Does Green Grass mean it’s ready to Graze?

Spring is here and we are all anxious to start grazing our horses if we’re not doing it already.

 

Most horse owners begin grazing before the grasses in the pasture are ready for horse traffic. Over grazing under desired stubble length, will result in plant loss and undesirable weed take over.

 

For Optimum pasture management you should begin grazing 1 week before the grass heads out or when the legume is in the early or mid-bud stage.

  • Tall growing grasses or legumes the grazing process should begin when their height is 8-10 inches.
  • Cool season grasses or legumes the grazing process should begin when their height is 4-6 inches.

 

Vegetation just emerging from the ground is what is highly sought after by the horse. These young, immature plants are of high quality, high carbohydrate levels and vulnerable if over grazed.

If you have taken the time and allotted the resources to seed down a pasture for your horses to enjoy the last thing you want is for the desirable grasses to die out and weeds to take over.

 

Always begin a slow acclamation to the pasture to eliminate the risk of colic and founder. Clipping pastures periodically to encourage regrowth and enhance palatability of the pasture helps with pasture management. However, if you have metabolic individuals, you are caring for, clipping to encourage regrowth will increase the carbohydrate level of the pasture which could result in harmful consequences.

If you are struggling with getting maximum performance from your pasture you should seek the advice from an agronomy professional who will take a soil sample to look at the fertility level of your pasture.

 

1.5 – 2 acres of a well-managed pasture should be able to support 1-1250lb horse on an average year.

 

Grazing removes nutrients from the soil needed to ensure the health and productivity of your pasture.

 

Fertilizing of your pasture provides the plants the nutrients lost to harvesting by your horses. A soil sample indicates how much fertilizing is needed for maximum performance.

  • Small pasture areas, fertilizer can be applied with a hand spreader or a spreader pulled behind a smaller implement.
  • For larger pasture areas fertilization application can be applied by renting a broadcast spreader from a local agronomy facility than can be pulled by your own tractor.

 

The agronomy professionals will have the spreader calibrated specifically for your application. Fertilize your pasture similar to manure spreading, after clipping or grazing for soil contact and when the ground is firm to avoid compaction.

 

We are extremely focused on knowing as much as we can in regard to forage quality.

 

In regard to managing your feed input expense, knowing what your forage quality is, is a must! That is the foundation of your feeding program.

 

Is there any value in taking a pasture sample to determine quality? If the sample is taken from where the horses are eating (where they have eaten it down to the ground) it would be worthwhile. If the sample is taken from a taller grassier area where they have defecated in and are not grazing there, then the answer is no.

 

Caring for your pasture should be like you caring for your perfectly cared for lawn. If you treat it like a gravel parking lot, then that’s all you’ll get as a return.