Horse Field Management

A typical horse, which weighs about 450 kilograms, produces around 20 kilos of manure per day, or around nine tones per year. If the horse is in his field for even half the day, this is four and a half tones of manure on his one hectare paddock!

How much grazing per horse ?

The British Horse Society (BHS) recommends between 0.4 and 0.8ha (1-2 acres) of pasture for each horse during the summer. But of course horses and ponies are all different, and this may be far too much grazing for a Shetland pony! Different types of horses and ponies have different needs, and this must be taken into consideration. Overgrazed paddocks not only look awful, but are also bad for the horses and ponies in them, as the risk of harmful worms building up is far greater. Perhaps a good general aim should be for 1.2 hectare (3 acres) per horse. Grazing management for horses and ponies is a difficult balance between the desire for grass cover in the winter months, and ensuring that grass intake by ponies during the spring and summer months is restricted.

In a typical year, grass grows five times faster in May than it does in September.

So a well managed paddock of one hectare (2.4 acres) can grow the equivalent of two sacks of a medium energy feed per day. With 4 horses or ponies in the field, that's like giving them 10kg of hard feed each.

Resting the Grassland

The key to good grassland management is to rotate the grazing. Throughout the year, paddocks should be rested to allow the grass to recover for two to three weeks at a time. Ideally, paddocks should be rested for six months but this is rarely feasible. Resting paddocks from autumn through to the mid-summer completely breaks the life cycle of most of the internal parasites. Even smaller paddocks can be sub-divided with temporary brown or green electric tape to rest them. Riding on grassland can damage the sward, so it is preferable to exercise elsewhere if possible.

Rolling, Harrowing and Mowing

Grassland cultivations, such as rolling, harrowing or mowing must not be carried out if ground nesting birds are present, and should only be done when the soil conditions are right. Driving over land that is too wet will cause serious damage from compaction. Harrowing is carried out to pull all the dead grass, or thatch, up from the base of the healthy grass so that air, water and nutrients can more efficiently get to the soil. This should be carried out in the early spring, before strong grass growth gets underway. Rolling repairs any damage done to the fields by hooves over the winter, but can cause soil compaction, which may be as damaging as the hooves!

Keeping the grass height to five centimetres (2-3 inches) during the growing season and 2 centimetres (1 inch) in the winter, will have a huge impact on the ground conditions, especially in winter, protecting the ground from the effect of horses' and ponies' feet.

It's important not to think of everything except grass as being a weed!

Other plants should really be classified as herbs, many of which are not only extremely palatable to horses and ponies, but also beneficial.

Fertilisers

Try to avoid having to use artificial fertilisers. These can lead to a loss of wildlife habitat, and the rich grazing they cause may lead to obesity, particularly in ponies, which in turn causes potentially lethal laminitis. Before anything is applied to fields, a soil test should be taken to establish an actual need.

Poisonous Weeds

Good general pasture management plays an important role in controlling ragwort as it can prevent the formation of bare patches in the sward that enable ragwort to establish itself. Pasture should not be over-grazed and thus stocking densities should be closely monitored. Poaching of the land is to be avoided which may necessitate resting pasture particularly in wet conditions. It is also imperative to remove droppings and any stale forage such as hay. A risk assessment should be carried out before any spraying takes place and advice should be sought from Defra if there is any likelihood of the herbicide contaminating a water source. Spraying should only be carried out by a competent person who is suitably trained and qualified with Defra able to provide more detail on the legislation surrounding spraying.

