How to repair a lawn damaged by cattle?

After mowing my lawn for the last time, cattle got on it and left a lot of hoof marks and sliding marks. What can I do to repair my lawn, especially at this time of year? Should I spade and repair the sod or use sand/soil?

If your lawn has been damaged by cattle, you can repair it by getting a wheelbarrow and filling it with good topsoil from your garden. You can mix in a little compost if you like. Next, hit the raised edges of each pockmark with the back of a shovel, and then fill the remaining hole with soil and whack it again. Repeat this process for all the holes in the lawn. You can also shake on a pinch of lawn seed, but the grass around the pockmark will grow over the mark in any case. This method is more effective than using sand or spading and repairing the sod, especially at this time of year.