Craigslist and Other Bargains

[thistlebloom]

I found out Luke is ground tie trained. He puts his head over his gate and looks longingly at the lawn when I'm outside. So if I'm going to be doing yard work I'll bring him out and let him crop a bit of grass. I just drop the lead on the ground while he grazes.
The first time I did this, I was keeping a nervous eye on him watching for signs of wandering off but he stayed in the same 8 foot area around his lead, while I cleaned pens.

It finally dawned on me why he wasn't walking around like horses normally do when they graze.

Next year when my bank account trickles in enough money we're going to fence a few acres for him to be able to wander around in. We have too many trees for an actual pasture, but he'll at least get to nibble on the wild grasses here and there and move more.

 

[ninnymary]

Is it a lot of work to create a pasture? Other than felling trees and fencing.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Is it a lot of work to create a pasture? Other than felling trees and fencing.

Mary

The short answer is yes.

Our soil is not very good so it would need a lot of building up with manures and compost material.
I got this info from our neighbors who got it from the extension agent who visited their property. They are wanting to put pasture in for horses in the future and he told them to get started now because it will take some time to get the soil fertile enough to support good grass.

 

[digitS']

Green manure crops ..

. invest in cultivation and in seed ..

. let Mother Nature do part of the work. Then, keep your hay burners on hay as you manage your pasture grass with a critical eye.

Steve

 

[baymule]

@thistlebloom you can plant cover crops, then mow and let it lay, to decompose and enrich the soil. But don't use buckwheat, it is bad for horses.

 

[baymule]

We got a great deal on square bales of hay!! Our neighbor on the corner, Kyle, is a self employed ranch hand, does a bit of everything. He mowed a lady's field so she could keep her Ag exemption and square baled it. It was Bahia, not fertilized, not sprayed for weeds, but Bahia crowds out weeds and I wouldn't mind a few weeds anyway, to get poison free hay. The bales were only ONE DOLLAR! We took the horse trailer and crammed 50 bales in it. Could have got more in there, but I can't lift a bale over my head and I was happy with the 50.

 

[seedcorn]

$1/bale? Straw is higher than that. Great deal

 

[canesisters]

If you tie the lead up in his halter does he still 'ground tie'?
I had one once that would stand in the middle of an empty lot if the lead was on the ground, but tuck it up in his halter and he was suddenly 'free'.
(no idea how he learned that - just discovered it one summer)

 

[thistlebloom]

If you tie the lead up in his halter does he still 'ground tie'?
I had one once that would stand in the middle of an empty lot if the lead was on the ground, but tuck it up in his halter and he was suddenly 'free'.
(no idea how he learned that - just discovered it one summer)

Well silly, if the lead is not still on the ground he isn't ground tied...just loose, with a halter on.

 

[baymule]

My old horse Joe, unties his lead rope with the teeth he doesn't have and just wanders off.