Turn out Year Round Pastures

[mgmpasos]

Any recommendations on what type of grass seed you would plant for Paso Fino horses that are turned out in pasture year round.

[Carol Nelson]

Well...my plans are to rotate ryegrass and coastal...but have to see if it keeps raining...and if the coastal grows. Right now I have ryegrass up the yingyang!
I imagine the types of grass differ with the location, and don't know what grows up in your area. Expect the county extension agent would be the one to ask.

Actually with the problems with founder that we have around here, I can't imagine leaving any Paso Fino on year-round turnout. :roll:

[Abejita]

yep me too on the founder Yes there are horses that can take it but not all And believe me I came from a horse industry where they were ALL out 24/7 no matter what the grass was like and I didnt know what founder was unless it had come from illness like PHF or a retained placenta..Are your horses ridden a lot mgm? Are you mainly turning out youngsters who are still developing ? Then you probably will not have to worry about founder as much
The problem stems from the fact that most cool season pasture grasses that we have now days (orchard grass, timothy) have been developed to be high energy/high starch& sugar to feed cattle that NEED it to produce high yield whether it be for milk or meat. Horses on the other hand ,especially breeds like ours are 'engineered' to survive on sparser vegitation.
If you can do some research on cool season grasses ,and native grasses that may be less 'dangerous' (I hate sounding like grass is evil ..its not) They take some more time to get established but research shows they may be safer. Some horses though still cant handle being out on good pasture 24/7. Dry lots are a good thing. My dream set up now would be to have a dry lot w/run -in shed as one half my pasture and good pasture on the other so I could put them on grass for as long as they could handle then on the dry lot for the rest so they COULD be out 24/7

[lisa l aka marci]

I have never planted grass for year-round pasture.......

The pasture the girls are on used to have sheep....it is close to 10 acres....a lot of weeds, grass, trefoil etc mixed in (along with nasty burdocks!!!)..............

For 2 horses on the pasture there has been plenty to eat, now with 3, soon to be 4 there still should be plenty.......

Also - thise pasture started out 20+ years ago as LOTS os goldenrod, weeds etc,......it was mowed and grazed, still offers plenty to eat.......

As for founder....I have had 3 horses on the same pasture with no problem.....yet I had one mare who foundered as a 3 year old on the very same pasture.......and she grew up out there! I think some horses may be more prone - I have to keep an eye on Forio, as Ive been told she is a very easy keeper......

[Candice Burger]

:shock:

OK, then.

First go to your county extension office and ask what the recommended grasses are for pasture. There will be several, so be prepared to do some homework. What works for IL does not work for TN or FL, etc. You get the idea. Allot will depend on your soil type, your livestock management plan, and your local conditions. We used our county extension office allot for advice and looked at allot of pastures before deciding.

Second about founder--find out what grasses carry the fructans in early spring. Allot of founder is caused by too much sugar concentrated in the grass caused by lack of rain and sudden growth--spring and drought conditions. http://www.safergrass.org/ You can still use such grass but you must plan your grazing management to do so. You can cut the spring growth and then let the horses graze or pull them off when drought hits.

Third determine if you want to supplement permanent grass with annual grasses. All grasses have a growing pattern where some are early spring growers, slow down in the heat, begin again in the fall and quit growing below/above certain temperatures. Do your homework and see if you want to plant an annual crop to supplement your pasture during the slower part of the season. Get the costs figured out.

[Pinto Paso]

Yes to the grasses that are best suited to your area... but there are others that can be intorduced but may not be as popular but can benefit your situation..

We plant a mix withing the same pastures/paddocks - spring, cool weather, drought resistant - mixed in a percentage that will allow for a variety that ensures the horses almost always have picking available.

I have introduced grasses that are not even known in the area but have stood up well... grasses that did very well in the cold of Canada and thrive down here. Some do not like the heavy humidity and excessive moisture so like everyone says read up on the grasses before you seed them down.

[mgmpasos]

Here are the three grass mixtures to choose between:

Mixture #1: Classic Pasture Mix

25% Kentuckey Blue
25% Smooth Brome
15% Orchard Grass
25% Timothy
10% NC Vernal Alfalfa

Mixture #2: Thick and Fancy Pasture Mix

35% Kentucky Blue
20% Perennial Rye
15% Timothy
10% NC Vernal Alfalfa
5% Alskike Clover
15% Orchard Grass

Equine’s Delight Pasture / Hay Mix

30% Orchard Grass
30% Perennial Ryegrass
20% Endo-Free Tall Fescl
10% Annual Ryegrass
5% Timothy
5% Kentucky BlueGrass

Also, our friend has a call into the vet in the area for his suggestions. In addition, they are planning on keeping some pastures - grass free, and to rotate pastures, etc. with lien toos.

[Pinto Paso]

1 or 3 - avoid alsike clover (photosensitivity) other clovers are fine.
with the other mixtures, even if you establish an enophite free fescue, eventually it will become a problem unless you plow under and reseed enophite free... I personally would not use any fescue but if these are you only choices.

