Quick Facts...
- Pasture management for grazing is part art and part science. Regardless
of all the tools available to you, your visual observation of the condition
of your pasture before, during, and after grazing, will lead to proper
utilization of this valuable resource.
- A mature horse should consume about 1.5 percent of his weight in daily
forage dry matter each day.
- Cool-season grass species grow best during early spring and early
fall.
- Warm-season grasses begin to grow in late spring.
As a horse owner, you need to decide how to best use your pasture. Answering
the following questions can help you make that decision.
- How many horses do you have?
- What size is your pasture?
- Is the pasture irrigated?
- How many months do you need the pasture?
- What months do you want to use this pasture?
Your answers to the above questions will dictate whether your pasture
can be used for recreation or nutrition.
Horse Pasture Needs
If the stocking rate averages one 1,000-pound horse per acre on irrigated
pasture, the use of the pasture should be for recreation (K.D. Johnson,
Agronomy Department, M.A. Russell, Animal Sciences, Extension
Service, Purdue University, ID-167). Select the grass species for a
recreational pasture based on its ability to withstand wear and tear and
not on forage quality. Consider species such as Kentucky bluegrass, Crested
wheatgrass, tall fescue (endophyte free), and Intermediate wheatgrass.
A mature horse should consume about 1.5 percent of his weight in daily
forage dry matter each day. If the major nutrient source is pasture, a
1,000-pound horse collectively consumes and wastes approximately 3,000
pounds of forage dry matter during a typical six-month grazing season.
Thus, with average management, it would take about 2 to 3 acres of good
irrigated pasture to meet the nutrient needs of a mature horse. If your
pasture is not irrigated, the acreage size will vary based on the condition
of the pasture and the natural moisture conditions in a particular year.
Grass Species for Pastures
Many irrigated pastures along the Front Range of Colorado contain cool-season
grasses such as tall fescue, Orchardgrass and Smooth bromegrass. These
grasses are highly palatable to horses. Cool-season grass species have
their maximum production during early spring and early fall. During the
hot summer months, cool-season grass production is reduced. Under irrigated
conditions, a horse pasture can be productive for about six months of
the year. The key is to be able to determine how much forage your pasture
will produce during that six-month grazing season.
Horse owners often keep animals on pastures that are not irrigated. Under
these conditions, the forage production is greatly reduced. Cool-season
grass species found on dry pastures include tall wheatgrass, Western wheatgrass,
Intermediate wheatgrass, pubescent wheatgrass, and Smooth bromegrass.
These species are most productive in the early spring when we get most
of our moisture, and later in the fall when temperatures begin to cool.
The wheatgrass species become less palatable as the plants mature. This
may result in selective grazing by horses to more desirable species or
the younger leaves of plants, resulting in overgrazing of the more palatable
species.
Some dry pastures are composed of warm-season grass species. Warm-season
grasses begin to grow in late spring as compared to cool-season species.
Grass species such as big bluestem, little bluestem, Side-oats grama,
Switch grass and Buffalo grass are examples of warm-season grass species.
Maximum production usually occurs during the summer months. Overgrazing
easily damages warm-season grass species.
Grazing Management
The timing of grazing has a long-term impact on your pasture. Grazing
too early in the spring can reduce the yield potential of your pasture
and is the most common pasture management mistake. Allow grass to grow
before grazing a horse. This grass growth varies depending on the grass
species. For example, allow brome and orchardgrass to grow to a height
of 6 to 8 inches before grazing is initiated. Grasses have different height
requirements prior to the initiation of grazing.
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| Figure 1: Divide pasture into grazing cells. |
The phrase “Grazing Management” is very important. A
horse that is grazing should not remove more than 50 percent of the available
forage. Simply put, if your horse eats 50 percent of the grass that was
there prior to grazing, remove him and allow the pasture to rest approximately
30 days or until the grass regrows to the original height. This approach
is called “take half and leave half.”
Divide your pasture into grazing cells to allow for rotational grazing.
After a cell is grazed, move the animals to a fresh cell while the grazed
cell rests and regrows. The improved management afforded by rotational
grazing can greatly increase forage productivity and pasture health (Figure
1.).
Additional Information
- ABC’s of Small Acreage Ownership video, XCM-214, Colorado
State University Extension
- Pasture: Your Most Valuable Resource video, XCM-215, Colorado
State University Extension
- Caring for Horses in the Western U.S. video, XCM-216, Colorado
State University Extension
- Weeds of Colorado, Bulletin 521A, Colorado State University
Extension
- Weed Management for Small Rural Acreages, Colorado State University
Extension fact sheet 3.106
- Production Agriculture: Putting Knowledge to Work CD-ROM, XCD-12,
Colorado State University Extension
For more information, contact your county Colorado State University
Extension office
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