Posts Tagged ‘types of grasses’

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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THE SIMPLE PLEASURE OF FEEDING

Food is one of the simplest and greatest pleasures of our horses, so make sure that your horse always has all the food requirements that he/she needs.

There are three types of food that your horse may eat. Pasture is the favorite meal of all horses, supplying needed nutrients, roughage and protein. Pastures and forage crops provide a major part of the nutritional needs of horses almost year-round. Horses are constant grazers, I mean 24/7. There are many types of pasture grass so do your homework, different parts of the country have different types of grasses that grow better in different areas and will provide the proper nutrients for your horse.

Hay is another type of food for horses, when fresh pasture is not available, hay is the best choice. There are many types of hay, such as alfalfa, coastal, T&A, Tifton, and the list goes on. Make sure you provide the best hay for your horses needs. Some hay such as alfalfa has tons of protein and for some horses you will want to give this type of hay sparingly as too much protein is not good for your horse, so do your research.

Secondly, always store hay in a dry but well-ventilated area. Feeding your horse with moldy hay can lead to various medical complications. Feeding your horse with hay alone will never make a sufficient diet so consider including another component in your horse’s diet such as horse pellets or sweet feet to ensure that all your horses nutritional needs are met. Do not forget to consider what your horse does, for example: racing, pleasure, show, competitive, jumper, etc. Horses that expend allot of energy need higher percentage of protein feed and a higher quality hay. Ask you vet for help in determining your horses diet needs.

WATER AS THE SOURCE OF LIFE

Horses are always thirsty, and can consume up to 10- 15 gallons of water daily. As such, it is extremely important that you have a ready supply of fresh water for your horse. During the winter months make sure that you place the water in heated buckets to prevent it from freezing.

SALT, MINERALS, AND HORSE TREATS

Salt and minerals are also important factors in your horse’s diet. Consult your veterinarian as to what your horse should take to consume the necessary vitamins and minerals. Salt blocks and horse treats can be purchased from your local feed store.

EXERCISING YOUR HORSE

The amount of exercise your horse needs depends primarily on its role in life. If you are using it for competitive riding, team penning or pleasure, whatever you choose will determine what type of exercise it needs and how many times it should exercise each and every week. As for all other types of horses, daily exercise is encouraged to allow horses’ muscles and bones to strengthen and not become affected by arthritis, etc. when they become older.

CARING FOR YOUR HORSES’ HOOVES

Horses need their hooves trimmed at least every 6-8 weeks. Pick your horses feet every day, and after each ride or workout. Depending on the work (pleasure, barrels etc.) you choose for your horse, will determine whether on not you need to have your horse shoed. Talk to some of your friends or your Vet, someone who can recommend a good farrier. Remember that just as it is with our feet, the hooves of horses are also the most abused and neglected part of their body so it’s important for us to give them the best care we can afford. The old saying “No hoof, No horse really does apply!

CARING FOR YOUR HORSES’ TEETH

Unlike human teeth, there is no end to periodontal growth for horses. As such, uneven usage of their teeth can lead to the development of sharply pointed teeth and which may cause chewing problems. Your Vet may have to (float) the teeth which means that he will have to file them down a little to help your horse’s eating enjoyment. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you have your veterinarian check your horses’ teeth annually.

GROOMING FOR YOUR HORSE

Allow your horses to enjoy baths regularly. Most horse enjoy their baths immensely but others need a little more coaxing in that area. Afterwards, use a sweat scoop to take off excess water and remember to brush their coat slowly, carefully, and thoroughly. Make sure that you use grooming products that are specifically designed for horses, they are reasonably priced and loads to choose from.

Above all, the best way to make your horse’s life absolutely wonderful is by showering them with your love and affection!

Author: Michele Anderson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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