# Fun world of pasture management



## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I'm sure this has been brought up somewhere, but I'm not having any luck with the search function right now. 

A recent thread about having x-amount of horses on x-amount of land got me thinking about pasture management. 

How do you all manage your pastures throughout the year? This is my first full summer at our own acreage..and I've been noticing that the weeds in my front pasture are getting a little out of control. I was going to go in there with a weed-wacker and dessimate them; although that might feel good (to see them get wacked to bits & pieces), I'm not sure if that will actually solve the problem. 

Would my best bet be to just over-seed in the fall and hope that next spring the weeds don't come back? We harrowed the pasture this spring to break up the manure and the grass came in very lush. But the areas where the weeds are, the grass is tall and the horses won't touch it (presumably b/c of the weeds). 

Do you use herbicides? Going in there and physically picking the weeds is out of the question........but I want them gone (or at least minimized). 

Thanks in advance!!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

In the US, I would call the county Ag Agent, who is paid to answer these questions. 

You've asked a big question. It is complicated to manage a pasture for health. You need to observe, experiment, and work hard. You are essentially manipulating a whole small ecosystem, in which the horses are but a part. Setting up a pasture rotation plan is a key element to healthy permanent pasture -- you need to be able to rest your pasture from grazing pressure. 

My Saskatchewan sheep rancher friend says, "I don't grow sheep, I grow grass. The grass grows the sheep."

It is possible the horses aren't eating the tall grass because they pooped there previously.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

I agree with getting advice from your county extension agent.


Pasture management here starts with a low stocking rate for the pasture----we have 2 horses on 20+ acres and the most I've ever had was 5 at any given time. Next is weed control which we cover by having the pasture sprayed with Graze-on with an added fertilizer every other spring since it has a residual effect, mowing twice during the summer unless we have lots moisture so we need to mow more often, and burning a portion of it in early spring, rotating on a 4 to5 year basis about which area is burned to control weeds that Graze-on doesn't kill. We never harrow the manure since all that does is spread worm eggs into areas the horses would graze--our horses have enough good grazing so those rough areas are only used for pooping and peeing. 


Our horses have 24/7 pasture year around and will only eat hay after a heavy snow fall or in sub-zero *F temperatures with high winds. They also have free access to their stalls that have hay in them during winter weather and fans on in the summer.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

I choose to take a more organic approach. I believe the health of the soil is most important to the health of my farm

I have a stocking rate of about 1 horse to 3 acres. They are on about 12 hours\off 12 hours. 

I harrow my manure, to inprove thge organic matter in my soil. I believe the worm larvea are an inportant part of the ecosystem. I have to worm the horses regularly, anyway. 

I shred the weeds, and usually have a part of one of my pastures that i can also cut for hay, and get about 45 extra square bales.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

The worms that infect horses do nothing to improve the soil. Earthworms do. When you live in a windy area where weed seeds blow in, you need to control them so they don't overtake the pasture.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I've heard mixed reviews on harrowing. I do not have the time to go through and pick up the piles of poo with a fork....I was reading it was OK to harrow and spread the manure, as long as the horses were kept off the pasture for 2 weeks to ensure all the worm larvae would be killed off. I did this in the early spring....and my grass paddock seemed to do quite well. 

They definitely have their favorite spots in the paddock to eat - so some areas are over-grazed...and other areas have very tall grass. Probably due to them going to the bathroom there, or b/c of the weed infestation. 

I have sent an inquiry to my county...hopefully someone will get back to me. I've heard that spraying a herbicide and keeping the horses off of it can work, but then the herbicide can also kill some viable plants that the horses WILL eat. 

In the short-term I'm thinking I will go in and weed wack...unfortunately since it is so late in the summer most of the weeds have probably already gone to seed.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Undergrazing can be as bad for the pasture as overgrazing so I prefer to keep mine on smaller paddocks and rotate them.
If the grass starts to get too long on any resting paddock with mow it to 4 to 5 inches
The manure is picked up every day other than in the winter when its snowing/freezing and its physically impossible to separate it from the ice or its buried under feet of snow
You can reduce annual weeds by mowing or strimming them off before they flower and seed but you can still get seeds blowing in from surrounding areas
Perennial weeds you either have to go round and pull them up or you can spot spray with something like Roundup or use a spray that targets weeds and leaves the grass alone when you're not grazing that paddock
The denser the grass root base the less chance there is of weeds getting in so re-seeding bare patches helps a lot
We fertilise the resting paddocks in the spring, the melting snow and/or heavy rain washes nutrients away so it gives the fast growing grass a boost when it needs it most
Worm larvae don't go into the soil, they crawl up the grass waiting for some creature to swallow them so they can complete their life cycle


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

@jaydee, thanks for the post. I am currently rotating my guys on a couple different grass pastures, and keep them in a dry lot for part of the day as well. Partly to avoid over-grazing, but also to prevent my one filly from getting too fat. 

I wonder if it would be beneficial for me to harrow my paddock in the fall once my horses are done grazing those fields (I move them completely off of my grass pasture for the winter)...then in the spring re-fertilize and spray/pull weeds as needed? Once we have our fence project complete there will be more options for rotating/moving horses.....for now I just want to maintain my grass paddocks/pasture as well as possible.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

We do chain harrow but in the spring to help level the ground after the winter weather and spread any remaining bits of hay and dead grass around so the new growth isn't choked off by it


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

A Webinar led by a couple of professors/extension people from Rutgers made these points:


For unlimited (24 hour) turnout, you need 2 acres of grass per horse to prevent damage to pasture from overgrazing
Surprisingly to me, they did not recommend Timothy as a pasture grass. They also said to avoid lawn seed. For maximum durability they suggested pasture cultivars of blue grass, perennial rye grass, orchard grass and red clover
Sacrifice areas save pastures
By far the most important maintenance you can perform is mowing. If pasture isn't overgrazed and mowing is done regularly weeds will be minimized. Mow 2-3" for bluegrass and rye grass, 4-5" for orchard grass.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

i do like some others, but also do some things differently.

our pasture desperately needs to be switched out with one of the cow pastures so we can turn this one up completely to get rid of some of the burdock plants. but in the mean time:

2 horses about 3 acres I believe and they don't keep up with it. as you stated some places grow high grass and even after mowing it the horses don't seem to like that grass quite as much. we have 2 strands of high tensil perimeter fence then I use fiberglass posts and polywire to section off the pasture.

I don't worry about the horses back grazing so I will split the pasture into 2-3 strips length ways and just keep moving the back "wall" closer and closer to the back boundary fence then move it to the middle then the last strip by then the first strip is USUALLY good to go again, this year it's a bit different due to lack of rain & abundance of weeds but still just managing the best we can


I see no harm in weed whacking if you get it done before the seeds are out

I am also one of those "terrible people" who absolutely LOVES round-up  that stuff works! I think the key is (and may do this next year if the father-in-law doesn't want to give up some cow pasture for us) is to reseed a few days after the round-up to get the right stuff started back in where the weeds were


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Last year we had a lot of grass that was thick, but not growing tall. I over seeded, fertilized, and used a product called pasture pro for the weed growth. Now parts of the pastures are mid calf on me! I am mowing once a month too.

I have 3 horses on about 3 fenced acres [have 4.22 total] and my one mare is now paddock bound due to a torn suspensory. They do not keep up with it at all!

Now part of me wishes it didn't grow so well lol.


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