# Topping fields whilst horses are grazing - advice please



## twistertornado (14 June 2009)

Can you tell me please my yard owner wants to top my horses field whilst they are in it.  Im not sure if they are ok to eat the cut grass etc or do they need to leave the field for a few days.  I keep hearing conflicting opinions on this, some people say it wont do them any harm and others say they are unable to digest the cut grass so at risk.   Advice appreciated


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## dwi (14 June 2009)

My understanding is that cut grass can cause them to colic but I might be wrong on that. 

I would never leave D in a field while it was being topped after she was scared by next door's field being topped a couple of years ago, ran around and caused herself a serious injury. It was probably a freak occurence but I would try to avoid it happening again to be on the safe side.


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## lucy1984 (14 June 2009)

yes ive heard that they can get colic, is there no way you can section part of the field off and rake it? 

we collected all the cuttings for hay once it was dried out, we had a stable full to the roof of haynets :-D


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## Bosworth (14 June 2009)

I sometimes top with the horses in the field - but the machine I use chops the grass into minute pieces and spreads it over a wide area. A horse would not get colic from this as they would not be able to eat it in any significant quantity and also to be honest the fields are now low in grass and I am only topping soured areas so the horses don;t want to eat it any way. Cut grass in very large quantities can ferment in the horses gut causing grass colic.


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## Rollin (14 June 2009)

My horses are looking far TOO well at the moment and we are topping like crazy.  We have never had a problem, same in Scotland where a farmer used to come and top my paddocks every summer.

It is really important for both weed and parasite control.


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## kibob (14 June 2009)

We always top the fields with our horses in them.  However, we top for weed control rather than because we have too much grazing.  Never had a horse colic as a result.

How long is your grass?


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## SunSmile (14 June 2009)

I may be very wrong here but i thought it was only grass cuttings from a lawn mower that caused colic, as where they all get compacted together it starts to ferment which causes colic due to the gas released (or something!) . Theoretically grass that is topped shouldnt cause colic as it tends to be longer and is left laid on the ground so dries out and has no chance to ferment. As i said tho i could be very wrong and will stand to be corrected if need be! 

My YO topped all the fields the other day with most of the horses out, none of them have had colic, infact i have always known fields being topped whilst horses are grazing them and have never known any to colic.


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## lannerch (14 June 2009)

no sunsmile you are not wrong that too is my understanding.


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## boneo (15 June 2009)

I think there is some confusion on this question, it was never considered a good thing to feed grass clipping off the lawn, for various reasons, but topping is a different thing. We are topping all the paddocks at the moment, and have done for years, without any ill effects


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## Ellies_mum2 (15 June 2009)

Our fields were topped the other day while the horses were out and none have had any ill effects. Apart from them running around like idiots 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 But then thats par for the course with them


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## treacle_beastie (15 June 2009)

ours were done but it was for weeds rather than grass - only problems it caused was for my horse who is scared of tractors - she ran away and jumped out but she didnt clear the fence


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## Jericho (15 June 2009)

Mine are topped with the horses in - they have always been fine and I watched them after to see if they ate the cut grass but they were more interested in eating the newly shorn grass - must have been tastier. Cut nettles are good for horses (contain zinc I think and particualrly good for those prone to laminitis) but obviously need to watch out for ragwort...


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## china (15 June 2009)

QR
they can get colic from cut grass, but if they eat it as soon as its been cut they should be fine aslong as its not in big quantitys but its when the grass heats up that it is unsuitable for horses to eat because of the fermenting process.
we used to top it and harrow away the loose grass.


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## jes_nibley (15 June 2009)

QR
I'm about to top 2 of my paddocks, one due to too much grass and the other because of weed control. 

I plan to leave the horses in it but can they eat cut / dried docks?
I have a fair few nd also have some in my hay field so need to clear them out asap if they can't eat them?!

Thanks guys. (sorry to jump in on op's post - it seemed the right time / post to ask on)


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## kibob (15 June 2009)

Mine don't eat the cut docks, they just leave them.   We've been topping our docks and leaving horses in the fields to graze for years and it's never done them any harm 
	
	
		
		
	


	




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## Thistle (15 June 2009)

They won't eat docks.


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## Damnation (15 June 2009)

My yard has just topped a load of fields with the horses in them. None have coliced.


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## jes_nibley (15 June 2009)

QR
Thanks guys, will be topping this afternoon and won't have to upset the horses by bringing them in for a bit!!

Cheers.


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## nikkiportia (15 June 2009)

I'm now about to go and top the farm, with horses in all the fields.
We've done it for yrs and yrs, never had a colic from it yet.


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