How many grazing acres per horse




















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One important aspect of pasture management is selection of hardy forages. Plants conducive to high stocking rates should be productive over a long growing season, should grow aggressively, and should not be hindered by high traffic.

Because no single species of forage meets all of these criteria, a combination of grasses and legumes will provide the highest yields and the greatest variety in diet. Time of year and weather patterns affect stocking rate. More horses can benefit from a forage stand in times of high production such as during a flush of growth in the spring. As spring and summer progress, forage production may decrease and reduce the stocking rate of a pasture.

What is your plan for pasture management and rotation? More acreage will allow you to be a bit more lax in your management and rotation of the pasture.

On the other hand, if your horses are kept on minimal acreage, you will need to be especially aware of how you maintain the land. As you are well aware, not all horse breeds are equal! While some horse breeds thrive in smaller pastures, other horse breeds require much more space to remain happy and healthy. If you are looking for a home for your horses, it is important to research the unique requirements of their breed.

On the other hand, if you are looking to purchase acreage on which to board horses, it is best to overestimate the amount of acreage you will need per horse. While it is true that horses survive and thrive on limited acreage in almost every area of the country, some challenges accompany this approach. If you are planning to keep your horse on a limited amount of acreage, you must be prepared to address these challenges head-on. Perhaps the greatest challenge of keeping your horses on limited acreage is overgrazing.

When there is not ample space for your horses to graze, they will not be able to attain the full benefits of their time in the pasture. For this reason, it is always better to provide your horses with more acreage than to force an additional horse into your space.

Hay can basically grass that has been cut and dried for storage. It can provide your horse with just about the same nutritional value that fresh grass would. Any equestrian will be quick to understand the challenges of manure piles.

When you are keeping horses on a smaller plot of land, you will naturally have less space to accommodate your ever-growing pile of manure.

Not only can a large manure pile on a small plot of land prove an eyesore to both yourself and your neighbors, but it can also harbor parasites, flies, and other pests. Additionally, rainwater will cause your manure pile to release contaminants into the ground.

With a greater plot of land, you can keep your manure pile far away from the areas of your farm that you frequent daily. Mud puddles are another common nuisance of horse owners around the country. With a smaller plot of land, there are fewer opportunities to skirt around the mud puddles. This forces both humans and horses to walk through mud puddles, tracking mud and dirt throughout your farm.

The last challenge of keeping your horses on limited acreage is that there are limited opportunities for exercise. With a smaller turnout area, horses do not have the freedom to exercise at will. Because of this, you must devote more of your time each day to intentional activities and outlets for exercise. Equestrians are a determined and stubborn bunch. We will find a way to make almost any arrangement work for both ourselves and our horses!

For example, in the month of May, the forage in the pasture needs to supply 3. Place acreage owned under acres. Calculate AUM for the amount of acreage one owns. For example 3 horses grazing in the month of may requires 3 AUMs to solely feed them on pasture. An unimproved bluegrass pasture in the month of May supplies 6 AUMs which exceeds the needs of the 3 horses.

For the month of September, only 2 AUMs are supplied with 10 acres of unimproved bluegrass indicating the horses will require supplemental feed to meet their requirements.

Therefore, if the pasture was divided into a rotational grazing system, the 10 acres would meet the 3 horses' nutritional requirements from April through November without supplemental feed. Excess pasture should be managed either by baling or mowing the pasture. Table 3.



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