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
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P.O. Box 218
East Petersburg, PA 17520-0218
207