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Farming
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Why worry about your grass? While many people’s experience of owning and riding their horse is relatively trouble-free, a considerable number of horses and ponies succumb to a wide array of serious health and behaviour problems every year despite their owners spending vast amounts of money on professional advice. Many are put down, turned out, sold for the wrong reasons, don’t reach their full performance potential or are retired far too early. Others become metabolic, get laminitis, are diagnosed with ‘sacroiliac’ problems, become head-flickers/shakers, get mysterious bouts of colic, allergies and skin conditions or mud-fever, buck or spook people off, are forever needing therapies and treatments for ‘muscle-soreness’ or have endless trouble with saddlefitting. Some horses become over-reactive and therefore dangerous. The combination of an over-reactive horse with a person who does not ‘read’ these signs is a recipe for a serious accident.
Jenny Paterson
BSC ZOOLOGY AND BIOLOGY
These are the ones we deal with on a daily basis and believe me the emotional toll on their owners is significant. Let’s face it if your horse isn’t right it ruins your whole day. Add to that the economic toll which can strain relationships because the non-horsey half doesn’t understand. Desperate owners spend significant amounts of money on every treatment known to mankind. They spend on everything except the ‘one thing’ that will make the most difference: their grass and its proper management and stock-piling suitable hay. A horse in his natural habitat trickle feeds on high fibre grasses, bushes, shrubs and trees. Plants that have grown on unfertile ground,
deriving a little bit of nutrition from a lot of low nutrient density mouthfuls. He would not get to eat socalled ‘improved’ grasses like rye-grass or legumes like clover and Lucerne or grains like oats, corn or barley. He has ample energy without ever consuming any processed feeds (‘equine junk food’). Fast forward to current horse-keeping practices where horses are confined behind fences and forced to eat unbalanced re-growth, even fertilised and supposedly ‘improved’ grasses. Their pasture often consists of a single species sown with clover. Gone is the variety and fibre content of their natural diet. Unfertile land is very low in potassium and nitrogen. This is why farmers apply such nutrients in considerable quantities to boost growth and ensure sufficient grass to fatten livestock. It is this strategy of feeding horses like other livestock that contributes to many health and behaviour problems. However, by being mindful
A picture of blooming health: Wild horses from the very unfertile sage-brush country in the background.
of your Pasture Management it is possible to successfully keep horses on your grass. Here are some considerations: • Avoid over-grazing by not over-stocking. Very short grass is stressed and takes a lot longer to recover from being heavily grazed. • Implement a longer rotation so grass can achieve a more mature stage of growth, ensuring a higher fibre content with far more suitable mineral balances. 24/7 access may not be possible all year long. • Use an effective broadleaf spray annually to eliminate clover and other undesirable plants like Cape-Weed. Early spring is a good time. • Become aware. Observe, remember, compare. Plan
well ahead. Identify your grasses. Fill out the ‘Heath Check’ on www.calmhealthyhorses.com and supplement your horse accordingly • Learn which feeds to avoid because they make it harder for your horse to stay calm and healthy If you are renting your grazing, your ability to manage pasture may be limited but not impossible. You may be able to, with the help of temporary fencing, implement some of the points above. You may have to rely more on suitable supplements. Either way understanding how your grass is affecting your horse will empower you to make the best decisions.
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