Pasture & Paddocks
Horses are different and unique. Just ask any horse owner! When it comes to pastures and paddocks, horses can be much harder on the land than other types of livestock. Pastures and Paddocks are typically continually disturbed areas; under constant physical stress from horses hooves. Horses are also fine tuned eating machines, having top and bottom teeth, capable of nipping forages close to the soil. For these reasons, it is extremely important to properly manage what land you have to the best of your ability.
Best Management Practices include all-weather paddocks, or sacrifice areas, and rotational grazing or turn-outs. For some excellent resources, see the pdf's or website links below.
Horse Paddocks: Designed & Managed to Protect Water Quality - by Council of Bay Area RCD's - 2 pages
Maintaining Healthy Horse Pastures - by C.D. Teutsch, VT & S.R. Smith U of K- I page
Pollution Prevention Brochure by Geauga SWCD
All Weather Horse Paddocks Brochure by Geauga SWCD
Geotextile Fabric: Another Ally in the Fight against Mud - article by Jessica LaLande & Jessica Page - HFCW
Informational Sheet on Geotextile Fabric - local SWCD's & resource sheet
Guide to Fence Costs, Types, Styles & Options (web link) online - fenceguides.com
Sand, Gravel & Limestone Calculator to Estimate Tons Required: (web link) - online calculator from Lestersmaterial.com
Horse Pasture Management by Dave Robison - Ampac Seeds - 2 pages
Pasture Perfect Mixes and Blends - a 2 page brochure - CISCO seeds
Managing MUD and Horse Pastures - a 2 page newsletter article by Kelly Riley, Wayne SWCD
Frequently Asked Questions about Fertilizing & Horse Pastures - 2 pages - answers by Rutgers Co-op Ext.
Pasture Best Management Practices by Forage First - 3 pages
A Horse Owner's Guide to Protecting Natural Resources Appendix 4- by Mass. Dept of Nat. Resources - 32 pgs
Pastures for Horses A3680 by University of Wisconsin.Co-op Ext. - 8 pages
Check out our Soil Information Page for soil testing guides and facilities.
Please feel free to contact us for help in advice or designing, maintaining or improving your equine facility!