A Real-Life Carousel - Grazing Management for Horses

Rotational Grazing can be a scary concept for horse owners.  Most people have an image of horses on the wide-open pastures and see rotational grazing paddocks as confinement.  Even though the horses are in smaller pens in a rotational grazing model, they still have plenty of room to run around and enjoy themselves. 

Horses require 2-4 acres per horse for grazing.  Pasture space is often the limiting factor for farms that have grazing animals.  There are 559,000 acres of land used for horse-related purposes which include riding fields/courses, arenas,  trails, and pastures in North Carolina, and more than 306,000 horses.  This means there are 1.8 acres per horse in NC and not all of those acres are used as pasture. We can estimate that only 75% of the 559,000 acres are used to house horses. That leaves 419,000 acres for 306,000 horses or 1.3 acres per horse.  In Short horses in NC on average have 2- 4 times less land than they need for grazing. Most horse farms use continuous grazing, meaning that horses are allowed to graze the pastures all day or feed hay on dry lots.  This leaves no time for the pasture to rest and regrow which leads to poor pasture quality and soil health.  The benefits of rotational grazing include better soil health, pasture quality, decreased hay needs throughout the year, and lower parasite numbers. 

How can horse and pasture owners combat this? Grazing Carousels.  This involves sub-dividing your pastures either with a permanent fence or temporarily using polywire and step-in posts.  Using a temporary setup allows flexibility to increase paddock sizes depending on forage levels and the number of horses grazing at a given time. 

It is ideal to not let horses graze the pasture until the forages have reached an appropriate grazing height, between 5 and 8 inches tall for cool-season grasses such as fescue and 3 to 5 inches for warm-season grasses such as Bermuda.  The goal is to keep the grass in the grazing “sweet spot.” it is important to monitor the forage height and to move the horses off of a paddock before it is grazed below 3 inches.  In addition to preventing pasture-associated laminitis, it  allows maximum regrowth by reducing stress on the plant, which slows growth. This also prevents the plant from going to seed when it reaches its mature height which stops the growth.    

Paddock sizes should be created based on the number of horses  The weather, soil fertility, and pasture conditions determine how long a paddock can be grazed. Horses shouldn’t be in one paddock for more than 7 days, and should ideally be moved every 1-2 days.  This may sound like a lot of extra work, however, taking down and putting up temporary fences can be quick.  Depending on the size of the paddock, the step-in post and polywire can be put up in as little as 5-15 minutes.  This is often less time than it takes to feed hay!

In addition to the soil and forage benefits, rotational grazing can aid in parasite prevention. Overgrazing can lead to increased intestinal parasite load because when grazing low stubbly grass horses are more likely to ingest them.  Grazing on taller grasses can help prevent this, which makes rotational grazing a great additional management strategy for high shedding horses.  

Rotational grazing can help improve soil health.  Better soil leads to more grass and more grass leads to less hay. Using less hay will decrease the amount of input required for horse ownership.  For more information about rotational grazing for horses and pasture plans take a look at this link from Penn State Extension: https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-make-rotational-grazing-work-on-your-horse-farm 

Colic Prevention Tips

Spring has finally arrived! With the arrival of spring, we also see an increase in green grass and exercise, and drastic temperature changes from day to day, which in turn may increase the possibility of colic in your horses.  Now is a good time to remind ourselves how we can strive to avoid colic as well as refresh or establish a relationship with an area veterinarian in case of emergency.

From the American Association of Equine Practitioners:

"The No. 1 killer of horses is colic. Colic is not a disease, but rather a combination of signs that alert us to abdominal pain in the horse. Colic can range from mild to severe, but it should never be ignored. Many of the conditions that cause colic can become life threatening in a relatively short period of time. Only by quickly and accurately recognizing colic – and seeking qualified veterinary help – can the chance for recovery be maximized. 

While horses seem predisposed to colic due to the anatomy and function of their digestive tracts, management can play a key role in prevention. Although not every case is avoidable, the following guidelines from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) can maximize the horse’s health and reduce the risk of colic: 

Virtually any horse is susceptible to colic. Age, sex and breed differences in susceptibility seem to be relatively minor. The type of colic seen appears to relate to geographic or regional differences, probably due to environmental factors such as sandy soil or climatic stress. Importantly, this indicates that, with conscientious care and management, we have the potential to reduce and control colic, the No. 1 killer of horses. For more information about colic prevention and treatment, ask your equine veterinarian. Additional colic information is available by visiting the AAEP’s website at www.aaep.org/ "

Spring Horse Owner Series- Webinars & On-Farm Workshop

 

Come learn with us as we dive into horse management topics such as metabolic concerns, pastures, grazing, internal parasites, and dry lots.

