Choosing The Best Pasture For Your Horses

If you are a keen farmer, you know the importance of grass for your animals, but if you have recently acquired horses, or you are concerned that you're horses aren't getting enough goodness for their overall health, are you using the right grass? When it comes to the ideal pasture, there are many horse friendly kinds of grass that are suitable. It's important for you to look for the grasses that are high in fiber and low in sugar. What are the best grasses out there, and how can you improve your pasture?

Some Notable Horse Grass Types
There is a vast amount of grass to choose from, which can be intimidating if you're looking for the right one. Cocksfoot, also known as orchard grass, is a very tough pasture, as it has got very deep roots. Yorkshire fog is another that works well with a mixture of others, and is particularly good in wet weather, ideal if you live in the United Kingdom. Timothy grass is a great one for hay, and is excellent for feeding stock, but it's not particularly good in wet weather. Qld bluegrass, also known as dichanthium sericeum, is one to try if you are in Australia. While this grass grows predominantly in northern Australia, where the climate is pretty hot, it's actually good in a wide range of climates.


Looking After The Pasture
Looking after horse pasture doesn't have to be a difficult task, as long as you know how to get the most out of it. By adding new grass seed varieties, you can get the most amount of pasture with the least amount of land. To ensure that it goes further, adding extra feeds will also help. On top of this, when you're feeding your horses, at least 1% of their body weight should consist of hay or pasture grasses every day. It does depend on what you are using the horses for, because if they are performing no work, this should be enough. If you have working horses, it's advisable to supplement this with grain or concentrate.


Other Bits Of Advice…
Your pasture soil needs testing to keep its forage fertility at a high standard. By implementing soil tests, you can get a true picture of the fertilizer needed. It's important to do this every two years, giving you time to ensure that your Ag sprayer parts and tools are maintained as well as your grass. Remember, it takes between 9 and 12 months for a pasture to establish, and this is because of various factors, including the fertilization, as well as the type of forage, not to mention the climate. If you are in a part of the world where the weather is very temperamental, it could result in a longer time period. There are extension agents who can provide information on the types of grasses and forages that are best for your area, as well as programs for people who know nothing about it. This is always a good thing to get involved with.

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The type of grass is vital, but you have to look after it too. Get these two aspects right, and you've got a good quality pasture.


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