The Complete Guide to Paddock Care and Maintenance

Paddock maintenance is the year-round work that keeps a horse's grazing safe, productive and usable: picking up droppings, managing how hard the grass is grazed, looking after the soil, controlling weeds and poisonous plants, and dealing with mud before it takes over. It is one of the least glamorous parts of horse care, and one of the most important. Good paddock care pays you back in fewer worm larvae on the grass, less bought-in hay and fewer injuries from broken fencing. Poor paddock care shows quickly as bare, poached ground, rough patches the horses will not touch, and a creeping spread of docks, nettles and ragwort.

This guide sets out the routine checks, the grazing decisions and the seasonal jobs that keep a paddock in good heart, written for owners in the UK and South Africa. Where a figure tells you what to do or when to do it, the source is named alongside it so you can check it for yourself.

Why Paddock Maintenance Matters

A paddock does three jobs at once. It is a feed source, an exercise area and the place where horses do most of their socialising with a paddock mate. It is also a living system of soil, grass and weeds that responds to how it is used, and horses are hard on grassland. They graze selectively, bite close to the ground, and their hooves cut up wet soil quickly.

Left to themselves, horses divide a field into two kinds of ground. Researchers call it the "characteristic separation of horse pasture into roughs and lawns": short, heavily grazed lawns where the horses choose to eat, and long, rank roughs where they dung and will not graze. The lawns end up overgrazed and the roughs wasted, which is how a field that looks big enough on paper ends up short of grass. In R. P. Herd's study of ponies at Newmarket (Herd, Equine Veterinary Journal, 1986), twice-weekly removal of droppings "increased the grazing area by about 50 per cent" by eliminating that split.

That is the real case for paddock maintenance. It is not about a tidy-looking field. It is about keeping the whole area grazeable, keeping worm larvae off the grass your horse eats, and catching hazards before your horse finds them.

How Much Land Does a Horse Need?

Paddock maintenance starts with stocking: no amount of harrowing or reseeding will save a field carrying more horses than it can feed. In England, the government's Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and their Hybrids (paragraph 1.2) says: "As a general rule, each horse requires approximately 0.5 - 1.0 hectares (or 1.25 to 2.5 acres) of grazing of a suitable quality if no supplementary feeding is being provided." The British Horse Society's pasture management guidance gives a lower figure, recommending "one horse per 0.4-0.6 hectares on permanent grazing (1-1.5 acres per horse)", and adds that this "can only ever be a guide".

The two are not as far apart as they look. The Defra figure assumes the grass is the whole diet; the BHS figure is a working ratio for permanent grazing, and the Code itself says a smaller area may be adequate where a horse is mainly stabled and only turned out occasionally. The table below simply multiplies out each body's per-horse figure.

Number of horses	Defra Code 1.2 (no supplementary feed)	BHS ratio (permanent grazing)
1	0.5-1.0 ha (about 1.25-2.5 acres)	0.4-0.6 ha (about 1-1.5 acres)
2	1.0-2.0 ha (about 2.5-5 acres)	0.8-1.2 ha (about 2-3 acres)
3	1.5-3.0 ha (about 3.75-7.5 acres)	1.2-1.8 ha (about 3-4.5 acres)
4	2.0-4.0 ha (about 5-10 acres)	1.6-2.4 ha (about 4-6 acres)

Where you sit in those ranges depends on your soil (heavy clay poaches far sooner than free-draining land), how wet your winters are, whether you can stable or use a sacrifice area, how much hay you feed, and the type of horse. A field full of good-doing native ponies needs less grass, not more land, and often needs its grazing restricted rather than increased.

In South Africa, carrying capacity varies far more with rainfall and grass type than it does across the UK. HQ Magazine's paddock management guide (Lizzie Harrison, 2026) gives starting points of "one to two horses per hectare" on well-managed irrigated pasture, "one horse per 2-4 hectares" on indigenous veld in good condition, and "one horse per 4-8 hectares or more" on poor or low-rainfall veld.

