What kind of grass to plant in MD

[odv]

I am getting ready to plant some grass seed in a small paddock and was wondering what kind of grass seeds I should get.

It's a small paddock of about one acre and I will keep two minis in there.

I want a grass, or a combination of grasses that will grow year round, so I will have pasture during the cold winter months as well as during the hot humid months in the summer.

I will be supplementing with good hay and maybe grain, but want to have some grass for them to graze.

What do you have in your paddocks/fields? how do you keep them green all year long? and when would be a good time to start seeding, my minis will come in mid May.

Thank you, I really appreciate any help and input into this.

 

[REO]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I wanted to say WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

 

[Marty]

Your best bet it to ask your local county ag dept. what will grow naturally in your area.

I think you are doing a little wishful thinking wanting to establish green grass all year round.. With two on one acre, they will probably pick it clean in a week if they are on it for a few hours daily, so I would divide that field up in half for rotation, mowing, and manure pick up purposes. During the winter, its important that you have ample hay to feed daily. We get our winter hay stored as soon as its harvested in the summer.If we wait too long, it will all be sold out so be sure you have storage suitable for plenty of hay bails..Sometimes we plant winter rye around October for what little it's worth; just mainly to keep the ground from going to complete mud.

On the flip side, be careful of new grass growth which can and will cause a horse to founder. New green grass scares the heck out of me. Good luck.

 

[odv]

Thank you REO, I'm getting a couple of minis in May after several years of not having any. Very excited and starting to get everything ready!

Thank you Marty for your suggestion. I did think about dividing the paddock up in two smaller sections and rotate them around.

the idea of stocking up on hay early in the summer is great too.

thanks for your input

 

[REO]

I'm glad you've joined us & I hope you'll post photos of your new minis when you get them!

 

[AnnaC]

Here in the UK if I was wanting to re-seed a pasture, I would aim for a good 'old fashioned' tough pasture mix (various grasses and herbs) that would suit my area plus be suitable for horses, so I think a call to your local Agricultural Department would be sensible. But your main problem may be to get the grass established - horses tear grass when eating and can easily pull newly planted grass up by the roots. Here if we re-seeded we would have to graze with sheep (they 'nibble'!!) for a season to let the grass get well rooted before we used the pasture for horses.

Good luck - and dont forget the pictures once you get your new minis!

 

[wingnut]

Welcome from a fellow Marylander!

Do you have some kind of feed mill or the like in your area? Here in Harford County, we have "The Mill". They have several pasture blends to choose from. I told them what I needed (no fescue) and they recommended a particular blend that included orchard grass and one other thing I couldn't remember. We also have an acre+ for our pasture (with 4 horses).

My husband grew up on a farm and lived his life surrounded by farming families. Both he and the folks at the mill said to plant in the fall. We did that in Oct 2009. We kept them off the pasture until late summer of 2010. We put down fertilizer (again, what was recommended by the folks at the mill) in both 2010 and 2011. The pasture is now fully established...in fact, too much so! My girls have grazed on it all winter. I want it to be chewed down/beaten down a bit. There's little out there of value right now so we supplement with plenty of hay. This summer we will be using some form of "strip grazing" to give them access to the pasture without too much at once, in an effort to avoid over eating and risk of founder. After keeping them off the pasture 99% of the time, even with muzzles, I see how much happier they are having the ability to walk around and graze at will. I want to replicate that year round while still managing the risks.

 

[odv]

Thank you all for your responses, they are very helpful.

I think I'm going to go with a mixture of grasses, making sure there is no fescue in it.

Wingnut, how do you monitor how much grass your minus eat to avoid over eating? Do you leave them grass at will for a coule if hours and then put muzzles on?

Thanks for your help

 

[Boss Mare]

What part of MD?

 

[odv]

Southern Maryland

 

[Boss Mare]

I am in Southern Maryland too (Mechanicsville).. Depending upon your location -- I buy my pasture mix from Southern States in Charlotte Hall (across from the farmer's market).

I don't have much of a pasture anymore, but this

worked well when I maintained a pasture.

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-5707-grass-pro-horse-pasture-25lb.aspx

 

[Riverrose28]

Hi, and welcome from Southern Maryland, I'm on the Nanjemoy penn., accross the river from Quantico. I would recommend that you start with a small sacrifice paddock with a run in or access to the barn. As for your pasture I agree with the others on separating it in to at least two parts for grazing. Here we plant either in the fall or the end of Feb., but if the ground is bare to begin with it should sit for at least two years to get established or the horses will pull it out by the roots. We also get our seed from Southern States and use timothy and clover. Clover can cause the slobbers but is a good, draught resistant, ground cover. You cna also add wheat as it holds up good over the winter here. All of my minis right now are on dry lots, but we have had them on pasture in the past and only allow them out in the spring for an hour at atime, they can stay on it longer during the hot summer and we try to keep it clipped to about four inches. Our big horses are on pasture, supplimented with hay, all year long. Good luck with your little guys and if you need me call or PM me, I'm also in the breeders connect here on LB. Terry