Lately, there have been numerous articles focusing on ways to keep your horse facility “green” by methods such as reusing old feed bags and twine and switching to florescent light bulbs. These are great strategies for your barn, but what about your farm?
A number of management practices exist that can do wonders for greening up the land that you rely on to feed and house your horses. Not only do they keep it green on the ground, but many keep more green in your wallet!
Tip #1: Soil Test Your Pastures
Pastures should be soil tested every two to three years to determine existing soil fertility and pH. Having this information in hand will help you better evaluate the fertilizer and lime needs of your pastures, allowing you to only apply what is needed. The old adage of “if a little is good then more is better” does not apply here; it is both detrimental to the environment and your bank account (fertilizer is expensive!) Commercial agriculture, including horse farms, can have soil tested at no cost through Virginia Tech’s Soil Testing Laboratory. Visit your local Extension Office to pick up your soil test kit and instructions and work with an Extension Agent to develop a pasture management plan specific to your farm’s needs.
Tip #2: Utilize a Sacrifice Lot
Sacrifice lots are a great tool for keeping your pastures green, literally! The best sacrifice lots are ones that are well-drained, constructed to withstand high traffic and spacious enough to allow about 1000 square feet per horse. The formula most recommended for construction of a sacrifice lot is bare ground covered in geotextile fabric, covered by 4-6 inches of No. 4 rock and topped with 2-4 inches of sifted lime. When should they be used? Anytime the pastures are getting overgrazed and during wet weather when horses are most likely to tear up the ground. Sacrifice lots are also helpful for those easy keeping horses that are prone to laminitis as a means to control pasture intake.
Tip #3: Utilize a Controlled, Rotational Grazing Program
Not all pastures are laid out ideally for rotational grazing however you can easily subdivide pastures using electric poly-tape to create an environment conducive to rotation. By doing so, you can move the horses off the current pasture once they graze it down to about 2-4 inches of leaf area. Leaving adequate leaf area allows for faster regrowth of pasture. Horses should not be allowed to regraze until the leaf area reaches about 8-10 inches (or as close to that as you can get within your system). Also, you may have to drag the field to distribute manure piles and mow them to promote uniform grazing in the next rotation. Horses are spot grazers, meaning they will more heavily graze some areas and avoid others (where you may have manure piles and less palatable plants).
Tip#4: Compost and Reuse Manure as a Soil Amendment
Composting horse manure is relatively simple, but does involve more than simply piling the waste. While many farms stockpile their manure, few truly compost. Composting is essentially managed decomposition. Managing the process can virtually eliminate odor, flies, weed seeds, and internal parasites found in horse manure and create a valuable soil amendment for pasture application. Manure has fertilizer value although it can vary widely. The type and quantity of bedding material included affects the overall fertilizer value. Also remember, you only want to land apply manure to pastures after the horses have been removed from that area. If you are interested in learning more about composting and timed land application of manure consult VCE Pub 406-208 Horse Manure Management.
Tip#5: Conduct Fecal Egg Counts to Improve Your Deworming Program
Working with your veterinarian to conduct fecal egg counts on your horses allows you to use a strategic deworming program instead of the old rotation of products every 8-10 weeks. Researchers and veterinarians have become increasingly concerned over the last couple years about the ability of parasites to develop resistance to deworming products. By determining the parasite burden of your horses through fecal egg testing you can develop a targeted approach using a specific type of dewormer at a specific time, and administer them to specific horses. Cost of a fecal test is minimal (about $15) and you’ll often find that if you have a good pasture management program you don’t need to buy near the amount of deworming products you did on a rotational deworming schedule!
For more information and publications on horse management topics visit your local Extension Office or browse our website at www.ext.vt.edu. Also, you can follow us on Facebook by joining the group Equine Educational Programming with Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Crystal Smith, M.Agr,
Extension Agent, Animal Science
Crystal.Smith@vt.edu,
(540) 635-4549