Posts Tagged ‘alfalfa’

By practicing pasture rotation, you can reduce or eliminate the cost of hay during the growing season. If you put a little thought into how you rotate the pastures, you’ll not only save money, you will provide your horse with quality food. After reading this article, you will know when to rotate your horses on and off pastures.

Pasture Mix

If you are starting from scratch and seeding a new pasture, you can use this ‘recipe’ for seeding:

Pasture mix per acre
8 pounds alfalfa
3 pounds orchard grass
5 pounds bromegrass
if you want to add some clover, 1/2 pound will be plenty.

Once you turn your horses out in the spring, you will being your management. If you have included alfalfa and don’t rotate the horses out of the pasture when they have grazed it to the right height, you will start finding thistles and other weeds taking over. So, if you don’t plan to manage rotation carefully, and horses are allowed to graze too close, alfalfa may not be your choice. Perhaps you should add bluegrass instead. Your county extension office will have more information on the right types of grasses and legumes in your area.

Grasses will do best during the cooler days at the beginning and end of the growing season. Grasses are more durable and resist trampling by horses.

Legumes (alfalfa and other clovers) are more productive in warmer months. Legumes add protein for your horse and nitrogen for the grasses. They are more susceptible to trampling and overgrazing.

Pastures with a large percentage of legumes can lead to bloat. You want to introduce horses to grass/ legume pasture slowly. In the spring, when you and your horse are eager to get into the pasture, start slowly. Let the horses into the pasture for 20 minutes or a half hour the first couple of days. Do not turn hungry horses into the pasture – feed them hay before turning them out. Lengthen the time in the pasture a little bit over the next week or two, always feeding them hay before turning them out and provide a salt block and plenty of water to newly pastured horses.

If you plan on doing pasture rotation correctly, you will include a few hours of mowing and dragging after moving your horses off each pasture. If you don’t think you will do the mowing and dragging, it probably won’t be worth the extra money to include legumes in your pasture.

Carefully monitor grazing. I’m not going to get real technical here, I’ll just tell you the rule of thumb – when the forages reach 6 – 8 inches, put your horses in the pasture. Remove them after they have grazed to an average height of 3 or 4 inches. Keep in mind that if you have not planted alfalfa, and the pasture is mostly grass, you can let your horses graze it down to about 2 inches average.

Also remember that plants will grow faster in the spring and slower in the summer and fall. You may find that you need to mow a pasture because the grass is growing faster than the horses are eating. If the grass reaches higher than 8 inches and it is not time to move your horses to this pasture, mow it to about 4 inches. By timing your rotation to pasture height rather than by your calendar you can easily maintain a good pasture.

Uneven Grazing

Horses will graze younger, tastier pasture plants. When you rotate them out of the pasture, they may leave behind an uneven pasture with some tall legumes. If you allow the ungrazed plants to remain, they can shade out and stunt the growth of other forages.

Mowing Your Pasture

Regular mowing makes pastures more productive. It can also reduce herbicide usage.

After rotating your horses out of the pasture, mow the pasture with your mower set at about four inches. This will allow the good stuff to grow back. The bottom 2-3 inches of grasses are where the sugars and proteins are stored. These sugars and proteins are needed for regrowth.

Dragging Your Pasture

As soon as your horses are rotated out of the pasture, you will want to drag it. Dragging a pasture breaks up clumps of manure and spreads it evenly around. By breaking up the manure and exposing it to the sun, parasites are killed. By the time your horses are moved back into the pasture, the manure has turned into fertilizer and most parasites have been eliminated. Keep in mind that, although dragging breaks down manure faster, it will not kill all the parasites present. Keep your horses on a worming schedule.

You can use almost anything to drag your pasture. I’ve seen people use old bed springs and chain link fences with bricks laid on top. Most people around here use four wheelers to drag. They are easier to handle and it seems like everyone owns one now. If you have a lot of money to spare, you can buy a pasture drag.