Daily and Weekly Paddock Checks

The Defra Code (paragraph 1.26) says horses at grass "should be inspected at least once a day, preferably more often". That daily visit is also the best paddock check you will ever do, as long as you look at the field as well as the horse. Walk a different route each time, and look for:

• broken rails, sagging or snapped wire, loose posts, protruding nails and anything that has blown in over the boundary
• the water supply: running, clean and free of leaves or droppings
• new weeds, particularly ragwort rosettes and, in autumn and spring, sycamore seeds and seedlings
• bare patches, poached ground and standing water, especially around gates and troughs
• molehills, rabbit holes and anything else that could turn an ankle at speed
• how much grass is actually left, and where the horses are choosing to graze

Fencing and gates

The BHS fencing guidance says that "ideally, fencing should be inspected daily", and recommends fences 1.25 m (4 ft) high "with the lower rail set 0.5 m (1 ft 6 in) above the ground". It is unequivocal on barbed wire: "Never use barbed wire with horses as it can cause severe and permanent injury if horses get caught or snagged by it." The Defra Code (paragraph 1.8) says barbed and sheep wire "ideally should not be used" and, where cross-grazing makes it essential, it "should be kept tight and well maintained". Slack wire and broken rails are exactly how a horse ends up hung up with a leg trapped in the fence, so tension and repairs are a weekly job, not an annual one.

Electric fencing needs its own routine. Check the energiser and the earth, walk the line for shorts where grass, branches or broken posts touch the tape, and use a fence tester rather than assuming it is live. The Defra Code (paragraph 1.11) says electric tape used to subdivide a field should not be used as the sole boundary fence.

Water

The Defra Code (paragraph 2.20) says "it is essential that all horses have continuous access to a clean supply of fresh water". The BHS adds that the supply should be "checked daily, cleaned regularly and placed away from trees" so leaves and debris do not fall in, and notes that streams, rivers and ponds "are often not suitable". In freezing weather, break the ice at least as often as you check the horses. If a horse seems dull or is not drinking normally, our guide to dehydration in horses explains the checks and when to call the vet.

Shelter

The Defra Code (paragraph 1.1) accepts that some horses, "particularly native breeds", can live out all year "provided they can obtain shelter from the prevailing winds, summer sun and flies", and that shelter can be natural, such as trees or hedges, or a field shelter. For a field shelter, the BHS suggests a depth of 3.65 m (12 ft) and a width of 3-3.65 m (10-12 ft), with "extra width of 1.5m (5ft)" for each additional horse, and advises seeking planning permission from your local council before putting up a permanent one. Shelter also matters for the skin: long spells of wet weather are when rain scald and mud fever take hold.

Poo-Picking and Worm Control on Pasture

Poo-picking is the single most useful paddock job you can do, and it is the one with the strongest evidence behind it. Strongyle eggs pass out in droppings, hatch, and develop into infective larvae that move onto the surrounding grass, where the next horse eats them. Remove the droppings before that happens and you break the cycle at the cheapest possible point. The British Horse Society's risk-based worm control guidance puts it plainly: "Pick up droppings from your pasture regularly - twice weekly as a minimum."

What the research found

• Twice-weekly dung removal beat the wormer programmes tested. In Herd's Newmarket study (Equine Vet J 1986, PMID 3803357), "the most effective parasite prophylaxis was achieved by twice weekly removal of faeces". Infective larvae on that pasture peaked at 1,000 per kg of herbage, against 18,486 per kg on the untreated control pasture and 4,850 to 10,210 per kg in the anthelmintic groups. That was one study of ponies at one site, and it measured larvae on the grass rather than worms in the ponies, but the size of the gap is hard to ignore.
• Twice-weekly removal worked again in a modern trial, and a single harrowing did not. A Swedish study (Osterman-Lind et al., Animals 2022, PMID 36428321) found that "twice-weekly faecal removal significantly reduced larval yields, whereas harrowing on a single occasion under dry weather conditions in the summer did not".
• Larvae do not travel far, but they do travel. The same study found larvae "were able to migrate 150 cm from the faecal pats, but most larvae were found within 50 cm". It also found that resting a pasture for one year "greatly reduced the parasite level, but two years of rest were required for parasite-free pasture". A summer off is not a clean field.

Making poo-picking work in practice

• Pick up the whole dropping, not just the top of the pile, and include the roughs as well as the lawns.
• Little and often beats a big clear-up once a fortnight, because the aim is to remove droppings before larvae leave them. Twice a week is both the BHS minimum and the frequency the two studies above tested; daily is better if you can manage it.
• Site the muck heap outside the grazing, where horses cannot reach it and where its run-off does not drain into the field or a watercourse. The BHS also advises poo-picking thoroughly every day after a horse has been wormed and storing that manure for at least four months, so wormer residues do not spread into the wider environment.
• Do not spread horse manure on the paddocks. The BHS grass management guidance is unequivocal: "Never apply horse manure because of the risk of introducing equine worm larvae."
• A paddock vacuum or tow-behind collector saves hours on bigger fields. Harrowing droppings in is not a substitute for picking them up: the BHS warns that "harrowing spreads worm larvae further across the pasture" (see harrowing, rolling and topping below).

