Re: introduction to pasture

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Susan
We fed our horses the grass clippings once and the vet happened to be
there when Mark threw them over the fence and he told him not to do
that. He said that the grass turns to poison within an hour after being
cut. Was he mistaken?
How long can we let them graze at a stretch? We could let them into the
back pasture and then do a rodeo roundup back into the dry lot but how
long the first day and then by what increments can we raise the time
until they can just be turned out 24/7? This is such a pain in the
pituti!!!
Do you others on ridecamp have this problem on a yearly basis and what
do you do??
A confused Bette

Susan Garlinghouse wrote:
> 
> Well, just a thought, but if you have a lawnmower, how 'bout going out and
> cutting some fresh grass for the bunch still in dry lot and slowly
> increasing the daily amount until each horse is getting a couple big double
> handfuls a couple times a day?  You'd have to do that every day, not let the
> grass hang around to either go icky or turn into hay, but shouldnt be too
> hard if you have one of those catch baskets on the mower.  Then before you
> turn them out into the pasture, make sure they're topped up on hay or beet
> pulp or something like that so they don't really snarf up the green grass
> right off the bat.  Catching them up for the first day still wouldnt be a
> bad idea, though, especially if the grass is really coming up lush.
> 
> Nope, just giving them probiotics won't do it.
> 
> There are some 'grazing muzzles' out on the market, but it would be a pain
> putting them on everybody and I wouldnt be happy with the safety issue,
> since they have to be worn with a halter.
> 
> Susan G
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>
> To: Susan Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>
> Cc: <EPaloheimo@aol.com>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
> Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 3:32 PM
> Subject: RC: Re: Re: Complete Feed Recommendations
> 
> > Hi Susan
> > Since we are talking about feed... my horses were taken off pasture in
> > Nov. (since we were expecting more rains--- turned out to be just a
> > tease until the "floods" in Feb.) and fed alfalfa hay all winter. Now
> > the pastures are just drying out and I expect the grass to have a big
> > water content initially. We have a summer AND 2 winter pastures and they
> > are all still damp. There was perhaps just a little bit of grass
> > shooting up in the dry lot we had to put our horses in to let the
> > pastures rest. Now how do I reintroduce 20 horses to pasture without
> > having to try to catch each one and let them graze for a few hours and
> > then longer and longer each day... or can I give them probiotics
> > (yogurt?) and let them just go on it or feed alfalfa during their first
> > few days or... or...?
> > We have never had this problem before as our pastures have always been
> > year-round and never before have turned into raging rivers and a lake.
> > I have never had a horse founder on me and don't want to start now.
> > Help!
> > Bette
> >
> > Susan Garlinghouse wrote:
> > >
> > > > Yes, we'll have a support vehicle following our progress.  However, we
> > > won't
> > > > always be in contact with it so will carry horse feed on our pack
> animals.
> > > > We worry about grazing in some places so that's why we want to have
> proper
> > > > feed that will take care of our equines when grazing isn't a
> possibility.
> > > > Transporting hay for 6 to 8 equines is out of the question.
> > >
> > > Then I'd pack a bag or two of  pellets, preferably one that has some
> grain
> > > product included but with a crude fiber content of > 16-18%.  Purina's
> > > Equine Adult or Horse Chow would be possibilities, or even potentially
> > > something like Equine Senior (or their equivalents from other
> > > manufacturers).  Complete Advantage would be fine, too, although I'm
> just
> > > not wild about the idea of feeding it as the sole feed.  I'd be a lot
> > > happier feeding it as a supplement along with some grazing.  You can
> also
> > > consider packing a bag of straight beet pulp pellets, but especially if
> your
> > > guys are going to be potentially a little dehydrated, I'd really suggest
> > > soaking it well and that requires packing some buckets or tubs.  And of
> > > course, make sure that you're feeding them things that they've been
> getting
> > > for awhile---don't just wait until you're in the middle of nowhere and
> then
> > > plop down a bunch of feed they've never seen before.  Trying to get a
> field
> > > call from a vet when all you can provide is longtitude and latitude
> would be
> > > Not Fun.
> > >
> > > I guess if I had to make a decision myself when I wasnt sure there would
> be
> > > plenty of grazing, then my choice would be to carry a bag of
> forage-based
> > > pellets or cubes with a crude fiber content of >16%, plus a bag of
> Complete
> > > Advantage, plus find an overnight site that had *some* sort of grazing
> > > available.
> > >
> > > I have a good friend who's been a professional pack outfitter for about
> > > forty years and when he was taking dozens of animals into the high
> country
> > > for hunting trips, he said his stock maintained weight and did just fine
> > > with no problems if they got about an hour and a half of grazing a day
> > > (regardless of the quality of the graze), plus about 3 pounds of alfalfa
> > > cubes, plus another 2-3 pounds of grain, plus maybe a half cup of Mazola
> > > corn oil dribbled on top of their rations.  These are mostly 1200 lb
> horses
> > > or mules carrying 200 lbs and covering 15-20 miles a day at high
> altitude.
> > >
> > > I'm going to go on my first (solo) pack trip this summer and even though
> I
> > > expect the grazing to be adequate, I'm going to carry a bag of alfalfa
> > > pellets and a bag of Complete Advantage for four animals for about five
> > > days.
> > >
> > > Susan G
> > >
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> > --
> > Bette Lamore
> > Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov
> > (Yes, really 16.2!)
> > http://www.arabiansporthorse.com
> >
> >
> > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
> > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> >

-- 
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov	
(Yes, really 16.2!)
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com