Performing Department
ANIMAL AND AVIAN SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
Horse farm owners that use poor pasture and manure management practices may be negatively impacting the environment by contributing to ground and surface water contamination. The primary source of contamination is farm run-off that contains sediment, nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, pesticides, and other pollutants that ultimately impact water quality for humans and aquatic life (Hubbard et al., 2004). Horse farm management practices that increase run-off include overgrazing, allowing horse's access to waterways, improper or lack of liming, fertilization, weed control, reseeding and mowing of pasture, and accumulation of manure. In Maryland, there are just over 20,000 locations that house 87,100 horses (MASS, 2002), but the types of pasture and manure management practices used on the farms and their subsequent impact on the environmental is unknown. Research and Extension aimed at educating Maryland horse farm owners about their role in land stewardship and
use of best management practices (BMP's) to reduce environmental contamination is important. Best management practices are structural or non-structural practices that are recognized to be the most effective and practical on-farm means of improving water quality that balances water quality improvements and farm productivity. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) promotes the use of 24 BMP's on agricultural production farms as identified by the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) (MDA, 2002). Of those related to horse farms, grazing land management, pasture renovation and nutrient management are likely the most critical to the environment. Rotational grazing is recommended as a BMP over continuous grazing of horses because it is believed to help maintain vegetative cover, increase forage production and quality, and balance the nutrient load on the pasture. Rotational grazing involves grazing a group of horses through a
series of small enclosed pastures such that they graze pastures when forage height is greater than 6 inches and then they are moved to another pasture or sacrifice area when forage height is less than 2-3 inches. Non-grazed pastures are mowed and managed for weeds during periods of rest and regrowth. Despite the benefits to the environment found when rotationally grazing other livestock (Jacobo, 2006; Lyons et al. 2000), studies on the effects of rotational grazing on horse performance, plant performance, and environmental impact have not been conducted. In 2007, the Equine Rotational Grazing and Pasture Management Project was initiated by the University of Maryland in coordination with experts from the USDAs NRCS, USDA Soil Conservation Service and the MDA. The goal of the project is to increase the awareness of horse farm owners about their role in land stewardship leading to the adoption of farm BMPs for the effective reduction in the environmental impact caused by horse farms.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
The main objective of the Equine Rotational Grazing and Pasture Management Project is to increase the awareness of horse farm owners about their role in land stewardship leading to the adoption of farm BMPs for the effective reduction in the environmental impact caused by horse farms. More specific objectives of this study are to: 1) Identify the use of farm BMPs by Maryland horse farm owners, Successful completion of this objective will be done by conducting a mailed survey to horse farm owners to gauge their frequency and use of farm BMPs. The information gleaned from the survey will be used to better tailor Extension education events aimed at training extension faculty and teaching horse owners to adopt farm BMPs. 2) Improve our understanding of the effects of rotational grazing on animal performance, plant performance, and the environment. Successful completion of this objective will be done by conducting applied research at the 5.5 acre CMREC-Clarksville Equine
Rotational Grazing Demonstration site that will house 4 horses rotationally grazed through the system. Data collected on plant performance and environmental impact from the rotationally grazed land will be compared to data obtained from non-grazed land. Information obtained from this study will be used to teach stakeholders how to establish and manage horses in a rotational grazing system, costs associated with the system, and environmental implications of the system. Applied research findings will also serve as a basis for further exploration into whether BMPs recommended are truly reducing environmental impact. 3) Integrate teaching, research, and extension at the CMREC-Clarksville Equine Rotational Grazing Demonstration Site. The main anticipated outcome of the project is a better understanding by horse farm owners of their role in land stewardship leading to the adoption of farm BMPs for the effective reduction in the environmental impact caused by horse farms. More specific
anticipated outcomes of this project include: 1) Generation of much needed preliminary data on the impact of an equine rotational grazing system on animal performance, plant performance and the environment. 2) A better understanding of the BMPs currently used on hundreds of Maryland horse farms. 3) An improved understanding and increased use of rotational grazing systems by at least 50 horse farm owners in Maryland. It is also expected that at least 100 Extension faculty and conservation professionals will be better educated to teach others about horse farm BMPs. 4) One graduate student, under the advisement of the P.I., will earn their M.S. degree after having successfully completed the research associated with this grant proposal including the publication of the research in peer reviewed journals. Publication of the data collected in the field trials will also be a measure of success of this project.
Project Methods
OBJECTIVE 1. Identify the use of farm BMPs by Maryland horse farm owners A survey study to assess the use of BMPs by Maryland horse farm owners will be conducted in 2008. A draft questionnaire will be developed and piloted. The final questionnaire will be sent to a random sample of 1,000 horse farm owners using a multiple wave mailing strategy (Dillman, 2000). Survey recipients will be asked about pasture and manure management practices used on their farm, including grazing intensity, grazing schedule, soil testing, limestone and fertilizer application, mowing, weed control, manure testing, use of vegetative buffers, equine accessibility to watersheds, manure management, and annual pasture management expenditures. OBJECTIVE 2. Improve our understanding of the effects of rotational grazing on animal performance, plant performance, and the environment. Establishment of the rotational grazing system will be completed in spring 2008 with data collection and grazing of
horses to begin in fall of 2008, weather permitting, or fall 2009. The system consists of four 1.2 acre pastures, one sacrifice area with shelter and waterer, and two 0.2 acre sacrifice paddocks. A one-acre control pasture will also be used. Data to be collected and recorded related to the management of the rotational grazing system include weather (rainfall, sun exposure, and ambient temperature), grazing schedules (days out on each pastures, day in the sacrifice lot, days pastures rested), management expenses related to BMPs and animal feed. The interrelationship between those variables will also be explored. Four mature geldings will be allowed free access to the sacrifice area and one pasture when growth of the pasture has reached 6 inches, but will be housed in the sacrifice lot when pastures are closed due to insufficient growth or inclement weather. Horses will be offered hay and grain as needed. Samples of pasture, hay, and grain will be taken monthly, dried, ground, and
submitted to a commercial laboratory for the determination of nutrient content. Animal performance variables will include monthly BW, BCS, daily hay consumption averaged across all horses, parasite load, health incidences (i.e. colic, injuries), and movement through the system. Monthly parasite load will be assessed. Movement through the system will be determined by attaching small, inexpensive GPS units to the horses halters during randomly selected 24 hour periods when horses are allowed access to each of four pastures. Plant performance variables of grazed and non-grazed pasture will include monthly assessment of vegetative cover, species composition (grass-legume-weed content), forage mass, and canopy height. Vegetative cover will be conducted monthly using non-destructive digital imaging (Olmstead et al., 2004). The impact of the rotational grazing system on the environment will be assessed by either direct or indirect measures of soil and water quality including N and P losses
from the system, soil erosion, total dissolved solids, sediment, and N and P in ground surface water, and soil quality.