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Pasture...HELP!!!

6K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  welshies rule 
#1 ·
okay, so ireally want a horse and have been looking up a lot of info. about their care. I am just really confused on pasture management! Here are some questions! Feel free to put any tips:D

  • Is it safe to just "crumble" the poop in the pastures? (dont know specific name:)
  • Can i use a tractor and connect something to "crumble" the poop?
  • Do you have to water the pasture?
  • I know this doesent have nothin to do w/ pasture but...what in the world do you do with all this poop?!
 
#2 ·
The famous answer - it depends.

What size will the pasture be and how many horses will be kept in it? The smaller the area/denser the horse population, the more likely you are to have to do poop removal. A larger, less populated, field will allow for the natural breakdown of the poo w/out it overwhelming the area and, yes, a tractor with a tow-behind is a great way to break up and spread the manure.
Your last question actually does have to do with pasture management. Our field is too small for this so we go out 1-2 times a week and remove poo. We compost our's using a pile at the back of our property and give it away to our neighbors for use in their gardens. If we didn't remove the poo, it would quickly take over and cover the entire field. We do spread some on the field itself, but we have way more poo than we could ever use.
Whether or not you will need to irrigate the pasture will depend on your climate. In some areas, the natural climate is able to sustain the pasture year-round, in others you have to supplement nature to keep the grass going. Size/density will come into play here as well as it will determine how much "help" is needed to keep it healthy and growing -- a pasture in a poorer climate will more quickly become overgrazed (and need more support) than one in a better climate. Rotational grazing is the best approach as you can spread manure and let an area recover while the horses are safely moved to a different area to graze it off.
 
#4 ·
I think the OP sounds like a responsible, detail oriented tween or teen who's trying to do the research, gather facts and come up with a reasonable plan to present.

The answers you've gotten so far are excellent. Assuming a large enough field that you don't have to pick manure, you can make a pasture drag out of just about anything. Ours is made out of woven wire fence and posts from fencing we tore down.

Best practice is to split your available pasture in two, graze one half and rest the other. When you move the horses off one half, pick and/or drag the the newly empty side and then let it rest/let the manure disintegrate further. Better for the pasture and gives you better parasite control.
 
#5 ·
By the way..There would be 1 horse on the pasture, me and my dad were thinking that we would use 1 acre for pasture, but spilt it in half so it can alternate pastures (the horse would only be on pasture 9 hours and 20 minutes a day...I know i am very specific:)
Thanks! most of the answers have been very halpful so far!!
 
#17 ·
I'm still liking the research you are doing... and I can see you are very specific and detail oriented, both very good traits, but if you don't mind just a little advice... Give yourself a bit of wiggle room. I too am a very scheduled, detail oriented person... things aren't done right unless I do them myself (which can get incredibly tiresome trust me). Horses have a way of taking the best laid plans and changing them on you. At 3:20, your horse may feel like making you jog around the pasture for a while before he/she decides they feel like being caught causing your schedule to fly out the window.
 
#8 ·
One horse will get really lonely fast, its best to have a mate with it, whether it's a goat, Donkey, mini, another horse etc..
You could even get a horse that can be just a pasture mate and not rideable, theres lots that are free.
 
#9 ·
Well, my dad is really into this whole "farming" thing..so he is planning on getting himself some fainting goats. So i thought the horse could share a pasture with a few of the goats
 
#13 ·
OOh will say this tho! when we buy horse feed a lot of it is fine to feed goat too but keep an eye on back of feed sacks because some you cant feed to goats, just if u were feeding both the same thing ( we do it works! saves money too well depending on how many goats)

Only other thing is that if goats have nothing else to do they tend to have a nibble at thier horsey friends tail umm tree branches are usually a good distraction for this! lol
 
#18 ·
Depending on how much land you have to work with, you might want to fence off more than an acre. Especially if you're going to have one or more buddies in with the horse. If I had the land to work with here, I'd fence off at least 4 acres and cut that in half to rotate. That would be for one horse, and one small buddy. That way, it would actually give the one area time to recover somewhat. Good Luck!!!
 
#21 ·
We have about 1.5 acres fenced off in two sections with 8 horses. No poop problems or fly problems. Our only issue is with grass, but even with only 2-3 horses on it the soil here refuses to grow grass. It's extremely rocky and partially and shale pit.

