Closed Pastures in Winter

[Halfhalt08]

Curious if there are any barn owners or boarders who are at barns that close the pastures in the winter time? For reference I live in the Midwest. I understand closing pastures when it is really muddy to preserve the grass and footing, but I am miffed as to why they would close for the winter. The ground is now frozen and the pasture is not over grazed. Talking 5+ acre pasture with 4 mares on it for 6 hours a day. There is no ice or other footing hazards. Am hoping someone can enlighten me on the logic? There may be something I am missing.

For reference, I moved to a new barn this summer because of the great turnout for my 3 year old. I was not notified that the pastures would be closed for the winter until I went out and found my horse in a paddock yesterday. I was planning on pulling her shoes next week and letting her grow up/be a horse this winter and put her back to work next spring. Debating how to handle this and wanted opinions.

Thanks!

[pcwertb]

How big is the paddock? Do they have other fields to rotate to? I have to shut down pastures for rotation, but can keep them in different fields unless we get into a drought situation. Then, depending on the severity of the drought, I've had to close additional fields. I've always been able to rotate the horses from paddock to pasture (so one night they are in a paddock, one night they are on pasture). We don't get freezes in FL to protect the grass, so in a drought the horses can decimate your pasture digging it up. My paddocks range in size from 24 x 56 to 1/3 acre.

[Pippin]

I do.. I live in N.CA.. I close my pastures completely to let them recover and grow again for spring.. If i leave them on all winter i don't get lovely lush green pastures in the spring.. We don't irrigate in the summer, so i like to have a lush growth that will last till July if managed correctly,,, . I have large winter Paddocks , 4 horses, that i put them in during the winter .. Even my young ones..

P~

[Dalemma]

Well I live on the rainy west coast of B. C.

I close pastures down for several reasons.....I have an average of 6 horses here at any given time and only 4 acres of pasture so by end of the summer I am out of grass. The other reason is that it gets to wet and muddy here so along with over grazing they would also destroy the remaining grass. The last reason is that I fertilize and compost my manure and I start putting it back out in the fall after horses come off in early september.....I also mow them short and do any weed killing that is necessary and lime if necessary....then come spring I give them a shot of triple 18.

All my horses are now in gravel paddocks for the winter including our 3 year old who has been with us since birth and is used to this routine.

Dalemma

[JSwan]

It's one method of management. Some people fertilize, lime and seed in the fall and close off the pasture until spring. Others allow grazing and then frost seed clover when the freeze/thaw cycle starts.

There are many variables. Generally the idea is to protect the soil and minimize damage to the roots, prevent runoff, and also to prevent soil compaction. It might also depend upon the acreage and stocking rate, or preferences of the barn owner.

It's really expensive to maintain pastures properly. If she's restricting grazing as part of a management plan, it may be resulting in a bit of a lower boarding bill for you. (just guessing)

[Halfhalt08]

Thanks everyone for the reponses! Just for a little bit more info. This is a new polo facility on 160 acres. There are stalls for 65 horses, but probably only 20 occupied by boarders and 15 polo ponies. There are two 10 acre pastures. My filly has gone out with 3-5 other mares on 10 acres since July. There is no wear on the grass even by the gate and the water (high traffic areas). There is another 5 acre pasture he uses for his polo ponies. The paddock my filly is in is approximately 150' by 50' and has two other mares on it. It is not lime, but dirt. However, I did hear that they are considering converting to "all weather" soon. The going board is $550 which is on the average/high for the area. I plan on discussing with the barn owner, but wanted to be more informed. The fertiziler point is a good one. Thank you!

[BornToRide]

Like my friend says - she manages horses, not pastures. However there are ways to continue turnout while preserving pasture space. Paddock Paradise is a great concept to use in this respect. All the BO would have to do is try a little harder to make this work because turnout and movement is so important to a horse's health.

If this is not going to happen in any way, I'd move the horse.

[betsyk]

Another thought: can they keep the water unfrozen in the pastures in winter? It's possible that when they designed the property they didn't provide for tank heaters in the pastures, or didn't design the turnout so that the horses could get back to the paddocks for water. Nobody wants to have to haul water out to the pastures every morning all winter.

Horses can really make a mess during these fall and spring months when the ground is frozen in the morning, thaws mid-day and freezes again overnight - or freezes for a couple days then warms up and gets muddy and freezes again. I actually wish our barn owner took better care of his pastures and kept the horses off them when the ground is fragile. They're showing the results of years of damage and it's not pretty.

[deltawave]

The last place I boarded closed the pastures for winter except on rare occasions when there was deep snow and the ground completely frozen.

I do the same at my home place--the horses have a 1/2 acre sacrifice paddock, and the 2 pastures are OFF LIMITS in the winter, for the sake of my precious grass. Yes, I'll let them out to play when the snow is deep and the ground well frozen, but when they're done playing and start pawing up the snow to eat, they come in. The grass isn't doing them that much good, and I'd rather spare and preserve it for next year. :yes: They can move around in the sacrifice paddock, and I am sympathetic to their need for "play", but none of mine are babies and a good 20 minutes of buck-farting around is plenty for them, then in they come.

NOBODY sets foot in the pastures when it's muddy, ever. I only have about 5 acres of grass in the first place--it is protected for the horses' own sake.

[BramblewoodAcres]

My pastures get closed during the winter and the horses go on dry lots. The only time I'll turn them out on pasture during the winter is if there is snow on the ground, at least an inch, preferably more. The roots of the grasses are more vulnerable to hoof damage after the blades go dormant in the fall and without the grass continuously growing, the horses just eat it down, down, down and the pasture isn't nearly as nice in the spring/summer.

It's just good pasture management.

