Summer Pasture for Horses

Weekly Newspaper Article for The News-Democrat, Carrollton, KY

(University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture)

With pastures greening up well across the county, it is time to start planning ahead with summer pasture needs for your horses.

Pasture provides a significant percentage of horses' nutrient needs.  Although horses have more grass than they can consume in the spring when moisture is adequate, the hot and dry conditions of summer greatly reduce available pasture.  Good management is the key to getting through this growth slump.



Some livestock producers might use temporary summer pasture to overcome the summer growth slump.  However, horse owners do not have this option, because many forages used for summer pastures are not suitable for horses.

For example, a beef cattle producer might use a sorghum-sudan hybrid.  Horse owners should avoid this hybrid because it is known to cause serious problems in their animals.

Pearl millet is a potential forage for horse pastures during summer growth slumps.  Owners considering this forage need to practice good grazing management strategies such as rotating horses off pasture when it has been grazed to 5 to 6 inches high.

Rotational grazing on cool summer forages is another way to provide some pasture during the growth slump.  When using this system, it is important to prevent overgrazing.

Dividing pastures with an electric fence is a cost-effective way to allow horses to graze one area while limiting access to others until the forage is needed.  Owners need to limit time on an area so horses do not graze the forage below 3 to 4 inches.

If conditions limit pasture re-growth, owners may establish a "sacrifice area" to feed hay and grain to meet horses' nutritional needs.  Using a suitable feeder will reduce hay waste.  "Sacrifice areas" are similar to a dry lot, but are an effective way to protect the remaining pastures.

For more information about horse pastures, check out the following UK publication, ID-147: Establishing Horse Pastures.  To learn more about rotational grazing, see UK publication, ID-143: Rotational Grazing.