Pasture and Grazing - the main source of food for horses

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1 Pasture and Grazing - the main source of food for horses by Maksida Vogt There are many theories regarding proper diet for horses. Many, of these theories, are of the opinion that feeding of horses is to be designed depending on the breed and lifestyle. It is often assumed that no diet exists that is suitable for all horses. Observation of Nature teaches us something else. There is a feed regime which is equally suitable for all horses and that is primarily the landscape vegetation. The most important part of a healthy horse diet is roughage and the most important roughage is at the pasture with its edible shrubs and trees. For the most part elements that characterize a good horse pasture contains contain various grasses, herbs, shrubs and trees. This is what is meant by good pasture. AL Center Rainbow Appaloosa, France, Summer Especially in Germany there is the stubbornly remaining misconception that one should control horse food intake or even limit the horses to it. The Germans have a reputation for being conscientious and accurate, there are even horse owners who weigh the food following exact tables and the horses are fed according to specific calculations. This concept invented by the human is actually not beneficial for the wellbeing of the horse. The horse species, as a whole, eats the same food - particular breed is irrelevant, but the individual needs of how much of it is required in the balance of health and wellbeing, is known intimately only by the individual horse alone. If we want to know our horses are healthy, then we must orient ourselves to nature and we should make ourselves aware that the horses - if they have a the right space available to live in - live very well without us. Our task should therefore be to offer the horses a suitable habitat and to realize that the grazing with browsing is vital for horse wellbeing because this is the environmental niche for horse species.

2 Unrestricted access to horse appropriate pasture should be given for each horse. A species-rich horse pasture is both prophylaxis and therapy at the same time. Since the horse owners often have pastures that are already specifically planted for sheep or cattle farming, they have accompanying fear of colic, laminitis and other diseases that are mentioned in the context of overbred grass. It is important to understand that horses can also tolerate these pastures without problems if they would stay out all year and have the hay permanently available. Over time, each field can be corrected for the horses. In a small area where nature cannot regulate itself a regular targeted seeding of the missing grasses and herbs should be made. Regular supply of humus with good compost from horse manure and the remains of the hay help the meadows to hold up well. If the grass is too acidic, then you can help out by spreading lime, which is alkaline and will correct the ph level. Fertilized cattle pastures should however get no further applications of any sort of nitrogen. If you cannot read a pasture, then a soil sample is useful however you do need to be aware of variances and fluctuations inherent in soil samples and work with these in mind. If you have enough space available then you would need to do nothing because nature would regulate the vegetation cycles. Each year then some other plants would grow which are useful for the balance of the soil. One should refrain from regular low mowing so that the meadow grasses can mature over time and become easier for the horses to digest. Only mow in the case of small areas where trampling causes plant invasion threat to gain the upper hand over mixed grasses, then the small area should be mowed in time to control the spread. It is important to understand that the plant is not a problem (nature does nothing without a reason) but it is the too small area, which is available to the horses in this case, that is the problem.

3 Pasture Germany, Summer AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer A full-fledged horse pasture should have a great bandwidth of grasses, legumes and herbs so that the horses can stay healthy and get enough nutrients. Upper grasses are strengthened by haymaking and sub grasses by grazing. You can also sow oats and alfalfa in the pasture between the grass varieties that is recommended for lawns that are intended for haymaking. This gives especially valuable hay that the horses eat with gusto. If you do not have enough space, then you can sow a herb strips next to the pasture. When the horses partly

4 get access to them, they take the valuable nutrients and medicine substances and the herbs thrive better than in the grass on a too small area which is highly trampled. AL Center RAinbow Appaloosa, France, Spring Important upper grasses : orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), woolly honey grass (Holcus lanatus), timothy grass (Phleum pratense), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis), meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis). Important sub grasses: comb grass (Cynosurus cristatus), kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), bent grass (Agrostis capillaris), red fescue (Poaceae Festuca), native ryegrass (Lolium) Legumes : alfalfa (Medicago sativa), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), Bastard clover (Trifolium hybidum), white clover (Trifolium repens) and red clover (Trifolium pratense). AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer

