# Turning Woods into Pasture



## sadiescreek (Oct 19, 2012)

We have just purchased 7 1/2 acres of land that is all trees. There is no parts cleared. I want to move mmy horse there in the near furture and was wondering how to get pasture. Is it okay to leave some trees? If so how much and what kinds? Is there anything I should watch out for? 
Thank you!
Ps- Im from eastern Canada so we have the following trees (most popular) 
Maple trees, pine trees, birch trees etc.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You would need to get enough trees cleared to allow decent grass to grow - its not going to grow in the shade especially in dry spells when those trees are sucking every drop of moisture from the ground
I would just leave a clump in one area where they can stand to keep put of the sun in the hot months and if possible some of the pine trees to give winter shelter
Red Maple is poisonous to horses so check what type you have growing there
You'll have to get the land seeded with good grass if its got nothing growing on it - and the stumps will need removing or they'll be a hazard to horses knocking their legs or tripping over them


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Go online and get a list of harmful/poisonous plants, trees and vegetation in your area with regards to horses in particular.. 
Now go walk your entire property and carry a can of spray paint and paint those trees needing to come down, flag with tape the plants needing gone.

You want to leave some trees for sun, rain and wind protection for your horses. There is a happy balance of how many to take away or leave so you can grow grass.
Certain maples are as good as deadly to horses, same as oaks...there are others such as walnut...you need to be positive of what is on the land.

Remember the trees play a key role in soil erosion protection and holding that soil for the grass to grow in.
You also need to search for a water source that may be present at some times of the year such as rainy season and plan accordingly for that with fence line.

I would contact a logging company to come take down the trees. If they are hardwoods they are worth money for using in industry or just for burning to heat your home. 
These companies though would have the equipment to take-down, cut and remove the trees and hopefully grind the stumps at least flat if not remove them. 
Make sure you are allowed to clear the trees and what trees as certain things are not allowed in certain places.

Hope that gives you some thoughts to start your quest on information from..
Good luck and congratulations on your land purchase.
:wink:


----------



## sadiescreek (Oct 19, 2012)

jaydee said:


> You would need to get enough trees cleared to allow decent grass to grow - its not going to grow in the shade especially in dry spells when those trees are sucking every drop of moisture from the ground
> I would just leave a clump in one area where they can stand to keep put of the sun in the hot months and if possible some of the pine trees to give winter shelter
> Red Maple is poisonous to horses so check what type you have growing there
> You'll have to get the land seeded with good grass if its got nothing growing on it - and the stumps will need removing or they'll be a hazard to horses knocking their legs or tripping over them


First off thank you very much for replying. I was going to do research on whats posionous and not. My cousin is going to school for plants trees, ground etc. He has a great knowledge of the forest and types of trees. I will have it point out all the types that I have researched to be harmfull. I dont think the dry spells will be a problem. Its hardly ever dry here and the land is positioned on a slight incline. There is also a river. Also about how long do you think it will take approx.


----------



## sadiescreek (Oct 19, 2012)

horselovinguy said:


> Go online and get a list of harmful/poisonous plants, trees and vegetation in your area with regards to horses in particular..
> Now go walk your entire property and carry a can of spray paint and paint those trees needing to come down, flag with tape the plants needing gone.
> 
> You want to leave some trees for sun, rain and wind protection for your horses. There is a happy balance of how many to take away or leave so you can grow grass.
> ...


Thank you for replying! Like I said to the other poster, I am lucky enough to have a cousin that works in the industry who could confirm all the plants which I research to be posionous. Its is also on the river so I dont believe water will be an issue. There is more than one stream leading to it. Its positioned on a hill. My cousin has a clear knowledge of how to keep the land from eroding. My family is also very good with the tree and stump removel. There is lots of people and businessed around here that can help with that. Do you know approx. how long before my horse can move in?


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

That would depend on how fertile the land is - you need to give the grass time to get established. Depending on how many horses you have you could divide it up and just use a small part of it while the rest grows and feed hay to them


----------



## sadiescreek (Oct 19, 2012)

jaydee said:


> That would depend on how fertile the land is - you need to give the grass time to get established. Depending on how many horses you have you could divide it up and just use a small part of it while the rest grows and feed hay to them


 Thank you very much youve been very helpful. There will only been two horses.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

This is how we did our pastures when we moved onto our place: Year One (in the fall) - prepped for seeding with discing and harrowing; Year Two (in the spring) - seeded for grass; Year Two (in the fall) - let the horses into one pasture. 

