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 

To Graze or Not To Graze?

 

Individual horse's needs are different and we have to put that first when choosing the best management.  The purpose of this blog post is to make you think and consider if grazing is the best option based on your horse’s needs and situation.  Here are some questions to consider before grazing:

·         Does your horse need to be on a strict diet based on weight issues, metabolic disease, past health problems, allergies, laminitis, etc.?

·         Is pasture space limited for the number of horses?

·         Are you breeding horses and have KY 31 tall fescue pastures?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you may want to consider installing an equine dry lot to manage those specific horses/situations.  Let’s take the overweight horse for example.  If your horse is overweight and possibly prone to developing laminitis then it is crucial that you know exactly what the horse is taking in.  Pasture “calories” can change with the time of day, grass species, weather, etc. so the horse could be taking in more than it needs or less depending on several factors.  It may be best to formulate a diet that can be consistent and measured through forage analysis so you know what the horse is taking in each day. 

Dry lots are a great alternative to grazing when more space is needed for exercise but not calorie intake.  Some issues are so complex that it is just hard to make grazing work even with limited turnout, grazing muzzles, and poor forage quality pastures.  Consult with your veterinarian and Livestock Extension Agent to come up with a plan that works for you and your horse today!      

For more on special diets and nutrition issues please visit: https://extension.umn.edu/horse/horse-nutrition#special-diets-or-nutrition-issues-2393465

Fall Pasture and Forage Management

 Fall is right around the corner.  As we welcome cooler days and temperatures, it's also time to plan for cooler grazing options with the days getting shorter.  Growth of warm season grasses are already beginning to slow down, while many livestock and horse owners are stocking up on hay for the winter and making cool season planting decisions.   With that in mind, having the latest version of the Planting Guide for Forage Crops in NC is very helpful!  This guide can be your roadmap to selecting the best forages all year round, how much is needed, and other best management tips for success.
As always, contact your local county Extension Center for additional information and guidance; we are here to help. 

Getting Started with Rotational Grazing

 

Getting started with rotational grazing is as simple as dividing one pasture into two pastures so you can manage grazing.  It is very important this time of year to wait until the pasture is 6-8 inches in height before you allow grazing.  A good rule of thumb is to take half, leave half and to never allow grazing below 3-4 inches.  Once the horses have grazed a pasture down then you rotate them to the next pasture to allow the first pasture to rest and regrow.  You simply repeat this process throughout the growing season and anytime your pasture is not growing, consider feeding hay in a dry lot to preserve your pasture.  Check out the short video and publication below for more information on rotational grazing.

Managing Pastures to Feed Your Horse, NCSU

Understanding Equine Metabolic Sydrome

 This year, we've had an abundance of rain and grass in many pastures.  Because of this, some horse owners could or may be experiencing overweight horses, and possibly concerns with EMS, or Equine Metabolic Syndrome.  The following MSU Fact Sheet is outstanding at explaining this condition and how it could affect our horses, and tips for how we can manage through this condition. Remember to always consult your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment of any health condition. 

 

 

Is it too early to be thinking about winter feeding?

We are in the middle of hay season and it is never a bad time to plan for winter feeding. Cool-season annuals can help reduce the amount of hay that will need to be fed. Annuals are one season plants and die when it gets too hot or too cold. Winter or cool-season annuals are plants that grow best in cooler conditions and die as the temperatures increase. Ideally, cool-season annuals will be planted by mid-October and you will see the most production in late winter and early spring. Cool-season annuals should be allowed to reach 8 to 15 inches before being grazed and, for optimal regrowth, should not be grazed lower than 3 inches. 

Cereal rye is one of the most common and popular cool-season annuals to plant for grazing. It is the most cold tolerant of all the cool-season annuals.  It is best to use a no-till drill to plant cereal rye, but broadcasting the seed is also an option. 

Annual ryegrass is very easy to establish even when the seed is broadcasted due to the size of the seed. If allowed to go to seed it will reseed itself for next year. Annual ryegrass can persist well into the spring which can hurt your warm-season perennial grass during green-up. 

Triticale is a cross between wheat and cereal rye making it leafy, high yielding, and cold tolerant. Because of its cold tolerance, triticale will be productive in the early and late winter months. Similar to cereal rye, planting with a no-till drill is best but the seed can also be broadcasted.

Oats are a good addition to a cool-season annual mix because they can produce a lot of biomass in a short period of time. They grow best in cool, moist conditions. Spring oats, if planted in the early fall can be utilized for late fall grazing but will most likely get killed if temperatures drop into the teens for a few days in a row. Spring oats can also be planted in the later winter for early spring grazing. Winter oats have better cold tolerance and are usually more productive in the spring than in the fall. Due to the size of oats, it is best to use a no-till drill to plant them. If broadcast, there is a low likelihood of good establishment. 

When considering adding cool-season annuals into your grazing system, it is important to also consider fertilization. It is critical to put down nitrogen at or shortly after planting, 40 to 50 pounds per acre, which will help with tillering (thickness of the stand) and can lead to earlier grazing. Another application of nitrogen should be applied in mid-January to early-February of 25 to 50 pounds, depending on the need for forage at that time. If you decide to put out annual ryegrass another nitrogen application could be warranted in the early spring. Potassium and phosphorus should be applied according to your soil report. It is important to get any recommended lime out 3 to 6 months prior to planting to be sure the soil pH is correct. 

Terminating the cool-season annuals also needs to be considered. If cool-season annuals continue to produce too late into the spring, it will interfere with your warm-season perennial grass as it's breaking dormancy. This can delay green-up and lead to a reduced stand of grass. Most people will make an application of glyphosate when the warm-season perennial grass is still dormant before green-up, usually around early March, at a rate of 16 to 32 ounces per acre. Another option is to allow the cool-season annuals to be grazed below 3 inches which will greatly reduce their ability to regrow. 

Seeds for cool-season annuals can be purchased from multiple different seed companies. Seed can be ordered online. You can also work with your local sales representative or feed store to buy seed. Read the label for the recommended seeding rate and seeding method to get the best results. You can also take a look at the Planting Guide for Forage Crops in NC for recommended planting dates and seeding rates for your area of the state. The Sandhills falls into the Coastal Plains area. If you have more questions about incorporating cool-season annuals into your management system, contact your local livestock Extension agent. 

Management Tools for the Spring Transition

Management Tools for the Equine Owner

1.     Don’t graze too soon! It has been a long winter and hay supplies are dwindling but remember to wait for your pastures to reach a proper grazing height before turning horses out for long periods of time. Feeding hay a little longer come spring time can be a pain and time consuming but it will be worth it in the end. Your grasses are also trying to recover from winter and need all the help they can get to become bountiful again. Horses are hard on pastures because they have a full mouth of teeth unlike ruminants so they tend to rip grasses out of the ground at a higher rate. So, if you reseeded in the fall to have a more productive pasture for this year don’t shoot yourself in the foot by allowing your horses to pull newly established grasses out of the ground because they don’t have an adequate root base yet. Also, March and April are a great time to fertilize pastures, just be conscientious of temperature and weather. Consult with your local Extension Agent for further guidance.

2.     To further enhance your pastures production for your animals, adopting rotational grazing practices are extremely beneficial. Rotational grazing helps grasses rest and regrow for higher yields, helps deposit manure more evenly across the area reducing parasite loads, and helps make horses graze more evenly across an area so there is less spot grazing.

3.     Finally, one of the best management tools is to drag your pastures after moving horses off of an area. This helps break up the manure piles which in turn spreads out nutrients and helps reduce parasite activity. Some cheap drags can be made from a few old tires and works great to break up manure piles and not damage your forages.