How to Improve Grazing for Horses & Avoid Dredging Dangers

In recent years, the UK has experienced unusually wet weather, challenging many horse owners striving to provide healthy grazing for their horses. Even as warmer months arrive, paddocks often remain muddy, nutrient-deficient, and unpalatable for horses, which can seriously impact their well-being. This guide will help you improve grazing and manage your horse paddocks effectively in 2025, while also highlighting the dangers of dredging that can affect pasture quality.

Many horses turn up their noses at lush-looking grass when it lacks vital nutrients. A simple and cost-effective step to improve your paddocks is to have the soil tested. For around £20, you can gain valuable information about your soil’s health, allowing expert advice on safe, horse-friendly fertilisers to boost grass nutrition and palatability.

1. Best Time to Fertilise Horse Paddocks

Fertilising paddocks earlier in the year is ideal to support grass growth, but applying fertiliser as late as June can still benefit your pasture, especially given this year’s wet weather. If the season had been dry, June fertilising might be ineffective. Always tailor your fertilisation schedule to current weather and soil conditions to maximise results.

2. Weed Control: Managing Buttercups & Other Weeds

With wet conditions encouraging weed proliferation, troublesome plants such as buttercups can smother grass growth. Buttercups pose hazards to horses, causing painful blisters and irritation around the mouth — a condition called "buttercup burn." Eating large amounts can lead to diarrhoea or colic. Effective weed control is essential to protect your horses and improve pasture quality.

3. Is Spraying Your Paddock Safe for Horses?

Spraying for weeds is often necessary to protect pasture health but requires careful planning and safety measures. Horses should be kept off treated paddocks for at least two weeks, depending on the product used. The best time to spray is before weeds like thistles and docks seed, preventing their return. Plan weed control early in the season and use products specifically safe for equine environments.

4. Practice Good Grass Management Habits

Maintaining good pasture is vital—not a luxury. Incorporate routine practices such as rolling to reduce soil compaction (only when dry), topping to encourage fresh grass growth, and regularly collecting manure to reduce parasite build-up. Resting paddocks periodically and using non-selective grazers like sheep can help maintain even pasture use and prevent overgrazing.

5. Improving Drainage to Combat Waterlogging

After prolonged wet seasons, improving drainage has become a priority for many horse owners. Drainage work requires dry ground and appropriate weather conditions for machinery use. Given unpredictable weather, it’s best to complete drainage improvements as soon as possible in drier periods to protect paddocks from future waterlogging and associated damage.

Finding horses and pasture maintenance go hand-in-hand for healthy grazing and happy animals.

6. The Dangers of Dredging Near Horse Pastures

Dredging is sometimes used to prevent flooding by removing sediment from watercourses but can pose serious risks to horse pastures. Of particular concern is hemlock water dropwort, a highly toxic plant often spread by dredging activities into grazing land. This plant is deadly to horses and must be controlled.

If you rent or own land near watercourses scheduled for dredging, contact your local authority to understand the plans and risks. It is crucial that all dredged material, including hazardous plants like hemlock water dropwort, is completely removed before horses are allowed back on pasture. Failure to do so could result in tragic accidents.

7. Practical Tips to Improve Horse Grazing

1. Implement rotational grazing: Divide your land into paddocks and rotate horses to allow pastures to rest and recover, promoting nutrient-dense forage and reducing overgrazing.
2. Use sacrifice areas: Designate dry lots for horses during wet or low-growth periods to protect main grazing areas.
3. Manage grazing duration and stocking density: Avoid continuous grazing and limit turnout times to help maintain pasture health.
4. Maintain soil fertility and control weeds: Use soil testing to guide fertilisation and weed treatment plans.
5. Collect manure regularly: Prevent parasite build-up and promote pasture regeneration.
6. Improve drainage: Timely drainage enhancement prevents waterlogging and root damage.
7. Monitor for toxic plants: Stay informed about local dredging activities and ensure toxic plants like hemlock water dropwort are removed from grazing land.

By following these steps, you can ensure your paddocks provide the nutritious, palatable forage horses need, while protecting them from hazards associated with poor pasture management and environmental factors like dredging. Healthy pasture supports healthier, happier horses and more sustainable land use.