Pasture Rotation/restoration

[pitt_md]

I have a couple of horses which seems very content to only eat the grass from one spot in a big pasture. I want to split the pasture that is about 10 acres and plant alfalfa on one half then split the remaining half to make two seperate 2 - 3 acre pastures so I can control where they eat a little better. My question is how often do you switch pastures? Do you just wait till they eat all the grass in one then move to the other or is there a better way to go about it? Anyone else do this?

[rcowan]

It depends.

I'd suggest you contact your local extension agent or AG department at the university.

I rotate our guys and gals every couple of weeks but that depends on whether its the monsoon season or dead summer.

[RussMan]

I do something similar with my two geldings. I would suggest you simply monitor the grass and see. Don't let them eat the grass down so far that it damages the grass. Just keep an eye on it and when you can see most of their hooves when standing in the field, it is about time to move them because the grass is gettin thin.

[farmerjim]

with our cows and depending on the grass we usually let them graze it down to about 4in then move them on. and let it recover to about 8-10in then let them back in. some grass they leave and some they eat down too much, when that happens i try to go out and use a temp fence and fence off the low spot and re- seed w/ something they like. as said b4 def consult your local extension as they will know what grass will suit your soil the best, as well as guide you whith some proven methods for your location. and also take a soil sample b4 planting, so you will know what your dealing w/. i would hate to throw money away when buying seed and not having it germinate because of poor soil. good luck

[mlauk]

I would rotate them back and forth between the 2 (2 1/2 acre) tracts every 3 weeks. This will give them time to eat everything down in one pasture and let the other have 3 week growth. To also improve the pasture, I would mow the weeds left on the eaten pasture right after you move them, so the good grass comes back strong during the 3 week growth period.

[Sniggle]

I hope you won't mind if I bring this to the top and hijack the htread slightly:-)

I just created a 3 acre pasture to compliment that 1 acre paddock I currently have for my 2 horses. My hope is that I can keep them somewhat green and productive.

I am contemplating dividing the 3 acre pasture into 2 1.5 acre pastures, thus allowing for better rotation...is 1.5 acres too small?

[rcowan]

I go back to my original......It depends

Are your horses easy keepers?
Are they draft horses or minitures?

Out here the 1.5 acres wouldn't do to well in April but it would be ok in August due to the monsoon season.

Watch the grass.
Contact your local grass guys and gals.

Originally Posted by Sniggle

I hope you won't mind if I bring this to the top and hijack the htread slightly:-)

I just created a 3 acre pasture to compliment that 1 acre paddock I currently have for my 2 horses. My hope is that I can keep them somewhat green and productive.

I am contemplating dividing the 3 acre pasture into 2 1.5 acre pastures, thus allowing for better rotation...is 1.5 acres too small?

[pitt_md]

Originally Posted by Sniggle

I hope you won't mind if I bring this to the top and hijack the htread slightly:-)

I just created a 3 acre pasture to compliment that 1 acre paddock I currently have for my 2 horses. My hope is that I can keep them somewhat green and productive.

I am contemplating dividing the 3 acre pasture into 2 1.5 acre pastures, thus allowing for better rotation...is 1.5 acres too small?

If you currently keep your two horses on the 3 acres then I think it should be even better when you split it up like your talking about.

[Gizmo2]

Originally Posted by pitt_md

I have a couple of horses which seems very content to only eat the grass from one spot in a big pasture. I want to split the pasture that is about 10 acres and plant alfalfa on one half then split the remaining half to make two seperate 2 - 3 acre pastures so I can control where they eat a little better. My question is how often do you switch pastures? Do you just wait till they eat all the grass in one then move to the other or is there a better way to go about it? Anyone else do this?

We pastured four Arabians on 4 acres for approximately 13 years using rotation. Left in a paddock long enough horses will eat just about all the grass. They will always eat the good stuff first but you will notice the spots they don't want to eat will slowly get smaller and smaller. The problem is by the time the spots are getting smaller the rest of the paddock is just about down to dirt, not good. We always mow at 4.5 inches after we moved the horses to another paddock to cut back the bad spots and the weeds. Horses will not eat where there is manure, so it's a good idea to pick it up once a week or at least spread it out. Rotation will depend on how fast the growth of the grass is, only you will be able to determine this. As summer nears the end rotation will be much more frequent as the grass growth slows. We seeded and put down lime just about every year and use urea in very early spring.
Don't let the horses get into the alfalfa part or you probably will not have to worry about rotation at all.