# Tips on looking after drought pasturelands



## haydays (Mar 26, 2009)

Here are a few tips on looking after drought ridden pasture land.

1. Make special feeding areas for your Horses as they can waste lots of hay by trampling on it with their heavy hoofs.

2.Place flakes of Hay on plastic sheeting or a tarp so the hay doesn't get lost in the ground below.

3. Try to avoid using mounted hay racks as this isn't healthy for your horses in the long run.

4. Do not let your horses graise on land tha tis just turning green, let the grass grow a few inches then let the horses graze there on.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

A good rule of thumb is never carry more than 2/3's of the theoretical carrying capacity of your grass, unless of course you like the extra cost supplemental feeding.

Then remember over grazed forages are abused forages and it will take time for them to recover. Just because you got a rain and things are greening up does not mean the forages have recovered. 
It usually requires three years for improved pastures to recover. 
Some range grasses may require 20 or more years to recover.

A true saying is if you get greedy you will loose it all.


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## nwfarmer (Jun 16, 2009)

Hey, we make our own rain. Here comes the water. Approx 640 gallons per min

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## jpritchett (Sep 22, 2009)

Ok this is what my Forage, Pasture and Grassland manual says.

A traditional rule of thumb for rangeland is that 50% of the plant wieght should remain intact in order to maintain plant vigor and stand. The 50% has another fate. The animals ingest some. Some is trampled or fouled, wildlife might consume some. With continuous grazing, often only half what is available is taken is ingested by the grazing animals. This means that 25% of the total annual production is what stocking rate is based on. With more intensive grazing systems, animals might be able to ingest 30 to 35% of the half that is available.


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