- Thread starter blackolive (Ste)
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eLuSiVeMiTe
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Still have a scar on my shin from a halfbrick thrown out the back of a rotary pedestrian.The reason for not running a decent flail over an unknown paddock, about twenty lumps of concrete, five road cones and a few lengths of water barrelDont stand behind one
View attachment 183467
Also had a snap on ratchet screwdriver launched.out of one. I'm still using it today lol
As said, repeatedly top it off maybe the odd dose of grazon
Horses eat short grass so a tipper set high won't touch what they are eating
The family of Canada geese will be big competition for the grass though they can be surprisingly greedy
Due to the large amount of bedding in horsey muck heaps they don't compost well so don't get very hot and don't kill the weed seeds off
Usually this gets taken by the same farmer that supply's the hay or haulage and gets spread on there haulage ground increasing the weeds in the fodder which the horses eat and there digestive system doesn't kill seeds so they end up back in your field being a vicious circle
Horses eat short grass so a tipper set high won't touch what they are eating
The family of Canada geese will be big competition for the grass though they can be surprisingly greedy
Due to the large amount of bedding in horsey muck heaps they don't compost well so don't get very hot and don't kill the weed seeds off
Usually this gets taken by the same farmer that supply's the hay or haulage and gets spread on there haulage ground increasing the weeds in the fodder which the horses eat and there digestive system doesn't kill seeds so they end up back in your field being a vicious circle
addjunkie
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Poo picking helps this ...
blackolive (Ste)
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thats why Im binning the dock, Dont want it to end up on someone elses field, seeds are viable for up to 80 years.
field gets poo picked daily.
Actually thinking of going down the scythe route as a short term option.
next daft question, whats a good grass mix for patching up bare patches ?
brewdexta
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The missus swears by her Austrian scythe, she pretty diminutive but can scythe large areas pretty quickly now, she did the docks in our meadow recently where we had filled in a depression with soil from digging out the pond and forgot to seed it so the docks took over, I got her scythe from here.
We just use a meadow mix from the local agricultural suppliers for patching the field, and native wild flower mix for borders that aren't grazed as it tends to crowd out the nettles etc.
angellonewolf
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just done a few patches on the back garden up pound land 2 bags compost and down local harware shop for 4 handfulls of grass seed thrown down last monday allready got 1 inch of grass coming up yesterday morning
give it a year i will have more weeds than grass
blackolive (Ste)
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fallen in love with a scythe
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-...388028?hash=item5471bbd4fc:g:Pa4AAOSwcrdcpkpO
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-...388028?hash=item5471bbd4fc:g:Pa4AAOSwcrdcpkpO
blackolive (Ste)
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rang "lancashire lawnmowers" one of those ramshackle collections of sheds and cars in varying states disrepair. Had a good chat with the old bloke, and Needless to say theres a "good one" tucked away in one of the sheds. he's " a bit busy with the day job but he'll get round to rooting it out " I bet the day jobs been forgotten about and he's in there now with the oily rag 
Migmac
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Used an Allen scythe years ago to cut the rough ground at the back of my house. You just have to watch the tip of the bar doesn’t dig in and twist the handle bars round and into your groin. It’s sore when it happens. My pal had a newer powered sycthe than me, had gears and loads of attachments. A snow plough was one, it could clean paths in no time
Gareth J
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If it's terrible, you could plan to reseed it. But the turf will be tender for a couple years and not up to wintering horses.
Depends how big it is, how many animals you have and what you want to get from it really but older grasses that have just ended up growing there won't be so tasty or productive as fresh pasture.
Depends how big it is, how many animals you have and what you want to get from it really but older grasses that have just ended up growing there won't be so tasty or productive as fresh pasture.
blackolive (Ste)
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Cheers , its doing ok where the weeds havent taken over, at the bottom its done too well, and its too long for them to be bothered with, Found a local seed supplier who does a paddock repair mix with clover so Ill reseed any bare patches, I think its just needing some tlc really while its good growing weather. Pulled the rest of the docks tonight
fallen in love with a scythe
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-...388028?hash=item5471bbd4fc:g:Pa4AAOSwcrdcpkpO
A clay pigeon club was renting a patch of bog from us & had set up their traps on it. The ground was usually too wet to use a tractor so they used an Allen scythe to keep it trimmed. It was able to slice through everything, from big rush bushes to all sorts of weeds & grasses.
morssdn
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Depending on your horses, if you have good doers you really don’t want to be adding clover to your sward as too high in starch. Also regular seed mixes usually contain rye which is not horse friendly, too high wcs levels. Cotswold seeds have rye free meadow mixes.
I am restoring my land and regular topping is making a big difference. I don’t want to spray because the forbes and herbs in the meadow will be killed and they are very beneficial to horses - I am trying to get up to 15 different plants per square metre in the sward for better quality grazing. Getting an albreicht soil analysis done (forage plus offers this service) which is targeted towards improving soil mineral balance to support meadow grasses is the first step if you are interested in regenerating the land in a horse friendly way. Agricultural contractors are focused on cattle & sheep needs to increase milk and meat yield which is very different to what horses needed -cattle pasture is too rich.
There is a great online resource called Equiculture which is dedicated to horse specific grassland management.
Strim your nettles, let them wilt and then offer to your horses to eat -really good for them
Jane not Greg
I am restoring my land and regular topping is making a big difference. I don’t want to spray because the forbes and herbs in the meadow will be killed and they are very beneficial to horses - I am trying to get up to 15 different plants per square metre in the sward for better quality grazing. Getting an albreicht soil analysis done (forage plus offers this service) which is targeted towards improving soil mineral balance to support meadow grasses is the first step if you are interested in regenerating the land in a horse friendly way. Agricultural contractors are focused on cattle & sheep needs to increase milk and meat yield which is very different to what horses needed -cattle pasture is too rich.
There is a great online resource called Equiculture which is dedicated to horse specific grassland management.
Strim your nettles, let them wilt and then offer to your horses to eat -really good for them
Jane not Greg
blackolive (Ste)
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Thank you, very informative
