Clover

[rudell]

Hi everyone...I'm new to this forum Now I have horses on a couple of acres and having a severe problem with clover...it's taken over and my horses have sensitive feet...now the agricultural suggested a flail mower..we couldn't find a decent price one and a tractor salesman convinced my man a bush cutter would be fine...well ..NOT!! the clover is like 1" but everywhere would a flail mower have done a better job..does anyone here have one ..how low can it cut..is the blades sensitive to rocks..do you find yourself buying or replacing blades often????

 

[aczlan]

Re: Da** clover

What is the problem with clover and your horses feet? The horses that I have known all loved to eat clover and I have never heard of horses having problems from walking on clover.

Aaron Z

 

[JD5210]

Re: Da** clover

Clover holds a lot of water that is why it is hard to cut and does not cut up well. My suggestion is kill it. Cutting it low is not going to do anything to control it.

I have been very happy with ForeFront from Dow AgroSciences, your local farm store should have it. Not cheap $64/gallon, but it does the job. Depending how bad it is and you are only talking about a few acres just put into a 2 gallon sprayer and have it. Use 3 to 4 ounces for 2 gallons. Your local farm store may also come out and spray it for you.

I would first decide what you long term plans for the pastures are and what you want them to look like, before you purchase any other equipment. This URL addresses the different types of mowers out there.

TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

 

[mlformula95]

Re: Da** clover

I would suggest contacting your county agriculture agent and taking some soil samples. You will get a nice detailed report on what fertilizers you need to get grass to grow after you kill everything. Work certain areas of your land at a time, keep the horses off the area you are working on until its good and healthy.

Its all about work and money, I'm going through it right now.

 

[rudell]

Re: Da** clover

What is the problem with clover and your horses feet? The horses that I have known all loved to eat clover and I have never heard of horses having problems from walking on clover.

Aaron Z

no no not from walking on it, eating it ...clover is very rich ..can cause colic or laminitus if eating too much ..aslike clover also causes photosensitivity to horses ..a very rich feed that contains little fiber

 

[rudell]

Re: Da** clover

Clover holds a lot of water that is why it is hard to cut and does not cut up well. My suggestion is kill it. Cutting it low is not going to do anything to control it.

I have been very happy with ForeFront from Dow AgroSciences, your local farm store should have it. Not cheap $64/gallon, but it does the job. TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

humm...gonna look that up..don't know if we carry that in Canada???
thanks

 

[rudell]

Re: Da** clover

I would suggest contacting your county agriculture agent and taking some soil samples. Its all about work and money, I'm going through it right now.

hi...I've done that ..they've been here...gave me a 3 options but best was to invest in flail mower...the poison was another was said very exp and could regrow every year due to very poor soil

 

[mlformula95]

Re: Da** clover

hi...I've done that ..they've been here...gave me a 3 options but best was to invest in flail mower...the poison was another was said very exp and could regrow every year due to very poor soil

Well, that stinks. Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[deereman75]

Re: Da** clover

I can see how that would cause a problem, my horse loves clover and she will eat it like crazy. She is a tough horse and we dont have much here, so it isnt a problem, but it could potentaly cause death if they eat enough. You could take the horses off of it, and spray the area with roundup, and after it is all dead, plow it and reseed with grass and fertilize.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Re: Da** clover

No amount of close cutting will rid you of clover. In fact, that will promote clover's growth in many cases. Try hitting with full rate of 2-4D. Then fertilize and seed to grass of choice. The sales propaganda used to promote flail mowers has gone beyond ridiculous.

 

[bigtiller]

Re: Da** clover

I used "Amine 400" about 2 weeks ago. It is a generic 2-4-D herbicide. I sprayed it when the clover was flowered out but all it did was wilt and kill the flowers. The clover is still green and appears to be growing. I don't know,,,, maybe it is taking it's own sweet time dieing. 3 days after I sprayed the weather turned very hot and just about everything quit growing.

Next time I will use Trimec. I know it will get clover because it kills Creeping Charlie (Pennywort).

 

[greg_g]

Re: Da** clover

no no not from walking on it, eating it ...clover is very rich ..can cause colic or laminitus if eating too much ..aslike clover also causes photosensitivity to horses ..a very rich feed that contains little fiber

Granted, too much clover content - especially on pasture - can lead to health problems. But the operative word is "content". It's very unusual to find a clover-only pasture, so I think it's fair to assume you're talking about a clover-content diet for your horses.

