Keep pastures healthy by rotating grazing areas
By dividing a pasture area into smaller fields and rotating horses through them, you can encourage horses to graze more evenly, keep pasture grasses from becoming overgrazed and guarantee fresh grass for a longer period of time during the growing season. Remember the golden rule of grazing: Never allow grass to be grazed shorter than three inches. This ensures that the grass plants will have enough reserves left after grazing to permit rapid regrowth. Consider the bottom two or three inches of grass an energy collector that needs to be left for the plant. Once horses have grazed the majority of the grass in a pasture down to three or four inches, rotate them on to the next pasture. You can put horses back on pastures when the grass has re-grown to about six to eight inches.
Types of fencing for rotational grazing
When using a rotational grazing system, you can separate grazing paddocks with permanent or temporary (usually electric) fencing. It’s generally easiest to establish as many permanent grazing paddocks as you think you’ll need—you can always hook up temporary electric wire or tape if you need to subdivide further. However, if you want to keep fencing costs down you can also move temporary fencing with the horses as you switch them from one grazing area to another. As a beginning step towards a rotational grazing system you may want to first try dividing an existing large pasture in half and alternate grazing on either side. After gaining some experience, try further subdividing. Portable electric fencing is lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to move for pasture rotation. High tensile electric fence or New Zealand style fencing is less expensive then many other types of permanent fencings and requires little maintenance.
Are some sections of your pasture still soggy while others are already dry?
Try fencing pastures according to how wet they are. That way in the spring you can let horses onto the higher, dry areas first. Save the wet areas until later in the summer when they dry out.
Final details
Make sure that pasture areas are large enough for horses to run and that gates are placed so that horses can easily be led from stall to pasture and back. And remember to have a source of water for each pasture. You can have separate water sources for each pasture or a single water source that is accessible from more than one pasture. Also try to divide pastures in such a way that horses can have access to shade or shelter especially if later in the summer they will be in these areas for more than a few hours.
For more information on pasture management and grazing visit www.horsesforcleanwater.com, or contact your local conservation district or extension office. Happy grazing!
Join Horses Clean Water at the following events & visit www.HorsesforCleanWater.com, for new events added regularly
Beyond where the Pavement Ends
Saturday, September 16th, 10am to noon.
HOBART, WA
Tour the Three Sisters Mule Farm, a private 10-acre equine property. See a group sacrifice area, a composting shed, rotational grazing and more management techniques that reduce mud and help with chore efficiency. Contact the King Conservation District at 425-277-5581, ext. 125 or Roseanne.Campagna@kingcd.org.
Fall in Place
Friday, September 22nd, 6:30-8:30 pm.
BRUSH PRAIRIE, WA
Learn ways to make the coming winter more chore-efficient, less stressful, and healthier for your horses and the environment! Details: Clark Conservation District, 360-883-1987, ext 112.
Winter Horse Farm Management Workshop
Saturday, September 23rd from 9am to 4:30pm
BRUSH PRAIRIE, WA
Learn techniques for reducing mud, composting horse manure, managing small pastures, reducing fly and mosquito populations and creating wildlife enhancement areas. Register by September 15. Contact the Clark Conservation District at 360-883-1987, ext112.
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