Horse Pasture Rotation – Putting it All Together

I’ve crammed a lot of information in the above article. The actual management of horse pastures is really easy and doesn’t require much work. Using the information above, here is what it actually looks like in practice:

Starting with three or four pastures (I’ve got two horses on 3 – one acre pastures).

Put horses in pasture number one.

When the pasture is grazed down to about 3 inches average (nope, I don’t go out with a tape measure – I simply guestimate that the average height is about 3 inches), I move the horses to pasture number two. Hopefully pasture number two is at least six inches high.

Now, I take my drag into pasture number one and drag the pasture. Then I mow it with my mower set to four inches. It takes about a half hour to drag and 15 minutes to mow. I’m done for a week or so.

When pasture number two is grazed down to about 3 inches, I rotate the horses to pasture number three. I drag and mow pasture number one. I’m done for a week or so.

When pasture number three is grazed down to about three inches, I move the horses back to pasture number one and I drag and mow…

Very simple. Saves money. Makes my horses happy and healthy.

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Author: Di Stalter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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What is the resting metabolic rate for the average horse? How many calories does a horse need per day? How many calories are contained in a "flake" of alfalfa?

Part One – Pasture and Shelter

Pasture time for your horse is important all season long even when it’s snowy and cold. We might not like the cold but, horses are wild animals and they don’t mind being outside. Horses thrive best in temperatures ranging from 14 degrees to 77 degrees. They will also huddle together for warmth if necessary.

Watch out for glazed over paddock and icy patches by the pasture shelter and frozen water buckets. For ice patches, put something with some “grit” on it to make it easier for walking and try spreading some alfalfa meat on ice to help melt it. Dirt, fireplace ashes or burn pit ashes work great for some extra traction. Keep water always accessible, breaking up frozen tops on water buckets or troughs can be done in just a few minutes, sometimes a ball in the water can help keep the top from freezing.

A shelter or run in shed works great in the pasture or paddock to protect horses from wind, snow and rain. This shelter should have clean bedding and water. Dry hay should also be provided in the shelter even if there is hay in the pasture. Remember to keep an eye on your horses – some will try to “dominate” the shelter and deny access to other horses. You need to make sure everyone has access to shelter, food and water.

A shelter is OK for most days but in severe weather conditions, a closed barn is better for protection of your horses. If you choose to “stall” your horse there are a few things to keep in mind. Your barn shouldn’t be much warmer than the outside air temperature that your horses will be turned out in. Don’t totally seal your barn, air flow is good for horses (and humans working in the barn too). Make sure your barn has good ventilation but no cold drafts so as not to cause respiratory problems in your horses.. Make sure to have clean shavings/bedding in stalls daily along with clean water and hay. If horses must be in stalls, provide entertainment for them like a jolly ball or horse pac-a-fier toy. Let horses out every day if weather permits.

Part Two – Feeding & Watering

Before the cold weather really sets in, you should make sure to get your horse a dental checkup – horses need to chew well to get all the nutrients out of their food especially in the winter. Eating and digesting is part of what keeps horses warm in winter, especially if they are outside. Food is energy and energy creates warmth so keep hay available 24/7 to help your horses maintain their warmth from digesting. If your horses are in stalls rather than outside and you choose to use hay nets, be sure to keep them low so that the hay dust isn’t a problem for your horse’s respiratory system.

Remember, winter coats can hide ribs so keep an eye on your horses – increase feed immediately if you start to see weight loss – increase hay portion not grain – timothy hay, orchard grass and long stem hay are great for keeping the gut working, generating heat and keeping weight on. It is much harder for horses to gain weight in winter so, try to maintain their weight with an abundance of hay all season. Also, keep an eye on pasture mates as some can get possessive of their food and won’t let others eat – make sure that each horse has their fair share of the available food.