That said - if the clover content is not excessive - you might be making a mountain out of a molehill. I'd check with a large animal vet - even bring him an honest sample of what you'd expect a horse would pick up in a mouthful - and see if he thinks there's actually enough clover content there to be concerned.

//greg//

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Re: Da** clover

I used "Amine 400" about 2 weeks ago. It is a generic 2-4-D herbicide. I sprayed it when the clover was flowered out but all it did was wilt and kill the flowers. The clover is still green and appears to be growing. I don't know,,,, maybe it is taking it's own sweet time dieing. 3 days after I sprayed the weather turned very hot and just about everything quit growing.

Next time I will use Trimec. I know it will get clover because it kills Creeping Charlie (Pennywort).

Just TOO hot right at the moment for 2-4D. It becomes "volatile" in temps over 80 degrees. (Amine less so than "ester" formulations) Time to treat for weeds/unwanted plant life is BEFORE it becomes an issue, like in the spring/early summer. Plus, clover has multiple growth points once plants begin to reach maturity, which require high enough rates of 2-4D that it will burn back any grasses you'll have in the area. Extreme highrates of 2-4D will leave you with high residual in the soil. That's good in the sense it will control future growth of broadleaf weeds to a limited extent, bad in the sense you need to be VERY aware of animals and their issues with 2-4D.

It's far easier to kill broadleaves with moderate rates 2-4D when first emerging in the spring. You might be stuck with it until temps dial down a bit.

 

[clemsonfor]

Re: Da** clover

I would lov to have a field overrun by clover!!! Send it my way, i dont think the bushhog did it either! We deer and turkey hunters spend $6/lb for the seed and cant get a stand as good as some pastures have. The deer and turkey lov the stuff! Why cant the horse walk on it? Is so soft it feels good on your feet if your not use to going barefoot. I go barefoot all the time and feels like walking on blankets, soft to lay in as well.

 

[deereman75]

Re: Da** clover

I would lov to have a field overrun by clover!!! Send it my way, i dont think the bushhog did it either! We deer and turkey hunters spend $6/lb for the seed and cant get a stand as good as some pastures have. The deer and turkey lov the stuff! Why cant the horse walk on it? Is so soft it feels good on your feet if your not use to going barefoot. I go barefoot all the time and feels like walking on blankets, soft to lay in as well.

Its not walking on it , it is eating it. If a horse eats too much rich food (like clover), it can get very sick or even die! One thing that can happen is called founder, and it destroys there feet. One time my dad was trimming the feet of a mini pony at a petting zoo and farmers market, and it had founder, he said they were some of the worst feet he had ever seen, after a month or so it got very sick and died.

 

[jonyyuma]

Re: Da** clover

The deere here love the red clover... i planted the 3006 version {$30.00}and before it could take holt they had ambushed it. I still have a small patch at my house, but it is bearly spreading...Sorry about your horses getting too much of a rich food..

 

[dieselscout80]

Re: Da** clover

Hi everyone...I'm new to this forum Now I have horses on a couple of acres and having a severe problem with clover...it's taken over and my horses have sensitive feet...now the agricultural suggested a flail mower..we couldn't find a decent price one and a tractor salesman convinced my man a bush cutter would be fine...well ..NOT!! the clover is like 1" but everywhere would a flail mower have done a better job..does anyone here have one ..how low can it cut..is the blades sensitive to rocks..do you find yourself buying or replacing blades often????

If there is away to get it controlled so you have some, but not too much clover I'd do that since clover is a legume and will provide some nitrogen for your soil.

I'd want to add some to my fescue that our horse graze on.

http://petcaretips.net/grazing_management.html

 

[Army grunt]

Re: Da** clover

Put a few sheep in with the horses. They'll eat it down.
Army Grunt

 

[jbooth]

I would vote for the 2-4D solution. I sprayed some of my pasture for broadleaf weeds early in the growing season and it killed the clover grave yard dead. I wasn't aware of the 80 degree temp thing but it wasn't that hot anyway. 2-4D is very inexpensive as compared to some other broadleaf herbicides and that is partly why it gets my vote. Good for buckbrush too, if sprayed early.

 

[Ford tractor]

Keep the 2,4D in the bottle until fall when it cools off. I would use a bottom plow and flip the clover brown side up then disc, lime, fertilize, disc, seed and cultipack. They don't call clover "green manure" for nothing.


When the clover starts up again, hit it with the 2,4D as soon as you can. It kills it FAST when it's young and actively growing.