2/2/2015 1 Pasture Paradise Krishona Martinson, PhD Equine Extension Specialist Krishona Martinson Outline • Pasture BMPs • Research Updates – Grazing Muzzles – NSC of Weeds in Drylots – Horse Bodyweight Estimations • Hay Update • Resources Pasture Best Management Practices 1. Mowing – Maintain ideal plant maturity – Helps to control weeds – After each grazing event • As plants mature • Leaf proportion declines • Stems become less nutritious • Fiber concentration increases; energy and intake potential decrease, protein decreases • maturity is greatest determinant of nutritional value! Pasture Best Management Practices Pasture Best Management Practices 2. Dragging – After each grazing event – Dragging disperses manure piles and exposes parasites to the environment – Dragging also disperses the nutrients associated with manure – Drag does not need to be “fancy”; make sure the drag is not too aggressive
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1. Mowing– Maintain ideal plant maturity– Helps to control weeds– After each grazing event
• As plants mature• Leaf proportion declines
• Stems become less nutritious
• Fiber concentration increases; energy and intake potential decrease, protein decreases
• maturity is greatest determinant of nutritional value!
Pasture Best Management Practices Pasture Best Management Practices
2. Dragging
– After each grazing event
– Dragging disperses manure piles and exposes parasites to the environment
– Dragging also disperses the nutrients associated with manure
– Drag does not need to be “fancy”; make sure the drag is not too aggressive
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Pasture Best Management Practices Pasture Best Management Practices
3. Rest• Pull horse off when forage is (on average) 3‐4”• Start grazing when forage regrows to 6‐8”• How long? Depends on weather and time of year• After each grazing event
Why?– All plants need leaf surface and time to regenerate carbohydrate root reserves
– Continuous grazing will lead to bare spots and thin stands
Pasture Best Management Practices
• “Turn‐in” heights– 6‐8”
• Minimum residual heights
– 3‐4”
• In spring, start grazing in 15 minute increments per day– Until 5 hours of continuous grazing is reached
Pasture Best Management Practices
Pasture Best Management Practices
4. Fertilize– Soil test every 3 years– Fertility recommendations and pH– 90 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year for a grass pasture– Fertilize for potassium and phosphorous according to test– Fertilize 2x a year – early spring and mid‐June– Keep horses off until you can not see the fertilizer
• Only spread manure on your pastures if you have more than 2 acres per horse
– Spreading additional manure on your pasture can result in greater chances of parasite exposure
Pasture Best Management Practices
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Pasture Best Management Practices
5. Weed Control– Mowing
– Use of broadleaf herbicide in grass pastures if necessary• Spring (annuals)• Fall (perennials)• Grazing restrictions (herbicide label)• Equipment• Safety• Personal view point
Pasture Best Management Practices
Following
GrazingBenefit
Mow
Keeps all plants in similar stage of maturity
Encourages uniform grazing
Prevents weeds from forming seed heads
Done after each rotation
Drag
Spreads important nutrients in manure across field
Disperses manure, helps reduce parasite concerns
Prevent piled manure from killing grass beneath it
Done after reach rotation
Weed Control Can utilize chemical application to eliminate weeds that survive mowing
Done only if needed in the fall
Fertilize
Replenishes nutrients necessary for plant growth
Necessary each spring and mid‐summer.
N is always needed; P and K may not be needed
Rest
Allows plants time to re‐grow following grazing
Prevents complete depletion of nutrients stored in roots
Done after each rotation
Pasture Best Management Practices Questions?
Use of a Grazing Muzzle
• Previous research has shown that grazing muzzles effective in decreasing pasture intakes
– May decrease intakes by up to 83% (Longland, 2011)
• However, effectiveness on different grasses is unknown
Use of a Grazing Muzzle
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Use of a Grazing Muzzle
• Grazing muzzle was effective in decreasing intakes by approximately 30%
• Grass morphology did not have an impact on percent reduction
• Not as effective as previously thought (Longland et al., 2011)
– Different methodologies used
Use of a Grazing Muzzle
Questions? NSC of Weeds in Drylots
• Diets high in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) are a known trigger for laminitis
– Recommended a total diet ≤ 12% NSC
• Management strategies includes limiting NSC intake by testing forage, restricting feed to encourage weight loss, and confining to drylots
NSC of Weeds in Drylots NSC of Weeds in Drylots
Species NSC CP ADF NDF
% DM
Cinquefoil sp. 11ab 19ab 28 43ab
Ragweed sp. 12ab 17b 32 39ab
Redroot pigweed 11ab 24a 25 35b
Broadleaf plantain 16a 23a 28 34b
Prostrate knotweed 9b 19b 30 46a
Within a column, means without a common superscript letter differ (P ≤ 0.05)
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NSC of Weeds in Drylots
Species
NSC
Mean Max Min
% DM
Cinquefoil sp. 11ab 21 11
Ragweed sp. 12ab 16 4
Redroot pigweed 11ab 15 8
Broadleaf plantain 16a 30 4
Prostrate knotweed 9b 20 4
NSC of Weeds in Drylots
• The wide range of NSC content within the weed species suggests horse owners should control weeds in drylots, especially if used to house laminitic horses
Questions? Horse Bodyweight Estimations
Horse Bodyweight Estimations
Adult Horse: [Girth (in)2 x body length (in)]/330 (≥ 58”)
Pony: [Girth (in)2 x body length (in)]/299 (< 58”)
Mini: [Girth (in)2 x body length (in)]/307 (≤ 34”)
Yearling Horse: [Girth (in)2 x body length (in)]/301
Weanling Horse: [Girth (in)2 x body length (in)]/280
Horse Bodyweight Estimations
• Body weight (kg) was estimated by taking girth (cm)1.486 x length (cm)0.554 x height (cm)0.599 x neck (cm)0.173/