Smart usage

The next critical step to a healthy pasture is to use it properly.

1. Familiarize yourself with the climate and growing seasons in your area.

Know when:
•the grass stops growing and goes dormant for the winter

•the rains typically come and go

•you consistently have dry periods

•the grasses start growing again in the spring

You need to understand all this in order to adjust your grazing practices accordingly.

2. Proper grazing involves making sure you don’t permit your horses to eat the grass too short. Grasses need a certain amount of plant structure above the soil in order to maintain a healthy root. If you let your horses overgraze, you are damaging the plants and jeopardizing the overall health of the pasture.

Overgrazing can also lead to a loss of topsoil through erosion as well as an increase in weeds that choke out the grass you need to feed your horses. Prevent overgrazing by planning pasture spaces so you can rotate usage and allow for proper growth of grasses between grazing periods. You will have to balance the size and number of your pasture subdivisions to optimize both the ability to give pastures a “rest”, and the space your horses need to stretch their legs and get enough exercise. You should only start allowing the horses to graze in a certain pasture space when the grass reaches approximately six to eight inches in height. When the grass has been eaten down to about three inches, take your horses off the pasture and move them to another area. Then, after the grass grows again, you can bring the horses back for more grazing.

3. I’m sure you’ve noticed areas in your pasture where the horses tend to eliminate, but where they will not readily eat the grasses that grow there even though they appear to be very rich. The manure deposited in these areas yields grasses very high in nitrogen; horses will avoid those patches unless and until it’s all that’s left for them to consume. So it’s important to properly dispose of manure. Either pick it up and add it to your manure composting bins, or break it up by kicking apart the piles or dragging a harrow.

Hint
Disposing of manure from your pasture also minimizes the
parasites that can infest your soil and horses.

After I pull my horses off one section of pasture and move them to the next, I like to manage the manure and then mow. By cutting the grasses to a consistent length, some growth is spurred, and I can effectively monitor when that section is next available for grazing. I can also prevent the areas the horses don’t tend to graze on from growing too long and going to seed.

4. Finally, proper use of your pasture involves monitoring heavy traffic areas. We’ve all seen how mud develops or grasses are worn down by the heavy tread of horse hooves. Areas near water sources and around gates seem most severely impacted. Consider using rock or gravel in those areas to minimize mud, which we all know tends to spread over time. And mud means no pasture to grow healthy grasses for our horses!

Maintenance plan

Now that you’ve built a great soil foundation and are properly utilizing your pastures to ensure
their health, how do you maintain them?

1. Proper mowing and harrowing to break up manure and keep the top layer of soil aerated is the first step.

2. Next is augmentation, which comes in several forms:

• using your composted horse manure to add nutrients to the soil

• applying natural fertilizers when necessary

• applying lime to maintain the proper pH of your soil

• re-seeding annually to replace grasses

• controlling weeds through proper soil balance, or applying environmentally safe weed control mechanisms when required (healthy soil will resist weed infestations, so one of the best ways to minimize weeds is to build healthy soil).

Remember, healthy land means healthy pastures – and that means healthier horses!

NOTE:
County conservation districts and state/county
extension offices are great resources to help you learn
about soil testing, the best grasses to grow in your area,
and the types of noxious weeds to be aware of in your
region. You can find them listed in your phone directory,
or better still, on the internet; most of these groups have
great self-help websites. Many will send an expert out to
your farm to provide assistance and consulting.

Sandy Siegrist is a lifelong horsewoman who practices natural horsemanship, healing and horse care techniques. She works with clients throughout the U.S. to evaluate their feeding and horsekeeping programs based on their horses’ specific needs. She also does energy work and overall health analyses, often taking in horses for more extensive rehabilitation. Sandy’s approach to horse care is based on natural and alternative therapy techniques and incorporates bio-energy testing, cranio-sacral therapy, acupresure, kinetics, herbs and flower esences, among others. Her lectures and articles addres nutrition, hoof care, bodywork, worming, vaccinations, and emotional wellbeing, grounded in maintaining a more natural environment and healthcare practices. www.perfectanimalhealth.com

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Published in the May/June 2008 issue of Equine Wellness Magazine