Ragwort Disposal

Any movement of ragwort to facilitate its disposal must be carefully managed to avoid the dispersal of seeds, thus sealed bags or containers should be used. All personnel involved in ragwort disposal should wear protective gloves and a facemask. Burning ragwort is perhaps the most suitable option although this must be carefully managed to avoid environmental contamination and public nuisance. Some Local Authorities have bylaws preventing the burning of garden waste and thus incineration is not a viable option in these areas. It is suggested that, if ragwort is to be burned, a recognised incineration device is used as this offers greater control and safety than a bonfire-type approach. In order to burn effectively, the ragwort will need to be wilted. Care must be taken during the wilting process to avoid the dispersal of seeds. Sealed paper sacks, which can then themselves be burned, offer a safe means of storing ragwort and allowing some wilting. Alternatively wilting can take place under cover or seed heads removed from plants and stored in sealed bags prior to wilting. It is imperative that no grazing animals have access to ragwort during the wilting process.

Three very useful products for Weed killing are the following:-

Grazon 90

A foliar acting herbicide for the control of perennial broad-leaved weeds including NETTLES, DOCKS, THISTLES, BRAMBLES, BROOM and GORSE in ESTABLISHED GRASSLAND. It has great control of a wide range of weeds.
It does not affect the growth of the grass.
Rainfast in 2 hours
Works very quickly
Keep stock out of pasture for 7 days.
This product must be applied when the weeds are at the right stage of growth for optimum performance.
Apply through a knapsack or other hand held application device.
For further information about this product look at the Grazon 90 website.

Ragwort facts

Ragwort contains alkaloid poisons which damage the liver of horses and other grazing animals.
A relatively small quantity of Ragwort can be fatal. Repeated consumption of small amounts of Ragwort causes a build up of liver damage eventually resulting in death.
Left to set seed one flowering Ragwort plant produces 100,000 seeds which can travel by wind for up to 50 metres and then germinate up to 20 years later. Animals normally avoid eating growing Ragwort unless grazing is sparse. When Ragwort is pulled up or sprayed it loses its repellent properties but remains poisonous and highly palatable until it has completely decayed.
One of the chief sources of poisoning is contamination of feed such as hay or silage with Ragwort.
Ragwort is poisonous to humans too. Gloved hands should be used when pulling or handling this weed.

The control of ragwort comes under two government acts, The Weeds Act (1959) and The Control of Ragwort Act (2003). Under the latter, Defra produced a code of practice giving guidance on how to prevent the spread of ragwort. This should be essential reading for all of those involved with horses and copies can either be ordered directly from Defra or from The British Horse Society.

Responsibility for controlling ragwort rests with the occupier of the land on which it is growing. The Code of Practice, however, states that it is expected that all landowners, occupiers and managers will co-operate and take collective responsibility for ensuring that effective control of the spread of ragwort is achieved.

Ragtime is just part of the battle against Ragwort.

Make sure your neighbours and even local authorities control Ragwort as it can spread quickly. If they refuse a legal enforcement order can be sought. Any Ragwort surviving after treatment should be dug up. Never cut Ragwort as it will sprout from the root. See picture of re-growth (right) after cutting Remove the whole root using a proprietary tool or other implement. Without total removal, sprouting can occur.

Conditions must be dry with rain not expected within at least three hours.
Do not spray in windy conditions or if frost is imminent.
Follow instructions on the label carefully.
Apply sufficient spray to thoroughly wet the leaf and spray is about to run off.
Make sure the Ragwort is at the correct growth stage, known as the rosette growth stage. See photo.

Do not spray Ragwort at any other growth stage as Ragtime will not be effective.

Safety
Children and pets
Once Ragtime has dried, children and pets need not be excluded from the treated area

Grazing animals
Depending on weather conditions, Ragwort may take up to 4-8 weeks to die and become unpalatable to livestock. Partition off the paddock or remove horses and other grazing animals from the paddock during this period.

Ragforks

The Rag-Fork has been specifically developed to remove this pernicious weed quickly and easily, without the use of chemicals. It removes the whole plant including the roots, reducing the possibility for re-growth.

The Rag-Fork is the fast and effective solution to ragwort and other common field weeds.

For further information, and advisory literature, on ragwort contact The British Horse Society Welfare Department on 01926 707804 or welfare@bhs.org.uk. Defra may be contacted on 08459 335577