If you’re a horse owner one of your main responsibilities is to keep your horses safe and healthy. Where you allow your horses to graze and spend a large majority of their time plays a key role in their overall well-being. If you own a paddock, it is important to keep up proper paddock management and maintenance in order to ensure the safety of your horses but also to guarantee they are grazing on pasture that is rich in nutrients and poses no risks to their health.
Securing paddock perimeters
The first step in ensuring your horses are safe in their paddock is to make sure that the perimeter is secure. This means checking perimeter fencing and fixing any broken parts, taking care of hedges and shrubs, making sure these do not pose any danger to your horses, and clearly defining your boundary so that passersby are aware that your paddock is private property. Not only will trespassers pose a huge risk to your horses, but broken fences and gaps in hedges could provide a route for your horses to get out of the paddock, putting themselves in danger.
Removing harmful parasites from pastures
One of the dangers horses can be exposed to when grazing is harmful parasites that can be found in your pasture. These parasites are often found in horses’ dung, which is why regular poo picking is essential, and will keep exposure to such parasites to a minimum. One of the best ways to remove horse poo from your field and to make use of it, is to use this as a fertiliser. Horse manure can be an excellent fertiliser for your garden.
Encouraging the growth of nutrient-rich grass
Proper paddock management, which is offered by teams of experts around the country, will take extra care and attention to treat your pasture. The quality of the grass that grows in your paddock is very important for the health of your horses. Grass that has been treated will grow healthier, denser, and rich in nutrients. Nutrients that will help provide your horses with a healthy diet that will promote a good quality of life for many years.
Important elements of paddock management for your horses
Paddock management companies offer services including dung sweeping, grass harrowing, and ragwort pulling. All of these help to promote healthy grass growth and rid paddocks of harmful parasites and weeds that may be potentially fatal to your horses. Contacting a professional service provider makes paddock management even easier, thanks to the use of professional machinery and tools, these jobs can be done in a matter of hours, leaving your paddock safe for your horses to graze.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.