(You may not need as much grazing land if they’ll be eating hay every day.) In general, professionals recommend two acres for the first horse and an additional acre for each additional horse (e.g., five acres for four horses).

To maintain grazing, allow two acres minimum per horse. One acre of turnout space per horse is adequate for exercise, but grass will not last long.

If you are attempting to figure the carrying capacity of land for a horse, then a good rule of thumb is 1-1/2 to 2 acres of open intensely managed land per horse. Two acres, if managed properly, should provide adequate forage in the form of pasture and/or hay ground. But this is highly variable depending on location.

For example, two one-acre-sized pastures should be sufficient for rotational grazing of two adult horses. Rectangular shaped pastures tend to better suit horses as they encourage exercise. Irregular shaped pastures should be avoided because they create a greater risk of injury.

An ideal lot size is about 600 square feet per horse, but you can make it smaller for short term usage. This dry lot can also be used to avoid overgrazing or once the grass falls below three to four inches. The size of your pasture can affect your workload.

The interval between sowing and leaving the new seeds to establish will normally be 5 – 6 weeks. When the new seeds are sufficiently established, graze lightly for several days, before removing the animals and allowing the area to recover for 2 – 3 weeks.

Cool-Season Grasses to Plant to Aid Nutrition These long-living grasses include Kentucky bluegrass, orchardgrass, reed canarygrass, smooth bromegrass, cocksfoot or timothy and provide an ongoing source of nutrition. Bluegrass tolerates close grazing down to two inches, so is a good choice for heavily used pastures.

Here’s what to know. Use a high-quality grass seed that has high rates of germination and is free of contamination. Overseeding horse pastures that contain cool season grasses can help improve pasture production and forage quality and ensure a good ground cover the following year without major pasture renovations.

Seeding made in late winter/early spring will usually be ready for grazing 3 to 4 months later. the time of seeding, either through tillage, herbicide application, or both. For best results, the weed control program should begin 6 months to a year before seeding.

Prepare your Pasture for the Growing Season

1. Keep horses off pasture when ground is wet/muddy.
2. Fence off a “sacrifice area” for turnout during drought or mud season when horses may damage pasture.
3. Take a soil test every 2 to 3 years to determine if nutrients are needed.
4. Fertilize according to soil test when necessary.

Top 5 horse pasture fertilizer recommendations

Ideally horses should be removed from newly fertilized pastures and be reintroduced to the pasture after a light rain. With proper spreading of fertilizer and under normal conditions, a horse grazing recently fertilized pasture will not even have loose manure as a result.

For a one time, annual, Nitrogen application to grass pastures: Kentucky bluegrass—April: 60 to 100 pounds of N per acre. Tall cool-season grasses—April: 80 to 120 pounds of N per acre. Warm-season grasses—late April to early May: 80 to 150 pounds of N per acre.

When applying fertilizer, apply half of the amount in early spring and the other half in the middle of June. Grass pastures will usually require about 90 pounds of nitrogen per acre each year. Keep horses off the pasture until the fertilizer is no longer visible.

Rotational Grazing REST THE PASTURE: Horses can’t overgraze a pasture if they’re not in it. This is probably the best way to rehab a pasture—take the horses out, give it several months (or an entire season) to rest and regrow, and tackle the worst of the weeds by mowing or another weed-control method.

Fertilizer is good for plants, but not good for cattle. Veterinarians have received reports of cattle fertilizer poisoning this spring.