Rotational Patterns for Mixed Grazing

Introduction

There is not a steady growth of grass all year around – at times there is too much grass and other times too little. There are methods we can use to utilize the grazing to suit our needs and cope with environmental factors. Horses can be a bit fussy – they like the fresh, new growth, and if it gets a bit long, they tend to leave it. They will also avoid grazing in areas where there are droppings and the field will be left with ‘roughs’ – areas of longer untouched grass.

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Mixed grazing

Horses can be mixed with sheep or cattle in the field, or grazing can be rotated between species. There are many benefits to this, but other considerations to make as well. Sheep like short grass – 2” or less and will eat it down very short, and horses prefer grass 4-6” high. Cattle have long tongues that they wrap around the longer grass and pull it off and they like grass above 4”, therefore will eat down the longer grass and leave it at a more desirable height for the horses.

Cattle and sheep have different worms to horses, which makes them useful for cleaning up the paddock, as they can ingest the worm eggs and the larvae will not survive and thus break the life cycle. 

Sheep can be used to clean up the paddock before giving it a break during the winter, and this will prevent a lot of dying matter after the frost from longer grass, which could lead to moulds in the grassland. Sheep can also be used early in spring for growth if the paddocks are not being used until later for horses, and they are lighter so cause less damage to the ground. The paddock will need to be suitably fenced to contain the sheep, and careful thought put into the types of horses they are grazing with, as young or coltish horses may chase the sheep and can cause serious injury to them.

Cattle can graze with the horses, if no young foals are present in the herd. Fencing for cattle will need to be sturdy, as they like to rub on things. The land would not be suitable for cattle if it is very wet or has shorter grass – they will poach the land, cause compaction and this will lead to loss of use for the horses. If the animals are grazing at the same time, sufficient land needs to be available. Cattle and sheep can be bought or possibly borrowed from a local farmer. Cattle will need to have handling facilities available, although if they are smaller weanling calves, a mobile crush will be sufficient. Different livestock on the land needs to be declared and registered on the herd number.

It is important to note that mineral blocks that are used in paddocks for sheep and cattle are not suitable for horses.

Some grazing/rotational patterns:

Cattle → Horses → Sheep

Horses → Cattle & Sheep

Horses, Cattle & Sheep together

Topping

Topping will tidy up the paddock and remove excess growth from the grass before the seed heads form (ideally 4-6”) and gets undesirable for horses to eat – this will also encourage new leafy shoots and therefore more grass growth. The paddock will need to be accessible for machinery and the land suitable to be worked on – wet ground would get compacted and the grass damaged. If the land has a lot of weeds this would need to be addressed before topping, as poisonous weeds such as ragwort can become more palatable to horses after being cut and they might not know they are eating it – this can cause serious illness in horses and even death. It may be possible to pay a local farmer to top the fields for you, which will reduce costs of machinery purchase and maintenance if it not being used on a regular basis, but they may not be readily available when it is an optimum time for you.

The timing of topping will vary each year depending on environmental factors relating to grass growth. If there is early growth, topping may need to be done in May, whilst other years it may be as late as August. Excessive grass topped in the paddock will need to be removed - the dying organic matter could suppress the growth of new grass underneath, cause moulds and the soil may become acidic.  

Intensive system

Intensive grazing allows a higher stocking density and is useful to those who have a smaller amount of land. It is a more labour-intensive system, requiring more management but allows restriction and control of grass intake.

Intensive rotational grazing

Ideally there should be at least 3 grazing areas, around 3 acres each, which could be permanent paddocks or divided by electric fencing. One paddock would be grazed for 10-14 days and then moved to the 2nd paddock. Paddock 1 can then be rested, rolled, topped and fertilized if needed. The droppings should be removed by a paddock vacuum, manual poo picking or on a very hot dry day it can be spread by harrowing which will dry out and kill the worm larvae, although care should be taken as if the environmental factors are not correct (not hot enough and damp), worms and eggs will be spread across the paddock and worsen the burden on the field.

