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sunny
Silver Member
252 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 10:39:39 PM
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How are your fields doing in this weather? Mine are so slow hardly anything growing, we need rain and lots of it. I am still feeding hay
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South Lincolnshire |
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alan
Silver Member
England
434 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 10:50:56 PM
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| Likewise. I'm feeding alfala & unmollassed sugar beet twice a day plus hay. My horses are costing me almost as much at the moment as they do in the winter. |
  
www.spirit-arabians.co.uk |
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munchie
Silver Member
284 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 10:54:46 PM
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| Ours north of Bourne aren't growing much but 3 horses and 4.5 acres sectioned into 5 areas are managing ok so far with plenty of resting |
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navaho621
Gold Member
Wales
510 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 10:59:41 PM
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| Ours is, just taken 50 big round bales off the 2 fields here, hoping to get another cut again later in the year :) Weird how the weather is so different all over the place & some places have no grass & others have plenty. |
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connormum
Bronze Member
175 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 11:27:51 PM
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Only got an acre for my boy, sectioned it into two, got a bit but not lots, still having to give hay daily .... not what I expected at this time of year! Didn't expect to be buying hay yet! And it's gone up in price by £1.50 in the last month!!!
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 11:43:44 PM
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Grass?what grass?You mean that green stuff that turned into burnt yellow about a month ago?
Ok,I live in a very dry area(I'm so jealous when I see pics of your horses in those green fields,no way they could live on grass in the summer here)but this year has been really terrible,when hay was cut it was two thirds the normal height. |
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Goldenmane
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4964 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 07:07:35 AM
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Rained in the South East Sunday and a bit on Monday but my grass still looks like hay! (Easier to move electric fence posts though) All May was dry. I do worry about hay this year . |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 08:19:53 AM
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| I was just looking at mine yesterday... The little paddock the boys are in is extremely dry and browning now... Still on feeds and hay :-( .... The large part where I'm trying to grow hay is so patchy... Parts growing lovely, parts so short, just don't know what to do. Hubby says we shouldnt bother cutting for hay and I'm tempted to let the horses on it, but I'm still praying for miracles at the moment. |
       
Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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Gail
Gold Member
993 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 08:22:37 AM
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Well..............I live in Scotland and I have too much grass for my liking. I have a Cushings induced laminitic and an Arab who is a very "good doer". They are both in at night as they cannot be munching on that all the time or the youngster might "explode"
I know the longer grass is safer for the laminitic but it is in huge quantities. We have 6 horses on it too.
Gail x |
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Judith S
Platinum Member
Wales
15686 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 08:28:14 AM
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| It's only the first week in June, remember it rained for most of July and August last year so if you are waiting for hayfields to grow there is still plenty of time - the best hay for horses is cut in July/August. |
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Suelin
Platinum Member
England
2514 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 08:31:34 AM
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| We haven't fed hay yet but our grass isn't growing much either, we really need some prolonged rain. Locally I am told that hay is going to be in short supply this year. |
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Lanabanana
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2691 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 08:41:28 AM
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In a word, no!
We're still feeding almost as much as in the Winter.
We live a few miles from the yard and had a lot of rain at home on Sunday, but hardly any at the stables, there was some rain yesterday, but not enough to really make the ground wet.
Sure to be raining at the end of July/beginning of August though |
     
Hampshire. |
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Arachnid
Platinum Member
England
1872 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 09:20:05 AM
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| No. They've already munched through the summer grazing and we started feeding hay yesterday... The rain has made it all look a bit greener though but gorgeous blue skies again today |
   