Where we went wrong was in Year Three (in the spring). We should have made a sacrifice field (which we do now - a corral about 1 1/2 acres in size) and kept the horses in there for a couple of months that spring to let the grasses grow and establish themselves better. We didn't and the horses tramped and pillaged sections of the pasture which destroyed some of the grass.


----------



## NorthernHorse (Jan 11, 2013)

I have 7.5 acres as well, and its pretty much all trees, there is a mixture of pine, spruce, poplar, and birch trees. we cleared and fenced about an acre for now, and I have 2 horses on it, and it requires feeding hay year around. Next year we will hopefully fence off the rest of it, and maybe clear more. Once we start clearing more land, cleaning up the deadfall, mulching the stumps down, and seeding/fertilizing, and letting the grass get established it will be at least 2 years before we can turn the horses loose on it. We have decided to let the evergreens stay, but all the deciduous trees are going bye bye, due to the fact that they are so invasive and take no time to grow back and take over new pasture. 

I don't think a logging company would come and take the trees out for you, 7.5 acres is a small piece of land, that the expense for them to take those trees, would not leave any profit in it for them.


----------



## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

I would leave as many trees as possible, with some open areas as well. Keep in mind that you can always remove trees if you deem it necessary, but you can't put a mature tree back in a short period of time :wink: Are you looking to make all 7.5 acres into pastureland? Or are you planning on some sort of development- barn, house, arena, etc. If you're going to develop the land into anything other than pasture, then I'd start getting an idea of what you want to do and plan on leaving the rest as woods/pasture. 

After you've roped off any "development" areas, I'd plan on clearing a fairly large area towards the front of the pasture for grazing, with several patches of shade trees around the open areas. If it were me, I'd try to keep a fair amount of the wooded area as well. Consider fencing off the tamed pasture area if you don't want the hassle of keeping toxic plants out of the woods where your horses are. Put a gate between the two areas, so you can keep them contained or let them out. It'll also allow for easy access to the back if you want to maintain a few winding trails through the woods.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

When horses continually walk on tree roots those trees will start to die off. If you decide to clear cut the land be sure to leave a good thick stand that will offer the horses shelter from winds or shade. I have a stand of trees that extends about a hundred feet to the north and gets wider toward the west. When the wind is blowing hard it is calm in there.


----------



## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Birches, poplars and sugar maples are safe for horses. Mine will actually peel a bit of bark in the spring when the sap starts running. They don't seem to bother the rest of the year. 

The dried leaves and branches of the cherries and red maple are poisonous in any great amount. You don't have to freak if a few blow over the fence but if you have them and there isn't enough grass or hay they will eat them. I had a friend loose her horse to red maple not too long ago. Knowing how she feeds I'm betting the horse didn't have hay for a few hours and the red maple leaves were blowing down in an autumn rain. It's kind of one of the reasons I do feed hay around the clock when the grass isn't growing. They don't bother if there is something better.

Poplar trees want to take over the world. They spread by sucker roots and seed. If you don't stump the land they will just keep coming and some will come anyway.

I've got nearly 20 acres fenced for the horses. We did have a local logger come in and take trees for pulp. He was working down the road so there wasn't any real cost for moving the equipment. He wouldn't have come for so little if he hadn't already been here. It's been about 3 yrs and the birches and poplars are back and over my head in the places where the horses don't graze regularly. The few spots that got stumped are still clear. I think just under 8 acres was heavily wooded, about 4 acres was kind of field reverting to woods. I can just barely keep the trees back myself by hand. It wants to revert back. I spend a lot of time in the summer running saplings over with the lawn mower and hand cutting the ones that have gotten too big.

If another logger should show up nearby I'll let him have what has grown up for the taking again. Nobody would pay for the little bit of wood that is here. Last time I marked off the "cool" or useful trees I didn't want cut with surveyors tape and let the loggers do their thing. Worked pretty well. They only got one oak I wanted but I think that was a communication breakdown between the help.
I sit on a river too. Lot of laws and rules about logging near water so read up. Mine also has a tendency to flash flood. You can see the history of winter flooding by the ice gouges on trees along the bank. Know what the water does and don't under estimate it. Water is powerful.



