Your Connection to Successful Habitat

Establishing and Maintaining A Quality Horse Pasture

Many horse owners are looking for the miracle seed that they can simply throw onto their existing pasture and POOF . . . their pasture is green and beautiful.  Now let’s get real; there is no such thing as miracle seed and without proper planning and management your pastures will not reach their potential.  It is imperative that we put together a plan for our pastures that includes soil tests, fertility, tillage or no-till, proper seed, planting, resting time, and management.

Soil Tests

This is THE most important step in any pasturing program.  It seems that I write about this step in each and every article.  Without the roadmap that this soil test will give us, we are simply shooting in the dark.  We need to check and correct the pH and plan for the addition to any fertilizers that may be necessary.  A soil test will measure soil acidity and the report will provide recommendations for the application of lime to neutralize soil acidity.

Tillage or No-till?

If you find yourself in a situation where your existing pasture is being controlled by some evasive weeds that cannot be controlled by herbicides or hoeing perhaps we need to consider tilling your soil and starting all over.  A tractor mounted rototiller or an aggressive disc will work just fine for this job.  It is imperative to provide a well firmed seed bed for proper germination of the seed.  Therefore after tilling the soil, a cultipacker must be run over the bare ground to press most of the air from the soil; as seen in the diagram below.

For the majority of us, there is no need to till the soil prior to seeding.  You would be better served if you can find a local farmer or pasture management company that has access to a no-till seeder.  Here the no-till seeder will open up the ground and properly drop the seed into your current stand at the proper soil depth.  All that you need to do is give your pasture the needed time to allow this new seeding to establish itself and you can release your animals.  This no-till approach will speed up the necessary establishment time compared to a tilled approach.  If you are unable to locate a service orientated company to work with you and are located in the Northeastern US contact Improved Habitat at www.improvedhabitat.com, info@improvedhabitat.com, or 570-745-3720.

Purchase of Seed

It is important to find a seed mixture that is developed for horse pastures and specific to your region of the country.  I do not recommend purchasing just any old pasture mix from the local feed store or tractor supply department store.  Find a mixture that does not include high energy grasses such as tetraploid perennial ryegrasses or Italian ryegrass.  If the counter person cannot help you in determining a safe mix for your horse, find another source for this seed.  A quality seed that is readily available is Equinemaster Pasture Mix.  Check out the www.equinemaster.info website for a dealer or distributor near you.

How about clover seed?  I recommend adding 2 to 3 pounds of white clover to a pasture after the initial seeding year.  The white clover does not attract the fungus that red clover does and therefore is safe if managed properly.  White clover is able to pull Nitrogen from the air and make it available in the soil for both itself and the plants that surround them.   Keep in mind that the reserves of the grass are at the bottom 2 to 4 inches while the reserves for the clover are at the soil or below.  Therefore do not over graze a pasture, especially if clovers or alfalfas are present.  The grasses will be shut down while to legumes will take off; often taking over a stand.

Planting of Seed

If you have decided to go with conventional tillage and you have provided a well prepared seed bed you will need to use a method of planting that uniformly spread your seed and pack it into the soil.  One method is using a Brillion type seeder as seed in the photo below.  This type of seeder has a cultipacker in front of the seed dispersal system and another behind.  This is assure your seed bed is well firmed and then will correctly press your seed into the soil. 

If no-till is a better option for you make sure that your operator does not plant your seed any deeper than ¼ inch deep.  Small seeds do not have enough resources to emerge from any deeper in the soil.  If possible, ask your operator to criss-cross the pattern to assure that the spacing will fill in quicker.  To do this, the operator will need to split the amount of seed in half and go over the pasture twice in opposite directions.

Resting Time

It is recommended that you give this new seeding adequate rest prior to placing any animals on it.  Generally, I like to see this new pasture growth being mowed two to three times prior to allowing the animals to use it lightly.  This allows the grass plants a chance to tiller and thicken up.  During this process, the root structure will grow and produce a thick sod.  A good method to test whether your horse should be released on a pasture is to take a big handful of grass and give it a good yank.  If the roots do not lodge, it is safe.  This process may take up to 8 weeks before it is safe to place your horse in the new pasture.

Management

Now that your new seeding is established it is time to manage your pasture.  Make sure to follow the recommendations from your soil test for proper fertilization.  To lower the chance for founder and other digestive disorders caused by high carbohydrates, allow your horses to graze this spring flush a couple of times before applying the initial 40-50 lbs of fertilizer.  It is during this initial spring growth that the sugar content is at its greatest.  Adding Nitrogen fertilizer to this new growth will only bring these levels to higher levels. 

Maintain your pastures in the 3 to 8 inch range to allow maximum sunlight penetration.  If founder is an issue, allow the pasture growth to reach 10-12 inches.  This will lower the amount of available sunlight and allow the grass to mature, thus lowering the amount of energy (sugars, carbohydrates) to the plant.

Never allow your horses to graze the pasture down below three inches!