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I have one small crop field. I have grown oats several times on it. I use it for pasture for horses in the winter, then take them off in the spring and later combine the oats for grain. I MUST rotate to some other crop. What would be good? I've thought of grain sorghum/milo, but nobody ever feeds that to horses, do they? And, it wouldn't be planted until spring, so there'd be no winter grazing. Ideas?

Klaus Karbaumer says 2017-07-24 08:45:08 (CST)



Sorghum or milo are absolutely no grains to feed to horses. They would cause severe digestion problems resulting in colic and could be lethal. Any hard small grain cannot be chewed properly by the horse and will cause compaction in the intestine. Since you have used the field for oats repeatedly, you need to put in a legume, such as alfalfa or clover.


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

kellyintx says 2017-07-26 23:00:41 (CST)



Thanks Klaus. Can either alfalfa or clover be pastured during the winter BY HORSES? kelly


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Klaus Karbaumer says 2017-07-27 14:38:44 (CST)



I wouldn't recommend it, it might be too rich, if you want to do it exclusively. A few hours a day, if it isn't stockpiled. In regards to alfalfa, you also have to be aware that alfalfa yields go down the following spring if it was grazed too closely during the previous fall and winter. But you could have a mix of grasses and clover. I have pastured horses for years on grass-clover mixes and it worked out just fine.Alfalfa fields I left alone during winter.


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum


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