overgrazed pasture

[Tiff 36]

I have a pature that I haven't rotated, and now its been overgrazed ... what is the normal recovery time (assuming we have adequate rain every week). I only have one other pasture to rotate to so I don't want that one overgrazed too! Any suggestions to encourage growth?

[Flynn 314]

Harrow it Tiff

[MuttleMcTuttle 21]

Harrowing may help but it'd be good if you could rest the pasture for a couple of months at least. Would be good if you could take a crop of hay from the meadow or maybe run a few cattle on there before you let the horses back in.

If that's not possible try and get the long rough areas topped, patch spray for weeds and give it a little fertiliser, something like a 20-10-10 mix. Maybe have the soil tested to see if it needs a different mix for optimum growth. I wouldn't recommend putting too much nitrogen on or it'll be too rich for the horses.

If you have 2 fields (and no laminitic horses) I'd rotate them every 3 months or so. Clearing the dropings will help, but there'll still be scrubby long areas which the horses avoid.

[Flynn 314]

I always Used to strip graze Mine Tiff, you might like to try that option on most of your paddocks

As Muttle has rightly said get a soil sample taken

But i have never allowed Nitrates on any of my Land

and i tell You This Poo Picking is a must imho

tho you may moan now while your doing it believe me, when you no longer have horses Lordy do You Miss it

as bizzare as it seems LOL!!

all the Best

[clint 45]

Depend on how hard it be grazed already, but action is same. If you in one of the damp area, and no too high in the hill, you mayvbe see a big difference in a 2-3 of weeks, and you speed up by light going over with chicken schit (say 25 kg per acre). Don't put on unless there is good chance of rain within a day or two, and no use straight ammonium nitrate on heavily grazed grassland at this time of year, or you damage badly.

You can put sheep on when grass gets as high as toecap of you welli, and it safe to let them take it down to about third.

 

If you feel in rush, get little clover seed and sow it onto the heavily grazed bit in a week or so, then let sheep in field for 2-3 days to walk seed in, and take sheep out again. It always risk getting clover to grow, but there good chance it work in a damp August.

Edited August 2, 2010 by clint

[STUNTMAN 552]

Buy hay , big 2000 round bail in the other paddock.

[Tiff 36]

what is strip mine grazing?

 

I can pick horse shit up, haven't had to do it for about 20 years though, dog shit has become my specialty!

 

We have two 2-acre pastures, one is my goat & chicken pasture, and the other is the pasture where the pond is. I am going to move some cattle panels to finish a third pasture in a 1-acre area that is completely overgrown, hip high thick pasture that I've not mowed this year. That way I can rest the overgrazed pasture, and rotate between the new pasture and the goat pasture.

 

I don't have a harrow ... I could probably find a farmer who would do it for me though if I asked ... is that an important part of the "fixing" process?

 

whats a laminitic horse?

 

I don't have cattle or sheep to run on the land, we had talked about getting a half dozen lambs this year but decided to board some extra horses instead. But my daughter is in town and we are talking about going up to an animal auction sometime this week to get some ducks since Kye has found he is allergic to chicken eggs, so maybe I'll find some affordable hair sheep (dont want to have to shear). Last time I went to an auction alone and I made some really bad decisions so Kye had banned me from going to any more ... I promise I'll be good this time!

 

The pasture has a pond in the middle, the bottom part along a fence has a slight slope starting back about 20 feet before the fenceline, but other than that it is quite flat.

 

The barn is a 2 story monster half full of hay, I had been saving it for the winter but I guess it makes more sense to maintain the pastures so I will start putting a bale out as needed.

 

So basically my game plan should be to pick up the shit, mow any long areas (very few), harrow (if I can find someone to) fertilize, seed, and pray for rain rain rain .... do I have that right?

 

thanks for all your help folks, I learned my lesson about rotating, the pasture was SO thick a couple of months ago that I never thought they would eat it down!!

[MuttleMcTuttle 21]

whats a laminitic horse?

 

something every horse owner should be aware of

[Tiff 36]

interesting, like founder but different, I've been lucky then to have never heard of it!

[terrier410 53]

whats a laminitic horse?

 

something every horse owner should be aware of

very interesting read(think i'll have to read it again to take it all in tho) .thankyou.

[poacherkev 64]

if my paddocks have been striped i use fertiliser if i have spare cash but you cant beat chicken s**t but as others have said you need to do it just before it rains..good luck with it