>>>> Hubby was reading that we shouldn't let the horses out on the pasture in winter--it damages the pasture. So I'm not sure what to do-keep them on a sacrifice lot all winter?
It WILL damage the pasture...but then, I've consciously worked to get my pastures to a prime state of "damage". :) "Prime" pastures are generally too much for horses, especially easy-keeping ponies. After 20 years, Virginia, I still vacillate about pasture management, but I have come to realize that I don't want the lush pastures that most animal husbandry books would have you believe that you need. "Good" pastures cost more to maintain, and cause more health problems than "poor" pastures. Of course, the downside to "poor" pastures is the inevitable mud. Welcome to my world, where nothing is ever easy, and I always doubt my choices! And, of course, two ponies aren't a lot of foot traffic - they won't damage an area like, for instance, twice that many "big horses." You can probably try a compromise management program to begin with. If I were you, I'd use the pastures some, but not enough for the horses to get hugely fat, or to wear out any one smaller area. You could, for instance, keep them in your sacrifice lot during the muddiest periods, or for part of the day every day, only letting them out to romp for a couple of hours per day, or on the nicer days. I don't know if you've ever noticed how many cross-fences show up in my pictures. We're always adding cross-fences with gates - look for flexible options, where you can open up or close areas easily, depending on the grass and the weather. A paddock of 100x200 is only about 1/2 acre. That's probably ok if you will also be turning them out for periods about every day, but if I were going to keep them on it all winter, I'd want at least twice that much room for two I think. It's not like you don't have the acreage! Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.15/1101 - Release Date: 10/31/2007 10:06 AM
