[trefnantbach]

any tips/advice on managing grass under horses appreciated.
Got two fields approx two and a half acres each plus stable block and one pony of our own currently restricted to just over quater of one field with electric fencing - seems to be getting the balance right between keeping the grass down in that area and not over feeding the pony. As far as the rest of the land the grass is starting to grow under our feet so we are going to get in some ponies for grass livery. Any suggestions as to stocking rate? I was thinking about 3-4 ponies per field would be about right? We have another area approx an acre or two which is rocky in places and boggy in others and unsuitable for horses. I was going to keep a mob of about 10 sheep there or store lambs and move them to the two horse fields as and when necessary to keep the grass down and to clear any grass rejected by the horses. We are also muck-picking.
As we are new to this our priority this year is to manage the grassland but in the longer term we plan to build fieldshelters/stables in the fields and offer part/full livery

[sabrina]

Ponies will need a bit less than a horse which would be around the two acres per animal. I have 5 acres divided into 5 paddocks. At the moment we have 5 Shetland ponies stabled at night turned out during the day to rest some ground. I do this every winter. In bad weather the ground can turn into a mud bath if over grazed. Have you thought of just having a couple of ponies at livery and making hay with the other field.  The trouble with taking in liveries is there will always be people, ponies that do not get on. Its best to keep mares and geldings separate to save fights when a mare is in season. I also think you would need to check up on your insurance to find out what you are covered for. Do you need to apply for change of use for the ground. If you do not fancy trying this you can always sell the grass for haymaking. another idea would be to rent your ground to someone who just has a few cows and calf for the season. Horses and ponies do quite a bit of damage to ground and it does take a lot of work to keep it in good order. As for your boggy ground, I am not so sure if this would be OK for sheep there could be other problems caused by that but someone here is sure to have the answer.

[Rosemary]

Get hold of Jaime Jackson's book "Paddock Paradise - A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding". It's not expensive and might change the way you keep ponies forever.

[Roxy]

Just think carefully about the number of ponies on each field. It can soon be over grazed, and if you have other people's ponies on too, it would be unfair to be in a  situation with no grass, so they have to go.  Personally, I think the number of ponies you have suggested is too many for the acreage.  At the moment you will see a lot of grass, but from my own experience, horses can eat an awful lot oper day.  I had  two ponies and one horse on about 2 acre paddock recently, and within a week they had bared it off.

Taking on liveries - insurance can be an issue, as in public liability etc. and if a livery owner got kicked by someone else's horse for example, so all need insurance, including you for public liability.  I know here , if you take on more than three liveries, you have to pay business rates.  OK to do it, but there is always some person who thinks it not fair, and would report you for "running a business"

You would need to poo pick the fields daily, to ensure there is enough grass, and make sure all the horses are wormed before coming on, and then together, to ensure you do not have a worm burden.

With careful management of the land, it does work.  But, ideally you do need a paddock for using, and then one for putting them on while the other is resting.

[bazzais]

Are they natives or more breedy?  I say this because we run our welsh over all sorts of terrain that we have here, so they do go where its rocky too, they are surefooted and tough and dont need the really rich grass.  We have 10 on 15 acres at the mo, who look well,i also walk around them giving them a balancer a few times a week, top spec is amazing for this, with just the babies on the rich spring grass by the house.

When we move the headland ones on, that area will be chainharrowed and then the sheep will go on, after theyve taken the front house field a bit tighter.

[trefnantbach]

Bazzais, Why do you harrow? is it just to spread out  the horse poo? If so is it necessary if we poo pick regularly? Do you also roll after harrowing? Also how soon after harrowing do you put the sheep on? Do you let the grass grow a bit first or are you putting the sheep on to graze down what the horses won't eat?

[Hellybee]

Sorry that was me i didnt realise that i was on his sign on

We will be chain harrowing soon,making sure that the weather is dry for few days, yes the  sheep will also eat down what has grown where the  horses wont eat.Ruminants are great biological cleaners for land, so that they sweeten the land or the ponies to go back on further down the line.

[loosey]

I work on 1/2 an acre per horse with mine and I like to rotate them at least 3 times per year.

If you have spare land with quality grass you could always consider getting a contractor in to cut it for hay or haylage for the winter?

I'm not so sure about hay but down my way a contractor will normamly charge around £230 per acre for baling haylage and we'd expect to get no less than appx 75 bales per acre. If you were to sell them on at £4 per bale (cheap down here) you'd still make a profit of £1 per bale 

[humphreymctush]

Your pony could do with a bit of equine company but my advice is to graze sheep to keep the grass down. If you have too many ponies you will get a build up of worms. Sheep keep the grass short and eat down plants that horses wont eat (like docks). They will fertilise the ground with droppings with out increasing the worm burden for the ponies

[carrie]

Hello, everyone thinks differently don't they? Just remember if you have other people's ponies, you get other people too!
We used to do livery, but it was hard work. Horses not getting on, people not getting on. People not turning up, and phoning
to get us to put their horse out, or bring it in, take off rug, or put it on. But some horses were lovely, and some people were OK too!