| Good Pasture = Dr. Green Grazing Management by Kevin H. Kline & Edward N. Ballard Manage grazing to benefit both horses and pasture. Pasture plants have high energy and protein contents until they begin to flower, or head out. Grazing management should be designed to prevent or reduce heading. Pasture plants that are grazed too short have a reduced leaf area and will recover more slowly to produce less yield for the season. Horses, being selective grazers, affect the productivity of a pasture. They prefer to eat young, immature plants and will graze some areas down to bare ground. In other parts of the pasture they will allow plants to grow to maturity, which lessens both their palatability and their nutrient availability. This grazing pattern is often called "spot" or "pattern" grazing. Horses will not graze in areas where they defecate. The resulting areas of short and long pasture forage are called "lawns" and "roughs." Controlled grazing contributes to pasture productivity. The most common problems in managing horse pastures are overgrazing and undergrazing, because horse farms usually have a small number of large pastures. Large pastures become overgrazed in some areas and undergrazed in the remaining areas. In contrast to cattle that tear and pull grass and leave long stubble, horses bite off grass cleanly and leave short stubble. Lower-growing species such as bluegrass and white clover are well suited to horse pasture since they are able to withstand close, continuous grazing. If rotational grazing is used, birdsfoot trefoil, alfalfa, orchardgrass, and bromegrass are also well suited for horse pasture. During periods of peak growth, remove excess growth as hay. To improve forage quality, clip uneaten clumps, unpalatable growth, and weeds. Improve the utilization of manure piles by scattering them with a chain harrow, which should be done only during hot, dry weather to minimize the likelihood of spreading parasites throughout the pasture. The ideal time to drag a pasture is during the period it is being rested in a rotational grazing program. Frequent shifting of the salt, shade, and watering devices also helps maintain pasture stands. Cattle and horses will eat around each other's droppings, but not around their own. Pasturing horses and cattle on the same land simultaneously or in rotation assures more uniform use of the pasture, and also reduces parasitic infestation. Horses are not harmed by the intestinal parasites of cattle; each eliminates parasites that otherwise might be ingested by their natural host. Finally, keep an eye on your stocking rate, or body weight of horses per acre. The appropriate stocking rate for permanent pasture is approximately 1,000 pounds of horse per 2 to 3 acres.
Kevin H. Kline is an Associate Professor of Animal Sciences, and Edward N. Ballard is an Animal Systems Extension Educator, both at the University of Illinois in Effingham. This article appeared in the Spring 2000 issue of Rural Heritage. |
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05 October 2005