Pasture Management by the Seasons

Whether you want to improve your pastures or simply maintain them so that they stay lush and green for years to come there are many steps to take. For a great primer on these concepts read Pasture Management Basics for the Equine Owner. For example your first step should always be soil testing! Some steps can be done at any time and others should be done on a schedule.  Read on for a seasonal pasture management timeline and items to consider each season.
Winter
Winter is a great time to think about your pasture management and come up with a plan for what to accomplish this year. Especially when renovating or reestablishing pastures it is often a multiyear process. Pull up a map of your farm and consider your pasture layout.

Can you change anything to make it more efficient?
Do you need to add laneways or stress lots?
If you are interested in rotational grazing think about which pastures you will rotate between or split into smaller paddocks. Can all of your horses go out together in one group or will you need multiple grazing systems?
Price out any projects for the coming year reseeding building a stress lot fencing etc. Contact experts and agencies for technical assistance with design and engineering. If possible keep horses off pastures during the winter. The grass is not growing but they continue to nibble everything down to the ground. This damages perennial grass plants which will take longer to recover in the spring. In addition your horses hooves slice through the soil in wet conditions damaging root systems and further slowing spring recovery.
A stress lot would be an ideal place to turn horses out during the winter or designate one pasture as the winter pasture knowing that it will need to be renovated in the spring. If your

stress lots get very muddy in the winter and spring look into installing heavy use pads AKA stabilized stone pads which improve drainage dramatically.
Try to avoid spreading manure in the winter especially if there is snow cover or the ground is frozen. When plants arent growing they dont take up the nutrients in manure. Winter is a good time to review your Manure Management Plan for changes or write one if you dont have one yet. Every farm with livestock needs a plan including horses!
Spring
Keep horses off the pastures until they have recovered and grown back from winter. A good