Grazing with sheep or cattle

Mixed grazing is recommended by the BHS because sheep and cattle eat grass contaminated with horse strongyle larvae without hosting them. The evidence is real but comes with a catch. In Dutch trials (Eysker et al., Veterinary Parasitology 1986, PMID 3962151), horses moved onto sheep pasture "acquired considerably lower burdens" of strongyles "but considerably higher burdens of Trichostrongylus axei", a stomach worm that horses share with ruminants. A survey of 44 French farms (Forteau et al., Animal 2020, PMID 31679547) found young horses grazed with cattle had "50% fewer strongyle eggs" in their droppings than horses on horse-only pasture, partly through a dilution effect. The BHS says worms "cannot survive in non-horse species", which is true of the strongyles but, as the Dutch trials show, not of T. axei. So co-grazing helps, but it does not replace poo-picking, and it is worth telling your vet if your horses share or follow sheep or cattle.

Pasture hygiene sits alongside testing and targeted worming, not instead of it. Our guide to worming your horse covers faecal egg counts and how to build a testing-led plan, roundworm in horses explains why young stock need separate thinking, and the equine worm infestations entry lists the main parasites by type.

Managing Grazing Pressure

How hard a field is grazed has more effect on its condition than almost anything else you do to it. Too many horses for too long and the grass is bitten down to the soil, roots weaken, bare patches open and weeds move in. Too few and the grass grows tall, coarse and stemmy, and the horses ignore it in favour of their lawns. The goal is a dense, even sward that is grazed and then allowed to recover.

Rotate and rest

Splitting the grazing into two, three or four smaller areas with fixed or electric fencing lets you move horses on before a paddock is grazed bare and gives the rested area time to regrow. Rest also helps with worms, although the Swedish study above is a reminder that larvae survive a long time on pasture, so resting supports poo-picking rather than replacing it. If you have room, cutting a rested paddock for hay or haylage is one of the best ways to bring a rough, uneven sward back into shape; our guide to making hay for horses covers the process.

Sacrifice areas and track systems

In a wet winter, much of the damage to a paddock comes from horses standing around in the same places on soft ground. A sacrifice area, a small paddock or surfaced pen that you accept will take the wear, protects the rest of the grazing until the ground firms up. A track system works on a similar idea, moving the horses around a fenced perimeter while the centre rests. Our guide to turning out a horse covers how to introduce horses to a new field or arrangement safely.

How short is too short?

You will see grass heights quoted as rules on many websites. There is no research-based standard behind them, and the published guidance does not agree. Sara Gregson of Talking Grass, writing for Horse & Hound in 2018, advises moving horses on "when the height of the grass has been grazed down to 2.5cm" and not bringing them back "until it has grown back to between 8 and 12cm". South Africa's HQ Magazine (2026) says to remove horses "when grazed to 5-8cm - never below 5cm". The research that does exist points the same general way: in a French study (Fleurance et al., Animal 2010, PMID 22443953), which its authors describe as preliminary, horses on a patchy pasture of short and tall grass took in more nutrients than horses on uniformly short or uniformly tall swards.

The practical test is simple. If you can see soil between the plants, or the horses are grazing right down into the base of the sward, move them on and give that area time to regrow. For rest periods, the BHS mud management guidance suggests planning turnout so that each area has "at least one-two months with no horses grazing".

Grazing for laminitis-prone and overweight horses

Grass is the biggest dietary challenge for many good doers, native ponies such as the Shetland and cobs like the Welsh Cob among them. Two points from the research shape how a paddock should be managed for them:

• There is no safe season. A large study of GB horses (Pollard et al., Equine Vet J 2019, PMID 30516850) found that "laminitis occurred throughout the year with no significant differences between seasonal incidence estimates". Spring grass is a flashpoint, but so are summer and winter.
• Grass sugar does not follow the simple rules you often read. A review of the research (Kagan, J Equine Vet Sci 2022, PMID 35017041) found water-soluble carbohydrate "tended to increase under cool temperatures and during cooler seasons", while "frequent defoliation usually lowered" it and drought had "variable effects". Sugar also changes through the day: a Kentucky study of cool-season grasses found simple-sugar concentrations "increased in the afternoon compared to the morning" (Kramer et al., J Equine Vet Sci 2021, PMID 33993929). The common claim that closely grazed or drought-stressed grass is always high in sugar is not what the research shows.

