THE summer was slow to come in here in Fermanagh and I had to feed hay to the horses in their initial turn out. The round bale went out on a bare patch in the corner of the paddock. The subsequent area left after the horses had eaten down their bale was what looked to me just a mess of tramped hay and droppings. However, the experts at Equiculture have convinced me of the positives of this ‘mulching’ of the bare patch of paddock – unbeknown to me I’d done something positive for the soil!

Organic matter

As it turns out, mulching (a protective covering spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds and enrich the soil) offers much-needed organic matter for land where horses are kept. The mulch decomposes, adding vital organic matter to the soil and provides a habitat for earthworms which cannot work in bare, compacted, dry soil.

Simply feed round bales of hay in areas that need to be mulched (three or four horses per round bale). The horses eat the bale, and when they have finished, put another round bale on the next bare area along and so on.

According to the Equiculture experts, the magic of mulching happens once you remove the horses and let it break down. When it rains and the moisture builds up in the mulch, it begins to break down rapidly.

That is why you remove the horses, you don’t want them walking around in that area, churning it up and uprooting any new grass plants starting to grow. Once the mulch containing seeds decomposes, the grass will grow and the bare soil will be gone.

Keep horses off the area until the new grass plants are very well established - that’s when you can get hold of the grass, twist and tug, and the leaves should break off in your hand.

Turns out those messy feed and dropping patches are your friend afterall and not your enemy.