Question

I pasture-board my horse at a local farm. Though I don’t have access to a stall for him, he and his three pasturemates have about 30 acres of lush, well-maintained pasture to graze. They get a scoop, about 3 lb (1.4 kg), of feed each day, in the form of large pellets. Instead of using feeders, the owner just dumps the feed directly in the grass, choosing different places each day. My gelding looks great, but there seems to me something “wrong” with not using a feeder, at least in my mind. Your thoughts?

Answer

Simply defined, the stocking rate of a pasture is the number of horses on a given amount of land. Four horses on 30 acres would be considered a low stocking rate. You mentioned the pasture is lush, so it seems likely that there’s plenty of forage for all four horses. The sheer size of the grazing area probably allows the horses to avoid manure piles as they graze which, in turn, keeps the introduction of internal parasite eggs to a minimum.

Using large pellets is also a wise move on the owner’s part. As you probably know, horses have exceptionally flexible lips and, because of this, horses are adept at picking up tiny pieces of feed and forage. The pellets you describe, which are probably about 1.5-2 in (4-5 cm) long, are easy for horses to grasp and keeps them from rooting in dirt and potentially ingesting parasite eggs.

So long as there’s an effective parasite control program in place, using occasional fecal egg counts as a basis, and your horse maintains body condition on the current system, I don’t see anything wrong with this feeding style. As a point of interest, many Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky feed horses in this manner, as it is a time-saving strategy. Capacious, well-kept fields may hold 20 or more broodmares, and keeping track of feeders can be a daunting task (not to mention errant feeders can become victims of wide-swath mowers, especially if they are hidden in tall grass). Moreover, feeding on the groud prevents the creation of “sacrificial” or barren areas within a pasture, which always crop up where feeders are placed and used day in and day out. Many, many horse owners would be envious of the pasture your horse enjoys!

One note about your gelding’s current diet: what is the minimum recommended amount of feed your horse should receive based on the manufacturer’s feeding instructions? You want to be sure your horse is fed at least that minimum, as then you can be confident he is consuming all of the vitamins and minerals required for optimal health. If you find there’s a shortfall, you can use a ration balancer or a well-fortified vitamin and mineral supplement to deliver more nutrients. One such supplement is Micro-Max, available in the U.S., or Gold Pellet, available to horse owners in Australia.