In practice that means controlling intake all year round, using strip grazing, a grazing muzzle, a track or a surfaced turnout area, and working out the plan with your vet. Our guides to laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome and equine obesity management go into the detail, and the body condition scoring guide will help you see whether the grazing plan is working.

Soil Testing, Lime and Fertiliser for Horse Paddocks

Healthy grass starts with the soil, and a soil test is the cheapest piece of paddock maintenance there is, because it stops you spending money on lime or fertiliser the field does not need. The industry reference in the UK is AHDB's Nutrient Management Guide (RB209), Section 3: Grass and forage crops, and its guidance is clear:

• How often: "Carry out a soil analysis for pH, P, K and Mg every 3-5 years". The BHS grass management guidance gives the same 3-5 year interval.
• When: for long-term grass, "sample between September and February", and not within six months of liming or twelve weeks of a fertiliser application other than nitrogen.
• How: sample to 7.5 cm deep in long-term grassland, walking a W pattern across the field and taking cores at 25 or more points, with each sample covering no more than four hectares.
• Target pH: "Optimum soil pH for grassland is 6.0 for mineral soils, 5.7 for intermediate organic soils and 5.3 for peaty soils." RB209 advises raising pH to 0.2 units above the optimum when you lime. (You will see 6.0-6.5 quoted by seed companies such as Barenbrug; RB209 is the more precise reference because it adjusts for soil type.) If the chemistry is unfamiliar, soil pH is measured on a scale where 7 is neutral and lower numbers are more acidic.
• Phosphate and potash: RB209 bases its recommendations on target soil indices of 2 for phosphate and 2- for potash, and gives application rates for grazed grass by index, so a field already at target needs little or none.

Lime and fertiliser for horse paddocks

If the test shows acidity, lime is usually the first investment to make, because grass on acid soil makes poor use of the nutrients that are there. Fertiliser should follow the test results rather than habit. Horse paddocks do not need the high-yielding, nitrogen-rich grass a dairy farm wants; the BHS warns that over-fertilising can cause "excessive growth of lush grass, unsuitable for managing good-doers, overweight horses and those prone to laminitis". Sara Gregson's advice in Horse & Hound is a low-nitrogen fertiliser with higher phosphate and potash. The BHS seasonal plan suggests seeking expert advice on liming or fertiliser in early spring, and that is sound: an agronomist or your merchant can turn a soil report into a product and a rate.

One thing a standard soil test will not tell you is the selenium status of your grazing. The Merck Veterinary Manual explains that nutritional myodegeneration can develop in "young, rapidly growing foals born to dams that consumed selenium-deficient diets during gestation", and that its occurrence in animals generally "correlates with geographical areas with low selenium status in soil and plants". That condition is better known as white muscle disease. If you breed, or your vet has concerns, ask about testing the horse or the forage rather than adding supplements on a guess.

Harrowing, Rolling and Topping

Harrowing, rolling and topping are the three mechanical jobs that keep a sward in shape. None of them needs specialist kit on a small paddock, and a local contractor can do all three on bigger ones.

Harrowing

A harrow drags out dead grass and moss, levels molehills and lightly poached ground, and opens the surface so new growth can come through. A chain harrow is the gentler tool; a spring-tined harrow rakes harder and is the one to use on a mossy, thatched sward. Our guide to grass harrowing compares the two and covers timing in detail. Four rules apply to every horse paddock:

• Poo-pick first. The BHS says "harrowing should not replace the removal of droppings as this can risk spreading parasites across the pasture".
• Work dry, firm ground. Wet soil smears and ruts under a harrow and whatever is pulling it.
• Do not treat harrowing as worm control. In the Swedish study above, a single summer harrowing in dry weather did not reduce larvae on the pasture, while twice-weekly poo-picking did.
• Think about sycamores. The BHS grass management guidance says that if sycamore trees surround the field, "harrowing should be avoided in the spring and autumn, as this can spread the seedlings and seeds across the pasture".

Rolling

Rolling presses lifted turf and frost-heaved roots back into contact with the soil and gives a level surface for horses to move on. Roll when the ground is moist enough to take an impression but dry enough that the roller does not smear or compact it. Rolling waterlogged clay does more harm than good, and it will not fix deep compaction, which needs aeration or sub-soiling instead.

