[babyruth]

There are two horses on my land that live solely off the grass they graze on. I am in the midst of cutting my grass and for some insane reason I decided to bag the clippings today. I am now ready to dump my first bag, but was hesitant to dump it in the pasture. My yard has a different grass than the pasture. The pasture they are in is sparse thin grass that is filled in with mostly weeds. My yard is St. Augustine. It looks more green and lush. It may not have anything to do with anything - but can a richer greener grass introduced suddenly into the diet cause colic or anything? If I don't get a for sure response one way or teh other, I can dump it elsewhere. But being that my yard buts up against the pasture on three sides, it sure would be convenient to know that there is no harm in dumping it in their pasture. Also, in relation to how much grass clippings could it be and would it be enough to hurt - my yard is about an acre.

Oh yeah, and if I didn't have to walk to the top of the yard (slight slope) to dump everytime, then I wouldn't even be asking. Why I had the bright idea to use the bag today is beyond me. You can bet I won't make this choice again. That push mower gets heavy when that bag gets full!

[Gates]

Even pure grass clippings are unacceptable. The small particle size and high moisture content of grass cut with a lawn mower result in rapid fermentation in warm weather. Feeding lawn clippings and garden refuse can lead to colic, laminitis and/or death and is not recommended.-http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_forage_substitutes.htm#lawn

This is what I got when I searched it quickly on google

[babyruth]

Wow! Well, I am glad I asked! That answers that! Thanks!

[buddiebreeze]

i definately wouldnt dump it in their pasture, it could cause colic if it is too rich........its just not worth the risk!!!

[booker81]

I know that bagged lawn clippings CAN cause colic in horses -the fine cut can allow the horse to take big mouthul, I think it may cause choke. There is more, but it's not suggest to feed lawn clipping to horses!

I can try to find the articles if you wish.

[Gates]

So I would say no, don't feed it to them.

[booker81]

Hee hee...everyone was quick on the draw there!

Make a compost heap and put your lawn clippings, manure etc in it, and you'll get some killer garden dirt!

[MissBandit]

DO NOT FEED YOUR HORSES LAWN CLIPPINGS. This can and will cause choke, colic and founder.

[Blistering Winds]

If you DON"T bag the clippings, and let it stand for 48 hours, then you can turn your horses out on the cured clippings IF They are use to grazing already. I usually feed my grain before re-turning the horses out on the grass that I mowed, just to prevent a first shot gorging. But if the sun is out for 2 days, the clippings will usually dry enough for the sugars to have begun to break down already.

Clippings that are bagged usually begin to ferment!! So definitly if you bagged, I wouldn't bother with them. Mold, Mildew, and just UGH stuff that I can't remember, but I know they are bad, happens, that can really upset those digestive bugs and cause a whole huge issue!!

[babyruth]

Yeah, my gut instinct told me not to dump them there. BUt just for the small sake of hope in possibly not having to walk up the hill everytime the bag got full, I thought I would just check to make sure I wasn't making a big deal out of what was nothing and adding extra work. Too bad our compost pile is across the pasture behind the barn or it would be a perfect place to dump them.


What is the purpose (besides looking nicer) of bagging the clippings anyway? I was only doing ot because my mower had that option and I had never used it before. Is there any real benefit to the lawn? If not, then now I can say that I have used that option on my mower - but rest assured I won't do it again! I am nowhere near even a third of the way through and my arms, shoulders and back are so tired from carrying that bag up the hill! How bad do you think it would look if I abandoned bagging and went back to side discharge part way through? Will there be a visible difference? What does the mulching option do? I am a bit obsessive about a groomed yard, but not real sure what the different options on the lawn mower do. All I know for sure is that I don't want it to look ugly and obviously miscut.