Summer pasture management

[goodhors]

@candyappy, all my experiences and information says the pastures are better when rotated, even big pastures. My horses looked OK, shiny, good flesh, when I had 2 on 5 acres. But the dirt showed a lot between grass clumps, some very over grazed places.

After making the field 2 pastures, rotating when down to 5 inches, mowing, the pastures are much better covered. Grazing more horses on the small fields, half a day, and we still don’t get the bald spots or over grazing anymore. Horses are living off the grass, not hay, since I want fields productive as possible.

I do more for my fields now that I know more. We fertilize yearly, add good seed, mow regularly. We added 7 acres along with now having 9 horses to graze. Fields look like good turf unless we are in drought or winter. Not much dirt showing between plants despite intensive grazing.

Maybe your horses are “fat enough,” so you don’t need or want maximum production. It does take time to keep them up. We think the return from good grazing is better for our horses, healthier, cost less in cash than hay, to have them looking and working with the grass diets. They are all kept at working weights, because they are athletes. No fat horses, no lamanitic or other dietary problems here, so free grazing 12-14 hours a day is not a problem.

[awaywego]

What @goodhors said. I started this thread last summer shortly before I unexpectedly lost a young horse to colic. He was the last baby from a locally loved stallion, and sadly had been run into the ground. I felt honored to be his retirement home. If nothing else, I know I gave him good pasture for his retirement, even if it was about 20 years shorter than it should have been.

A pic of my lovely uneaten grass for reference

[candyappy]

@goodhors

@candyappy, all my experiences and information says the pastures are better when rotated, even big pastures. My horses looked OK, shiny, good flesh, when I had 2 on 5 acres. But the dirt showed a lot between grass clumps, some very over grazed places.

After making the field 2 pastures, rotating when down to 5 inches, mowing, the pastures are much better covered. Grazing more horses on the small fields, half a day, and we still don’t get the bald spots or over grazing anymore. Horses are living off the grass, not hay, since I want fields productive as possible.

Maybe your horses are “fat enough,” so you don’t need or want maximum production. It does take time to keep them up. We think the return from good grazing is better for our horses, healthier, cost less in cash than hay, to have them looking and working with the grass diets. They are all kept at working weights, because they are athletes. No fat horses, no lamanitic or other dietary problems here, so free grazing 12-14 hours a day is not a problem.

We have plenty of pastures and you are right about rotation and the health of the pastures. My husband and son took a 3 day " grazing school" course when we started with beef cows.

We have always fertilized and harrowed and mowed our pastures every year. We also no- till new seed in when needed. I don’t have any dirt showing but as with any pastures and animals grazing they do have some spots that are grazed lower than others.

As happens on a farm you have a lot of land fenced but in our case – I have several pastures for my breeding goats, 5 pastures ( so far) for our herd of beef cows and the horses have their one pasture because that is all they need.

I could put them out with the cows easily where the grass is more evenly grazed and abundant but they don’t need that . We have more than enough hay on hand and I really wish for the health of my horses that they didn’t even have pasture.

I manage them individually so they are not fat and can be out 12 hours and dry lotted 12 hours ( with hay) and stay at a healthy weight, but it is not easy. I need another TB like I had in the past I guess, to get the most out of having so much grass available to my animals.

[TheJenners]

@EmilyM

I’m over here wishing my paddocks weren’t so lush and my horses didn’t have to wear muzzles. And the irony seems that they eat the paddocks down much less with the muzzles so the paddocks seem even lusher. I can’t win. I have one who absolutely can’t have grass, and I had to destroy some beautiful paddock space to make a dry lot.

Horses.

@Red_Barn

You buy a farm dreaming of happy horses forever grazing rolling green acres behind perfect white fences, and you end up with a stop watch and pergolide.

I’m in the PNW (“pacific north WET”) but oddly each summer is a drought of epic proportions. So I go from not being able to catch up/keep up with mowing and literally everyone in grazing muzzles and still fat (and of course I have an IR, PPID pony and a PPID senior) to no grass at all anywhere in the span of three weeks… For management, I do muck off the pastures and I don’t spread, I have a dump trailer that I take away to dump manure elsewhere. I tried composting my own pile once and after a year I gave up. It’s NOW composted three years later but also covered in garden detritus and growing potatoes.

However I’m putting in a third paddock AND one of the horses (who has to go out alone) is on indeterminate stall rest, so I may be able to drag and rest paddocks and even possibly lime for weeds ( getting a lot of gland weed I noticed) with this situation.

[lenapesadie]

I have two horses, one of which wears a muzzle as needed for weight mgmt and another that’s totally off grass due to founder. As I type, I’ve got a guy grinding stumps so I can put in a third grass paddock. Meanwhile it’s raining non stop and hard to keep up with mowing. Grass everywhere and nobody can eat it!

[starsandsun]

I have two gorgeous fields filled with perfect grass, and 2 horses that would drop dead if they spent 10 minutes in there. Instead, they go out in this fairly ratty field with grass, weeds, etc. that gets regularly mowed but is no glamorous buffet. This makes my vets very happy.

While in the back of my mind I always have plans to fertilize and seed, I don’t think that is in the best interest of my horses. I do pick manure every other day or more frequently if I can. I spend more than others, probably, on hay but they are healthy and sleek and do spend time every day in dry lots with shade/fans/hay.

I’m super jealous of owners whose horses can go out and eat grass all day long.

[stb]

I have read pretty extensively on pasture management in the last couple of years. Everything I have read says that well fertilized pastures are actually healthier for horses than non-fertilized and weedy pastures. It seems counter-intuitive to me but apparently when grass is stressed the sugar content is increased.

Also, grass that is severely grazed down is also more sugary than longer grass, so the longer and more lush looking grass is also more healthy.

[JB]

@stb

grass that is severely grazed down is also more sugary than longer grass

and also why a lot of horses will happily eat grazed down grass over the nice healthy grass

[stb]

Absolutely. Which is why I do rotate my pastures. Otherwise the horses just keep going after the super short grass while the tall grass gets taller.

[lorilu]

I strategicaly (SP??) spread stall cleanings on the eaten-down areas to encourage nibbling on the longer grass - which I try to keep cut to a reasonable height (hard in FL in the summer…)