Most equestrians know how important grass and forages are in their horse’s diet, but just how important is it really? Forage can make or break your horses’ well-balanced diet, and the better your forage suits your horses’ needs, the less grain you have to buy. Here’s a crash course on getting to know your everyday forages.
Pasture Grass Guide
Though many equestrians have a general knowledge of the different grasses, legumes, and other plants/weeds that their horse might encounter, and even how they affect grazing habits (clover causes slobbery mouths, buttercups are bad for the skin, and so on), there is so much more to learn about grasses that can really improve your farm management skills!
Pasture grasses can be broken down into two general categories: cool-season and warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses are the species that thrive in the summer heat, grow six inches seemingly overnight, and turn brown the minute it is below 40 degrees. On the other hand, cool-season grasses are the first green shoots you see in the early spring, but are not heat-tolerant, so they will die in the hotter months or stick to cool, shadier areas. In the autumn, cool-season grasses will come back in full force and stay green well into winter.
Cool-season grasses include varieties such as Kentucky bluegrass, orchardgrass, tall fescue, and timothy. Warm-season grasses include varieties such as Indiangrass, big bluestem, switchgrass, and eastern gamagrass. These are just a few species that you may be familiar with already, as there are many more out there! Cool-season grasses are also what many people grow to use for hay, so you may be familiar with some of them already.
Maintaining A Field
Horses are much harder on pastures than many other kinds of livestock; they play, tend to stand and walk in the same spots, and the shape of their teeth lets them chew grass almost to the dirt. All of these things make it harder to manage pasture space for horses, especially when working with small areas. Ideally, you will have a few pastures or paddocks to choose from, but sometimes, that is not the case.
Horses tend to favor young grasses as they grow. While this provides good nutritional benefits to the horse, it is detrimental to the growth of the grass, as it’s being cut before it can establish itself. This is why you often see bare or close-cropped patches in your horse’s field while other areas grow long and untamed.
The most important thing to remember when looking at a pasture management plan is this: rotational grazing. By keeping one field empty for each field in use, you are letting the grasses re-establish and catch up to the grazing habits of horses. Grass grows quickly, so you may need to rest less than you realize! If operating on a fast grazing schedule with well-rested and properly maintained pastures, you may only need to rest for 3-4 weeks before they are suitable for grazing again. Your pastures will look lush and green before you know it.
If you are working in a small space with no additional pastures for rotational grazing, temporary fencing can become your best friend. Using temporary fencing, you can section off areas of the pasture to rest, while the other open area serves as your grazing section. This way, you can make sure the grass is still getting rest.
As horse people, we are very familiar with muddy pastures. Pastures are more prone to extreme mud when they are overgrazed, so there’s even more of an incentive to maintain them well! If you live in an area where there is a heavy mud season or rainy weather persists year-round, keeping a “sacrifice” paddock is always a good idea. A sacrifice paddock is an area sectioned off to be intentionally destroyed in order to maintain the integrity of your other pastures. This can be achieved with temporary fencing or a permanent fixture on your farm.
Often, a sacrifice paddock will be a dry lot or have a stone base to keep mud at bay and your horse’s feet in good shape. By lining gate areas and shelters with stone as well, you can help reduce mud in high-traffic areas. When pastures are appropriately rested and grazed rotationally, you will have fewer issues with mud, as the root structure of the grass helps hold the dirt together and absorbs more water.
Pastures also require regular maintenance in the form of manure control, reseeding, mowing, and fertilization. Especially in small areas, manure buildup chokes out grass growth. A chain harrow can break up the manure and spread it, so it breaks down faster and doesn’t inhibit growth. It’s best to do this immediately before resting a field, so the manure can aid in growth while the grasses are not being stressed.
The grasses that horses prefer most require nutrient-rich soil, and in turn, provide better nutritional benefits to your horse’s diet. Routine lime and fertilizer applications aid in the growth speed of your grasses; however, too much can burn plants and have the opposite effect as intended. To get a better idea of the fertilizing needs of your pastures, get a soil test done through your local extension office. They will be able to give exact mineral compositions and fertilizing recommendations based on those numbers.
Mowing can be your greatest asset, but mowing too frequently or too short can inhibit growth. Grasses should be left at roughly six inches when mowing and should not be mowed when fresh seed is growing, to allow it to fully establish. Routine mowing, especially in the summer months, helps grasses compete better with taller weeds that might shade them out. By allowing the cool-season grasses more space to compete, you will have a better stand of grass in the cooler months. Large bush hogs will typically have a setting where you can raise the blade, so make sure it is not too short!
What to Watch For
While most pasture grasses are harmless, there are a few to keep an eye out for. Most varieties of tall fescue are unsafe for pregnant mares to ingest, as they are infected with an internal fungus called an endophyte. The endophyte is what gives tall fescue the hardiness that makes it an ideal pasture grass that has spread wildly throughout the United States. However, when ingested by pregnant mares, it causes a long list of issues, including prolonged gestation, thickened/retained placenta, poor milk production, red bag deliveries, and so on. If you have bred or plan on breeding horses on your farm, it is important to get your tall fescue tested for the endophyte, which your local extension office can assist with. Tall fescue is available in an endophyte-free variety that does not have as much hardiness, but is safe for ingestion, so when reseeding pastures, be sure to select a variety labeled as such.
Not to be confused with timothy, foxtail is another problem grass in horse pastures . When ingested, the small barbs of the seedhead lodge in the sensitive skin of the mouth and GI tract, causing ulcers and weight issues. If you know you have a foxtail infestation in your pasture, you can mow in the middle of its growth cycle to keep it from fully forming the sharp hairs on the seedhead.
Professional Help
Maintaining a pasture may seem like a daunting task, but there are professionals to help! Check with your state university to find your local extension agency, whose horticulture division can help you with all of your questions; they can soil test for you, provide seeding and fertilizer recommendations, and help with noxious weed issues. If you are just looking to brush up on your knowledge, publications from extension offices are always informative and a good place to start learning!
Your soil and your horses will thank you for proper field management, so we hope these tips have helped out!
