses there are. 3+ on that 1 acre lot full time can do a lot of damage in a hurry, both from grazing, and from running. I would keep them off that one as much as possible when the ground is more than just the slightest bit damp. The bigger fields can take more foot traffic.
No matter the size, there will be spots they don’t graze, so you’ll still need to mow those regularly. You’ll want to mow more regularly as well to keep any weeds from setting seed.
Waiting to see how many horses on your 10 acres --but in the meantime, I religiously spray for weeds. I started about 10 years ago after losing more and more acreage to weeds every year despite mowing and mowing and mowing. Finally, I talked to the guy who brings my (beautiful) hay --I said, how do you keep weeds out of the hay fields? He sprays. So I took myself down to the Helena Chemical Company. They gave me the equipment for a soil sample, then (for FREE) did an analysis and recommended an herbicide (Trimec) for broad leaf plants (ie weeds) and a fertilizer (Cornon) and a booster EleMax). I put all that stuff into my handy 25 gallon pull behind my lawn tractor sprayer, (from TSC) and spray away on beautiful May days . . .temp over 55 but below 90, wind less than 10 MPH. It takes me about 6 hours to do my 20 acres --but I break it into three different times with a week between spraying, so after three weeks, I’m done and then I sit back and watch the weeds die and the grass grow. I have reclaimed all my previously weed infested acreage (brambles, burrs) and now have lush, beautiful grass --as a bonus, I also spray our yard --no dandelions or crab grass --but I am very careful around the hosta beds!!!
Mowing helps the grass compete, dragging to break up poo piles and distribute the toilet area helps prevent variances in PH and salt content that can be hard on grass but allow weeds to thrive. Horse poop is higher in salt than other big livestock, and any poo that hasn’t been composted can have too much nitrogen and ‘burn’ plants.
Get a soil test done every year so you know what your land needs in the way of fertilizing and remineralizing. It can also give you insight into what nutrients you might need to supplement. A lot of land that has been farmed or hayed is low in magnesium, thus the grass would also be low and you might want to balance that out.
Do something about the mud before it’s a problem.
Brown winter grass is not as nutritious as hay because it hasn’t been cured the same way. It sounds like your guys are loving it, so I wouldn’t worry, just puting it out there. In the midwest some people like to overseed rye grass to provide winter forage. Not sure where you are or if it’s common in other parts of the country.
Managed intensive rotational grazing is hot in the grass fed beef industry and can get you the maximum return of biomass per acre, but I’ll let you google that on your own if you’re feeling particularly crunchy.
Congratulations on your new horse home! It sounds like a nice transition for you.
Thank you for the insight so far! I will definitely be looking into getting a soil test done!
For those of you asking, I live in central VA and currently have 2 horses, one of which is a mini that wears a grazing muzzle. That may go up but I am maxed out at 5 horses.
We just purchased our place a few months ago. Unfortunately, our pens are filled with weeds and I missed seeding iin October/November, so next spring, I’ll get it done on time. I got analyses of soil samples from the extension office and surprisingly enough, I only need nitrogen and potassium. Definitely thought I would need lime, but didn’t. What I learned the hard way was that certain weeds need particular herbicides. For example, dicamba on creeping charlie. The extension office was really helpful. As I live in a surburban area, it took them a few weeks to figure out some strange looking (and behaving) weeds I have. I’m confident I have the right stuff now. Congratulations and good luck!
Mowing is key. It seems counter-intuitive, but keeping the pasture mowed helps redistribute the seed heads, which sows the grass, etc etc. The thicker the grass, the less weeds will come up. I live in the Southwest where pasture is a premium. My entire property is 1.2 acres and I have two horses and two goats on it, along with my barn, arena and house. Pasture is a premium that not many have. I do feed hay year round. We irrigate pasture every two weeks and rotate between two pastures and dry lot turnout. If your pasture gets too overgrazed, you have to rest it. Out here, the soil is very poor quality so you have to work to enrich it. Use your county extension to the fullest - they are going to be the most familiar with your local issues and will be the best resource.
Agree with many of the others posting here. I am also in Central Virginia, and believe with your current number of horses, you should be able to rehab the pastures by seeding, fertilizing and good pasture management. I would not spray weeds or use a herbicide, but I would mow weekly during the growing season. You could, in fact, overseed this month.
Manure management is also essential. Harrowing a paddock to break up manure after you’ve moved the horses is key. Since you have a sacrifice area, you should be able to pick manure in that area, but rotate and harrow the others and only pick occasionally around feeding spots. (We have to pick around our round bale feeder.)
In re: mowing, a mistake new pasture managers make is mowing too short. You do not want a pasture to be mown to the same length as a lawn - 4 - 6"s is ideal, and again, mown weekly while it’s growing. If you use a belly mower or a zero turn, make sure it can be adjusted high enough to mow at the proper height.
And I would also recommend soil tests. You can pick up instructions and little boxes from the County extension agent. I believe the test is free (?) or ridiculously cheap, like $1/sample, or you can pay more and VA Tech will fax or email the results to you and you’ll get them faster.
Don’t pay $$$ for fertilizer without soil testing first. Possible exception - it you are in certain parts of Central VA where the soil is clay and uniformly acid you can not physically spread enough lime on the soil. You can take a wild guess and spread lime without the soil test.