5 Herbs: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), lawn daisy (Bellis perennis), comfrey (Symphytum officinalis), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), plantain (Plantago lanceolata), milk thistle (Silybum marianum), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), calendula (Calendula officinalis), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), peppermint (Mentha piperita), sage dead nettle (Lamium album), sage (Salvia officinalis), coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), chickweed (Stellaria media), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), greater burnet saxifrage (Pimpinella major), sunflower ( Helianthus spp.). Trees: willow (Salix), birch (Betulaceae)), lime (Tilia spec), maple (Acer), alder (Alnus), sweet chestnut (Castanea saliva), ash (Fraxinus), walnut (Juglans regia), larch (Larix), poplar (Papulus spec.), wild cherry (Prunus avium), cherry (Prunus avium), plums (Prunus domestica), wild pear (Pyrus pyraster), mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), elm (Ulmus), apple (Malus), mulberry (Morus), Pear (Pyrus), apricots (Prunis armeniaca), peach (Prunus persica). AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Summer Bush /shrub: chokeberry (Aronia melonocarpa ), hazelnut (Corylus avellana), Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus), buckthorn (Frangula alnus), sea buckthorn (Hippophea rhamnoides), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Pupur willow (Salix purpurea), Currant (Ribes), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) citrus (Citrus sp). AL Centre RAinbow Appaloosa, France, Autumn

6 These are some of the most important plants belonging to a horse pasture. In the wild the horses would have far more than 500 different plants are available, so it is important to understand that a small pasture with only a few different grasses can not cover even a fraction of the nutritional needs of a horse. Even the occasional poisonous plants are important because these are of value when selectively chosen, by the horses, for medicine. If we control as in shorten the horse's time to graze, then we practice direct damage to their health. The horses know that their time on the pasture is limited so they are forced to eat very quickly (because they need the nutrients and also a certain amount of grass and fresh plants) and so they take even large amounts of grass quickly for which they would normally take slowly over a longer period of time. This increases the likelihood for flatulence, colic, laminitis and other related diseases because the stomach of the horse allows only a continuous intake in small portions of food. Therefore many diseases of our domesticated horses are based on the unnatural keeping and false stall management. Man interferes with the horse in their natural and healthy food intake. If there is no pasture available for the horses and no pasture solution to arrive at, then one should consider whether to give up horse keeping for animal welfare reasons and in the interests of the animals. All horse facilities are set up and therefore all can be adapted further. Wild Horses Bosnia and Herzegowina Pasture also provides the hay, which is the most important forage in winter for the horse. The horse's body needs this roughage, which in their cecum (a part of the intestine) is digested and produces the heat for the horse's body. This is very important for thermoregulation. The horses burn the hay to keep warm. The alfalfa hay is slightly laxative, rich in good protein and vitamins and easy to digest. The more grasses and herbs are available in the hay, the better quality it has. The hay should be dry, delightfully fragrant and free of dust. Haylage and silage are unsuitable as primary food for horses and cows. Just as the horse needs certain substances from the hay in the winter, they also need the spring grass and other plants on the pasture when nature puts them there. The horse should be able to eat as the grass and the plants grow. Not only do they get important nutrients from the plants but also important information for the changeover to the new season. Most of all the horses graze directly after sunrise and in the evening before sunset. In summer it is important that the horses can graze at night, they prefer the cool night air without annoying insects and the grass that is less stressed by the heat of the day.

7 AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Spring The horses absolutely need to be able to graze at pasture to get the specific nutrients they otherwise never can get. Fresh grass is a source of vitamins, rich in vitamins A, E and beta -carotene. These vitamins are little or non-existent in the hay, because by drying they are lost. A vitamin A deficiency can be shown by the fact that the hoof horn is bad, the flexor tendon is sensitive or lameness occurs. Artificial vitamins are tiny isolated pieces of information missing the remaining parts to complete picture artificial vitamins cannot replace the natural ones. Horses can live without pasture too, but the effects are devastating for their body and psyche, all the more because they are not immediately visible but they show up over the years via disease. Psychological component of grazing is to be very highly classified. The horses come to grazing in a state of deep ease. To lower the head to graze and find an abundance of food is their primary instinct. To sort the plants with the moving lips, to find and eat these they need in this moment - is an intimate connection to nature and confidence in self. To be surrounded by their herd, to feel the security of BEING, to be able to BE a horse - all this is deeply connected to the pasture and the grazing patterns and cycles. If you experience the horses by grazing, then you feel - it is their primal need. And, it is in our primary responsibility to provide them with a living space to meet their essential needs.

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10 AL Center Akazienhof, Hungary, Autumn