Effects of 27 mo of rotational vs. continuous grazing on horse and pasture condition

Translational Animal Science · 2020 · 29 citations

• Animal science
• Biology
• Agronomy

< 0.05. The C horses were maintained on pasture for 100% of the study duration (844 d; August 1, 2014 to November 22, 2016), while R horses had access to pasture for approximately half of this time (408 ± 33 d). The average length of grazing bout per rotational grazing section during the grazing season increased numerically each year from 7.88 ± 0.76 d in 2014, 10.0 ± 0.61 d in 2015, and 10.9 ± 0.80 d in 2016. Average horse body condition score (BCS) and body fat differed by treatment, with C horses (BCS 6.3 ± 0.05, 17.9 ± 0.15% body fat) greater than R horses (BCS 5.9 ± 0.05, 16.8 ± 0.15% body fat). Both sward height and herbage mass were greater in R (11.8 ± 0.1 cm tall; 1,513 ± 41 kg/ha) than C pastures (6.9 ± 0.1 cm tall; 781 ± 35 kg/ha). The R pastures had higher proportions of vegetative and total cover, planted grasses (tall fescue and orchardgrass), and weeds but lower proportions of grass weeds (nonplanted grasses) and other (rocks, litter, bare ground, etc.) as compared with C pastures. Digestible energy, acid detergent fiber, and calcium were higher in R vs. C pastures; however, crude protein was lower in R vs. C pastures. There were no significant differences between treatments for average monthly amount of hay fed (C, 597 ± 34.1 vs. R, 659 ± 34.1 kg) or average monthly pasture maintenance cost (C, $17.55 ± 3.14 vs. R, $20.50 ± 3.14). This study is one of few replicated experiments comparing the effects of rotational and continuous grazing for horses on pasture quality, horse condition, and production costs. The results here support the recommendation of rotational grazing for production, environmental, and ecological purposes.