About this event

Join us for an exciting series that includes both webinars and an on-farm workshop. The first webinar will be led by Dr. Shannon Pratt-Phillips, Professor, Equine Nutrition & Physiology, NC State University where she will discuss metabolic concerns. Lauren Langley, Livestock Extension Agent, Alamance County will lead the second webinar and discuss pasture management as well as internal parasites.

Zoom Webinars, 7 – 8 p.m. EST:

• March 23 : Metabolic Concerns for Horses

• April 25: Pasture & Internal Parasite Management

The on-farm workshop will be held at Idle Acres Farm located in Mebane, NC. Please use the following address to get to the farm and then look for the farm sign entrance to turn in: 7312 Cummings Drive, Mebane NC 27302. Workshop cost is $15/person. The agenda will include a farm introduction, dry lot construction (do’s/dont’s), managing horses on a dry lot, pasture layout and design, and rotational grazing. More details to come!

On-Farm Workshop, 6 – 8 p.m. (Mebane, NC):

• May 24: Managing Horses on Dry Lots & Pastures

Register online here: https://go.ncsu.edu/springseries22 

Questions?

Contact Lauren Langley at lauren_langley@ncsu.edu or 336.570.6740

Easing the Sting of Fertilizer Costs

Over the last year, we all have experienced price increases in products we use in our daily lives.  This price increase in common commodities is also affecting the agricultural sector.  As of March, some formulations of fertilizer have tripled in price compared to one year ago.  The price per ton of granular 30-0-0 is averaging around $800.  To make matters worse, some fertilizer, such as liquid UAN (urea ammonium nitrate) is in short supply and is hard to source from local distributors.  As we hatch a pasture management plan for the 2022 season, we can expect that these historically high prices will pack a punch to the wallet. Fortunately, there are some steps we can take to help ease the cost of our fertilizer bills.

Take Soil Samples of Your Fields- For anyone growing a crop or pasture, getting soils tested is the first step in the direction of lowering fertilizer inputs.  Getting your soil tested is cheap insurance when it comes to over-applying and over-paying for fertilizer.  If you need assistance with proper soil sampling please contact your local Extension office.  Once samples are collected from your fields, they can be brought to your local Extension office, from there we send them to get tested by the NC Department of Agriculture.  Currently, the agronomic lab is still in its peak season for sample submissions so there is a $4 fee per sample. From April to November there is no fee. Soil testing tells us what nutrients, such as phosphorus and potassium, are available for the specific plants or crops we want to grow.   Soil testing also quantifies our soil’s pH and provides us with a baseline of the amount of nutrients we need to add to grow a successful crop.  Remember, soil testing allows us to fine tune our fertility plans so we don’t over-apply nutrients which can be costly during periods of high fertilizer prices.  

Don’t Skimp on the Lime-  Although fertilizer prices have increased significantly over the last year, the price of agricultural lime, which is used to raise the soil pH,  has remained relatively steady. Since the vast majority of our soils are acidic, applying the recommended amount of lime will bring the soil pH up to the desired range for pastures which is typically 6.0.  Research has shown time and time again that greater amounts of plant nutrients are available when the soil pH is in the ideal range compared to soils with a lower pH.  

Using manures-  Another option to curb the sting of the fertilizer bill is to utilize animal manures.  Poultry litter, horse manure, or cattle manure are common animal wastes and when used responsibility can serve as an effective plant nutrient source in pastures.  Animal manures can vary in their availability of nutrients between sources so it is always good to submit a sample and have it analyzed for nutrient concentrations.  This process is also carried by the NCDA and shares the sample principles as soil testing.  

Planting legumes- Legumes are plants that convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant available nitrogen with the help of soil bacteria called rhizobia.  When planted as a cover crop or in pastures some of this nitrogen will contribute to the following crops. Due to their low fiber and high protein content, legumes can be incorporated in pastures to increase forage quality which boosts livestock performance.  Common legumes that can be grown in our area during the fall are: clover species (crimson, white, arrowleaf), hairy vetch, and winter pea. In the summer legumes such as cowpea, soybean, peanut, and sunhemp can be successfully grown.  All of these plants ultimately contribute some nitrogen back to our soils which can help cut down the fertilizer bill.

As fertilizer prices stay on a steady upswing, now is the time to start implementing some practices to weather high fertilizer prices.  If you have any questions about fertilizers or pasture management please contact your local Extension office.