reintroducing pasture in spring?

Heza Blazin Bonanza

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Feb 19, 2015
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Hi everyone, I'm new here! I wanted to know how you go about introducing your horses to the rich spring grass after the winter months. Just to get some opinions really. Thanks!!!
 
Hello and welcome:D
I usually paddock a portion off and save it up for winter foggage. I restrict ours and they spend time in the arena with hay nets for a part of the day. One of mine is a very good doer so I have to be careful, though our pasture is poor - which is rather handy for us!
Lots of people use grazing muzzles - I'm sure MP on here et al will fill you in.
 
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Ours are out all the time anyway so the grass coming through slowly gets them back slowly onto the richer grazing, then once they are looking a bit more sleek, we fence off the grass and allow them a small amount
 
I'm with Wally for the most part, though if they get a bit wey-hey or if their waistlines suddenly explode I might start shutting them off it for part of the day.
 
I have bought a brand new grazing muzzle for my horse (as he had worn the hole in the last one down so much it wasn't really a hole anymore). He is have it on as soon as they move into the rested paddock which will be around March 1st. I hate the spring grass - for a few weeks my lovely, saintly, quiet boy turns into a spooky monster!
 
our lammi prone boys are currently stabled overnight and in nothing paddocks on hay , their summer field is resting and is growing the green stuff - in about a month, the girls who are out 24/7 will move over onto a section and mow it ready for the boys to follow on somewhere around April - they will get the grazed grass sectioned off with hay for a week or so - slowly reducing the hay to introduce the grass growth, and then remain on restricted turnout for the summer, opening up fresh areas and rotating as we can - its a nightmare but the only thing that we have found works for us, Tess goes first and everyone else round robins behind her.
 
We have kept half of my field (nearly 2 acres) foggage all winter while the herd has been in the sacrifice paddock on hay. Come March is we'll let them eat the foggage, then set up a track all around my paddock for the summer. It's hard to keep them slim.
 
Ours all go into summer fields 1st march. A couple of hours a day for about a week, then build up. No matter what, they all go a little potty though. [emoji12] [emoji12]
 
Mine lives out all year so it creeps up on us. Usually around the start of March (OMG, that's in a couple of weeks!) I will keep an eye out and if its mild, I'll set up a pen (about 3-4 stable sized - i have a big horse) for my very very good doer in the field and he goes in there overnight. It soon becomes a bare patch and it is basically his makeshift outside stable overnight for the summer months.
 
That's a good idea, F's mum ... I imight try it, although I suspect madam wouldn't respect the electric fence for more than a day or two ... Do you feed him hay when he's in it?
 
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