Horse-friendly pastures should not be green, rectangular and treeless. Or better, they are not with us.
In order to do justice to the horse, they should contain a multitude of flowering meadow plants.
Secondary plant substances from hedges and bushes should be offered in the same way as shady trees.
And trees don’t just provide shade. Certain tree species contribute to the defence against annoying mosquitoes and flies or contain anti-inflammatory substances in their bark.
With a pasture suitable for horses, you will not only benefit your horse.
Our near-natural pastures are not only an “eye-catcher”, but also a valuable contribution for a healthy environment.
Did you know that sustainable pastures are even better and more effective CO² stores than forests? Especially under grazing?
Grazing animals stimulate grass growth, under the steps of grazing animals individual roots die to humus and stimulate root formation again.
Always provided that the pasture is not used intensively.
Horse-friendly pastures are the recreational area of our sport and leisure horses or they are used for breeding horses.
In addition to the necessary nutrients, they should above all be a source of vitamins, secondary plant substances and both training and relaxation for the muscles and nervous system of horses.
We therefore design and plant pastures in such a way that they optimally support the health of our horses and promote and maintain horse-friendly behaviour.
Horses used to be steppe animals that walk long distances at a slow pace.
Large pastures with suitable vegetation and uneven, near-natural soil are therefore preferable to small pastures with high-performance grass and leveled and compacted soils.
Because pasture is not the same as pasture and high-performance cattle make completely different demands on pasture than the horse. In modern horse husbandry, this aspect is not sufficiently taken into account.
Fresh grass can contain much more sugar and fructan than hay.
Therefore the selection of a suitable flora on horse paddocks is of enormous importance. Of course we can help you with this.
And even within a type of grass, the nutrient content differs with the type of the soil and fertilisation, time and frequency of pruning, ambient temperatures before pruning, etc.
Incorrect use of fertilizers promotes the growth of fructan-rich grasses and suppresses fructan-poor varieties. However, a lack of certain nutrients also promotes the formation of fructans in the grass. To ensure that everything grows as it should, we also advise you on the care of your near-natural pasture.
An oversupply of fructan or sugar can cause serious health problems in horses (allergies, intestinal diseases, EMS, laminitis). Fructans not only change the intestinal flora, but can also directly influence certain cells of the immune system.
grass and herbaceous vegetation of the wild steppe in Canada
German high performance grass- wasteland