It will officially be spring so soon I can taste it!
We had Cindy from the UF IFAS extension office give us a consultation on our pasture management. She's quite the expert and had an answer for all our questions.
We love to share any knowledge we gain so here's what we've learned (over the past year from research and confirmed by the expert):
-- As far as pasture tolerance goes, experts recommend 2 acres per horse. Our farm is closer to 1.75 horses to 2 acres.
-- Now is the time to kill the weeds! We have perennial weeds popping up everywhere - geranium, stinging nettle - so we will be using herbicide (a 2, 4-D will kill these broadleaf weeds), safely of course.
-- We will be seeding all the pastures of "this side" of the farm. That includes the jump field (pasture 1), pasture 2 (with the burn pile), and pasture 3 (by the hay barn). We will need to aerate the pastures first, then seed, then drag or aerate again. We will be using Tifton 9 (a type of Bahia grass).
-- The horses cannot be on the grass for (ideally) 60 days! Yikes! So we'll be combining herds as previously blogged (Tav & Pokey over with Magic's pasture, the girls & JW's herd over with the oldies in Pasture 4). The Donkeys will probably live in the round pen or arena if we decide to see the paddock area.
-- We will be moving the jumps!!! The new jump pasture will be in Pasture 2. There is more tree cover in Pasture 2 so less grass will grow. Pasture 1 (where the jumps are now) makes a better grazing area. But no jumping while the seeds are growing. As an alternative you will be able to set the jumps up around the farm (just not in a pasture).
This will all be happening in just a few days, stay tuned!
More to come...
Every day, a little something about your horses
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
What's new? Be ready!
Same old, same old here at the farm.
Blankets on, blankets off. Horses in, horses out.
Some minor changes you will notice:
Tav is being kept alone in the paddock during the day to keep his mom happy - no playing with an ouchy hip! Pokey and Tav did not appreciate this change and both have been fairly stressed. To reduce the stress as much as possible I've allowed Bodhi to stay with Pokey during the day and Tie to stay with Tav at night. That way Tav has company that he won't be inclined to play with. During the day Tav can see his buddies just over the fence and although he's still feeling lonely he is adjusting slowly. Hopefully he won't be kept separate from his pals for very long - he does enjoy a good romp with Pokey.
The donkeys are hanging in the arena for the time being. If you would like to use the arena you are welcome to halter the donks and put them in stalls opposite one another so they can see each other (they are very bonded and there is no reason to cause them undue stress).
The mower is still incapacitated. When we find a few moments we will replace the spark plug to see if that's the issue. In the mean time, please keep dumping as far back in the pile as possible.
We will be seeding the property before the end of the month. The seed will need about two weeks to take root and grow a few inches. Horses can not be on the pasture at all for those two weeks. So here's the plan:
(1) We'll be testing Pokey out with Magic separately. If they do well, we'll try them both with the other boys (Cas, Bodhi, Tav, Dusty). I don't anticipate any issues. Pokey has a high play drive and so does Magic. Neither are aggressive alpha horses. Tav will have to deal with some boo-boos because he will have to be pastured with them. They will all go in Pasture 5.
(2) Besty, Dancer, Shellie, and Tie will go out with Molly, Ufir, and Jedi.
(3) That leaves Satin and JW. I may try them with the above herd as long as all goes well.
(4) The donkeys will be kept in the round pen during the day.
So we will have 3 empty pastures and a paddock on the 'barn side' that will have to remain empty until the grass grows. There can be no jumping or riding in the pastures during that time. After the approximate two weeks of growth we can switch horses to 'this' side for two weeks while we seed the other side.
As usual, I will keep you posted!
Blankets on, blankets off. Horses in, horses out.
Some minor changes you will notice:
Tav is being kept alone in the paddock during the day to keep his mom happy - no playing with an ouchy hip! Pokey and Tav did not appreciate this change and both have been fairly stressed. To reduce the stress as much as possible I've allowed Bodhi to stay with Pokey during the day and Tie to stay with Tav at night. That way Tav has company that he won't be inclined to play with. During the day Tav can see his buddies just over the fence and although he's still feeling lonely he is adjusting slowly. Hopefully he won't be kept separate from his pals for very long - he does enjoy a good romp with Pokey.
The donkeys are hanging in the arena for the time being. If you would like to use the arena you are welcome to halter the donks and put them in stalls opposite one another so they can see each other (they are very bonded and there is no reason to cause them undue stress).
The mower is still incapacitated. When we find a few moments we will replace the spark plug to see if that's the issue. In the mean time, please keep dumping as far back in the pile as possible.
We will be seeding the property before the end of the month. The seed will need about two weeks to take root and grow a few inches. Horses can not be on the pasture at all for those two weeks. So here's the plan:
(1) We'll be testing Pokey out with Magic separately. If they do well, we'll try them both with the other boys (Cas, Bodhi, Tav, Dusty). I don't anticipate any issues. Pokey has a high play drive and so does Magic. Neither are aggressive alpha horses. Tav will have to deal with some boo-boos because he will have to be pastured with them. They will all go in Pasture 5.
(2) Besty, Dancer, Shellie, and Tie will go out with Molly, Ufir, and Jedi.
(3) That leaves Satin and JW. I may try them with the above herd as long as all goes well.
(4) The donkeys will be kept in the round pen during the day.
So we will have 3 empty pastures and a paddock on the 'barn side' that will have to remain empty until the grass grows. There can be no jumping or riding in the pastures during that time. After the approximate two weeks of growth we can switch horses to 'this' side for two weeks while we seed the other side.
As usual, I will keep you posted!
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