# Rotational Grazing - What Animals Can Rotate With Horses?



## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

To bad you are leaning away from cow becasue that's what I would go with on your list. Cows eat by wrapping their tounge around what they can and ripping it off. Grass with a good root system will not be tore from the ground. Due to this grazing method, they don't eat the grass down to the dirt.

Sheep is a big no and I believe (but have no personal experience with them) Llamas/Alpacas all eat in the same way. That is the way their mouth is designed can eat grass all the way down to the dirt. Hence the cattle/sheep wars in the old west. Sheep can destoy a field faster then other critters if over grazed. Not sure if you'll be in an overgrazing situation but kinda sounds that way with pasture rotation.

Donkey=horse when it comes to grazing style.

As for what they'll eat. They all pretty much eat the same types of grasses and only move on to other stuff when their favorite grasses are gone. I believe goats (and here I think your family is smart in not wanting them) are the most likely to munch on brush out of that list.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I would go with the cows and unfortunately the goats as well...sorry, I know that isn't what you wanted to hear. Sheep probably wouldn't be bad if you didn't have many and moved them often, because they can do some damage. The sheepherders would turn out large numbers of sheep up in our summer range to tromp down the Larkspur before we turned yearlings out. The sheep would kill it by walking over the top of it so the cattle wouldn't eat it. Larkspur is poisonous but cattle will eat it because it tastes salty. Anyways...

The best would be to contact your local Ag Extension office. They are always more than willing to come out and give advice!


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## Cruiser (Aug 28, 2011)

I like sheep, goats, llamas or alpacas, because all are in some way a browser, plus they nip not ripe grass out. Think like a deer they will also kill trees and brush if given the chance). Plus they'll eat some times of weeds. I believe sheep are less effected by the same worms and parasites that horses are and the other way around as well. I won't put alpacas and small breeds of sheep with horses (it the same field) because they are more delicate than llamas and larger sheep. All of them need different foot care and deworming than a horse. 

My top picks are sheep (sheared once a year) and llamas (they are sheared only every two years), because they will eat all kinds of different things.

I've never heard of sheep doing damage, maybe in a large herd but I've only handled 5 to 10 on a few acres. Moving isn't overly hard with a couple people and contacting gates, because they tend to run blindly together.


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