An inventory of grassland use on horse farms (original) (raw)

Siede, C.; Komainda, M.; Tonn, B.; Wolter, S.M.C.; Schmitz, A. and Isselstein, J. (2024) An inventory of grassland use on horse farms.Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 134 (105011), pp. 1-10.

Document available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080624000182

Summary in the original language of the document

Horses can contribute to the maintenance of grassland. To determine the potential contribution of grassland to horse nutrition, we investigated the seasonal variation of herbage on offer and its nutritional quality in an inventory on six practical horse farms in Central Germany during 2019. On all horse-grazed pastures compressed sward height (CSH) was measured monthly and converted into aboveground herbage (AGH) to allocated short and tall grass sward areas (area-specific) via calibration cuts. In addition, four focus pastures were selected for monthly obtained area-specific herbage quality samples. The farm-specific management was monitored using questionnaires and grazing diaries to determine underlying factors influencing herbage biomass and quality. The proportion of short grass sward areas increased during the grazing season (p=0.0010), which was related to high stocking intensity in terms of livestock unit grazing days (LUGD, p <.0001). On most farms, LUGD were constant throughout the growing season and not adjusted to changing grass growth. Herbage crude protein (CP, p=0.0038), metabolizable energy (ME, p <.0001) concentrations and acid detergent fibre in the organic matter (ADF, p <.0001) differed among the grass sward areas. The results suggest that sufficient ME (4.2 ± 0.32 – 8.4 ± 0.15 MJ ME kg-1 DM) for maintenance and pre-caecal digestible CP (pcdCP) (37.0 ± 3.86 – 77.4 ± 4.44 g kg-1 DM) could be provided during the grazing season. The study highlights the need to incentivise grassland management for herbage provision among horse owners to exploit the potential of grassland during the grazing season.

EPrint Type:	Journal paper
Keywords:	Grass sward areas, Horse grazing, Horse nutrition, Pasture quality and quantity, Abacus, FiBL50064, FiBL50141, SUPER-G
Agrovoc keywords:	Englishgrazinghttp://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c\_25243Englishhorse feedinghttp://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c\_2ffd6ae5Englishgrassland managementhttp://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c\_3364
Subjects:	Crop husbandry > Production systems > Pasture and forage crops Animal husbandry > Feeding and growth
Research affiliation:	Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Animal > Animal nutrition Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Animal > Animal welfare & housing > Grassland-based livestock systems Germany > University of Göttingen
Horizon Europe or H2020 Grant Agreement Number:	774124
DOI:	10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105011
Related Links:	https://www.fibl.org/en/themes/projectdatabase/projectitem/project/2568
Deposited By:	Tonn, Dr. Bettina
ID Code:	55264
Deposited On:	25 Mar 2025 10:49
Last Modified:	25 Mar 2025 10:49
Document Language:	English
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Peer-reviewed and accepted

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