A horse pasture must be carefully maintained to keep it healthy and strong, so that it will be resistant to different weather conditions and versatile use. Overseeding is an effective, cheap way of maintaining a pasture. Spring and autumn are the best periods for overseeding.
Overseeding is a good way of renovating swards that have become a little thin and contain bare patches. A great advantage of overseeding over reseeding is that you will be able to use your pasture sooner. Overseeding is also cheaper than seeding.
Before you start overseeding your pasture, make sure it is free of weeds. Start controlling weeds by removing them with a harrow or a suitable herbicide.
A pasture that is to be overseeded must first be mown or grazed short. The next step is to loosen the topsoil with a rake to ensure good contact between the seed and the soil. Try to sow the seed before a forecast rain shower. Distribute the seed evenly across the land and then compact the soil by walking across it or rolling it. If your pasture is too large to be overseeded by hand, contact an agricultural contractor with a special overseeding machine.
After the overseeding the soil must be kept moist. Do not manure your pasture for the first eight weeks after overseeding. The existing sward may be mown as soon as the young grass plants are sufficiently developed (>6 cm). Light grazing is no problem, providing you make sure the horses do not graze the grass too short.
The best times for overseeding are from early February until the end of April and from early August until the end of September. You will need 40 kg of Horse Master® per hectare to overseed a pasture containing many bare patches. 25 kg of Horse Master® per hectare will suffice for a pasture with few bare patches.
A beautiful green pasture with firm sod and enough grass to graze your horse daily is precisely what every horse keeper wishes for. Unfortunately, many horses graze on bare pastures or pastures with grass intended for cows. This can lead to various health problems. That is why Barenbrug has developed Horse Master®.
Horse Master® is a balanced grass seed mixture. A Horse Master® pasture has a firm sod, fast regrowth, and the crop is rich in structure but low in fructan. Click here for more information about Horse Master® .
Would you like the best grass for your Horse or Pony? Click here for more information.
Seeding a horse pasture costs time and attention, but they will pay off in the form of excellent grassland that you will enjoy for many years. If you should be unable to seed your horse pasture yourself, ask your local agricultural contractor for help.
Fertilisation and liming are essential for keeping your horse pasture in good condition. It’s a fable that poor pastures are suitable for horses. Horses need nutrients and trace elements from grass to be able to perform properly. In poor pastures, horses moreover ingest too much sand, which greatly increases the risk of sand colic.
