Characterization of Forage Utilization and Pasture Management Practices on Florida Horse Operations.

The research article focuses on a survey conducted on horse farms in Florida, aimed at understanding forage utilization and pasture management practices. The study hypothesizes that pastures were not well-managed and adjunctly used, leading to a higher dependence on hay as the primary source of forage.

Research Methodology

• The researchers adopted an online survey method to gather relevant data from horse farms in Florida. This survey incorporated questions on various farm practices, pasture management, and forage choices.
• The gathered data was then subjected to descriptive analysis and Fisher’s exact test. This was intended to understand the statistical significance of data and special cause variables.
• The study also employed multiple correspondence analysis to evaluate variables that showed significant association.

Key Findings

• Out of the respondents (n=80), recreational horse use was reported as the primary function in 62% of the operations. The other primary functions are not detailed.
• Most of the farms (n=79) had pastures available, of which 57% housed horses full time, and 48% used rotational stocking method for grazing.
• About 57.5% of respondents used both hay and pasture as the primary source of forage, 32.5% used only pasture, and 10% relied solely on hay.
• In terms of pasture management, 82% of the respondents performed maintenance while 6% did not implement any type of management.
• The type of main forage given to horses had a direct correlation to the type of applied pasture management and turnout practices.
• There was a clear indication that operations relying heavily on hay as the primary forage, had shorter duration of pasture access and lack of management. This aligns with the initial hypothesis of the study.
• A very high percentage of operations did not have their hay (89%) or pasture (94%) analyzed for nutrient composition.

Conclusion and Recommendations

• Despite the availability of pasture, the lack of adequate pasture management in a majority of operations led to a higher reliance on hay feeding.
• The research concludes that there are significant gaps in pasture management practices and forage analysis among horse farms in Florida.
• The study recommends that these findings can be utilized for structuring and delivering effective educational programs for horse farm owners in Florida about forage and pasture management.