If you read our last post and are interested in grazing horses at night, check out these do’s and don’ts:
Do’s:
- Secure perimeter fencing and be sure all gates are latched properly.
- Have plenty of fresh water available for horses in their grazing area.
- If mosquitoes or nighttime insects are a problem, use fly repellent before putting your horses out.
- To avoid overgrazing, implement a rotational grazing program.
- Remember each horse is unique, therefore one horse’s dietary needs might not be the same as another’s.
- Learn what your horse’s healthy weight should be. Ask your veterinarian or a specialist in equine nutrition. Make any changes in diet gradually to give the horse’s system time to adjust.
Don’ts:
- Don’t overgraze pastures. This may kill healthy nutritious grass and encourages weeds that might be higher in sugars.
- Don’t graze during cool weathers (approximately 40° F or 4° C and lower), especially if there is frost. Pasture plants store carbohydrates at very high levels during these times, making them extremely high in sugars and dangerous to graze.
- Don’t forget that late summer grass—brown, yellow, or dried grasses – can be very high in sugars too. Pastures are healthiest for horses (lowest in sugars) during the active growing season when plants are green and not stressed. Therefore, graze horses during the active growing seasons (spring and summer), and limit grazing of dried-out pastures.
Follow these tips and see what fits you and your horses’ needs better!
