Horse Pasture Planning & Design

Designing horse pastures from a blank canvas can be overwhelming.  How do you know where to put fence, gates, dry lots, run-in sheds, barns, and waterers?  A lot depends on the acreage, number of horses, grazing goals, and horse management.  Will the pasture be a major feed source or more for exercise?  Do you want to rotate pastures for better grazing management?  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you start planning your horse pastures:

1.      Barn/Facility Location: Choose a central location that is on high ground for your main facilities that you pastures can lead back into.  Never put a barn in a low area that does not drain well or on the other side of your property where it is hard to get to.

2.      Pastures: Plan your pastures based on your stocking rates (how many horses you have per acre) and also your grazing goals.  If a horse is given 24/7 turnout on one pasture, you will likely need 2-3 acres per horse to avoid overgrazing and so there is enough to graze throughout the year.  If you are able to design multiple pastures with a dry lot, you can increase your stocking rate but keep in mind your grazing management will also increase.  It is ideal to rotate horses from one pasture to another once the grass is grazed down so the grass can rest and regrow.  This helps prevent overgrazing, weeds, selective grazing, and other issues associated with grazing the same pasture 24/7 with no rest.

3.      Consider the Environment/Topography:  Avoid fencing in areas that contain a pond, creek, or wetlands.  This is to protect the horse but also to protect water quality.  Wet areas can harbor bacteria, insects, and weeds.  Horses can also get injured in those area if they get stuck or fall.  Also, make sure you plan pastures according to topography.  If an area is too steep or rocky, avoid using that area because it will not make a productive pasture and can be hard to manage.

4.      Dry Lot: Dry lots are recommended (area free of vegetation with stable footing and a shelter) for most horse farms for better horse and pasture management.  If a horse needs restricted turnout or is injured, a dry lot is a safe place that can provide some exercise and socialization with other horses.  If pastures need rest or maintenance, horses can be placed on a dry lot and given hay until the pastures are ready to graze again.

5.      Gates, Fencing, Water, Shelter: Place gates in easy access walking areas, avoid corners and low areas.  Make sure the gate is at least 12 feet wide so equipment can go through the opening.  Smaller gate openings can also be dangerous for walking horses through.  Perimeter fencing should be woven wire, wooden, or electric fencing to provide a good barrier.  Internal fencing can be temporary electric fencing.  Only use electric fencing if horses are trained to it and maintenance is kept up.  Avoid using barb wire fencing.  Water placement should be near a common area where it is convenient to check and clean.  Ideally, you want water placed where it can serve multiple pastures (such as a dry lot area).  Either natural or man-made shelter should be available in each pasture (or each pasture have access back to a dry lot or shelter).

6.      Safety:  Pastures should be rectangle if possible to encourage exercise and to avoid injury.  Consider your horse’s safety in every aspect of pasture and facility planning.

These are just a few tips to get you started in the planning process when it comes to designing horse pastures.  Consider talking with your Extension Agent for further information and a farm visit to work on the design process together.  Setting up your horse farm for success takes time and careful planning, do not cut corners and rush the process!

Senior Horse Feed

When it comes to feeding our older horses, there are many factors to consider.  NC State's Dr. Shannon Pratt-Phillips provides some excellent advice in this article when selecting feeds for your senior horses:

https://thehorse.com/16990/deciphering-your-feed-tag-part-3-senior-horses/

Equine Cataracts

Survival techniques differ among animals, but many have highly developed senses of sight, smell, or hearing to detect danger and escape. Horses do not have antlers or horns to protect themselves from danger. They, instead, have exceptional sight and are able to spot the movement of potential predators. Most horses today do not need this safeguard often, but they are expected to perform in ways that require their visual system to perform optimally. A healthy visual system is a vital part of a horse’s health. A horse’s visual system can be affected by an array of conditions, but cataracts are an important condition that can affect horses of all ages, particularly the aging horse.

What is a cataract?

A cataract is an opacity within the lens tissue. The lens is a flattened, transparent disc located behind the iris, in the pupil. It helps focus images onto the retina. In order to have vision, light must reach the retina at the back of the eye. If the lens becomes opaque, light will not be able to reach the retina, and vision will be impaired.

What causes cataracts?

Cataracts are generally caused by molecular changes in the lens fibers and proteins which result in a loss of transparency, but there are several different causes of cataracts. Some include equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), ocular injury or disease, age, and congenital.

Indications of Cataracts

Cataracts begin as an opacity in a small area of the lens and can progress to an opacity of the entire lens. The first indication of cataract formation is usually visual impairment. The horse may not be able to navigate its stall without bumping into things or may refuse to navigate unknown surroundings. Other indications include a bluish-white opacity in the pupil, squinting, redness of the eye, and ocular discharge.

Treatment

Cataracts can only be removed surgically to restore vision. To determine if your horse is a viable candidate for cataract removal surgery, his/her eyes should be evaluated by a veterinary ophthalmologist. Cataracts are removed by phacoemulsification, the same process used in human cataract surgery. The cost of cataract removal surgery ranges from $5000 to $7500, barring any complications.

Post-Operative Care

Your horse’s post-operative care will be labor-intensive initially, as he/she will require frequent medication for several weeks after surgery. Your horse’s exercise should be restricted to a minimum for two to four weeks after surgery. The horse should be kept in a darkened stall during this time in order to adjust to his/her new vision. Post-operative evaluation appointments will be required to monitor your horse’s progress.