West Sussex |
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Kerry Wilson
Silver Member
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 09:43:26 AM
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| I have two on 5 acres and there is hardly anything for them, still have some hard feed too. Usually they are rationed to just an acre at this time of year and get fat on just that. dreading what July and August are going to be like, never had a year like it....and the shortage/price haylage will be around here doesn't bare thinking about A little bit of rain in last few days has greened things up a bit but is it too late? |
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 10:05:36 AM
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I have had virtually no rain since the middle of March, one or two short, light showers and that is it. I have never stopped feeding hay this year. I just hope we have some rain soon so that my hay field grows.
Barbara |
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Dot
Gold Member
England
669 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 10:17:08 AM
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| I am in the west midlands just short of cheshire up 325 meters and like the Scottish based lady have more grass then I need for my three and the 4 sheep. Silage fields round me have just been cut last week and reckon if things carry on the way they have here my neighbours will get a second crop. Thankfully I have another horse coming to eat my grass in a month or so. |
Dot
www.threelowsfarm.com
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Fee
Platinum Member
2601 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 10:18:33 AM
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Well here in Scotland we have plenty of the green stuff because we get plenty of the wet stuff! Mine are like girls who lunch every day (on pork pies!) 
Fee |
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rosie
Platinum Member
England
3662 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 12:49:16 PM
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Here on the North East coast (Yorkshire), I looked at our hay field about 6 weeks ago and thought that there is no way we'll get a crop this year.
Luckily, after a few showers it has absolutely shot -up!!
We generally hay time the latter half of this month, and looks like a nice crop.
Praying for good weather as we have NO hay left from last year.
Massive shortage of hay near us, and have people queuing for any spare hay we can sell.
Where the horses have grazed, the paddocks are burnt, but am determined to hang on a few more weeks and not graze the hay field. |
     
Last picture courtesy of Sweet Photography |
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sab2
Platinum Member
8467 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 12:51:18 PM
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| Our fields are in Northumberland/Co Durham and i am going to have to top mine as way too much grass, they are only eating certain bits and the rest is nearly at my knees, hopefully the local farmer can top them for me soon. I do feel for you not having enough , wish i could send you some down |
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alison
Platinum Member
Wales
1810 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 12:59:13 PM
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Grass here is knee high and the farmer down the road has just bailed over 80 very large bales, I'm sure he will get another cut in August.
Alison |
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Red Rum
Gold Member
England
508 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 1:26:43 PM
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| No No NO and paying £6 Hay and £8.25 for Haylage here in Swindon. |
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Vik1
Platinum Member
1711 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 6:21:33 PM
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Its coming out our ears where I am in Scotland. Velvet is looking good as she is a poor doer but Storm is getting bigger by the day  , so need to keep an eye on him. farmers round our way have had their first cut of silage and started spreading for the 2nd. Some places have cut and baled their haylage too. |
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Kerry Wilson
Silver Member
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 6:47:00 PM
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You lucky lot, can't tell you how depressing it is after the hay shortages last summer and then the awful winter, I was so looking forward to beautiful spring, all lush grass, happy horses and relaxed owner, but no we skipped that bit straight onto drought The sunshine was nice for the first month!! |
       
pics-GAS Skala(Ventican x Strelitzia)with Sambist filly/GAS Strelka (Monitor x Strelitzia)/GAS Stella (Pogojii x Strelitzia)/GAS Saffala (Ffatal Attraction x GAS Skala)/GSD Indra/my show chooks-Wyandotte bantams
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Edited by - Kerry Wilson on 07 Jun 2011 6:47:47 PM |
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angelarab
Platinum Member
Wales
2876 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2011 : 8:23:26 PM
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| Grass growing here and extra spurt over night grass lumps up and developed a mega fear of dark tarmac hacking tonight blame it all on Dr Green!! |
 "Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."
www.northwalesarab.co.uk |
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jaybird
Gold Member
France
1192 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2011 : 10:02:57 AM
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Hi all
Just as bad in France, this year my hay fields were down by 2/3rds only 6 rolls for me and trying to find & buy hay in is like hens teeth...nothing, it's so desperate some people have considered sending thier horses back to the UK...grass is dry..had some rain but not enough,,one guy cut 20 hectare and sold it all the the UK..so what's to happen? our farmers are sending thier cattle to slaughter..no idea what to do at the moment, we are all trying to help each other but it's very difficult....needs to rain all summer...
Beryl |
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Zan
Platinum Member
Scotland
3213 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2011 : 11:13:28 AM
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| Far too much grass here--I have had 40 sheep on with my three on 8 acres, bringing the horses in at night, and still the two good doers are putting on weight.I would love to have slow growing grass so I didn't have to worry about fat horses. Sheep have just disappeared--farmer has a habit of doing this-- and now I am really worried if he doesn't bring them back very soon. |
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Topic |
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Is your grass growing?
