FORAGES FOR HORSES

1
FORAGES FOR HORSES

• Pastures and Hays
• Forage Crops 4310
• Lecture 21

2
Cecal Anatomy Makes a Difference

• Lower digestion efficiency, so forage quality
  must be higher than with cattle
• Smaller stomach and rumen on wrong end means
  more frequent meals
• Horses can exist on forage alone, but if forage
  quality is low or nutrient requirement is
  increased, be ready to use concentrate supplements

3
Relative Grazing Times
HOURS SPENT GRAZING PER DAY
C Cattle S Sheep G Goats H Horses
4
Grazing Habits of Horses

• Biting grazer enables close grazing
• Spot grazing tendencies
• Spot voiding tendencies
• Concentrated trailing, trampling, loafing
• Cutting action of hoofs

5
Check Understanding Horse Behavior PB1654

• Has section on Feeding / Grazing
• Available under Publications in UT Extension
  Home Page http//www.utextension.utk.edu/publicat
  ions/pbfiles/PB1654.pdf

6
Primary Purpose of Pasture

• Quality, nutritious forage?
• Exercise and riding area?
• Multi-purpose both of above?
• Esthetic

7
Good Horse Pastures

• Size quantity quality of forage
• Safety
• Fences and cross-fences!
• Absence of obstructions hazards
• Dense, smooth, persistent turf
• Palatable, digestible, nutritious forage
• Long grazing season
• Fresh water, shelter, mineral supplement

8
Permanent Forages

• Cool Season
• Tall fescue
• Orchardgrass?
• Timothy
• Ladino clover
• Red clover
• Alfalfa (hay)
• Warm Season
• Bermudagrass
• Lespedeza

9
Grass Pastures Alone?

• Broad adaptation
• Soil depth, drainage
• Soil acidity and fertility
• More convenient to manage
• Maintenance fertilization
• Drought and temperature tolerance
• Grazing and traffic tolerance
• Lower nutritional quality than legumes

10
Grass Legume Mixtures

• More nutritious than grasses alone
• Digestibility
• Energy and protein content
• Mineral and vitamin concentrations
• Improved conception, foaling, weaning
• Nitrogen fertilizer eliminated (or reduced)
• Seasonal distribution of forage improved
• Require more management than grasses!

11
Steps to Improve Pastures

• Fertilize by soil test
• Control weeds
• Use clovers
• Stockpile tall fescue in fall
• Use proper grazing management

12
Grazing management

• minimize overgrazing
• minimize wasted forage
• reduce spot grazing

13
Horse Ailments on Pasture

• Colic
• Founder
• Diarrhea
• Slobbers
• All are more likely to occur when first grazing
  lush, abundant forage!

14
Pasture Species to avoid

• Sorghum, sudangrass, johnsongrass and esp.
  Sorghum-Sudan hybrids cystitis in grazing
  situations
• German or Foxtail millet kidney and joint
  problems
• Kentucky 31 Fescue????

15
Avoid Health Problems

• Introduce diet changes gradually!
• Feed hay before first grazing
• Graze lush pastures 30 min./half day
• Gradually increase grazing each day
• Several days --gt 2 weeks for change
• Gradual transition avoids most problem

16
Rotational Grazing(Give it a rest!)

• Perimeter fences and cross-fences
• Sub-pastures grazed in sequence
• When A grazed down, animals ? B
• A mowed (if needed), regrows
• Re-graze A when growth adequate
• Enables higher level of management
• Maintain quality, nutritious forage
• Minimize spot- and over-grazing

17
Management Fescue/Clover

• Maintain growth in 2 5 range
• Graze intensively in spring
• Clover cannot tolerate shading
• Quality declines after boot stage
• Use excess forage for hay
• Mow at 2 3 to stimulate regrowth
• Rotational grazing reduces spot grazing
• Avoid overgrazing, especially in summer

18
Bermudagrass Varieties

• Common plant seed or sprigs
• Low productivity, high traffic areas
• Grazing - usually not hay production
• Improved hybrids sprigs
• Tifton 44
• Vaughns Hybrid
• Others good
• Improved varieties mostly for hay

19
Endophyte (E) Effects

• Prolonged gestation, difficult foaling
• Abortion often near term
• Agalactia (no milk) in mares
• Stillbirth or weak foal
• Abnormally thick placenta
• Reduced conception rate

20
Mares Grazing E Fescue

• Remove mares 60- 90 days before foaling
• Feed non-fescue hay
• Monitor udder development
• Monitor foaling
• Make sure foal nurses

21
Minimizing E Effects

• Maintain 30 or more legume in pastures (horse
  owners ???)
• Graze E with less-susceptible animals
• Avoid grazing E during hot weather
• Graze or clip to maintain leafy growth
• Cut fescue for hay at boot early head
• Stockpile for fall winter grazing

22
Replace E Fescue?

• Endophyte improves stress tolerance
• Drought
• Grazing
• Insects
• E- requires better management!
• Maintenance fertilization
• Avoid overgrazing
• Mares dairy cattle 10 infestation

23
MAX-Qwith Friendly Fungus

• Research positive fewer foaling problems, mares
  have normal lactation
• Expensive seed

24
Domperidone

• Expensive
• Vet Only
• Effective

25
Hay for Horses

• Typically provide 1 2 lbs of hay per hundred
  lbs of horse body weight
• Common legumes Alfalfa, Sericea Lespedeza, Red
  Clover
• 2nd cut Red Clover may cause slobbers if black
  mold is present

26
Grass hays

• Timothy
• Orchardgrass
• Max-Q Fescue
• Bermudagrass
• Ryegrass or other small grains

27
Problems

• Mold
• Dust and other contaminants
• Hay belly

28
Round Hay Around Horses

• Not preferred
• Allowed
• Some problems
• Better for hay to not be fed on ground

29
Problems Intake, Contaminants, Transport, Quality
30
Advantages Price and Labor
31
Hay feeders are available which are designed for
horses.

• Tend to have fewer sharp corners to rub off mane
  or catch on halters

32
Summary

• Horses can have pasture, but may take management
• Hay management is also critical for good health
  and performance