HORSES - 3
Soils and Nutrition
When breeding the very best in Genetic Stock their potential can be wasted if they are not being reared properly at all times to give them the opportunity to produce their best attributes. This is especially important for Stud Horses being bred to produce athletes as they should be receiving a hard ration as well as grazing, depending on the type of diet available, its quality, and the time of the Year.
Many Illnesses and Diseases would not occur in Horses, if the Mares had been fed properly initially themselves and especially so from Conception on. Mares and Stallions that are malnourished and deficient in the necessary Minerals and Vitamins cannot breed tough, healthy Foals.
The state and quality of the Fertility of the Soils as to having the proper Mineral base within them in the first place to create the correct balance also within the Bodily Systems must always be the ultimate goal for producing athletes. If there is any chance of this not occurring then Hand - Feeding the necessary Minerals and Vitamins as a Supplement to rectify this is better then nothing. Despite this the necessary Minerals & Vitamins would all be assimilated better if they could be ingested Organically / Naturally as part of the initial Pastoral environment. A case in point is New Zealand where the soil is generally much higher in Calcium and Magnesium.
*Autumn and Winter are the best time to prepare natural Pastures for the expected re - growth in Spring and Summer. Winter Pasture could contain Cocksfoot, Fescue, Lucerne, Phalaris, Ryegrass, Subterranean Clover and White Clover if they are suitable to your particular area. Also during the Winter a suitable crop should be grown and Supplementary feed included in their diet.
Natural Horse Pasture
Perennial Ryegrass / Lolium perenne / 2 Varieties - 50%. Creeping Red Fescue . Festuca rubra / 2 Varieties - 25%. Crested Dog's Tail / Cynosurus cristatus - 10% Rough or smooth stalked Meadow Grass - 10% (Poa trivialis or Poa pratensis.) Wild White Clover / Trifolium repens - 5%. Herbs: such as Burnet, Cocksfoot, Chicory, Dandelion, Daisy, Nettle, Timothy and Yarrow or any others that may suite the Soil type to give variety to the Diet and also provide other natural Minerals and Vitamins if they should be required.
Calcium
The *Calcium to Phosphorus ratio should be *2 to 1.
Legumes as a rule have an excess of Calcium, while Grasses are usually 1 to 1, but lush green grass may be even lower. By including Clovers, Grasses and Medics in the Pasture this will help to balance out this problem.
Buffel, Green Panic, Kikuyu, Guinea, Para, Pangola, Setaria and Signal grasses contain high Oxalates and Calcium Oxalate is insoluble and unavailable to the Horse. There needs to be more Calcium then Oxalate in the Pasture for the Calcium to be taken up.
Oaten Chaff for an example usually has 0.11 Calcium and 0.08 Oxalate and therefore 100% of the Calcium in it can be available, but if the Oxalate should dominate then no Calcium can be taken up.
Mineral Supplements should be available to Horses grazing any Pasture Grasses that contain any type of high Oxalate concentrations. 1 Kg of Rock Phosphate mixed with 1.5 Kg of Molasses or 1 kg of a mixture of 1.33 Kg of Ground Limestone and 0.66 Kg of Dicalcium Phosphate mixed with 1.5 Kg of Molasses are suitable for this. Even better is to use a feed with a good source of Calcium such as Lucerne Hay.
Grasses and Legumes
Cocksfoot is more suitable to High Altitudes but it may cause Calcium deficiency in Horses.
Couch Grass is very acceptable to Horses, and is very hardy and can tolerate high stocking rates on poorer sandy soils.
Fescue is acceptable to Horses in the first year of growth but it soon becomes tussocky and coarse and because it prefers the more moist areas it is also prone to damage. N.B: It also contains Endophytes so always check the Endophyte status of the seed or plant.
Kikuyu contains an Oxalate that inhibits the uptake of Calcium, but this can be overcome by feeding Calcium Supplements or by over seeding Ryegrass and Clovers in Autumn. *Graze it at the 4 1/2 Leaf stage. Protein: Early 16% - Late 13%. Calcium / Potassium: Both stages 1.1:1
Lucerne is suitable to inland areas but should never be over grazed so as to enable the plants to continue to persist. (Rotational grazing is the best method for Lucerne.) Grazing Lucerne or digesting Lucerne Hay with excessive Leaf Spot may also create Fertility problems. Protein: Early stage 22% - Middle 18% - Flowering 16% Calcium / Potassium Ratio: 4.57:1 - 4.48:1 - 4.48.1.
Phalaris should be sown with White, Red and Subterranean Clover and / or Lucerne and also must be rotationally grazed to allow seed head development in the Spring and good growth after Autumn rains.
Prairie Grass is very acceptable to Horses and grows well on very fertile soils and favourable conditions but will not persist under dry conditions. It usually seeds from August - September. *Graze at the 5 Leaf stage.
Red Clover is most acceptable to Horses because of its Summer growth but only a low Oestrogen variety should be sown as infertility can occur when grazing high Oestrogen varieties.
Ryegrass requires high rainfall or Irrigation, Fertile soil and proper grazing management to persist. Also contains Endophytes that were bred in to the plant to improve its tolerance to Insects and this can affect toleration. (Check for the Endophyte status of the Seed.) *Graze at the 3 Leaf stage. Protein: Early 22% - Late 18% Calcium / Potash 1.3:1 all stages.
Subterranean Clover is a self - generating annual with a Winter / Spring growth and is acceptable to Horses but some of the older varieties also contain high Oestrogen levels.
White Clover is not readily accepted by Horses but should be included as it is widely adaptable to Pasture. Protein: Early 23% - Late 17% Calcium / Potassium: Early 4.3:1 Late 5.4:1