1967-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1967 July Voice RS | Page 60

Good Horse Pastures Help Make America Beautiful By Mary C. Williamson Fayetteville, Tennessee Horses have returned to the Amer­ ican way of life in an altogether dif­ ferent perspective than the horse of yesteryear. In this article we are going to emphasize some very basic essentials where management of your horses and the beautification of the paddocks and pastures arc very intimately related. We arc all aware of the current need to beautify and conserve rural Amer­ ica through the “America the Beauti­ ful Program.” What is more pictur­ esque than a fat. sleek horse or horses in a nice grassy scenic background? I take for granted that people who own horses have feelings of being close to nature. There is no question that the horse is an outdoor animal, and that grass is the natural forage for these animals. So let’s get into how to es­ tablish a well-developed pasture pro­ gram for your horses. Here we need to call to your attention the soils and the topography of your pastures. You will have to work with these two con­ stants in developing an effective pas­ ture program. The topography of your land is a key factor in erosion control. To get an effective soil and water conservation program on your farm is of the utmost importance. Our most severe problem in conserving soil and water lies be­ tween what is known and what is ap­ plied to our land. This conservation of soil and water is the lifeblood of beautiful and nourishing pastures. . . pastures that produce fat, high-spirited horses frolicking, grazing on land with an abundance of vitamins and minerals while getting the bodily nourishment to produce a strong healthy foal or those gangling yearlings that are de­ veloping stamina, bone structure, and wholesome bodies to stand the months of strenuous training necessary to pro­ duce top show horses. Seek technical help in planning and applying systems to retard rainfall run­ off and to carry the excess water off at non-erosive velocities. Many of these can be installed with regular farm ma­ chinery7. To you people who have the problem of too much water, drainage systems can be planned. Once you have come to appreciate the topography of your fields, then you will be in a stable environment to proceed with a pasture program. Make no mistake about it, an effective pasture program requires action on many fronts. Land use practices must be designed to safe­ 60 * ■ r? w > v Mi ,5^ J guard topsoil and avoid unnecessary erosion, siltation, and waste of water or soil moisture. A certain man had a fine horse that was his pride and his wealth. One morning he got up early to go out to the stable and he found it empty. The horse had been stolen. He stayed awake many nights afterwards, thinking what a fool he had been not to put a good stout lock on the stable door. It would have only cost a couple of dollars and saved his most prized possession. He determined that he would give better protection to the next horse he had, but he knew he would never get one as good as the one he had lost. This is what happens to your soil when you arc not aware of how to properly manage your pastures. So know your soils and treat them accord­ ingly because once wasted, it can neither be re-formed nor feasibly re­ placed by man. Basically there are 6 steps to a suc­ cessful pasture program for your horses. (1} First of all, prepare a good seedbed. There are many ways to do this, so select the one adapted to your needs and prepare your seedbed. (2) Use plants that are well adapted to your particular area. Select plants that will grow in harmony with the soils and climate conditions that exist on your farm. The point I am trying to stress here is, use something that has been tried and proven locally, not some exotic plant that got good publicity somewhere. (3) Feed your pasture through the wise use of fertilizer. There is only one way to know exactly what you are doing in a fertilizer program and that is to test your soil. This is very inexpensive. A soil test reflects the need for the lime and other nutrient needs for your farm or ranch. Tailor- made requirements should be made for your own pasture whether it be one acre or 1,000 acres. Of course this is elementary, but is it always done? We can sum up here by saying “know your soil first,” then keep current soil tests to know when, how much, and what analysis of fertilizer to apply. (4) Pas­ ture management. Here again, you will want to use grazing practices which work well in your area. Generally, we are all guilty of over-grazing or keep­ ing the plants' too short over a long period of time. Then along comes one of Mother Nature’s drought periods, and those over-grazed pasture plants have pulled their root systems up near the surface because they have only been maintaining a very short top growth, and many pasture plants die. (5) You will also need an effective weed control program. Unwanted plants in pastures will need to be con­ trolled for they will use the fertilizer and water needed by the more desir­ able plants that you have seeded. Usually clipping pastures before these weeds produce seed will aid in their control. Chemical weed control can be used with proper management. (6) Pasture maintenance. From time to time you will need to give special at­ tention to critical areas within a cer­ tain pasture through additional seed and fertilizer along with some type of manure scattering device. Many horse­ men use a harrow or heavy wire mesh drag behind the fertilizer distributoi to accomplish this. There are many good reasons for scattering the manure piles. Some parasite control will be derived, but most of all a more uni­ form growth and grazing pattern will be maintained. VOICE of Ihe Tennessee Walking Horse