Keep water always available in stalls and in the pasture. When horses don’t or can’t drink enough, they can have problems with impaction colic and other concerns. To help with keeping outside water troughs from freezing, put a large ball in it (like a soccer ball or basket ball). This will help to easily break up any thin layer of ice that might build up when the horse pushes the ball to get a drink. Experience shows that rubber water troughs are tough and won’t crack easily like inexpensive plastic ones so you can easily break up frozen water and refill. Be careful of frozen water buckets in stalls, check them often and refill with fresh water as needed. If your horse isn’t consuming enough water, to help work the hay they have eaten, put a salt block out where they can easily access it and this will help keep up their water consumption.

Part Three – Hoof Care / Blanketing / Bathing

Your horse’s hooves and their care are especially important in the winter due to the unavoidable slippery conditions. If you ride in the winter, be sure to pull horses shoes and trim regularly, long toes are clumsy and can make for an uncomfortable ride. Using a non-stick spray (like you would use for cooking) on the hooves top and bottom helps to prevent snow from sticking and makes it easier to walk.

If possible let your horse’s coat grow out, don’t clip. Horses are designed to be “in the outdoors” with no problems. They do best with the natural protection of their coat. A horse’s winter hair coat is more insulating than most blankets – but not if it’s wet. A wet horse can lead to hypothermia so, if your horses get wet outside take a few minutes and attend to them. Towel dry – remember legs and dry against hair grain to really get all the moisture that is by the skin. Then curry, quickly – then cover with a blanket – wool is good to absorb moisture and provide warmth. Take off after about an hour and they will be ready to do it all over again! Horses also can’t stay as warm if they are dirty or muddy, their coat can “fluff” to keep them as warm. If they are muddy you can brush through the mud so hair can “fluff” and insulate more efficiently. Just because we are cold, doesn’t mean our horses are.

If you must blanket your horse, there are a few points to consider. Blankets should cover horses neck as well as their body, just like humans they want to be “warm all over”. A good rule is to blanket senior and unhealthy horses since they don’t have the ability to handle the cold as well as younger, more fit horses. Stalled horses might need blankets due to inactivity. Also, if you clip you should blanket. Use a medium weight with fleece under for above freezing temperatures and add a cover for below freezing. Cotton is too cool and will not warm your horse or keep them warm, especially if they are clipped. Remove blankets during the day – brush and check for irritation from blanket and make any necessary adjustments.

Well, that’s all for this three part series. I hope it was helpful as well as entertaining.

If you are looking for great horse stalls and barn accessories, be sure to visit Woodstar Products website. They have been providing quality service to the equine industry since 1977.

Author: Kelly Z Bridges
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Even more essential to horses than humans, a steady supply of good food and water is vital to horse health. Horses naturally spend most of their time chewing, swallowing, and digesting. As with most herd animals, the equine digestive system is meant to be constantly on the go and to process vast quantities of fibrous food that we would find utterly impossible. To give your horse the best chance at a happy, long life, I will outline the basics of food and water for your horse.

Food for Your Horse

There are understandable disagreements about the best food for a horse. After all, there are so many factors to consider, and each horse is unique within different environments. Individual horses have different nutritional requirements. Where and how the horse lives, the age of the horse, what kind of work the horse does, and the horse’s own physiology affects the optimal diet. In general, horses that are ridden hard in demanding disciplines, such as cattle work, need more calories than horses used for casual trail use. Therefore, the advice below will provide you with a solid understanding of the needs of most horses. Horse veterinarians will be your best source for your horse’s specific food requirements. He’ll have access to the horse’s records, and will be familiar with his nutritional needs. He will also be more aware of the types of locally available hay for your animal. What is plentiful in one part of the country may be far too expensive in another.

Hay is basically composed of plants that have been cut, dried, and baled. There are two types of hay, legumes and grasses. Alfalfa, rich in protein, calcium, and other nutrients, is the legume horses most commonly eat, though some vets believe it’s far too rich for horses, and should be left for cattle. The most common grass hays are timothy, orchard, and bermuda. Hay is a proper stable food for a horse. It provides roughage in addition to nutrition. Roughage is vital to keep the horse’s digestive system working properly and also satisfies the horse’s natural tendency to chew.

