Pleasing horse pastures
How to keep pastures pleasing to you and your horses.
A pasture is your horses' home, and though you may try to keep it as clean and healthy as possible, nature and our equine friends have a knack for making upkeep challenging. For those just getting started in horses or for those who have had trouble keeping pastures productive, here are a few things to consider that may help in your endeavors.
Grasses
When planting pastures, there is a wide variety of grass species to choose from, mostly dependent upon region, temperature, and soil. The palatability, resilience, and nutrition of a given species is highly varied and must be matched to your individual preference and environment. The grass must be able to tolerate the close grazing that horses are known for, which in some cases can be so extensive that it effectively kills patches and sometimes entire pastures. The grass must also be resistant to hoof traffic, particularly if planted in an area where your horses are highly active.
When the cold season sets in, there are species of grasses - such as wheat, rye, and barley - that can be sown annually and will offer excellent winter forage.
When choosing your pasture grasses, keep in mind that some varieties can lead to health issues with horses. Tall fescue, an extremely hardy perennial grass that is grown on an estimated 35 million acres in the U.S., is susceptible to an endophyte fungal infection that has been proven to cause birthing problems in pregnant mares. These issues include abortion, suppression of lactation, and prolonged gestation, among other very serious conditions.
Stocking rates, rotation, and dragging
Contrary to the belief of many horse lovers, you can have too many horses on your property. As a general rule, you want to strive for a minimum of 1 acre of pasture for each horse, assuming they are out all day. If you have more than 2 acres per horse, your pastures will become overgrown; if you have less than 1 acre, you will have issues with overgrazing and trampling.
To help keep your pastures growing, try to rotate them according to the ratio of one week's grazing to two week's rest. During that time, the grass shouldn't get much shorter than 2 to 3 inches before rotation. Dragging or raking built-up manure, along with rotating your pastures, helps to prevent spot overgrazing. Horses tend to concentrate in the same areas, which can lead to parasitic buildup, uneven pastures, and, of course, that one large patch of tall grass that none of the horses will touch.
Not too wet, not too dry
Lush green pastures may not always be healthy. Very lush grasses contain high amounts of water and may be too low in fiber to make the grasses good sources of nutritional forage. In these situations, your horses simply have to take in too much water in relation to nutrients, possibly resulting in hay gut and digestive tract impaction. If a pasture is inherently too wet, you'll also find substantially more damage from hoof traffic.
On the other hand, when the dry season rolls around, similar damages may occur on arid pastures. On very small plots of land, you may have to resort to putting your lawn sprinkler on it at night.
