# Newbie to pasture management--help



## 3arrows (Jan 5, 2011)

Hi guys, hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. We did, just bought a new horse farm in the northern part of Georgia. 
I have a question for your experts out there. I have about 15 acres in pasture that hasn't been cut or maintained in about 2 years. Very few weeds, but the bermuda grass is about 12-16" long and obviously has gone dormant because of the winter. The grass is all matted and laying over and Im not sure if it will stunt the new growth in the spring. Should I go ahead and mow it now and rake it up or should I disk it under, burn it or what should I do? Ive got to get these pastures ready for horses in 3 months. Help,, I need some expert advice.
I have a 6' bush hog, can borrow a 478Haybine, or also have a 6' finish mower. I have 50hp Kubota 4x4 tractor and can borrow bigger if needed. 
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks ron:confused:


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

I would burn it sometime this spring just before green up.


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## 3arrows (Jan 5, 2011)

Since I have to have to start boarding horses as soon as possible, I dont think burning is an option. It would take too long to recover to grass growth. Im going to start cutting it with a mower and raking it up with a rock rake.


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

How many horses?


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

I would turn the horses in there and maybe along with some cattle and let them have at it.


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## 3arrows (Jan 5, 2011)

1 horse per acre, and they are only on the pasture during the day. All horses will be stalled at night in the barn. County agent said to leave it alone till march, the horses will eat it down and when it starts growing, then mow it and lime and fertilize the hell out of it.


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

1 horse per acre, are you going to divide it up and rotate pastures?


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Yea, I'm like Dolphin. Don't think it will hold that many. If you are going to put that many head on it, I wouldn't do anything now. There won't be any grass left to worry about come July. Mike


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

It is surprising how much fuel these animals will burn through. Georgia has a longer growing season, but that would also mean a longer grazing season. I'm not THERE, so I don't have any THERE wisdom to offer, but HERE 1 horse per acre is the minimum acreage to legally keep a horse. To have green pastures for them to graze takes about ten times that, so your 15 acres = 1.5 horses HERE. I know that would probably mess up your business plan for the boarding facility if the same holds true THERE, but you do have options. Buy and feed more hay. Use whatever land you have wisely, setting up as much as possible to pasture, and do what you can to acquire more land to convert to pasture.


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## Northeast Hay (Apr 8, 2010)

I would wait till early spring and while everything is dead brush hog it as close to the groung as possible and leave it. If you lime and firtilise the hell out of it you wont be able to turn horses out for a few days or weeks depending on what you use. Before you spend money on lime etc Id do a little more reserch about putting 15 horses on 15 ac. I say this because we do what your talkin about


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Dolphin said:


> but HERE 1 horse per acre is the minimum acreage to legally keep a horse. .


Dolphin,I wasn't aware of any law about this.Is this a state law or county ordinance?

I've seen 4-5 horses per acre on pasture.Or what was pasture now its dirt.









Cy


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

It depends on the county. I remember searching nearly statewide for land, and some counties have land use restrictions. My wife says the county we are in does not have that restriction, so I sit here corrected. People can keep horses in their back yards unless they are in a town that has an ordinance, which most do.

Since people do tend to push the limit, I would think that if there was a law that restricted horse ownership to being able to provide adequate fresh forage in season it would be a good thing, if managed and enforced properly. The ideal situation would be no law at all and everybody have the common sense to do the right thing, and pass it on to new people moving in that don't know.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Dolphin said:


> Since people do tend to push the limit, I would think that if there was a law that restricted horse ownership to being able to provide adequate fresh forage in season it would be a good thing, if managed and enforced properly. The ideal situation would be no law at all and everybody have the common sense to do the right thing, and pass it on to new people moving in that don't know.


We have to many laws and rules already because of the people that don't use COMMON SENSE


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## 3arrows (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks for all the replys everyone. We have settled on no more than 8 horses on the 15 acres. I had a pasture expert come out and evaluate the grass and he said that since horses would only graze for 8-9 hours each day that there would be no problems with 8 horses. We have 4 seperate fenced pastures, so we will be rotating the pastures every week or as needed.
thanks ron


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

3arrows said:


> just bought a new horse farm in the northern part of Georgia.
> :


I am assuming that this field is NOT where you are going to board your horses. If it is, then you need to put in extensive cross fencing to allow rotation and become very good friends with your local hay producers. Fifteen acres MIGHT support 6-7 horses but not for long as they will will slowly compact some areas and overload others with manure. If you try to fertilize with them in there, they will likely colic.

I keep 20-30 horses on 15 acres along with the barn, round pens, sheds, arenas, shop, and my house. We have 16 paddocks where we can rotate them. Fortunately, I have a lot more land to grow hay and dispose of the manure. Keeping grass in the paddocks takes a lot of time, effort and money. Typically I can get 2-3 years out of one before I have to disk & reseed it. I no-till Rye in the paddocks every fall to keep grass in them during the winter. If I didn't, they would turn into mud bogs.

