You see them everywhere in the Ozarks: little one-to-three-acre “ranchettes” with a couple of horses “grazing” on bare-dirt stubble. Chances are the folks who own those horses don’t realize how much acreage it takes to support a horse.
Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist for the University of Missouri Extension’s Southwest Region, and Dona Funk, livestock specialist for the Extension in Cedar County, said a good rule of thumb is five acres per horse or three if the pasture is improved. Horses tend to overgraze anyway because unlike cattle they can chew grass right to the ground. And they’ll go back to the same areas they've overeaten already, and continue to pick them clean.
So how can land owners improve forage for a horse? Schnakenberg recommended breaking the acreage into multiple paddocks and moving the horses around. While grazing management is hard to put a pencil to since it depends on type of forage, total acreage, number of animals and number of paddocks, he recommended resting pasture at least 20 days.
What makes for good horse forage?
Fescue is standard cool-season forage for the Ozarks. It’s probably the only forage to consider, said Funk, because it’s durable and will stand up to tough grazing from horses. However, fescue must be managed because of the toxic endophyte it may contain that’s harmful to horses and cattle. Pregnant mares absolutely must be removed from fescue at least 60 days before foaling, and access to lush fescue, particularly in the spring, should be limited for any horse.
Max-Q is a “friendly” fescue found to be very viable horse forage without the endophyte problem, according to Schnakenberg. However, converting to it requires spraying and planting a smother crop to get rid of the old fescue. That can tie up pasture for a long time, not to mention the cost of spraying, seeding and fertilizing.
Bermuda grass and switchgrass are other warm-season choices, though switchgrass will require stepped-up management. Schnakenberg also recommend Red River crabgrass and Quick-N-Big crabgrass as summer annuals.
Before any seeding, do a soil test through your county extension office or soil and water conservation district to know what amendments are needed. Lime is probably the best additive, and fall is the best time to spread it.
Hiring contractors to lime, fertilize and seed a small acreage may be cost prohibitive, so the next option is to supplement the forage with good quality brome, orchard grass or Bermuda grass hay, Funk said. Unless you have a performance horse, a growing horse or a pregnant mare, good hay should be enough to support your horse without grain or supplements.