Topping

Topping, cutting the grass the horses have left, evens out the sward, encourages fresh leafy growth and stops weeds such as docks and thistles from setting seed. It is particularly useful on the roughs. Two cautions: never top ragwort and leave it lying (the Defra code quoted above explains why), and pick up thick swathes of cut grass rather than spreading them about or leaving heaps for horses to gorge on: the same code (paragraph 1.6) says grass cuttings "are not suitable for horses to eat".

Weed Control and Poisonous Plants

Weeds matter in a horse paddock for two different reasons. Some, such as docks, nettles and creeping thistle, are simply competition: they take space and light from the grass and spread fast in a thin, overgrazed sward. Others are poisonous, and those need a different level of attention. Learn to recognise the main ones at every growth stage, because a ragwort rosette or a sycamore seedling looks nothing like the plant most people picture. Our guide to plants poisonous to horses has the full list.

Ragwort

Ragwort is the weed UK horse owners worry about most, with good reason. It is one of five injurious weeds named in the Weeds Act 1959, and GOV.UK guidance says that while it is not illegal to have ragwort on your land, horse owners must not allow horses to graze land where they know ragwort is present. Defra's code of practice on preventing the spread of ragwort is blunt about the main mistake: "Cut plants left lying in the field are a serious risk to grazing animals, as they remain toxic, are more likely to be eaten and may still set seed." So ragwort that is pulled, dug or topped has to be bagged and removed from the field, never left to wilt where it fell.

Our step-by-step guide on how to get rid of ragwort covers digging, pulling, spraying and disposal, including the different rules in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and ragwort poisoning in horses explains why the damage it does to the liver is cumulative.

Buttercups, sycamore and other trees

• Buttercups tend to take hold where the grass is thin, so a field full of them is telling you something about the sward as well as posing a problem in its own right. See are buttercups poisonous to horses? and our guide to buttercup burn.
• Sycamore is the tree behind atypical myopathy, a serious muscle disease. A study of European cases (Votion et al., Equine Vet J 2014, PMID 23773055) found sycamore "present on all AM farms" and concluded that eating it "is the probable cause". The toxin, hypoglycin A, was "detected in all samples of seeds and spring seedlings" in a follow-up study (Baise et al., Equine Vet J 2016, PMID 26278545), so the risk comes in autumn when the winged seeds fall and again in spring when the seedlings come up. Fence horses away from sycamores, and do not rely on there being plenty of grass to keep them off.
• Oak, yew and other trees on boundaries and in hedges need the same scrutiny. Our checklist of trees toxic to horses goes through them one by one, and it is worth walking your boundaries with it, including neighbours' gardens where clippings can be thrown over the fence.

Spraying weeds safely

Spot treatment or a selective herbicide can make sense for heavy infestations, but only with a product authorised for the purpose, applied by someone trained to use it. The point most often got wrong is when horses can go back on. The Defra ragwort code says the grazing interval on a product label "does not indicate that it is safe to graze", and that "it is only safe to graze fields once any ragwort and other toxic weeds present have disintegrated and are not accessible to grazing animals". The same code warns that herbicide can increase the palatability of ragwort, so keep horses off until the treated plants have gone, not just until the label date has passed.

Rough margins and ticks

Long grass, scrub and bracken along field edges are where ticks wait for a passing host. In the UK the main tick is Ixodes ricinus, which can carry Lyme disease and equine anaplasmosis. Keeping margins topped and checking legs and the softer skin under the belly after turnout in tick country is a sensible habit.

Overseeding and Reseeding a Horse Paddock

Every paddock thins over time. The question is whether it needs a top-up of new seed into the existing sward (overseeding) or a full reseed. Barenbrug's paddock maintenance guide gives a useful threshold: with "between 30-50% undesirable species" overseeding is the answer, while "over 50% weed grasses" calls for ploughing and reseeding. The BHS grass management guidance adds that "a large amount of reseeding is not advised as this can damage grass roots".

When to sow

Grass seed needs warm, moist soil. Barenbrug says "soil temperature needs to be above 8°C, so this usually means between April and September", and the BHS says "reseeding is best done in the spring for optimum grass growth". In practice, spring or late summer into early autumn, when the soil is warm and rain is likely, gives the best establishment in the UK. Barenbrug also advises against fertilising at sowing.

How to overseed a horse paddock

1. Graze or top the sward short, then harrow hard to pull out dead material and open the surface.
2. Sow into the opened sward. Sara Gregson, in Horse & Hound, advises a seed rate "of 7-10kg/acre, but be prepared to increase to the full sowing rate of 14kg/acre if sward damage is extensive or the plant population is very thin", and warns: "Do not sow seeds deeper than 1cm."
3. Roll to press the seed into firm contact with the soil.
4. Keep the horses off until the new plants are established.