I wouldn't worry about the grass that's in there now, I'd worry about the fencing to allow a lot more rotation than you probably believe is necessary. I try to rest a paddock at least one month and if I have to disk and reseed it's out of service for a couple months. Believe me, growing grass for a baler is a lot less effort than growing grass for a four-leg combine. Then, you have to deal with the horse owners.............


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## Northeast Hay (Apr 8, 2010)

I agree with Mike its a lot of work. Were split up in about 8 pastures or paddics. Horses are out only about 6 hours a day and stay in on rainey days, we think of that as giving the pastures a break. We have sacrofice areas for our 6 seasons here summer fall mud winter spring and mud and only turn a few at a time out so they dont turn to dirt. I try to mow everything 4 times a year to keep the weeds down. Once and a while we shut a pasture off for a year just overseed it and let the root system get back into the groung. And yes the customers....... Is always easy to remember the names of their horses Fluffy.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Dolphin said:


> I would think that if there was a law that restricted horse ownership to being able to provide adequate fresh forage in season it would be a good thing, if managed and enforced properly.





Dolphin said:


> if managed and enforced properly.


Dan,

Unfortunately most laws along these lines are promoted by well-meaning but ignorant people who are guided more by emotion rather than actual experiance in how to properly care for livestock. The horse slaughter laws are a good case in point as they have caused more abandoned horses than ever before and have done little to increase their welfare. It's a real shame that the people who promoted the laws won't support the shelters that get overwhelmed. They want the rest of us to support their folly. So what's next, a law that all hay producers should contribute a portion to shelters? We've already got too many well-meaning laws right now that can't or aren't being enforced. The current shape of many State budgets is testament to that. Sadly, most of the laws were promoted by people who felt that their concept of "common sense" was better than everyone else's. We have enough silly laws, let's not promote any more.....


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Ron,

I live in southern middle TN and have been in the horse business for years. I ran a training/colt breaking operation for 10 years as well as multiple boarding operations. 8 horses on your fifteen acres should be just fine if you rotate them on a regular basis. The problem with grazing horses is this. A horse will only eat in certain "spots" of the pasture. They will eat one spot all the way to the ground and not touch another spot. Then when the new (more tender) grass starts to grow back they eat it right back down to the ground again. Rotating the horses from one lot to another will allow the grass to come back in. I would also suggest (if you can afford it) to keep a high quality hay in with the horses (I like orchard grass). This will limit the amount of grazing and should help keep your pastures in better shape. Horses will normally eat on a high quality hay even when their is good grass available. I think sometimes they are just lazy and know they can eat without having to move! LOL. Keeping your pastures green and lush will help attract new customers and keep the ones you have happy. Most horse owners frown if they see their horse grazing a in a barren pasture. Believe me it's much easier to keep a pasture in a good shape than to let one get in bad shape and try to revive it! Hope this helps.

Kyle

PS-What kind of horses are you boarding?


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Four legged combine!!!!! LOL. First time I have heard that one. LOVE IT!!!!!



Mike120 said:


> I am assuming that this field is NOT where you are going to board your horses. If it is, then you need to put in extensive cross fencing to allow rotation and become very good friends with your local hay producers. Fifteen acres MIGHT support 6-7 horses but not for long as they will will slowly compact some areas and overload others with manure. If you try to fertilize with them in there, they will likely colic.
> 
> I keep 20-30 horses on 15 acres along with the barn, round pens, sheds, arenas, shop, and my house. We have 16 paddocks where we can rotate them. Fortunately, I have a lot more land to grow hay and dispose of the manure. Keeping grass in the paddocks takes a lot of time, effort and money. Typically I can get 2-3 years out of one before I have to disk & reseed it. I no-till Rye in the paddocks every fall to keep grass in them during the winter. If I didn't, they would turn into mud bogs.
> 
> I wouldn't worry about the grass that's in there now, I'd worry about the fencing to allow a lot more rotation than you probably believe is necessary. I try to rest a paddock at least one month and if I have to disk and reseed it's out of service for a couple months. Believe me, growing grass for a baler is a lot less effort than growing grass for a four-leg combine. Then, you have to deal with the horse owners.............


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## cattleranch (Dec 17, 2010)

One website that you could check out once you get the dead growth figured out is attra.ncat.org. This site has a bunch of MiG information that will be helpful to increase your stocking rate. For horses a single strand electric fence (temporary) would work great to divide it up. I would lean towards mowing your pasture this spring and just let it be. One thing that I would especially recommend is to talk to your extension office for your county and figure out how to get a soil test performed. Good luck with your project.


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## RPW (Feb 22, 2011)

Can't say for your state but here in Texas 15ac for 8 horses would only last about 1 season. Then it would be hay feeding most of the time. I was at a place that had 9 1/2 horses (two minis) on 50ac and within 2 - 3 years it was grazed down to nothing. We would start feeding >1500# bales which would last 1 week starting from October through May. Grass would grow but could never get well established even with overseeding and fertilizing. My new place is 38ac with 6 horses (minis still on board) and has some very good growth right now. But I know it won't take long for them to graze it down. I am looking at doing some very aggressive pasture management which was unknown to the other owner so I hope to be able to self sustain on what I have. I also plan on using anywhere from about 6 - 15 ac to grow my own hay.

Good luck.
Richard


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