Paddock Management - Basic Advice
It is a good idea to start with the enclosure for your paddock. Trees and hedges will provide your horses with necessary shelters from sun, wind and rain. This may not be an important point to consider if your animals are not outside very often. As such fences may be a suitable alternative, particularly as hedgerows can take years to become fully established.
Once you have selected a suitable fence or hedge fo your paddock you will need to consider the grazing requirements of your animals. What are you trying to feed? Horses may need a different quality mix to ponies and they would definitely need a different quality to sheep or even cattle. Reseeding or natural regeneration would be the first hurdle to climb. Manual clearance or machinery led destruction, personal intervention or expensive contractors? Soil analysis will establish the basic needs and hopefully just what level of intervention is required. Often getting it right from the start pays dividends in the long run and can minimize many fruitless hours hacking away at stubborn re-growth.
The next necessary step is creating an ongoing paddock management program with regards to you grassland. If you are not regularly grazing the pasture it is likely you will need to use topping as a measure of weed control and growth management. Many, or even all, of the necessary benefits which require fertilizers can be accomplished via rolling, aerating and harrowing your land.
Hedges and trees will invariably improve the wildlife and conservation levels of your paddock. Expensive to plant and time-consuming to care for, they will almost certainly give you the greatest pleasure over time. The enjoyment of choosing species and the potential they will afford your land is inspirational and careful advice is well worth considering. A pleasing physical appearance or wildlife regeneration may be your aim - perhaps government grants will tip your choice and are available to help with many aspects of the countryside's regeneration.
Regardless of he size of you paddock, it is important to approach the management of the land responsibly.
Once you have selected a suitable fence or hedge fo your paddock you will need to consider the grazing requirements of your animals. What are you trying to feed? Horses may need a different quality mix to ponies and they would definitely need a different quality to sheep or even cattle. Reseeding or natural regeneration would be the first hurdle to climb. Manual clearance or machinery led destruction, personal intervention or expensive contractors? Soil analysis will establish the basic needs and hopefully just what level of intervention is required. Often getting it right from the start pays dividends in the long run and can minimize many fruitless hours hacking away at stubborn re-growth.
The next necessary step is creating an ongoing paddock management program with regards to you grassland. If you are not regularly grazing the pasture it is likely you will need to use topping as a measure of weed control and growth management. Many, or even all, of the necessary benefits which require fertilizers can be accomplished via rolling, aerating and harrowing your land.
Hedges and trees will invariably improve the wildlife and conservation levels of your paddock. Expensive to plant and time-consuming to care for, they will almost certainly give you the greatest pleasure over time. The enjoyment of choosing species and the potential they will afford your land is inspirational and careful advice is well worth considering. A pleasing physical appearance or wildlife regeneration may be your aim - perhaps government grants will tip your choice and are available to help with many aspects of the countryside's regeneration.
Regardless of he size of you paddock, it is important to approach the management of the land responsibly.