How fast it will be ready depends on how fast you cut, stump, rake and seed. Then you are going to have to depend on the weather to cooperate.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

My horses have all but destroyed two young sugar maples in one paddock by chewing at the bark to get to the sap. I need to put some sort of a barrier around them


----------



## Herosbud (Dec 14, 2013)

I vote for hiring a high lift and getting some trees cleared or have a logger remove some and then clear out the stumps. It is difficult to get a good stand of grass under timber. And then you will be fighting the new seedlings coming up. If you have oaks like we do in my part of the world you could have problems with the horses eating the acidic acorns as well. Cutting trees is a touchy subject with some but in my opinion mature trees need to be culled from time to time.


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I couldn't find the pics of the change from wooded area to pasture. We cleared 7.5 acres of a wooded area. The process is not an instant one. It took a few years. The actual cutting and pushing took several weeks. The piles remained for a couple of years. We burned as they dried. If your property is not level expect there to be wash and depending on the grade you may need to seed those spots immediately. I agree with leaving a couple of stands especially on the side the wind is most prevalent or coldest. I also suggest you have the stumps removed. If the trees are cut and stumps ground then when the stumps rot you have holes the animals can break legs in. If we cut and have to leave the stump it is cut off high enough to not be an issue and as it rots and becomes easy to push then we push it out and fill/grade the spot it was. In order for pasture to establish you can leave and have natives come up, mowing frequently to prevent regrowth of shrubby crap and trees or seed which can be expensive. You need to keep the animals off if you expect it to be thick. A sacrifice area while you are allowing this is essential. It can also serve as a handy pen later.


----------



## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

QtrBel said:


> I couldn't find the pics of the change from wooded area to pasture. We cleared 7.5 acres of a wooded area. The process is not an instant one. It took a few years. The actual cutting and pushing took several weeks. The piles remained for a couple of years. We burned as they dried. If your property is not level expect there to be wash and depending on the grade you may need to seed those spots immediately. I agree with leaving a couple of stands especially on the side the wind is most prevalent or coldest. I also suggest you have the stumps removed. If the trees are cut and stumps ground then when the stumps rot you have holes the animals can break legs in. If we cut and have to leave the stump it is cut off high enough to not be an issue and as it rots and becomes easy to push then we push it out and fill/grade the spot it was. In order for pasture to establish you can leave and have natives come up, mowing frequently to prevent regrowth of shrubby crap and trees or seed which can be expensive. You need to keep the animals off if you expect it to be thick. A sacrifice area while you are allowing this is essential. It can also serve as a handy pen later.


Well that saved me some typing. 
No matter how you slice it stumps will = holes that need grading or filling (or both).

Additionally.
7.5 acres is way more than you'll need for one horse, but will allow for great pasture/grazing management.

4-6 acres (up to you) worth of grazing area (you can have trees arranged however you prefer over the 7.5 acres) gives plenty of grazing and will allow you to partition the area off into 3-4 areas so that you can rotate the grazing. There will be times, like mid - late Spring, when rapid growth will require that you cut areas that are too lush before rotating, but overall it will allow you to be able to rotate the horse onto good grass between 4-6" in height and move it off grass that's been grazed down to 2"or less. This will avoid over grazing and keep the pastured area healthier and growing well. Rotating also has the benefit of getting the FEC down (even down to 0, although anything under 150 is below the recommended level for worming and under 150 is pretty easy to reach with good rotations).


----------



## missaddie (Aug 18, 2013)

We also have about 8 acres that were full of trees. The trees are really great to have around and we have kept as many as possible. We do have a couple of pastures that are free of trees, one for an arena, and one for the horses to enjoy some grass. The horses love the trees because they provide shade and a natural wind block. 
We only cut down trees that are dead, and we trim down dead branches once or twice a year. It takes years for these trees to grow, so we don't plan on cutting down to many of them unless we have to.


----------



## Degsy (Nov 17, 2013)

I'd put an ad on craigslist for free wood, I look for those near me and will happily go and drop and tree and haul it off as I burn a lot in the winter. Lot's of people here do that. Cheap for them, free for you.


----------

