GRass seed suggestion

[horsechick]

Hi,
I was looking for a good grass seed that won't break the bank that is not toxic to mares and foals should we ever decide to do that again.
Seems all seeds are some type of fescue.
Any suggestions would be appreciated,
Thank you,
Angela

 

[goodhors]

Not sure where you are located, but it is best to buy pasture seed locally. Seed that works in my location, may be a bad choice for you, doesn't tolerate the heat or cold at your place. Asking your Extension Service for information could help you learn more about good local seeding for success methods. Read about how wonderful Buffalo Grass is!! Bought some, never even got it to sprout! Turns out that our State never gets BRIGHT enough sunshine to even get the seed warmed up for sprouting. Buffalo Grass won't grow here, so money was wasted from not knowing about the light problem. Totally an "out west" grass seed, because their sunshine is so much brighter than ours.

I went to my local grain elevator and asked them about grass seed. Told them I didn't want any of the fescue because of having foals in the future. We read ALL the labels of the available seed, to find a specific Mare and Foal mix with no fescues. It contained a variety of seeds, grasses, white clover, with little ANNUAL seeds. So this stuff, well planted, would establish a long term pasture of year-around grazing. Some plants do well in cold seasons, while others do well in summer heat. I want grazing year around, so I don't have to buy hay to feed during warm months.

I have found that regular mowing of pasture makes the grazing plants grow MUCH BETTER! You don't mow short, and you may need to mow often to keep stuff growing and being a good feed for the animals.

Prepare the ground so seed has a good place to sprout, succeed in growing. I drag and cut the ground with my disc, then walk with a drop seeder to put the seed exactly where I want it. Then dragging over the seeds for a bit of cover. I have not found just broadcast seeding, especially if overseeding an established pasture, to be much use. Broadcasting just doesn't seem to get seeds well started, so I consider it pretty wasted money.

Price of GOOD seed is VERY expensive. However if you plant it well, keep it mowed to encourage good root development, it is worth the price. My pastures now are very good, deep roots, excellent grazing for my horses. It still is producing even in the heat and no rain we often get at late summer.

Do get a soil test on your ground, then tell the fertilizer place your crop is GRASS for grazing. With the soil test they will know exactly what and how much of each item is needed to improve your field. This means your fertilizer money is well spent, not wasted on products that were not useful to your land.

I would think fertilizing and planting as soon as you can work the ground, would get your pasture going for this summer. Our dirt is very wet, so at least a couple weeks before we can do anything here in the North.

 

[Electric]

I take the seeds from my hay (the stuff that falls to the bottom ) and spread it around both my horse and cow pasture, and cover it with manure (do this in the fall) and by spring, I always have thick, full grass that is safe for both horses and cows.

 

[oldbag855]

I agree with Electric.
The chaf (sp?) is what we use. There is no other use for it. We use it for bare spots in our pasture. The horses don't eat it. Our neighbor went and bought pasture mix, very expensive, and the horses ate it before it had a chance.

 

[patandchickens]

The reason fescue is so ubiquitous in pasture mixes is that it withstands MUCH more severe grazing and foot traffic than, well, really ANYTHING else. (You can buy endophyte-free fescue but that is probably not worthwhile to you b/c a) expensive and b) doesnt necessarily STAY endophyte-free.)

So I'm afraid that a very-low-fescue pasture is somewhat impractical unless either a) you are willing to limit the horses' access to it a lot more, confining and haying them to the degree that it's even STARTING to get short or muddy; or b) you have quite a lot of land so that you can devote more acres per horse than you would on a largely-fescue pasture.

If you CAN go for either of those options, then sure, sow something else (there will still be some fescue in your pasture no matter how you slice it, unless you totally kill it all off and then reseed and keep the horses off it for a year AND it never gets reinvaded by fescue which frankly is unlikely -- but low-fescue is usually enough to prevent broodmare problems)

Talk to people locally, including your extension service if you're in the US, but your best bet is likely to be a mixture of hay-type grasses plus some nontoxic clovers. Avoid alfalfa (doesn't hold up well under regular grazing), alsike clover (poisonous), or things unsuited to your soil and drainage and climate.

And then, manage attentively so that the pasture doesn't get ground down as much as you can let a mostly-fescue pasture get.

When you seed, it is really worth the extra trouble of roughening up the ground, not just scattering seed aroudn and hoping it grows (most of it won't, especially this time of year when birds will eat what doesn't just die). Even if you are not going to totally rip up, turn under and renovate a pasture from scratch (if you do, keep stock off it til next year or it won't establish well, although you *should* mow it as it gets too high), it is really worth lightly cultivating or harrowing the existing pasture before seeding, so you create places for the seeds to get in good soil contact and start growing. You'll have poor establishment rates but OTOH you can leave the horses on the pasture (to a degree anyhow) and done right you CAN get reasonable improvement of a pasture this way.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat