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Kirsty5278
Platinum Member
 England
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 2:37:23 PM
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I had my feild topped today... it looks lovely and tidy!! :)
The man tha did it suggested that he could look into a complete maintenance plan for me...
Roll and spray it once a year, top it a couple of times of months during summer & spring and flail the edges to keep the brambles back once a year... He also mentioned about ariating (sp?) and fertilizing, but I don't think it needs any fertilizer...
How much would you pay for this a year? or how much do you think you pay out a year on your paddocks?
Mine is 3.5 acres and I haven't got a clue how much would be a reasonable amount to pay....
any suggestions?
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Karon
Gold Member
England
1411 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 3:08:54 PM
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Ref the brambles, no need to flay, just get a sickle and have some fun getting bramble throns in your arms while you cut it back  All good fun!
Why does it need spraying? I get the sickle out on my weeds, and eventually they give up the ghost. Don't like using sprays with my horses on the fields if I can avoid it. Sickle is cheaper, too!
My YO's maintenance consists of harrow the field once the horses are off it (having been out all winter then moving to a different field), roll it, rest it. And top it if needed later in the summer.
I'd just watch that the person who is looking into doing the maintenance for you isn't trying to do stuff that's not needed so he gets more money. But then I'm cynical like that! |
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moatside
Platinum Member
England
3224 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 3:17:34 PM
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I have 9.5 acres and I split it into 2 sections. I have each section sprayed bi-annually - cost is £25 for the weedkiller and £5 per acre to spray. I do not top as I take hay off half of it and the horses keep it down - I do graze a few young heifers or a dozen sheep if it needs taking down any more.I harrow with chain harrows and my 4x4 once a year. Like Karon I get the strimmer out to keep the brambles etc at bay round the edges.
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www.spanglefish.com/kasanarhythmbeads/ |
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Pauline
Platinum Member
England
3185 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 3:20:47 PM
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I get mine sprayed once a year and topped once a year.
I bought a small 4ft harrow and roller so that i could do mine own. I tow behind my Land Rover.
I am going to buy a sprinkler so I can fertilize my fields. I also bought a bush cutter to trim the fields.
Pauline  |
Pauline Higgs
Equine & Human Holistic Therapist
www.thegentlestouch.co.cc
www.endurancegbmidsouth.co.uk
Berkshire / Hampshire Border |
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Suelin
Platinum Member
England
2514 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 4:55:48 PM
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We had our paddocks topped earlier this year. 5 acres £100. To sweep it £200 (so we didn't bother with that) We've just managed to buy a second hand compact tractor and our own topper. When we did the sums it worked out that it would pay for itself in 3 years if you topped regularly. We looked at the toppers and other equipment that tows behind a 4x4 or quad and thought that they were hugely expensive when you look at the same equipment that needs a tractor. We decided that £3k for what was really not much more than a lawnmower engine was daft. Hopefully now we can do all of our paddocks ourselves from here on in.
I would say that you probably do need a fertiliser. There are organic ones if you don't want to do the chemical thing. Grass needs feeding if you expect it to feed your horses. Nothing can go on producing the goods without some sort of sustenance.
Good luck with it. It would seem to be never ending.
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jillandlomond
Platinum Member
Scotland
3586 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 5:11:23 PM
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I pay my local farmer £20 an hour for whatever needs doing. He's very reliable and happily removes my dung heap, rolls the fields etc etc for cash in hand |
    
Borders, Scotland |
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Di Ellis
Silver Member
United Kingdom
415 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 5:18:20 PM
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I asked my farmer how much to spray my 3.5 acres next spring and he told me £200. He said that the spray is not cheap. My fields were inundated with buttercups this spring and summer; as well as thistles, docks and brambles. I also invested in a large slasher.
My poor hands and arms after I had finished the thistles which were like huge bushes this summer. |
D.S. Ellis
Somerset
marbonarabians@yahoo.co.uk |
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Roseanne
Moderator
United Kingdom
6708 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 9:34:37 PM
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You're being robbed Di. Our local farmer charges about £40 to spray two acres against broad-leaved weeds. The same to spread fertilizer if you want it. Obviously with horses you have to maintain this kind of management of grazing and the way they poach ground means a natural proliferation of buttercups and docks etc.
I'd invest in a 'backpack' sprayer and do it yourself! Unless you don't want to use chemicals to keep your weeds at bay, I'd say using a slasher will only encourage more, stronger growth. |
Roseanne |
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ali bali
Gold Member
Scotland
641 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2008 : 10:57:16 PM
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Invested in my own quad towed sprayer this year £200. Then £50 for Forefront which you use once a year. That did 2 acres.... About £15 for fertilizer which OH and I spread by hand (never again!!!). Poo picking daily, sometimes twice. This is only my 1st year on my own ground so waiting to see what the pasture is like next spring... 2 horses and only 2 acres though so need to keep it as best I can. If I had twice the space I would manage it much less intensively  |
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linda
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
1772 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 08:49:49 AM
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We have almost 17 acres and our local farmer charged me £850. to harrow/roll and fertilize the fields,
He quoted me around £700. to start with and then tried to charge me £1000. saying that fertilizer has gone up so much, we settled on £850.
I wont be in a hurry to do it again
Lx |
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Kirsty5278
Platinum Member
England
2682 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 1:30:36 PM
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so what would you say are the essentials?
I would be happy not to spray and cut the weeds down before they have time to seed - but, I am over run with buttercups! The field is split into three, but I can get away with splitting into four, which gives it time to rest as I rotate the horses... but there really is too much grass for the one and a half I have... perfect solution would be a few more horses - but I'm not allowed! |
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rosie
Platinum Member
England
3662 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 2:57:22 PM
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Can you borrow someones sheep? - they are good with horses - put them in the paddock after the horses have grazed it.
Lisa |
     
Last picture courtesy of Sweet Photography |
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Roseanne
Moderator
United Kingdom
6708 Posts |
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Chris James
Silver Member
United Kingdom
497 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 8:42:22 PM
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Well as farmers - we always believed in rotation of crops and/or livestock.
If you were growing you would use different crops over a three year cycle.
As for livestock it should be cattle/horses followed by either/or cattle then sheep - we can't do sheep any more 'cos of dog worrying (not ours!)so we do horses and cattle - they both have different worms and one eradiacates the other - although we do also worm the horses twice a year.
As regards poo-picking we don't need to as above, but also have crows and jackdaws that do the job for us! You go out the next day and what little is left is all spread about.
We have bramble in the hedges but our hedge cutter man comes every autumn and as he does all the other farms it's about £70 for all our hedges in eight fields.
Our best investment was a field topper - it revives the land after grazing, controls weeds and you can cut a riding circle too!!
Please make sure you are pulling all ragwort out - easy to do do all this summer when the ground is so wet - we have a neighbour who has three shetlands in a small paddock full of the stuff, but he says it hasn't killed them yet... so won't listen! |
Chris James
http://home2.btconnect.com/cjames-arabians |
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sunny
Silver Member
252 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 11:14:39 PM
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Hi kirsty
I have 10 arces, 2 years ago i got my field sprayed for weeds and this cost £250, the fields looked fab, in march /apr I am intending to get farmer to fertilise my land. Fertilizer thickens up the grass, so is good idea to do, you can buy it and spread by hand if you wanted to do individual paddocks. I found a great leaflet on the british horse society website for pasture management, with a list of when to do what. If you own the land it is a great investment. |
South Lincolnshire |
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