Northwest Horse Pasture Management

Part 2 of a 3 part series

by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water

Are you ready to benefit from productive pastures?  Last month I covered sacrifice areas, the heart of any pasture management program. This month we talk about rotational grazing. In the third and final part of this series we’ll cover the regular components of good pasture management.

Rotational grazing is a technique you can use (along with your sacrifice area) to keep pastures from becoming overgrazed. Cross fence or divide up your pastures into several smaller areas. Temporary fencing (step in fence posts and hot tape) is especially useful for accomplishing this. For a small pasture you might divide it in half or thirds, for larger pastures try breaking it into 4 to 6 areas. Choose one area to start grazing your horses for their allotted amount of time each day.

Next, determine how long to graze your horses each day. How much time you put them out depends on the following variables: how many horses you have, their age, weight, breed and if they are already adjusted to eating pasture. It also is dependant on how much land you have. For most folks, once horses are accustomed to pasture you can leave them out for 2 to 4 hours once or twice a day. If you are fortunate enough to have productive pastures or a low stocking rate you may be able to work up to 6 hours of grazing time. Be very careful to not allow your horse to become overweight or eat too much grass when they are not accustomed to it. If you have any questions on this consult your veterinarian for his or her recommendations on the amount of grazing time recommended for your particular horse.

For my horses I have observed that it takes about 2 hours for them to consume a “meal” so I use that as a guideline. Here is a sample of the grazing routine I use on our farm. At the beginning of the grazing season (about mid-March) I gradually begin pasture-grazing time with my horses. I start with about an hour of grazing time and over a period of a month or more I work up to 2-3 hours per horse. By mid-June I usually have all horses grazing 2 times a day (morning and late afternoon) for about 3 hours each time. They still get a third (but smaller) feeding of hay in the late evening. Modify your own grazing routine to fit your horses, farm and schedule. You can choose to put them out once or twice a day, before or after work, or whenever it’s convenient for you.

When the majority of grass in one area is grazed down to 3 to 4 inches remove the horses. The next day begin grazing your horses in another area. Continue this grazing pattern through out the summer. Only allow horses back on pasture areas once plants have regrown to about 6 to 8 inches.

The golden rule of pasture management is worth repeating here:  NEVER graze your pastures below the 3 to 4 inch mark!  The reason why is this amount of plant material is needed by the plant to manufacture food. When plants are grazed below this mark it compromises their health and you will begin to loose pasture quality and quantity.

Next month we cover the basic techniques to good pasture management. Until then, good horsekeeping to you!

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Alayne Renee Blickle, a life-long equestrian and reining competitor is the creator/director of Horses for Clean Water. HCW offers educational materials, courses & individual consultations on ways to care for and manage your horse and the facilities, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly techniques. For more information on HCW visit the website at www.HorsesforCleanWater.com.

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Upcoming FREE Horses for Clean Water Educational Events:

Commercial Boarding & Training Stables Tour  Tour an Enumclaw Plateau boarding facility that actually has pastures in the summer and no mud in the winter!  Cascade Stables in Auburn, WA has won environmental awards & recognition for their excellent management techniques. See creative techniques for composting & managing manure, view wildlife enhancement areas & walk through mudless paddocks. Wednesday, May 19th, 6:30 to 8:30pm. To register and receive a map contact the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.

Horses,Trees & Riding Trails!  Visit this peaceful Tolt Highlands farm east of Carnation & enjoy the view of the surrounding stewardship forest. A riding trail is woven through the forest and pauses next to a wildlife pond. See excellent mud management techniques, beautiful barn and outbuildings, chickens, and wild pheasants. Carnation, WA. Wednesday, June 9^th, 6:30 to 8:30pm. To register and receive a map contact the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.

Native Plants at Work on a Horse Farm  This farm tour will focus on using native trees & shrubs to reduce standing water & mud, manage power line easements, create visual screens along property lines, protect stream banks, out-compete blackberries, prevent erosion & more!  Enumclaw, WA. Saturday, June 19^th, 10am to noon. FREE! To register and receive a map contact the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.

Horse Logging & Forest Health  See a horse-logging demo preformed by a beautiful team of Belgium draft horses & learn how this low-impact logging technique can actually improve forest health. Woodinville, WA. Saturday, July, 10^th, 9am to noon. FREE! To register and receive a map contact the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.

Firewise & Defensible Space   Learn ways to better prepare your home & farm to avoid the possibility of wildfire. Carnation, WA. July date TBA. FREE! To register, receive a map and more details contact the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.