Don’t file the SOIL TEST reports, WORK THEM!
Don’t file the SOIL TEST reports, WORK THEM!
We test and interpret horse-paddock soils, helping you understand what may be limiting drainage, forage growth and the resilience of your land, and what you can do about it.
We test and interpret horse-paddock soils, helping you understand what may be limiting drainage, forage growth and the resilience of your land, and what you can do about it.
The soil test is information
It helps you create soil health for horse health
Soil Under Pressure
It is not uncommon for 15–22 pounds per square inch to be applied to the land via each hoof of a horse. During movement, particularly when trotting, cantering or landing from a jump, the forces can briefly rise to two to three times the horse’s body weight, dramatically increasing the pressure on the soil.
Compaction and PH are the biggest problems in clay or loamy lands. Urine encourages an acidic environment too.
Sandy soils need organic matter to hold onto nutrients.
All soils need biology to cycle nutrients and make them available to the plants, which we shall call forage.
Out of balance soil will cause many a problem from weed burden, to ground that cannot hold nutrients, is too hard, too soft, too wet, too dry, too rich, too poor.
Healthy land, healthy grazing
It is not our place to talk about horse ailments, but consider the benefits of:
✓ Well-drained land that retains enough moisture for healthy growth
✓ Greater resilience to drought
✓ Diverse forage
✓ Space for horses to socialise and exercise
Your Soil Test
A soil test is data. Just like a blood test, it enables you to understand what is awry after you believe you have ticked the checklist. But understanding the soil test data needs interpretation. Our full nutrition test provides a Soil Report, describing the status of your sampled soil and a Saturated Paste Test reporting on nutrients that are available to the forage. They are slightly different factors to understanding your soil that will help us remediate imbalances. Forage available nutrients can be bound up by soil imbalances. Our interpretation document is intended to provide a route to balance specifically for your environment and your requirement of it.
Soil test interpretations are rarely supplied because our requirements of the land can be diverse. A horse field has VERY different requirements to a cow field, which is very different to a field of corn, or a market garden, or a vineyard. We know that you and your horse need something specific to you.
Logan Labs Mehlich III / Ammonium Acetate Soil Analysis
A comprehensive soil analysis that helps us understand the chemical condition of the soil beneath the pasture — what nutrients are available, what is held in reserve, and how the major exchangeable cations are balanced.
The results help us assess pH, nutrient availability, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, trace elements, organic matter and the soil’s cation exchange capacity, giving us a picture of the soil’s capacity to hold and supply nutrients to growing plants.
These results are particularly valuable when considered alongside what we can see, feel and measure in the paddock. Soil chemistry influences the environment in which soil aggregates form and roots grow, so the laboratory results can help us investigate conditions associated with compaction, poor infiltration, weak rooting, poaching and poor pasture resilience.
The laboratory tells us what is happening chemically; the paddock tells us how that chemistry is expressing itself physically.
Together, they help us understand whether the soil is providing the right foundation for healthy roots and appropriate forage for horses.
Soil → Plant → Horse
Interpretation Example
Information stating what the soil contains and what is available to the forage.
View example →
Other Tests
Tissue test, contamination and DNA testing available upon request. Please get in touch for more details.
Ordering your report, test and interpretation
We can hold your hand, help you through bringing the paddock back to health and help you gain knowledge and confidence.
Or more cost effectively, we suggest you simply send us your soil sample as indicated below:
Send your sample:
Order your test online to receive your submission form and complete sampling instructions by email.
Gather 500g of soil from around your paddock, label your sealed ziplock bag, and post it to us with your form.
(To test multiple paddocks, simply adjust your order quantity at checkout).
Cost:
The charge for soil sample testing, report and individual interpretation is £150 + VAT. Further charges can be discussed for site visits and ongoing support. Do let us know if there are specific horse requirements ie if the horse is a pet or a professional athlete.
Remediation Consultation:
Need one-to-one guidance on applying your results?
Add a 1-hour tailored consultation session for £90 + VAT.
(Book now or any time after receiving your report.)