# Too much grass



## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Wasn't sure where to put this one :shock:

So last year my grass didn't grow in that tall (didn't have to mow as much) but it was still thick and the horses were fat. I have 3 easy keepers, one with Insulin Resistance and one that I'm keeping an eye on for it. My pastures are 300' by 110' for 2 mares (one senior and the one pony with IR), and 320' by 85' for my gelding (the one I'm keeping an eye on). Should I put up a dividing fence to cut the pastures in half and let them have half at a time? Would that be better for the grass and them?

I do give hay year round, but obviously not as much when the grass is in. Even with how short it was last year - their heads were down from 7 AM until 7 PM (they come in at night to rest the fields). What do you think? Just keep letting them at it or try to restrict it? I can put muzzles on, but they'd be happier without them lol.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

Nickers2002 said:


> Should I put up a dividing fence to cut the pastures in half and let them have half at a time? Would that be better for the grass and them?


Yes and yes! Rotation is best for the grass so you can let it recover before the horses graze past the crown of the plants. This also keeps the grass from getting too stressed and some studies show stressed grass is higher in sugars and thus worse for horses. I would split it into at LEAST 2 sections. Just a single strand of hot tape or wire would do in this application, with step-in posts that can be easily moved.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

So splitting the 2 pastures into 4 would be:
Mares: 2 pastures 150' x 100' shared
Gelding: 2 pastures 110' x 85'

Is that enough space for them?


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## BowmanFarms (Jul 24, 2014)

Can i just say, I wish i had this problem. 

TOO much grass lol


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

BowmanFarms said:


> Can i just say, I wish i had this problem.
> 
> TOO much grass lol


Not when you have horses that are air ferns lol.

My husband complains because he has to cut it every 3-5 weeks in the summer (keeps weeds down too). He said that's why we have horses. We are planning on getting 2 pygmy goats hopefully, but not adding any other horses. It's bad when you have to think about this stuff - every place I boarded at was overgrazed so I never thought of this issue ><


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## BowmanFarms (Jul 24, 2014)

We have to think about, seeding, fertilizing and all that stuff. 

This will be our second summer in the house with the horses, last summer we were worried about putting fence up and building a barn. 

Now we are looking at more fencing and all that fun stuff above. 

Plus we are getting two more horses this spring so that should be fun

Now granted i know that our first pasture was overgrazed last year and i can see someone saying 'well if your field is overgrazed already why get two more horses'

A) helping a nonhorse person who got stuck with horses she doesnt want 
B) amazing horses to be GIVEN to me 
C) we have 20 acres and have only used about 2

Sorry want to cover my behind a little on that one.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

BowmanFarms said:


> We have to think about, seeding, fertilizing and all that stuff.
> 
> This will be our second summer in the house with the horses, last summer we were worried about putting fence up and building a barn.
> 
> ...


This is our 3rd summer where we are. Fences were already in place, and there is a barn/huge run in that we put 3 stalls in. The property was overgrazed when we moved in (5 drafts and 1 appaloosa on 4.25 acres) so we did a lot of seeding and fertalizing the first year  I just think I did too much for the horses I have lol.

No reason to cover yourself  I wish I had more acreage, but I'm learning to appreciate my farmette


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## BowmanFarms (Jul 24, 2014)

Nickers2002 said:


> This is our 3rd summer where we are. Fences were already in place, and there is a barn/huge run in that we put 3 stalls in. The property was overgrazed when we moved in (5 drafts and 1 appaloosa on 4.25 acres) so we did a lot of seeding and fertalizing the first year  I just think I did too much for the horses I have lol.
> 
> No reason to cover yourself  I wish I had more acreage, but I'm learning to appreciate my farmette


Yea we were in a sort of rush to move and get the horses here we only had time to put up one fence. 

The property we have was not set up for horses originally so we had to start from scratch. I wish we could have gotten something with fences and a barn already up. :lol:

We proly have 8 acres of grassy/ type area, and only about 2 acres fenced in now. All of it needs work tho. 

Might i ask? (as like you this is my first place where i had to worry about grass maintenance) how much of a pain was seeding and fertilizing?

Cause i am honestly dreading it


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

It wasn't too bad. I was working with fields eaten down to sand so I brought in a load of clean fill dirt and used a york rake to harrow it all together (including the manure that was in the field). Then we spread rye grass since it's hardy here so I could get a root system established. After it started to grow in we spread a pasture mix made for this area/sandy soil. I put down pelletized lime before a big rain in the fall to start fixing the acidity of the soil too 

I also use a product called pasture pro to kill weeds and it fertilizes at the same time. It's safe to graze on after 24-48 hrs.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

you could combine the horses , unless the gelding is the boss and run the others off of feed.
then be able to rotate the horses without having to do more fencing. i do not plant rye seed, 
it is usually to warm in my area. The taller the grass the less sugar content.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

The gelding tried to kill the pony. They're fine over a fence and even groom each other that way, but too many girls with him and his brain breaks. He's much happier just being next to them. He is the dominant horse, but doesn't know how to be one correctly if that makes sense.

Rye takes hold well here until other grasses establish, that's why we did that first. And it holds up to high traffic and our weather.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Ok - I found this farm for sale nearby and they have 8 fields which all connect, 2/3 paddocks around the barn, a riding ring, a 5 stall barn with tack/feed rooms and wash stall and a house. Looks nice right?

It's only 2.99 acres :shock: How did they do all of this??? I showed it to my mom last night and she agreed that if a property like this can do it, we can  So I got the ok to split the pastures for rotational grazing! In the end we'll have 5 pastures altogether for the 3 horses. Hope it works out lol.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

wow, all that on 3 acres. pretty neat.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

stevenson said:


> wow, all that on 3 acres. pretty neat.


That's what I said! It is set up so nicely. I know the girl who lives there currently and she trains/shows hunters. I think this property goes to show you that it's not how much you have - but how you make it work


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Wow, that looks great! If this is indeed a project you're going to undertake, you'll have to post pics!


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Ok - this is the layout I came up with. This would give us 5 fields to rotate on. Does it look like enough room per field for 2/1 horse?

Thanks!


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