Horse pasture Questions?

Question

I currently have my 4 horses in a 10 acre, very excellent, well kept pasture. Mostly mature grass, low weeds, a nice windbreak of mature trees. Lean to's and a stable. Its my parents farm and my dad is very picky about his pastures. Anyway, I live on some property that cant have horses, (not enough room). We plan on moving but not for a while. On a walk a stopped to get to know a new neighbor that moved into a old farmstead near my house. There is 15 acre, fenced in land. We talked and he was willing to rent it to me for my horses, if I wanted to do the clean up and re-fencing and stuff. He would keep the rent really really cheap because I would be doing to cleaning up. I thought about it. This pasture is in really poor shape. Lots of burdock and weeds, TONS of brush and undergrowth, 2 mature wild apple trees. No lean to's lots a large trees. and a stream, they dont have one at the current place. The stables are old and need fixing but they are doable. IF IF IF I was to do it. Whats my first step? do I burn it? mow it? Cut trees? I dont know the first thing. I really want my horses closer to me. Though I LOVE the pasture they are on now. My Dad takes excellent care of them, though I want them by me. Should I just forget it?

Answer 1

If you are willing to put in the work, then go for it!  The first thing I would tend to would be to check all the fencing. A secure perimeter is the first step to a good pasture!!  

After that, I would start taking out the larger brush and undergrowth to expose the soil and grass underneath.  

This will also clear out the area under the larger trees, so you and the horses would have more moving room.  If you and your neighbor are interested in taking out some of the large trees, see which ones you want gone, and which ones will stay.  You will also need to decide if the stumps will be pulled, or left to rot.

Go ahead and start a burn pile to get rid of the brush and trees that you take out.  You can also talk to some of your friends and see if they would be interested in some free firewood!!  Awesome way to save yourself some work.  Once the ground is FINALLY cleared, then you can bring in some grass seed or just leave it to regrow.  You will need to keep an eye on it, though, because that pesky brush will try to reclaim the area for a while longer.  

My aunt bought some land behind their house, and it was just wild brush!  They have spent several months clearing out the small trees and things and getting grass to grow on it, as that particular area was mostly scrub to start with, so it sounds like you have some work cut out for you!  Good luck with whatever your decision is!