Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In addition, during wet periods (natural and irrigation) especially, the hooves of horses
ruin root structure and can turn a field into a sea of mud and then a plain of dirt when
it dries. Horses left on a pasture too long paw to reach tender roots, thereby destroying a
plant's ability to rejuvenate. Horses should therefore be put on pasture or hay fields when
the growth is optimum—about 4 to 8 inches high, depending on the grass species—and
then the plant's growth in the field should be closely monitored. Remove the horses when
50 percent of the forage has been ingested or damaged.
Grazing management guidelines
• Cross fence to create several smaller pastures and rotate among pastures to pre-
vent overgrazing.
• Graze pastures when grasses are 6 to 8 inches tall.
• For horse safety, graze after pasture grasses are taller, more mature, and higher
in fiber.
• Think “early summer” rather than “spring.” Young grass or fresh regrowth is
higher in carbohydrates and so would be more likely to lead to colic and lamin-
itis.
• Horses will eat over 6 pounds of pasture per hour and graze 16 out of 24 hours
every day. They do not require that much grass, so to preserve your pastures
and maintain your horse's optimum weight, limit the number of hours your
horse is on pasture.
• When 50 percent of vegetation is gone and 3 inches of grass remains, remove
horses. After removing horses, mow all pasture to a uniform 4 to 5 inches.
• Scatter grass seeds on bare spots.
• When grass regrowth reaches 6 to 8 inches (2 to 6 weeks), return horses. Re-
move horses again when grass has been grazed to 3 inches.
• During rest periods (usually winter), keep horses in sacrifice pens.
Rapid pasture growth occurs early in the season, then starts slowing until about 12 weeks
into the season, when most plants have matured and gone to seed. Plants need to be regu-
larly monitored so horses can be removed before the majority of the grass has been grazed
down. In the meantime, weeds should be mowed before they go to seed to encourage de-
sirable plants to take over. Bare spots should be reseeded and protected from traffic and
grazing by removing horses or installing temporary electric fencing. Overgrazing causes
pasture damage that in the long run costs much more to repair than the feed costs it saves.