Also, is there any way you can turn the horse back out after dinner? It would be much happier and healthier with as much turnout as possible.
 
#23 ·
Wanna - a healthy adult horse is really not at any risk to coyotes. Don't get me wrong, I do understand your worry because it is something that my own daughter voiced when we first brought her horse home (we have a creek bed regularly run by various carnivores, including a nice pack of coyotes). The only time we had real worry was last year when there was a large cat that was picking off cattle in the surrounding fields. He/she faded off after a month or so and hasn't been seen sense, but it was disconcerting to say the least. In the long run, turnout is a very healthy - both physically and mentally - thing for the horse, it's what they are designed for.
Since you would be starting from a blank slate, I would design your set up to allow turnout with free access to a shelter -whether it's an outside entrance to their stall left open or a run in separate from the barn (we have both).
We now have the two horses here and they really enjoy being able to decide for themselves when they want to be in a shelter and when they want to be out - and it is usually exactly the opposite of what we humans would choose for them.
 
#24 ·
I reccomend a few AWESOME books if you can find them at the library, or better yet, buy them cheap online (cus they will ALWAYS come in handy) I have these three and they REALLY are informative:

everything from pasture management to trailers:


Tractors and other machinery and equipment, their uses and how to maintain them:


A month to month guide for all year round care and routines you should know about for your farm and horse care (also talks about predators):


Good luck! looks like you are asking the right questions to be a great horse owner :)

~Al615
 
#26 ·
I reccomend a few AWESOME books if you can find them at the library, or better yet, buy them cheap online (cus they will ALWAYS come in handy) I have these three and they REALLY are informative:

everything from pasture management to trailers:


Tractors and other machinery and equipment, their uses and how to maintain them:


A month to month guide for all year round care and routines you should know about for your farm and horse care (also talks about predators):


Good luck! looks like you are asking the right questions to be a great horse owner :)

~Al615
I will add those to my"books to get" list:) I have the horse-keeping on a small acerage one..I love that book! I have read it a thousand times!LOL
 
#27 ·
Wannahorse,
you have gotten some very good ideas from others. I'll add that horses are very active at night if you allow them to be out. They don't sleep eight hours in a row like humans. They have very good night vision. Horses are saner and healthier if allowed room to move 24/7. Movement is necessary for their digestive tract to work properly.

Can you create a paddock (smaller area that the horse(s) will eventually strip of grass) with the run in? A dry lot will allow you to close off the pasture if you need to, but allow the horse to move in a larger area than a stall. A paddock can be used for double duty, such as a round pen or riding ring. You will have to pick up the manure before riding.

Link below is a 'thinking outside of the box' site that is an alternative to pastures. It is based upom the movements and culture of wild horses. While life-time equestrains may poo-poo the idea, I believe it has merit. It works for smaller acreages to create movement.
Slow Feeding Horses on Paddock Paradise Tracks - Paddock Paradise Wiki

Keep asking questions, and work with an instructor or trainer before your purchase. You might contact your County Extension office about pasture management in your area. I say might, because some county Extension services are very knowledgeable about agriculture, but not about equestrian issues.

Have you worked on a monthly budget for the horse? That in itself would be a good question to post.
 
#28 ·
excellent advice on here, you seem very responsible and willing to ask for and take advice. You will make an excellent horse owner. On the goat topic- let your dad know they can be little monsters (as one of my professors says, that is why they are the sign of the devil!). Mine used to get out of the pasture and dance on my car hood a lot, and eat the garden, and the horses' tails. But I've had some that were well mannered and stuck with their horse buddies all day causing no trouble. They'd be in more danger from coyotes though, than your horse. A lot of people have them to protect valuable sheep as the goats faint when a predator comes, the predator eats the goat and the sheep are safe.
 
#30 ·
excellent advice on here, you seem very responsible and willing to ask for and take advice. You will make an excellent horse owner. On the goat topic- let your dad know they can be little monsters (as one of my professors says, that is why they are the sign of the devil!). Mine used to get out of the pasture and dance on my car hood a lot, and eat the garden, and the horses' tails. But I've had some that were well mannered and stuck with their horse buddies all day causing no trouble. They'd be in more danger from coyotes though, than your horse. A lot of people have them to protect valuable sheep as the goats faint when a predator comes, the predator eats the goat and the sheep are safe.
Thats the first time on this forum that someone told me i would be a good horse owner! You made me very happy! Lol!
 
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