How many acres of pasture do you need for an average size horse?Also,if a horse is out at pasture all summer does he need hay or grain as a supplement?

-- Edie (lucricausa@highland.net), February 18, 2002

Answers

Edie, That really depends on a lot of different factors. Most people will say 1-2 acres per horse. I have 2 horses, 1 steer, and a goat. We have aprox 3 1/2 acres pastured. The pasture is divided into 2 sections in the summer and 3 sections in winter. In spring summer and fall I rotate the animals. One week on one week off. In the winter they are pastured in a smaller area.I do give my horses grain year around. Not alot, 3 lbs a day. I also always feed free choice hay [timothy] For example, in the summer it is to hot and the flys are bad that the horses are inside during the day, in the evening they are turned out to pasture, vice versa in the winter. Spring and fall they are usually out most of the time put still provided with hay if they want it. Hope that helps

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), February 18, 2002.

2 1/2 acres is the law in Florida, grass alone is not enought to keep horses healthy. Horse ownership requires hoof triming every couple of months, worming at least twice a year, daily attention; anything less will gain you a visit from the SPCA, or PITA, or County Officals, or conserned neighbors. Horse ownership is a lifetime commitment, anything less does not work.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 18, 2002.

Number of acreage per horse will depend on where you are located and how well fertilized the grass is.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 18, 2002.

Lots of good advice here. It really does depend on the type of grass you have. In my area, it would take at least 3 acres to support a horse. (What grass we have is Buffalo Grass). You don't need to give them hay during the summer, unless you have poor pasture. We grain ours daily to keep them gentle and to make sure they come in to be checked over, medicated or messed with. We do have some in small 3 acre pens that have to have supplemental hay (we use round bales. I guess it really depends on the condition of your grass. Best wishes!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), February 18, 2002.

So grass alone is not enough to keep horses healthy, eh! I'm in livestock country here in Texas, and there's a lot of horses living on Coastal grass pasture 24/7, which grows all year around.

I've raised horses, mules and donkeys and never grained. They ride and drive. (Those that weren't sold.) Grass pasture or grass hay (depending where I live) is available to the stock 24/7. Foals haven't 'pulled down' their mamas with their 6 months of nursing and the mamas have been loaded with milk. I've been fortunate to be able to keep the stock on large acreage and not stall or pen them. The critters have a beautiful sheen on their coats, well muscled, energy to run with the wind, and climb the mountains that were on one of my properties.

I do some tough mountain riding, 5-7 hours/day, 4-5 days/week. My mounts never lag behind; they ride easily wherever I put them in the group.

Some time ago, on a 3 day ride, my vet was also there. Since she also has a degree in equine nutrition, I asked her if I should feel guilty about not feeding grain. She was able to see me riding, even when we weren't near each other. She said you've been holding your mount back all 3 days. Listen to your mount; if he needs grain, you'll know it.

So, Edie, although we're all after the same thing ~ healthy, happy critters ~ as you'll see, no 2 stockmen do things exactly alike!

The laws where I've lived are different for city and county dwellers. The city says one horse per acre (even tho they don't have pasture!) Living in the county, there are no laws. Check your area, since all states are different. Your ag extension service may have the answer. If not, call your city/county agencies.

The only time I feed hay where I'm at is during the summer drought that turns the grass brown. I use the large round bales (1,000-1,500 pounds) to get thru the drought. As soon as it rains a bit, the grass returns to green.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002.

Rogo, you speak of "large acerage", I have seen zealous horse owners try to keep 3 or 4 horses on less than 1 acre and wonder what went wrong. Often, those who seek horse ownership are limited, stupid, ego bound idiots. If there are 20 horses, 20 horse owners on the same property; there is at least 35 to 38 horses asses on the same property.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 19, 2002.

No argument, Mitch. Common sense does leave some folks at times! -G- I also get pi**ed off at the folks who have acreage and keep a horse locked up in a 16 foot pen. Not healthy for a critter made to run! I'm no longer raising livestock and am down to a few pets. The land I'm presently on is quite small for the area, since most pastures go on for miles. I'm only on 30 acres with 3 critters and a flock of chooks, so there's plenty of Coastal grass for the critters to live off the land. And for the chooks to give me orange yolked eggs! -G-

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002.