[CJBean]

For reference, I moved to a new barn this summer because of the great turnout for my 3 year old. I was not notified that the pastures would be closed for the winter until I went out and found my horse in a paddock yesterday. I was planning on pulling her shoes next week and letting her grow up/be a horse this winter and put her back to work next spring. Debating how to handle this and wanted opinions.

Thanks!

I am guessing when you went to look at the place the pastures really caught your eye. One reason they are probably in nice shape is for the reason to close off the pasture for the winter.

This is very common practice to protect the grass. Like another poster said its the hoofs that do damage to the blades of the grass, even when the ground is frozen.

I have my pasture closed off now, my two horses will now live the winter in their dirt paddock that is about 3/4's of an acre. They are doing just fine and seem pretty happy. Granted I give them quite a bit of hay to keep them busy but they seem pretty content.

[S1969]

Good question; I have wondered what others do. I keep mine open while they are frozen, although I only have 2 horses on 4 acres right now so I'm pretty generous at the moment. However, we generally frost seed/overseed in the early spring and then they are closed from then until first mowing. So I leave them open for now to let them have fun. When we close them they have access to my 80x100 arena and a 60x60 stondust paddock.

[QHmom]

We rotate at our place. I try to leave one turn out alone for a year to really get recooped. I have a friend who field boards and rotates alot so each field is never really damaged...her place is amazing!

[Halfhalt08]

Well I feel better after reading more replies; thanks for your time. I do agree that proper pasture management is important. I guess I just didn't realize how much damage could be done to the grass after freezing. I do have friends that own smaller acreage that close theirs, but was thinking that the horse/acre ratio was in my favor at this barn. They definitely still look nice and are not at all overgrazed at this point, but I see the point that they are that way for a reason.

Just was a bit disheartened to hear that my 3 year old would be in on a smallish paddock from November - May. It is not grazing that is my concern but a sane mind and moving joints. I also don't want her trying to run and play hard in a smaller space. Perhaps I can request that some hay be thrown to keep them occupied for part of the day.

[Halfhalt08]

And yes CJ Bean, I did fall in love with the pastures! 10 acres of lush pastures for my 3 year old and only a few other mares was heaven!

Also, as for the freezing water...the pastures are just behind the paddocks so water/trough heaters would be just as easy in either.

[PinkPonies]

The close our big pasture in the winter - they were out until about a month ago (I'm in Colorado). Big pasture is 100 acres with 10-12 horses. They break them into three smaller groups and put them in smaller (1-2 acre) paddocks for the winter. The way our barn is set up, doing this brings them closer to the house so it's easier to see all the horses in a snow storm. It also provides more shelter for the horses that they'll actually use - in the big pasture there is just one small shelter and trees. Seems to work pretty well and the pasture is in really good shape when the horses go out late spring.

[msj]

You don't indicate what in part of the country you live but where I am, western NY, our ground freezes and the grass goes dormant. I do believe one of our meteorologists stated when the grass has not only frost on it, but when it's dormant as well, any foot traffic on it will harm it. Obviously horses grazing on it sure isn't going to help it any.

I have 2 sacrifice paddocks that I use come winter that are 110' x 110'. During the day I open the gate between them and let my 2 horses mingle. At night I close the gate so each horse can have some uninterrupted time. By closing my 3 larger pastures, I end up with very lush grass from spring to fall. I rotate the horses about every 2 weeks to a new pasture and so far each pasture has come back every yr without any other maintenance besides very regular mowing and fertilizing. Every time the horses are moved to a new pasture, the one they come off gets mowed. This keeps the weeds from propagating. :)

Oh and I've had the farm for 18 yrs. :)

[Ibex]

My 3yo is now in a 30x30 paddock for the winter :sigh:

There's one field she could go out in, but the filly they want to turn her out with is a total b*tch and the babysitter mares who keep the peace are being kept in. The field is super muddy (think ankle deep, slick, sucking mud), and if my mare makes a run for the gate from the other one, she'll be the one to get hurt. It's not worth the risk. :(

[webmistress32]

I used to stress about maintaining my grass and closed my pasture for the past three years. this summer I realized that there is more than enough grass so even if some is lost it's not a big deal.

we mow monthly and drag during the summer so the grass grows great. I am therefore not closing my pasture this winter.

I am near Chicago.

[CJBean]

Well I feel better after reading more replies; thanks for your time. I do agree that proper pasture management is important. I guess I just didn't realize how much damage could be done to the grass after freezing. I do have friends that own smaller acreage that close theirs, but was thinking that the horse/acre ratio was in my favor at this barn. They definitely still look nice and are not at all overgrazed at this point, but I see the point that they are that way for a reason.

Just was a bit disheartened to hear that my 3 year old would be in on a smallish paddock from November - May. It is not grazing that is my concern but a sane mind and moving joints. I also don't want her trying to run and play hard in a smaller space. Perhaps I can request that some hay be thrown to keep them occupied for part of the day.

Oh believe me it frustrates me when I close my pastures to my horses, but I know in the long run they will enjoy the lush pastures come summer time. Its hard.

I would see if the BO can throw some hay in for them, and see if they can spread the piles out, this will encourage the horses to move around more.

[mjrtango93]

All of our turn outs get closed in winter. It hasn't even hardly rained here yet so everything is business as normal now (I'm in Northern CA). We don't close them to protect the grass as much as keep the hill from sliding :no:. The pastures are 5, 10, 25, and 40 acres and no more then 5 horses out at a time for rotation. Nobody lives on any of those year round. We are in the hills though so if the horses go out when its too wet they actually will groove the hill and cause it to slide. The grass will be nice in the spring so they won't mind too much :D. We have no water though so it will be dead by May/June anyway and then nothing but nasty dried crap until December. Oh the joys of living in a drought state. At least the wells kept up this year and we only had to truck in like 10 loads this summer.