For more information on this topic, contact your veterinarian or visit these sites: The Equine Eye and Equine Cataracts.     

By Amber Long, Bladen County Summer Intern

State Sees First EEE Case of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018

CONTACT:

Dr. Mike Neault, director of livestock health programs NCDA&CS Veterinary Division 919-707-3250

State sees first EEE case of the year
Equine owners encouraged to vaccinate animals

RALEIGH – A four-year-old quarter horse stallion in Richmond County was euthanized after contracting the first case of Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis in North Carolina this year. EEE is a mosquito-borne disease that is preventable in equine by vaccination.

EEE causes inflammation or swelling of the brain and spinal cord and is usually fatal. Symptoms include impaired vision, aimless wandering, head pressing, circling, inability to swallow, irregular staggering gait, paralysis, convulsions and death. Once a horse has been bitten by an infected mosquito, it may take three to 10 days for signs of the disease to appear.

“If your horses exhibit any symptoms of EEE, contact your veterinarian immediately,” said State Veterinarian Doug Meckes. “it is imperative that horse owners keep their vaccines current, talk to your veterinarian about vaccinating them as soon as possible against EEE and West Nile virus.”

The vaccinations initially require two shots, 30 days apart, for horses, mules and donkeys that have no prior vaccination history. Meckes recommends a booster shot every six months in North Carolina because of the state’s prolonged mosquito season.

Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days, so removing any source of standing water can reduce the chance of exposing animals to WNV or EEE. Keeping horses in stalls at night, using insect screens and fans and turning off lights after dusk can also help reduce exposure to mosquitoes. Insect repellants can be effective if used according to manufacturers’ instructions.

People, horses and birds can become infected from a bite by a mosquito carrying the diseases, but there is no evidence that horses can transmit the viruses to other horses, birds or people through direct contact.

Foxtail in Horse Pastures

One of the biggest problems in horse pastures – and I’m talking about real pastures, not enclosures where horses are kept – is a grass known as Foxtail.  This is an annual grass, and there are several species found in North Carolina.  Foxtail causes problems in horses and other livestock when they try to eat the mature plants.  When mature, Foxtail species have a fuzzy seed head that has long, spiked awns.  These awns stick into the cheeks, lips, and gums of a horse causing lesions, sores, and mouth ulcers.  Horses with sore mouths don’t want to eat, are likely to lose weight, can develop colic, or have other problems.  In short, Foxtail and horses are not a good match.

Until recently, there has not been a herbicide that we could use to manage Foxtail in pastures.  Currently, there is a supplemental label that allows the use of Prowl H₂O on cool season grasses grown for forage or hay production, or in pastures or rangeland.  There may be other formulations of pendimethalin that have a supplemental label, but I’m not aware of them.  This supplemental label expires on April 30, 2019, so the window to use this product in cool season pastures and hay fields is limited.

The supplemental label is for established perennial cool season grasses – those with 6 or more tillers per plant.  Since this is a preemergence herbicide, it should be applied before the foxtail germinates.  For most pastures, the application window is in February or March, just before the Foxtail seeds germinate.  A maximum of 4.2 quarts may be applied during the year.  Since the label will expire next April, perhaps a heavy application will provide good control.  The heavier application rate will provide longer residual protection.  Split applications may also work well, with no more than 2 quarts per acre applied each of the 2 applications.  All applications must be applied before the supplemental label expires at the end of April in 2019.  See the product label and the supplemental label for precautions, mixing instructions, and application instructions.  If assistance is needed in finding these labels, contact your county NC Cooperative Extension office for assistance.

Some restrictions are:

- DO NOT apply if surface water is present in the field.

- DO NOT apply more than a maximum cumulative total of 4.2 quarts per acre per year.

- WAIT 14 days after application to graze or harvest hay after an application of pendimethalin.

- DO NOT apply to mixed cool season grasses and legumes other than alfalfa.  Applications can be made to mixed stands of cool season grasses and alfalfa.

Applying a herbicide is not a magic wand that will end all of the problems with Foxtail.  It will not make up for poor stand management.  Using a herbicide is a tool that we can use to make improvements to pastures and hay fields.  Remember there are other tools that are critical to keeping a viable stand of desirable cool season perennial grasses for horses to graze.  Those tools include keeping soil fertility levels in the optimum range for growth, keeping the soil pH in the 6.2 to 6.5 range, overseeding when necessary, and NOT overgrazing.

Foxtail is an opportunist grass.  It will fill in open areas in the pasture along with undesirable broadleaf weeds. Sunlight directly hitting an open spot in a pasture = a spot where weeds are going to grow since they have the opportunity. Forage managers should work to keep those bare areas of soil in the pasture to a minimum.

If Foxtail is a problem, we now have a really good tool to help get a handle on it.  However, if a herbicide application is not followed by the rest of the steps necessary to reclaim and improve a pasture, the money spent on applying the herbicide will have been wasted.  Go ahead and get the soil tests needed and make any fertilizer and lime applications recommended.  If there are bare spots between the clumps of cool season grasses, overseed in the fall to get the new perennial forages growing.  Follow those actions up with the herbicide application in late winter to help keep the Foxtail seedlings from surviving.  The fall-seeding should go a long way toward filling in the holes and will provide some good grazing for years to come – with continued good forage management!