Greetings:

We have four horses from 13.2 hands to 16.1. From 23 years old to 3years. Appy, Arabain, Kiger Mustang and Running Quarter horse. We have 1.66 acres, and we live on it too! BUT. we take our horses riding about 4 times a week. You stable horses in a 12 x 12 pen, and then exersize them. So it depends. In our state there are not laws on this.

Some do not suppliment during the summer we do. We found that our Arabian before he came to us was put to pasture, no exersize plan and feed pasture grass, he had a hay belly and causes a sway back.

Some never uses alfalfa, some swear by it. Some never grain and some do.

For every opinion there is an exceptions.

We feed a local dairy grass, high protein to our older horses and suppliment with Senor grain. For the younger ones, its alflfa and proformance horse. but those two are gamers and they are really worked.

You might talk to those around you who have horses, that is how we started.

donna

-- donna potts walling (rwalling@greatnorthern.net), February 20, 2002.

For dryland (non-irrigated) pasture in Montana/Wyoming we figured about 20 to 25 acres per cow-calf pair and about the same for one horse. Summer pasture, no supplements, no grain, light work or brood mares, etc.

Here in Kentucky we had leased and very lush pasture, probably one+ acre per horse, and most of the mares required grain as a supplement to maintain weight, even with all the grass they could eat.

When I lived in Montana, my friend in Ohio used to tell me how much grain she fed her horses daily, even during the summer, on grass. I thought she was overfeeding but now realize the nutrition levels vary widely.

-- SFM (timberln@hyperaction.net), February 20, 2002.

We have 10 acres which we rotate between 6 horses at most, three at least:race horses come and go from the track. Pleasure horses get oats in summer just so they come in for hoof and body check at night and sometimes noon if it's hot. Race horses get two, 2 lb feedings of sweet feed a day. We have a big, brand new, beautiful barn. In winter, pleasure horses' hooves don't grow enough for a farrier. Vet comes for spring shots and often after that for race horses. Worming is regular. The state I live in has husbandry laws and it's darn hard to get a neglected animal away from an owner. If you care enough to ask, you probably have decently cared for horses. Be careful who you ask: I had a friend call and accuse me of isolating a stud inside too much(she drove by after he was let in in the morning and after work before he was let out again; he couldn't be let out with the others). Cruelty and neglect have different definitions to different horse people. Some animal rights activists think it's cruel to even ride or work a horse. My Morgan, pony, and POA look fat next to my well-fed standardbred. There's a woman down the road with no pasture at all and no barn(same one who complained my stud 'never' got out), she borrows money to make it through the winter, breeds her mares and has foals wearing wet blankets in winter because there's no shelter, but she has gotten the state to take horses away from owners with barns and feed, go figure. Research your state's laws, go according to them and what you see your horse needs, and keep your privacy as much as possible. Every horse and every breed is different in it's needs. Every piece of property has different growth. You'd get a better answer from locals and the former owner of the horse in question. Blessings, Epona

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

As everyone has tried to say it depends!!!While living up North on the Wis./Ill./Iowa border (Galena, Ill.), I had (still have) two horses and 2 sheep plus tons of chixs. on 3 acres of great grass. I hay and fed grain to all in winter, actually grain all year.

Now here in S.E.OK. I let the horses out of 40 acres., cows out on a couple hundred acres, sheep out on 10 acres and I have to hay, and grain all. Grass and hay is not the same. I give my two horses which are stalled from 4pmn to 7 am 8 pds of sweet feed a day, a round bale in the pen plus they out the rest. The sheep are heavly grain and given hay too not to mention what 40 cows are given plus they get a round bale every other day. So...it depends, we must have bermuda grass andup north must have had a higher protein grass. Look at your animals are they thin. I personally keep mine not fat but if anything on the heavier side.

-- Debbie (bwolocott@cwis.net), February 22, 2002.