Can someone confirm that blue grass is a type of fescue - I thought I had read somewhere that it was. If this is the case you will have to ensure it is the endophite free variety.

[Terry Wallace]

Mix #3 with the same advice as Pinto.
I would not want my horses grazing on alfalfa...especially the easy keeper Paso Fino.

I feed alfalfa hay and have for 30 years...but I sure would not want it as a fresh item in my pasture, nor would I want alsike clover for horses.

[reuben T]

bluegrass and fescue are totally different varieties, bluegrass tends to go brown and dry in hot weather, it's better for cooler climates.

[mgmpasos]

Thank you for all of your comments. This is a tremendous help. We are leaning towards number three; however, we are awaiting a call back from the vet.

[Blair]

Have you spoken to the extension agent yet? I went through this last year and found out a few wonderful things! First, my soil test was done free through the state and found that I needed to add lime before any seeding. There happened to be a state grasslands preservation fund that paid for half of the lime. Secondly, the extension agent made recommendations that we use a grass mixture specific to our horses (easy keepers but with limited grazing time) and I found out that all of the commercially available mixes were less than ideal. We ended up using orchard grass, white ladino clover treated with nitrogen fixing bacteria (to replace soil nitrogen taken by the grasses), and I think some rye other grass. We also had a farmer come and drill the seed rather than broadcast and had a great take on the seed. We have one pasture that we have kept the horses off of now since that was done (April 06) as it takes most of the grasses well over a year and maybe 2+ to form a good sod. The pasture they are in is struggling since it gets grazed more. Hopefully by next year, I will have three pastures so I can rotate.

Good luck!

[mgmpasos]

I wanted to thank everyone for their input.

After all the investigating and phone calls, the seed is being purchased (mix 3) tomorrow morning and being mixed - over 1000 lbs of seed.

Then it is up to the farmer who specializes in grass to drill it in. A soil test was conducted. Vets, trainers, advice from this board, management from several large equine barns down the road and local farmers were consulted. Plus, a speciality seed company which is located in the area that does most of the mixes for the midwest is doing the mixture and put in their two cents.

Over 20 acres will be planted. Once in, all of our families will be doing the rain dance. Plus, a good rotation plan is planned with numerous pastures so the grass can be given time to grow.

Then, it is up to mother nature.

Thank you again.

Matthew Marks
MGM Paso Finos
www.mgmpasofinos.com

[lisa l aka marci]

Sounds like apart from us here you have great resources by you!

LUCKY YOU!!

You'll have to post pictures of the finshed product! LOL......

I just purchased a measley 25lb of seed to try to get our back yard looking a little better....most of what I put down last year got washed away! The pasture will probably be nice and green since it is down hill from the house! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Carol Nelson]

Well...Matthew...hope the Lord is as generous with the rainfall for you as He has been for us this year. My ryegrass is growing like a weed...but hope the coastal does as well. We have twenty acres also and hope I can get enough coastal to bale for the entire year.
Sounds like you got a plan...wait til you have to start pulling horses off of it though...because they are getting too fat! Then where to put them when every pasture has grass! :lol:

[CarolU]

Sounds like a plan Mathew....just remember to plan for some dry lot too. Watch your horses and limit the time out for the easy keepers.

Year round pasture, not feeding hay, no stalls to shovel....hmmmm, how would it be?

[mgmpasos]

The seed is ordered, and now things are falling into place.

There is a total of 40 acres on the new property, about 17 acres is planted with mixture 3. The home is already professionally landscaped (currently 2 acres), but we extened the back yard an addition 4 acres. So there are 6 acres for us people to roam along with the dogs (equine free).

We are wanting to put up wrot iron (black) fencing around the "house" to keep the dogs in the yard.

The remaining 17 acres acres is divided, half dry lot and half planted in soybeans which the farmer is going to farm this year. So there is 8 plus acres left for dry dirt pastures. I wanted to leave an area that was grass free.

Morton Buildings is working up prices for barns and lien toos. We had planned on stalls for our daughter's gelding, our colts and stallions, and just lien toos for the broodmares and fillies, but then after reading everyones post are now investigating stalls for the mares and fillies. We just have to watch the $$$$$.

I wanted two barns anyways to keep the colts and stallions seperate from the mares and fillies, so it just gave me even more reason to investigate the mares / filly barn now instead of later.

Plus, we have a meeting with "the Fence guys" for white fencing on Wednesday. Fencing this acreage I know is not going to be cheap. So everything can get rolling quickly.

Matthew Marks
MGM Paso Finos
www.mgmpasofinos.com

[mgmpasos]

Picture of the house:

http://homepics.realtor.com/image3/http/chicago/submit/large/033/06238972a.jpg

[Pasogirlz]

What a dream place. 8-) You guys are so lucky. Congratulations. I know you have worked hard for this.