There will be peaks and troughs in nutrition with this system, as when the horses first enter the paddock there will be lush fresh grass, which becomes less as they graze it and then they move to another paddock again with fresh grass, so it would not be suitable for ponies who suffer with laminitis or gain weight easily – they should enter the field at a later stage or be muzzled to limit intake. At the beginning of the system when there is an abundance of grass, the time in each paddock may be shortened to avoid longer growth building up in the other areas, which the horses won’t eat, or cattle could graze it first (as in the rotational mixed grazing) and sheep could follow, but extra acreage and longer rotation time would need to be available – the paddocks should be rested for at least 3 weeks.

Intensive rotational grazing - horses only

Intensive rotational grazing – cattle & horses

Intensive Strip grazing

This method can be used from spring when the grass growth is strong and there is an abundance of grass. Electric fencing (tape & posts) will be needed to divide the paddock and an electric box to supply a current and prevent the horses walking through it – either a mains electric or battery box. The taller post stakes are more useful as a double strand can be used to prevent smaller ponies going under and larger horses jumping it. The fence can be moved to allow a small amount of fresh grass on a daily basis, which gives the horses a steady supply of new grass and less wastage. As the fence moves forward, another fence can be moved up at the back of the paddock to allow rest, re-growth and management of the land – although it may not be a big enough area to manage with machinery.

As this method is over a smaller area, daily management will be needed to remove the droppings to decrease worm burden and rough patches of grass. If the field has an automatic water trough, alternative water supply may be needed at some stage as it will probably be cut off with electric tape in the resting areas.

Extensive system

Extensive grazing systems require larger areas of land than the other systems. They require less input from a management point of view, but there is less control over grass intake, therefore not being suitable for all types of equine.

Extensive long-term rotations

This is similar to the intensive rotational system, but on a longer time frame and requiring more acreage per animal. If the horses are on a suitable worming programme the parasite levels will be greatly reduced, as the other livestock will be effective in cleaning up the worms, as if eaten by cattle or sheep the equine worm larvae will not mature and not be passed back to the pasture.

A three-year rotation

Extensive free grazing

A large amount of land is required for this type of grazing, but it is useful for horses that are not needing daily handling or haven’t started in work yet i.e. youngstock, retired horses, riding school/trekking horses turned out for the winter. The horses are allowed to roam over a large area of land at free will and eat in areas of preferred grazing. Grazing other livestock at the same time is a good idea as they will clean up the areas that the horses leave and encourage re-growth. This is a natural grazing system for horses, as in the wild they would be moving over a large area of land in their herd, and it would allow young horses to get a steady supply of nutrition for growth, rather than having forced growth with concentrate feeds and long periods standing in a box. Management of the land would be harder and horses would not be as handy for daily checks, veterinary attention, farrier, worming, etc. Horses that need weight management would not be suited to this, unless it was poorer grazing land, for example welsh ponies on the welsh mountains, who will get fatter in summer and then use their excess weight in winter months when the temperatures drop and the grass is poor.

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Conclusion

Ideally every year we would have an excess of grass that exceeds our demands, but as the environmental factors dictating how the grass grows can be so changeable, we cannot predict this. By managing the land, it can be utilized to its full potential, and this is dependent on the type of land, size of area and type of horses and other livestock that graze there. Another method that can be used in the case of excess grass is closing off the grassland before Christmas, cutting it when there is sufficient growth and producing hay or haylage.

References

• JESSICA SOLEY. (CLASSNOTES). Dealing with excess grass. Received 20/11/2019.

Illustrations

• FODDER FARM. (ONLINE). Fodder and Forage for Horses – a Natural System. Photo credit: Sarah Harding. [Accessed on 22/11/2019]. Available at: https://fodderfarm.co.nz/2019/02/03/fodder-and-forage-for-horses-a-natural-system/
• HORSE AND RIDER. (ONLINE). Strip Grazing Explained. [Accessed 22/11/2019]. Available at: https://www.horseandrideruk.com/expert-advice/articles/strip-grazing-explained/
• TOP CUT MOWING. (ONLINE). Paddock Maintenance. [Accessed on: 22/11/2019]. Available at: http://www.topcutmowing.co.uk/paddock-mowing
• WIKIMEDIA. (ONLINE).  Sheep, cattle and a horse in a field near Blackrock. Published 1^st July 2007. [Accessed on 22/11/2019]. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sheep,_cattle_and_a_horse_in_a_field_near_Blackrock_-_geograph.org.uk_-_482659.jpg