yard, stable & paddock
With spring supposedly upon us, now is the time to start thinking about your paddocks and fields to ensure your horses and ponies get the very best pasture this summer.
Are Your Paddocks and Grassland Suffering?
With a sense of ‘deja-vu’- well it’s been a wet winter, again! In fact it’s been the wettest year recorded and now in early spring, the land is still saturated. The most popular time to re-seed or over-sow is April, August and September but with the strange weather patterns we have had in recent years, this is no longer the case. So forget working by the calendar and carry out your grassland work, when conditions allow. If there is such a thing as a normal year, grass seed will germinate between the months of March and September in lowland areas. Sowing in the summer months was taboo in case of drought but now that weather forecasts are much more accurate and can advise when rain is on the way, the summer should not be ruled out. So let’s be optimistic and hope that this year the weather will allow us to have good paddocks. Wheel ruts and poaching are likely to be the first problems to sort out, but however tempting, it’s best to leave well alone until conditions improve or matters will only be made worse.
‘Top Tips’ for grassland recovery include: 1. Harrow as a matter of routine, particularly if the droppings are not being collected. 2. Oversow poached or damaged areas, as weeds may invade these areas. After the seed has been sown, lightly harrow then roll. 3. Choose your grass seed carefully; a good paddock mixture for horses and ponies should be hard wearing and provide a thick and relatively short sward. 4. If the preparation is right then the maintenance and upkeep is relatively easy. Topping stops the grazing sward from getting leggy and encourages horses to graze the entire field, not just parts of it. 5. Pull out weeds when you see them and don’t leave them to spread their seeds. Droppings should be removed on a daily basis.
6. Feed in different parts of the field to avoid poaching and spread by hand a little seed in those areas each time. 7. Put in an extra gate. This will prevent poaching and allow one gateway time to recover. 8. Control those moles! Soil in your grass crops can cause serious digestive issues and can even be fatal.
AND FINALLY - Make sure you get a copy of Equine each month and follow Logic’s expert guidance on how best to manage your paddocks during the season, with easy-to-follow seasonal advice on all the tasks you’ll need to carry out as the months go by! Ask your local newsagent.
PADDOCK, YARD AND ARENA EQUIPMENT
Designed and manufactured in the UK to provide top quality equipment at outstanding value for money
Harrow range to rake, overseed paddocks and level arenas
Terr-ator to aerate swards and improve drainage
1.5m or 1.8m heavy duty Ballast Roller
Control difficult areas with a Flail Mower
Easy muck collection with Pro-Sweep
Quick levelling with Pro-Grade
Fertiliser Spreaders
Power Brushes
Trailed Sprayers On Board Sprayers
See them working on video @
www.LogicToday.co.uk
www.theequinesite.co.uk 1 M62 2
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NORTH & EXPORT Hexham 01434 606661 SOUTH
Cheltenham 01285 720930 Equine Page 33
Bowser Range inc. Menage watering
Tipping Trailers
Rotary Mowers
E15-01L
BROCHURES Now available! See website for details
NEW
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