University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension
March 18, 2008

How to manage horse grazing on small acreages is being offered in Buffalo and Sheridan in March and April by the Small Acreage Issue Team of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES).

Three class sessions offer three topics, said Blaine Horn, UW CES range and forage management educator serving Johnson and Sheridan counties.

“Class participants should leave with a better understanding of how to manage grazing to maintain or improve grass cover on their pastures,” said Horn.

Classes are 6:30-8 p.m. in both locations and are Thursday, March 20, Thursday, March 27, and Thursday, April 10, at the Johnson County Fairgrounds Community Building in Buffalo, and Thursday, April 3, Thursday, April 17, and Thursday, April 24, at the former Highland Park School at Highland Avenue and Avon Street in Sheridan.

Topics are: Class 1 – Grass growth and regrowth; what grasses need to grow; grasses that grow in the region and why; affect on roots and regrowth when eaten; why grasses need opportunity to store energy.

Class II – Time and timing of grazing; why good grazing management is necessary to maintain or improve pasture condition.

Class III – Balancing forage demand with forage supply; determine carrying capacity of the pasture and annual forage needs and how much land is required to meet that need; learning management scenarios to keep land in good condition but also supply feed for animals.

Class participants will determine the date of a field day in June, said Horn, where they will learn to identify desirable and non-desirable plants; determine plant cover and composition; and estimate the amount of useable forage in a pasture and calculate stock rate.

Classes are free, but organizers would like to know how many plan to attend each location. Horn can be contacted at (307) 684-7522.