Planning for Greener Pastures

 Though it doesn't look like it with snow on the ground, there are only 54 days until spring, which means it is time to think about cool season forages for your pasture! Forage selection should be based on horse needs, as there is no one forage best suited for all classes of horses. However, there are hundreds of varieties of grasses and forages to choose from.  With so many forages available, how does one choose?  There are two factors to consider when choosing forages for pastures: preference and persistence.

Preference

Horses, like children, can be picky eaters.  Horses will usually graze preferred forages (usually young, tender shoots and/or leafier varieties of forages with higher sugar content) to the ground, while leaving less palatable forages (usually older, tougher, and/or more fibrous varieties of forages) untouched.  This is why horse pastures often have uneven patches of both over-grazed and under-grazed grasses.  We, as horse owners, spend so much time studying and selecting forages based on their nutritive value (crude protein, energy minerals, etc.) that we often forget that a forage is only useful if the horses actually eat it.  Brussel sprouts may be good for us, but how often do we choose to eat them?  How often does a child, who is also a picky eater, willingly eat brussel sprouts?  Yes, choose forages for their nutritive value, but also make sure that it is a variety that your horses are willing to eat as well.

Persistence

Horses can be rough on pastures.  If given time, they can easily graze the available forages to the ground and turn what was once a nice, lush pasture into a mud lot.  Therefore, horse owners need forages that can not only tolerate heavy grazing, but also recover and grow quickly when given time to rest.  On average, perennial varieties of forages will produce reliably for 5-7 years.  However, heavy grazing can reduce productivity by 3 years.  Having a pasture management plan where horses are rotated off of paddocks to give forages time to rest is key in maintaining persistent forages – even the hardy varieties!

Below is a chart tabulated from a study done in Minnesota on equine grazing preferences of cool season forages:

For more information about selecting and managing forages, check out the following link: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/crops/forages/pastures/animals/pasture-and-hay-for-horses