To plant Grass or not to plant during winter? Questions......

I planted rye almost 2 months ago and it hasnt done that well at all. Some areas came up but not over 3-4 inches and it doesnt even look prety and full and green mostly. I just put fertilizer down 2 wks ago, maybe almost 3. I didnt realize it would have been best to put it down initially . Also hadnt been getting rain but I did initially plant rye when it rained and was wet, as did I do that for the fert. I have an acre pasture and also a half acre pasture, 2 seperate areas and I'm wondering rather I need to even plant grass for winter with one horse. I mean I love to see my horse grazing on pretty green grass, or any edible grass.

Hay is lasting a very long time as I control feed hay and also grain twice a day. I don't think he really has to graze but I surely like to see my horse in the pasture, tail swinging and eating. I guess growing up and watching dallas and stuff, it seems like how a horse should be kept. I guess next yr if I get someone to come in, turn the field some, spread the seeds and cover a little bit, it could get costly. Hell for one bag of rye its $29 and I maybe needed 2 bags but got one and put it down on most of pasture. Getting 2 bags of rye , maybe 6 bags of fert I could probably get enough rolls of hay for that amount of money to last me thru winter for one horse so I guess I have to weigh that also.

Just wondering what you guys think on this subject matter.

I'd love to hear some responses on this subject. I tried to seed this past spring but we are on a hill so it all washed away. I just don't have the right equipment to do it well. I was thinking about seeding in February for a frost seeding, but I agree with you on the cost. After a while you wonder if it's worth it. A brown pasture just isn't picturesque....

i know right lol. It seems as if horses still eat the brown grass though from what I have seen from others pastures. I heard a guy say he plants in january as he thinks the rye likes that better so I might actually try that next yr. I did plant in mid september, as suggested by the feed store guy and some others as the time to plant it.

No help, sorry, but we put down some manure compost that has composted for over a year in a box, and we seeded it, and in 5 days we could see little clover sprouts, and by 8 days, it was like cenimeter high, and by 10 days we could see the regular grass sprouting and by 18 days everything was about 4 inches tall.. Talk about fast growing!

you know , now that you have said that, I have 2 areas that I was throwing manure at and there is green grass about 12 inches high in both piles. I was thinking it would eventually die. Are you telling me that this grass will grow all winter?

If so, what should I do, should I spread it in the pasture some or what?

Could you take that compost out of the box and say spread seed over it then see another area much larger than the compost and it spread to the other areas of the non-manure stuff also and grow thru winter?

I have manure! Does that really help the situation! ;)

i wana see what the poster recommends. I don't know if I will have enough to help the acre that I have though but it might be enough to help the stuff start spreading. It might help if I take that manure and spread it over the rye that's came up about 3 inches

It seems like you'd have to spread it pretty thin. Although I guess I'm thinking of the spots out in the field with old manure and beautiful grass growing that the horses don't touch. That manure isn't seasoned enough and that's why the horses don't eat it? I'd be a bad horse because it looks good to me.

as greedy as horses are, you would think it wouldnt matte to them lol.

My horses nickname is " greedy man"

I can't see why you are calling it expensive, You must be buying the wrong or at the wrong place. Go to a feed store and get a 50lb bag of rye seed. It's only about $29 for 50lbs. Way more than enough for your fields. You may try a soil sample alot of feed stores sell the mail in kits. You may need some lime.
Generally in my pastures. One fall I spread rye grass, then skip a year and in the spring spread a drought resitance K31. Usually I will spray some weedkiller before seeding. I in no way have a manicured pasture. Horses don't need perfect grass.