Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,2001, Foraging Around- HORSE PASTURE MANAGEMENT Dave Robison Forage and Turf Agronomist Ampac Seed Company Horses...mighty, powerful, majestic beasts of beauty. Al though we picture a robust stallion or a brood mare in a lush green pasture, such a backdrop isn’t reality for many, if not most horse owners. Most horse pastures are far less than lush. However, es tablishing and maintaining productive pastures isn’t a difficult process. By follow ing a few simple steps, most pastures can become lush, green, and quite productive. The average horse needs You may be asking, “What does BR mean?” BR stands for a Branched Root characteristic in alfalfa. Chemgro Seeds Paragon BR is an alfalfa with a branching root system. In tough wet conditions, Paragon BR will utilize a branching root system in poor areas. A taproot is utilized under „ , „ . Moderate Resistance normal conditions. BR means longer lasting stands of alfalfa in fields with less than perfect soil conditions. More of the root system stays above the water table, better securing the plant in the soil when freezing and thawing occurs. This branched rooted trait will adjust accordingly as the moisture stress intensifies. Paragon BR is a must for those uneven fields with low wet areas. Places where conventional alfalfas tend to die early, Paragon will provide you with high quality, even stand of alfalfa for a full four years. Paragon BR is a fall dormancy 3 alfalfa, with an excellent winter hardiness of 1.6. It is well adapted to the soils, conditions and diseases we face here in the Northeast. Chemgro Uj 1 (800) 346-4769 (GROW) 717-569-3296 "Quality SEEDS, at reasomßk prices" about two acres of good pas ture for grazing (per horse). So, if you own five horses, you will need 10 acres of pas ture to adequately take care of their needs. If grazing is not available, the average horse goes through about 17 pounds of forage per day (three flakes of hay), or more than 6,000 pounds of hay/forage per year. One acre of productive grass could easily produce that amount of forage. But, on a short, thin pasture, it may take 12-15 acres to pro duce 6,000 pounds of forage. Management Step #1: Fertilize A pasture can become very (Turn to Page 22) Disease Resistance Highly ReM«(*nt Rfsistani I tm Resistance Susceptible