question about having Cows vs. Horses on my property( more destructive

[crazy4cochins]

Hi all, I have a small farm and about 7-8 acres are meadow the rest is " yard" about 10 acres total.
My question is I am thinking of bascially renting my pasture to someone and I want to know from you what you think.
We need income really bad.I have a farmer that comes and bales are hay usually in round bales. It Creates good quaity hay they tell me, I guess it can be organic we never put any chemicals on it and the farmer buys it after he bales it. I will be having it baled this year in square bales because i got goats this year.
I need some of the hay this year for our goats(about 65 bales the rest can be sold.
Questions:
1. Will there be enough hay (sqaures) to be baled if I let the cows or horses stay in the pasture?
2. which are more destructive Cows or horses?
I don't want to start a battle I am just curious about the difference on them.
Thanks

 

[farmgirljen]

You would probably be better off to not let anyone keep anything on it- both are rather destructive, and if you still plan on haying it, then they would need to stay off the grass from late fall until after the grass has been mowed...

 

[freemotion]

It's either get the hay or rent the pasture, not both. Horses are very destructive and pasture needs to be well-managed to survive them. I don't know about cows, but I've had horses for three decades and managed a horse farm for one decade.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Horses tend to eat the pasture down to almost nothing more than cows will, and tend to trample a lot. Cows will trample the grasses and stuff down as they graze too. So both parties are just as destructive as the other. So either use the field as hay only, or use it as pasture. You'll definitely get more money by selling hay than selling or renting out your livestock, IMO. So...

1. NO.
2. Answered above.

 

[lupinfarm]

Do the hay, but I suggest looking into the cost of small squares in your area. In some areas it costs more to buy small squares and thus it may be a more viable baling option for you.

Horses not only chop up the ground but they also flatten it and compress it, they eat the grass down to the roots and without proper pasture care the fields will suffer.

Not only that but *your* insurance may need to be updated to include horsey property insurance which can be costly.

 

[patandchickens]

If you want hay AND livestock the only way to do it is to take a hay crop off and THEN put the animals on for the rest of the summer. With low stocking density it can be ok; if you put too many animals on, though, it will reduce next year's hay crop. Obviously this also means you do not get a second cutting, if you usually would.

Pat