Hello all! I’ve been trying to read through other threads? I’m not sure if that’s what they’re called, I’m new and this is my first post! So I have been looking through how other folks do things but I still have a couple questions:
I have 2 horses (one large, one small) on 2.5 acres total. the pastures are overgrazed with a lot of weeds. One pasture is about an acre, the other about 1.5. I am planning on getting a soil test. And come up with a plan of pasture rotation, but it will just have to be between the two pastures (no dry lot, no stalls)because of my set up. I have a great weed killer that we got last year but we have an actual pull behind sprayer now so we can do a much better job (last year we just used a backpack sprayer which pretty much sucked!)
Is it possible to get much improvement in such a situation?
Does aerating help? (Is that just where it pokes holes in the dirt before putting down seed)
I’m sure we will be told to put down some amount of lime, what is the safety protocol with like and horses?
Does dragging the pastures regularly make them better or worse?
Is it only safe to spray for weeds once in the spring and once in the fall or can we spray more often?
Grass takes at least two yrs. to get established so I think you are wasting time and money. I also have 3 horse on 31/2 aces but i take that 1/2 acre and made it a dry lot. I gave the other 3 acres two yrs. to establish a pasture and was lucky with the weather and that I had a farmer do it who knows whats he is doing. I credit him with our beautiful pasture.
Its cheaper to feed hay than try to keep a small pasture in good grass.
Reach out to your county extension. If they visit your site they can give you some recommendations for killing the weeds safely and the best grasses for seeding/overseeding in your area. You may have to fence off a small area with electric tape and use that area as a dry lot until the other pasture areas can recover.
There’s a book, Horse keeping on small acreage, that might be helpful.
Pasture management is highly dependent on location, which you don’t state. But regardless, you’re probably going to need to section off a sacrifice area to save the grass you do have when it’s sloppy. Horses tear grass up so badly when the ground is saturated.
I will second what Simkie said about about that book. Lots of good information in there.
If I had your set-up and there was no way to make a sacrifice area I would designate one pasture as a pasture and one as the sacrifice area and move forward that way. Carefully control the access to the pasture once you get it established with good grazing and feed them hay in the sacrifice area.
Assuming they can be turned out together I would use one paddock as a sacrifice, and carefully use the other as pasture.
If you need to reseed then that area will be out of commission for at least a year or two. A few days of rain and a couple running horses could still undo all of that work.
If they need to be turned out separately then your best bet would be sectioning off your paddocks into smaller areas and doing rotational grazing. That being said horses will graze 2.5 acres of grass down to nothing quite quickly, you’ll still need a sacrifice area where you can feed hay.
County extension office is an amazing free resource. They will help you with soil testing, the fertilizer and proper weed killer based on what they see in your paddocks. They will also be able to help you with resources from your local co-op if you need larger equipment to do the job. In my area we just had a free 2 hour free course on pasture managment by our extension office. Getting the word out about the services of the exstenion office was one of their goals.
The book mentioned is another good resource.
One thought is if you could maybe fence off a small section (1/2 or 1/4 acre?) of one of your paddocks near your run for a dry lot with maybe step in posts and electric tape? Then you could have 2 grass for rotation and one space for a dry lot.
Picking up the manure in such a small space is ideal. Dragging with a chain harrow is also helpful. Once it drys in the spring is a good time. But you should let the paddock rest.
Weedkiller: only use weed killer that is designed for horse pastures. Do not use weed killer for landscaping or yards, golf courses, etc. Some folks were using weed killer that was not rated for livestock because it is cheaper, but it is just not safe. Weed killer is dependent on what types of weeds you have and what time of year it is. Graze on Next, 2, 4-D couple of examples. Extension agent will help with this too.
Scatter seeding is not very effective. But February is a good time for that (with the seeds that are appropriate for this season) as it takes advantage of the thaw and freeze process to work the seed into the soil. Before seeding tho, weeds really need to be in check otherwise you will be wasting money on seed.
Couple of online resources you might find helpful. But again many things are regional, so be sure to find timeline for your area.
http://mda.maryland.gov/resource_conservation/Documents/seedsmlacr07.pdfq
https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/seed-info/equine-pasture-management-calendar
County try exstenion office is your friend! Give 'em a call! 
I have had up to 4 horses and 1 beef steer on a little over 2 acres in Southern Maryland, and depending on weather/rainfall, I am able to graze 24/7 from April to October.
My fields are primarily fescue, and I do overseed every couple of years in the fall. I scalp the paddocks over the winter, which allows the weed spray in the spring to reach the new weed growth. By mid-summer, the grass is thick enough to choke out 99% of the weeds. The ones that persist (typically spiny pigweed) are treated with Round-Up (or Tordon) and then dug up a week later. I fertilize every spring, coordinating it with a GOOD rainfall to soak the fertilizer in within 24 hrs.
I think I am successful because my “pasture” is divided into 5 sections - yes, they are tiny, about 50’x300’ - but I am able to swap from one to the other very easily. Each section is accessed by a gate off of my 40x80 sacrifice area, which is fenced with pipe corral panels. My water and shelter and barn are off of the sacrifice lot, too. It makes it SO EASY to just open gate #1,2,3,4,or 5, or confine everybody in the sacrifice lot.
Yes, my sacrifice lot is tiny, too. It works for me, but might not work for others. My horses are all geriatric, and not much interested in frolicking around. I am also very conscious of my herd dynamics, and will not allow a horse on the property that doesn’t co-exist peacefully.
@moving to dc Any chance you can share a picture of your set up? Thanks!
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It is kinda hard to see the fencelines but there are 5 long narrow sections. This photo is from 2012, right after we purchased the property and put up the cross fencing, and A LOT has changed since it was taken. The pasture was 1 big field when we moved in. The round pen is no longer located in the pasture, it is gone.
The fields are in much, much better shape now. The lady we bought from is SUPER sweet but refused to kill a single weed and there were HUGE patches of blackberries all over the place. We killed and dug all the weeds/berry plants and all of the dead areas have filled in now…
Thanks so much @moving to dc !! Totally helps to have the visual.
Can you change the fencing to make one larger pasture and a decent dry lot? There are sprays that kill just weeds alone 2-4-D is one( i think!!).
Then you can go back and have someone " no till drill" and plant your big pasture. That will eliminate the need for plowing, disking and gives the grass a firmer soil to start in.
No matter what you will have to limit their time on the pasture once it is firmly established. My 2 horses, 1 cow and 21 goats share 5 acres. The horses and cow are out every day 10 hours and the goats rotate days between that and another pasture for about 6 hours.
They have more than enough grass that way and spend the rest of the time in dry lots attached to their barns, with plenty of hay.
