What grass seed is best for my paddock?

What grass seed is best for my paddock?
So you’ve decided to sow a new ley on your horse or pony paddock but which grass seed is best??
You need to think about a few things when looking for the best paddock grass seed. Firstly you need to ask yourself, “What do I want from my horse paddock?” Do you want a paddock which offers plenty of grass for a hay cut? Or perhaps you want grass for grazing your horses or ponies. The seed selection is easy when you find what you want from your horse paddock.

Paddock Seed for High Hay Yield

We know you can take a hay crop off any grass field; however, to give yourself the highest yield along with grazing your horse, it is wise to invest in a grass seed which produces high-quality swards like NURTURE: Paddock. This includes a small range of specially selected hardwearing grass species which will produce quality hay for 3-5 years. NURTURE: Paddock also comes in a 6kg bag (enough seed to overseed 1 acre) in the form of NURTURE: Paddock Overseeder.Grass seed varieties within NURTURE: Paddock include:
Grass Type % Description
Perennial Ryegrass 50 Produces a dense hardwearing sward with a high leaf content. It has aggressive growth and will tiller out well.
Creeping Red Fescue 25 Small amounts of this provide creeping fibrous roots.
Timothy 12.5 Ideal for horses as it is very palatable. It tolerates wet conditions extremely well. Likes heavy soil.
Meadow Fescue 12.5 Offers an early spring growth with a regrowth consisting mainly of leafy shoots.

Paddock grass with herbs to benefit your horse's diet

Alternatively, you may require a mixture that improves the soil's structure and produces a long-term grazing paddock, such as NURTURE: Paddock with herbs. The mixture also includes nutritious species which will benefit your horse’s diet.NURTURE: Paddock with herbs include:
Grass Type % Description
Perennial Ryegrass 50 Produces a dense hardwearing sward with a high leaf content. It has aggressive growth and will tiller out well.
Creeping Red Fescue 25 Small amounts of this provide creeping fibrous roots.
Timothy 12.5 Ideal for horses as it is very palatable. It tolerates wet conditions extremely well. Likes heavy soil.
Meadow Fescue 12.5 Offers an early spring growth with a regrowth consisting mainly of leafy shoots.
Ideally, many equestrians would prefer a grass seed that is both useful for hay and provides a good base for grazing. We recommend sectioning off your paddock with one small section producing high-yielding grass for hay whilst the other section offers nutritious grass for grazing.

Getting the best results

The best time of year for establishing seed is March - April and from the last week of July, August or mid-September at the latest. Before sowing, ensure the paddock is prepared by pH testing the soil, draining heavy soil if required, removing weeds and stones, etc. This will give the seed the best chance of growth. If sowing a new ley, a rate of 12kg of seed per acre is recommended.Have you decided which paddock seed to go for? Why not find out how you can maintain your horse paddock.