Nutrient Cycling in Horse Pastures
Channel: Livestock & Poultry Environ. Learning Community
Date: 2017-05-05

This presentation will review the existing multi-species literature on nutrient cycling and how it is affected by the horse’s diet and rotational grazing.

Grazed pastures, particularly rotationally grazed pastures, recycle nutrients faster than ungrazed pastures. Nutrients on pasture land enter through animal waste, and waste feed or fertilizer; they leave through removal of forage, leaching/runoff, or animal product/waste removal. Taking away the animal component removes about half of the inputs needed to recycle the nutrients. Dietary nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are required for basic maintenance of horses; however, not all of what is consumed is used by the animal, therefore the dietary concentrations of these nutrients will impact the nutrient cycling. Digestibility of N, P and K in horses is approximately 80, 25 and 75 %, respectively. What does not get digested will end up excreted back into the soil.

Proceedings available at: http://articles.extension.org/74361