Hay cubes are concentrated blocks of hay. Hay cubes tend to be cheaper than hay and are good for older horses with worn-down teeth. This is because the cubes break apart easily when chewed. Cubes are less dusty, as well, so it’s easier on horses that may have respiratory problems. Cubes are also ideal for horses who have trouble maintaining a good weight. Nonetheless, most horses prefer baled hay to cubes because the normal hay gives them plenty on which to chew.

Pasture grass is the ideal staple food if there is enough volume and diversity of its content. Horses are happiest in pastures, and follow their instincts honed over thousands of years of browsing. You can verify that your pasture is of good quality by calling your local agricultural office. Ask an expert to inspect your pasture, and to help you analyze its nutritional content. Otherwise, supplementation of ordinary hay may be required. If it is less than optimal, measures can taken for fortify and improve a horse pasture. If you don’t have pasture land, and wish to create it, don’t begin without contacting a local agricultural agent for knowledge and help. Be forewarned; starting and maintaining a quality horse pasture can be a big undertaking.

Watering Your Horse

I can’t overemphasize the importance of providing plenty of clean, fresh water as part your horse’s daily care. Humans unwisely do without it daily, but a horse’s need for water is even more acute. The horse’s health and digestive ability heavily depends upon it. An automatic watering device that can be set up in the horse’s stall is best. A large bucket that you refill several times a day is an alternative, or a trough that holds enough water for a day or two at a time.

If you stable your horse where temperatures fall below freezing, you need to keep your horse’s water supply from turning to ice. Consider using a heating element made especially to work with horse watering devices or manually break the ice whenever it forms. Cold water doesn’t do horses any good. I recommend the heating element because it requires less work on your part and also keeps the water at a warmer temperature, encouraging your horse to drink.

Tanya Vorgan believes in the easiest way to learn — to teach others as she is learning. Her many interests have lead her to many exciting experiences, but sometimes nothing compares to the richness of quiet moments in which to reflect and grow. Tanya is also among those committed to the never-ending quest for the perfect cup of coffee, which for her begins with the best bar none Bunn coffee makers.

If you already own a Bunn, always use Bunn coffee filters to prevent overflow and to remove all chances of a bitter or papery taste in your coffee.

Author: Tanya Vorgan
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Whether you horse is a show horse, racing, competitive or jumper you need to take care of it accordingly. This means spending time each day to ensure he/she is comfortable, well fed and exercised and, in this weather, warm. Food is as important for the horse as it is for you so ensure that the horse has all the nutrition it needs. Pasture is the horses’ favourite and it gives the horse the nutrients and protein he/she requires, as horses are constantly grazing you need to ensure you have the right type of pasture for them

As well as pasture, Hay forms an important part of the diet of a horse and is a good replacement is fresh pasture is not available. There are many different types of hay such as Tifton and Alfalfa so make sure you pick the best type of hay for your horse to ensure it is fit and healthy. Alfalfa in particular contains a considerable amount of protein.

Once you have brought the correct type of hay it is important that you store it in a well ventilated area but it must be dry. If the hay is wet and mouldy then the horse can become very sick so check the hay before you feed it to the horse. One thing in your diet is not good for you and it is the same for horses so consider adding things to it such as horse pellets to ensure it is getting all the nutrients it needs.

Your horse needs a lot of water each day with many horses drinking up to 12 gallons a day. This is a massive amount of water and if the weather gets colder then it is a good idea to purchase heated buckets so that the water does not freeze. Salts, Minerals and even treats are important for the horse as well but each horse is different so consult your local vet for the best advice on what measures you should be giving to them.

As with humans, horses need the exercise to keep healthy. The intensity of the exercise will depend on what the horse does (race, jump, show etc) but even if you just have one to ride on occasions they still need regular exercise maybe 3 days a week to keep its fitness levels high and stop it from getting arthritis when its older.

Bob Brightside is an experienced author in the equestrian field. Horse riding boots are an essential product to buy when horse riding. If you are looking for horse riding equipment then search online where there are some great deals available.