New pasture - your take on frequency

[John Boy]

Last year late summer , weed killed , disc'ed and reseeded a small pasture that will be used full time when I do the same to my main pasture.
I was hoping to put the horse in this newly seeded pasture this spring /summer , but the growth is horrible because in northern Wisc. we are in a drought.
(I plan on getting a horse in this pasture sometime around July - and then eventually late summer/autumn re do the main pasture)

My question : once the reseeded pasture takes hold , what should be the turnout time and frequency ?
Obviously my concern is the sweet grasses maybe to much on a daily turnout 'full-time' and I am looking for experienced advice.

[vicklynn]

What size is your pasture? How many horses are going to be on it?

Was last fall your first seed? What seed did you use?

When we have a drought, I bring out the big sprinklers.

[John Boy]

One horse on about 2 acres.

8 + years ago it had been a wild abandoned crop farm field , then I plowed it, disc'ed it and reseeded it. Used it for about 3 years as a hay field and then put a horse on it. I am using the same seed mix as the past - horse mix field seed and alphafa. (It basically has everything in it including last years winter rye)

My target idea is to : mow it 3 times from June until maybe early to mid July and then put the horse in it.
Not sure what length of time , because when I seeded it , I seeded heavy and it will be quite thick.
(I have a neighbor that does nothing , and his praire pasture (joke) is mowed when all the weeds are in seed ,and you guessed it - the seeds flew into my well maintained fields. :doh:
(This same dink - has had 6+ weeks to do something with all the horse apples , and his horses walk half the time on dead weeds and grass and the other on horses apples that haven't been raked or spread)

[vicklynn]

2 acres 1 horse, damn, must be nice. I have 2 horses, they have just less than 1 acre for living/pasture.
I turn out for 1/2 to 1 hr, both horses(depending on how lush the grass is, is how often I do it).
Right now, that corner area can be a daily turn out, for probably a couple weeks with no issues. By then my longer pasture will have good growth for them to be turned out more often.
You having 2 acres, when the grass is set, should not have an issue with daily turn out period.
What I would do, and thats just me, is, divided the acre in half, put a nice size gate there and just rotate pastures.
Even if I had 5 or 10 acres, I would divide it for rotation. Mow if need be, if the horses couldnt keep up with the growth.
Having such a small area has taught me that.

In my younger yrs, we had 5 acres, 3 horses and a cow. Divided pastures(1 horse 1 cow on one side, 2 horses on the other, and still never really had a nice pasture. It never got seeded though and always had animals on it. We had to hay daily.
I learned to like dry lot.

Oh and I have a neighbor like yours. Horses all over it, grown weeds, no grass and he has 20 acres....ugh.
Not sure why he dosnt cross fence and rotate pastures. It makes NO sence.

[WashingtonBay]

Depends a lot on the horse's condition and sensitivity, and the thickness and richness of the grass... the rate of consumption. i.e., if the horse is walking around doing a lot of hunting and pecking and choosing, or is the horse standing in grass filling his mouth with every bite without having to move.

In spring when I open up the pasture, I usually feed a good hay meal first, before turning them out, so they are full. Then they are not gorging because they're hungry, they're just entertaining themselves.

If they are grazing constantly those first few days, I may only give them a few hours, then a bland hay meal back in the paddock. But I've got an old horse, a fat horse, and a pony. All have some risk factors.

If, on the other hand, I see them graze around a bit, then stop and take naps, they'll earn themselves a little more time out there.

It really depends on whether they are acting like robbers out there.

The first week I'll limit them to some daytime turnout then back in for a hay meal. After that, on my five acres anyway, usually they can just be on it the rest of the summer without limit, as it dries up and gets grazed down.

[John Boy]

I actually have about 7 acres , but this 2 acre pasture is a rotate field , so that the main pasture can be weed killed.

WB - I was thinking the same thing , this is a TB and I can't have him out there robbing the land , and creating issues health wise.

This next month my vet will be in for annual checkup and hock shots , and I am going to run it by him. This particular horse has been in a steady diet of 24/7 free loafing for about 8 years or longer, and hibernating him in a corral enclosure could wear on him , not seeing his neighbor mates.

I plan on creating a rotational swing gate - this summer another two fences will be built , because within a couple years I am looking at getting another horse.
(thanks VL &WB)
any more experienced suggestions are greatly appreciated