Pasture Management Workshops – Gippsland Vic
November was a busy month with having the Horse Keeping Conference and Equitana booked in. After the Equitana I spend one more week in Victoria to host 3 workshops on pasture management in the Gippsland region. I was very lucky with the weather – mostly dry and even sunny! I think we had only one morning of rain during the Equitana!
The workshops at Korrumburra, Bairnsdale/Stratford and Orbost were well attended. Approximately 75-80 horse and land owners or agistees came along to the workshop – even on a very nice sunny Spring weekend day!
The workshop was an introduction to regenerative pasture management for horse properties. We discussed a number of topics including the current challenges we are facing with horse and land management, vision & planning, horse nutrition, behaviour, digestive and metabolic disorders, pasture for horses, grass species, plant physiology, soil development, ecosystem management, tools how to manage ecosystems, sacrifice areas and slow feeding systems. Lots of stuff to think about afterwards!
This workshop will be followed by another workshop that focuses specifically on land/property planning for horse properties. So keep an eye out for the program in 2013 in Victoria (Gippsland, Yarra Valley ) and South Australia (Mount Barker).
More intro workshops are planned in the new year in QLD, Victoria & South Australia! Keep checking our website, facebook page or your local landcare/catchment organisation.
Can’t find horse & land workshops in your region? If you are interested in these workshops – contact your local landcare/catchment organisation to send out an expression of interest for equine specific workshops!
I want to thank the South East Gippsland Landcare Network and Far East Gippsland Landcare Network for hosting the workshops. They organised good facilities and food for the participants!
Equitana Melbourne 2012
The 10th edition of EQUITANA was held last weekend (15th-18th of Nov) at the Melbourne Showgrounds. There was a big turn out, particular on the first Day and Saturday, and the weather was actually not too bad – even some sun 🙂
MB Equine Services was selected this year to host two educational presentations on Decision Making in Horse and Land Management and Regenerative Pasture Management. Unfortunately the titles of our presentations in the Equitana Program were not very clear. They forgot the important keyword PASTURE or LAND in our title presentation!! So many visitors didn’t know that it was about HORSE & LAND/PASTURE management. Nevertheless, we had lots of interest and all of our pasture and nutrition books were sold!
We want to thank everybody who visited us at the Equitana and came to our talks. We are looking forward to many more Equitana events!
The next Equitana in Australia will be held at Sydney!
EQUITANA Sydney, November 7th – 10th 2013
If your interested in the Equitana in Europe… 9 days of fun!!! The next one will be held in Essen (Germany), 16th-24th of March 2013
Regenerative Pasture Management for Horse Properties Workshops – Gippsland Victoria (November 2012)
Regenerative Pasture Management for Horse Properties Workshops
Gippsland Victoria (November 2012)
Presented by MB Equine Services
Introduction
- Introduction: workshop lay-out & topics
- Small survey outcomes– what are the challenges you face in horse & land management
- Current problems in horse keeping & pasture management
- What is your vision for your horse property and what are your limitations
Feeding Management
- Free roaming vs domesticated horses
- Digestive system of the horse
- Pastures for livestock vs horses
- Creating suitable pastures for horses – where to start?
Ecosystems & Pasture Management
- Four key insights in land management
- Ecosystem processes
- Tools we can use to manage the ecosystem
- Pasture growth, development & planning
- Making decisions
Additional notes:
- Additional nutrition & feeding management
- Forages and enrichment / drought proofing
- What is the next step
- Where can you find more information
KORRUMBURRA
Friday 23rd of November
Where: KORUMBURRA FOOTBALL CLUB ROOMS, KORUMBURRA
Cost: FREE– LUNCH PROVIDED
Time: 10am to 2.30pm
Contact: katew@wgcma.vic.gov.au
Flyer Korrumburra
STRATFORD
Saturday 24th of November
Where: Stratford Pony Club Rooms
Knob Reserve Stratford
Time: 10.00am – 2.30pm
With lunch supplied (12.00pm – 12.30pm)
Cost: FREE – ( WITH BBQ LUNCH INCLUDED)
Contact: darrenw@wgcma.vic.gov.au
Flyer Stratford
BAIRNSDALE
Sunday 25th of November
Time: 10.00 am—3.00 am
Cost: FREE for Landcare Members,
otherwise $10 (LUNCH PROVIDED)
Contact: emma.orgill@dpi.vic.gov.au
Flyer Bairnsdale
ORBOST
Monday 26th of November
Where: Orbost Golf Club
Time: 5.30pm—9.30pm
Cost: FREE for Landcare Members,
otherwise $10 (DINNER PROVIDED)
Contact: emma.orgill@dpi.vic.gov.au
Flyer Orbost
Equitana 2012 Program MB Equine Services
At this year’s Equitana, MB Equine Services will host two presentations on horse & land management. In the first presentation we will highlight the current challenges we face in horse and land management and how we can move forward with property/pasture planning and decision making to restore our land and improve the health of our horses. In the second presentation we will discuss in more detail ecosystem processes and tools how to regenerate the land. Unfortunately we don’t have enough time to go into all the details about grass growth, development, grazing and land planning, horse management and nutrition. So after the presentation come and see us at the Horse SA Stand #473 Epsom Hall. We will also be visiting the Hoofbeats Magazine Stand #292 Grand Hall.
Decision Making in Horse & Land Management – Where to start when you want to regenerate your pastures & land?
Mariette van den Berg & Nick Huggins
Thursday 15th of November
11:45- 12:45 am
Healthy land= healthy horses – Ecosystem processes and tools for regenerating your land.
Saturday 17th of November
3:45-4:45 pm
Holistic Management for Horse Properties Part 5: Pasture Management
O
vergrazing and over-resting pastures are common problems on horse properties, which may result in ‘horse sick’ pastures with poor quality grasses, accumulation of weeds, compacted and eroded soils, salinity and populations of parasites. Moreover, overgrazing can also trigger the accumulation of Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC) in grasses, which puts horses at risk of developing digestive and metabolic disorders such as acidosis and laminitis.
This means that when we keep horses in captivity we must aim to mimic this natural migrating and foraging process and therefore we must manage and plan the movement of our horses. If they are left in any one place too long, or if they returned to it too soon, they will overgraze plants and compact and pulverise the soils. Many horse owners will use a rotation system if they have multiple paddocks available for their horses, however generally the management and rotations are done randomly without an actual plan.
A proper grazing plan is important for maintaining healthy pastures and by using the principles of the Holistic Grazing Planning as described in “Holistic Management – A new Framework for Decision Making” we are able to get a clearer picture of where horses need to be and when, and this determines how you plan their moves. The Holistic Grazing Planning procedure was featured in the previous edition.
Without correct management this will result in overgrazing of grasses. To be able to provide sufficient amounts of grass to meet the dietary needs of your horses and avoid overgrazing or over-resting the grasses in your paddocks, you must develop a proper grazing plan. However, to be able to apply the plan we need adequate knowledge on how grasses and legumes grow and leaf management. This will provide us with a clearer picture of where horses need to be and when, and this determines how you plan their moves.
Read more about grass growth & development in the latest edition of the Horses & People Magazine!
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