Grazing Systems for Horses

Pasturing horses is often the most economical and easiest way to feed, as long as pastures are managed properly. Farm owners have several options for grazing horses. Some grazing strategies are better at maintaining pasture ground cover and reducing the risk of overgrazing than others. Here are some grazing strategies to choose from; pick one that best matches your management system:

• Continuous (24hrs/7day a week) grazing
• Limiting turnout time (used most often with horses)
• Rotational grazing

Continuous Grazing

When horses have access to pasture 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the whole grazing season, they are being managed under a continuous grazing system. This strategy requires the least daily management and can potentially provide most of a horse’s nutritional requirements. Unfortunately, continuous grazing often results in overgrazing and pasture deterioration, especially on heavily stocked farms.

A limitation of this system is that it allows horses to be very selective. Animals repeatedly graze the best-tasting plants. This stresses plants beyond their ability to survive. Pasture is never allowed to recover from grazing. Over time, pastures are turned into dry lots where only weeds will grow.

For this strategy to provide adequate feed and protect pasture quality, you will need 2 to 4 acres per 1,000-pound horse.

Limiting Turnout

This strategy (allowing daily access to pasture for shorter periods each day) is referred to as limiting turnout. Sometimes this means that pastures are only used for a portion of each day, in which case they don’t get grazed down as quickly. Often, half-day turnout follows seasonal patterns, where horses are outside overnight in the summer when it is cooler, and outside during the daytime in winter when it is warmer. Pastures are still subject to overgrazing since they do not get a significant recovery period.

Conversely, on heavily stocked farms, this could mean that groups of horses rotate on and off the pastures all day (i.e., a morning group, afternoon group, and overnight group all use the same field). This is a popular option for crowded farms like boarding operations where it is most economical to maximize use of the facility. While turnout may be limited for each horse, the pasture is still used continuously and this strategy frequently results in overgrazing.

Rotational grazing

With this grazing strategy, a large pasture is subdivided into several smaller subunits. Horses are allowed to graze one pasture subunit at a time when forage height is at least 6-8 inches. When forage has been grazed down to half its initial height, animals can be rotated into the next subunit. The previously grazed cell is then allowed to recover; it generally takes about 20-30 days for the forage to regrow to a minimum 6-8 inches in height. Once forage has recovered, horses can be returned to that pasture to graze.

This strategy requires the most daily monitoring, but also yields the highest returns on available forage. When used properly, it can produce considerable forage even on small farms. It also maintains a high amount of forage ground cover, reducing weed growth and erosion concerns.

The size and number of small pasture subunits can vary based on available acreage, the number and size of horses, the productivity of the pasture, and how long the horses graze each cell. Ideally, each pasture cell should contain enough grass to sustain horses for 3 to 7 days. Grazing for longer than 7 days may increase damage and pasture recovery time due to horses grazing forage regrowth and soil compaction, mainly near high traffic areas. Smaller subunits will be grazed faster and more uniformly than larger subunits. 

After the horses are placed in this system, remember to check the grass every day and if needed, move the horses to the next pasture before overgrazing begins. You have to monitor the grazing progress and rotate horses to another cell or confine them to a holding area or sacrifice lot if you run out of pastures with 6-8 inches of forage available. It can take some trial and error to get the system working just right.

Read How to Make Rotational Grazing Work on Your Horse Farm for more tips.

Conclusion

There are many factors to consider when selecting a grazing system for horses. Continuous grazing will often lead to overgrazed areas within the pasture and will require more frequent renovation. Rotational grazing aims to minimize overgrazing and use pastures more efficiently, but does take some additional management and setup. Whichever system you choose, remember the importance of allowing forages a rest period to regrow and recover from grazing.