Choosing a horse paddock grass seed

Horse paddock mixtures are built for density and wear rather than the maximum yield a dairy ley is sown for. The BHS suggests considering "hardier grasses with a denser root that can cope with the disturbance horses can cause", and mixing grasses and herbs to balance nutrition and taste. Look for a mixture sold specifically for horse grazing, check what species it contains, and ask the supplier about its suitability for good-doers if that is your situation. A seed mix does not make grazing safe for a laminitic horse on its own; intake still has to be controlled.

How long to keep horses off

New grass needs time to root before hooves and teeth test it. The sources agree on the principle and differ only in how they measure it: Barenbrug says reseeding needs "adequate alternative grazing/turnout for at least 12 weeks"; Gregson says to keep horses off "until the grass is strong enough to withstand them - possibly two to three months"; and the BHS says young grass should ideally be "five to six inches long before it is grazed". A quick check before you turn out: tug a handful of the new grass. If it snaps off, it is rooted; if it comes up roots and all, wait.

Mud, Poaching and Problem Areas

Poaching is what happens when hooves break up wet soil faster than the grass can hold it together. Once the surface is gone, water sits in the hoof prints, the ground gets wetter, and the area spreads. Every paddock has its pinch points, and fixing those is usually cheaper than reseeding the field every spring.

• Gateways. The most-trodden ground on any field. Scraping off the mud and laying a firm base of hardcore or a ground-reinforcement grid makes a lasting difference. Where you can, hang the gate on the highest, driest corner, and consider a second gate so you can alternate.
• Troughs and feeding points. Stand troughs on a firm base, and move hay feeders and buckets regularly so no single spot takes all the traffic.
• Shelter entrances and fence lines. Horses wait at the same spots. A strip of hardstanding outside a field shelter and electric fencing set slightly inside a wet boundary both help.
• Drainage. Standing water that lingers for days after rain points to compaction or blocked drains. Clearing ditches and outfalls, aerating compacted ground and, on heavy land, mole draining are the long-term answers. Get advice from a land drainage contractor before you start digging.

Wet, muddy turnout is closely linked with skin problems. Our guides to mud fever and rain scald explain what to look for and when to call the vet.

A Seasonal Paddock Maintenance Calendar

Most paddock maintenance is seasonal, and planning it by season stops jobs being missed. The calendar below is written for the UK; the notes underneath cover South Africa, where the seasons are reversed and the rainfall pattern differs by region.

Season (UK)	Main paddock jobs
Spring (March-May)	Repair winter damage: harrow and roll once the ground is dry enough. Overseed bare patches and gateways once the soil is warm. Seek advice on lime and fertiliser. Watch for sycamore seedlings and ragwort rosettes. Start controlling intake for good-doers as growth picks up.
Summer (June-August)	Rotate grazing and top rough areas before weeds set seed. Pull and remove flowering ragwort. Take a hay cut from surplus grazing. Keep water clean and topped up. Keep poo-picking at least twice a week.
Autumn (September-November)	Soil sampling window opens (RB209: September to February for long-term grass). Overseed while the soil is still warm and moist. Fence horses away from sycamore seed fall and acorns. Clear ditches and drains before the rain. Plan winter turnout and sacrifice areas.
Winter (December-February)	Rest and protect the main grazing; use a sacrifice area when the ground is waterlogged. Repair fencing and gateways. Break ice on troughs. Order seed and book contractors for spring.

Paddock care in South Africa

In South Africa the growing season runs through the warm months in the summer-rainfall regions, while much of the Western Cape gets its rain in winter, so the calendar above has to be shifted to match your rainfall rather than simply flipped. HQ Magazine suggests that late winter is ideal for soil testing. Paddock planning also has to account for African horse sickness, a notifiable disease that midges spread between horses. The Western Cape Department of Agriculture notes that annual vaccination is legally required in the infected and protection zones and should take place in the low-risk season, which "runs from 1 June to 31 October". Talk to your vet about your area's zone and the timing for your horses.

Whatever the climate, paddock care rewards consistency far more than occasional big interventions. Pick up droppings at least twice a week, keep an eye on how hard each area is grazed, walk the field every day, and deal with weeds, broken fencing and wet patches while they are small. Look at your grass as often as you look at your horse, and both will repay the attention.

Frequently Asked Questions