May 2019

Perfect paddocks aren’t just created over night, they take time, preparation and care. With regular maintenance you can transform your field to stay at its best. Here the team from Suregrow Fertiliser provide advice on how you can create your perfect paddock.

Horses can spend up to 16 hours a day grazing, so it is important for our horse’s health that we invest in their paddocks to benefit them in the long run.

Managing paddocks will differ, depending on how the land is used. Whether your horse is out 24/7, how many horses are in the field and the the number of acres they are in. The size of the horse or pony must also be considered.

Horses are fussy eaters, and therefore will often only eat sections and specific areas of a paddock. Paddocks can then quickly become overgrazed or over stocked and poor management can lead to problems.

To prevent overgrazing regularly rotate your fields to give the grass time to rest. This will help to maintain grass throughout the year and avoid the paddock turning into soil or mud.

Horses tend not to graze those areas where there are droppings. If possible, these should be removed on a daily or weekly basis.

Spring is the perfect time to pay attention to your paddocks. Once the land has started to dry out harrowing is a great way to promote new grass growth and this will help to remove dead grass and lightly rooted weeds.

After the winter season rolling will help to level uneven and poached land. Timing is very important at this stage, if a field is too wet you will make a mess and if the land is too dry you won’t make a significant impact.

Fertilising with Suregrow Fertiliser is a vital component to achieve a well-balanced paddock. It stimulates root development resulting in a denser sward which helps suppress weed growth.

Suregrow fertiliser has been developed to be slow release and low in nitrogen avoiding lush high protein grass which can be harmful to horses and ponies.

When reseeding and over sowing the seed mixture should be carefully chosen. The ideal grass to provide grazing for horses and ponies is not the same grass that farmers might use for silage. A good paddock mixture should be hard wearing, quick to establish and contain the right blend for your paddock. Suregrow’s grass seed range consists of Paddock Grass Seed Mix, Fast Grass, Meadow and Laminitics Grass Mix.

For more information visit www.suregrowuk.com