Work by Herd (1986) may be cause to reevaluate dragging. The author has developed a technique of sweeping horse pastures to physically remove manure. For simplicity, just consider the sweeper a street sweeping machine. The sweeping can remove manure before there is time for parasite eggs to hatch and migrate to the forage, where the parasites would be ingested. The manure can be stockpiled, composted, and used as organic fertilizer. Sweeping to remove manure and parasite load can reduce pasture larval counts up to 95 percent. Sweeping also increases pasture area by up to 50 percent by cleaning areas that were avoided because of horse manure. This technique is useful only on short pasture and a few small paddocks. Commercial sweepers, such as the Jacobson brand, are available.

Removing manure is somewhat counterproductive if nutrient recycling in a rotational grazing approach is desired. However, the manure can be piled, composted, returned to the horse pastures, or used elsewhere.

The horse pastures apparently have to be very short, if pictures in the sweeper reports are accurate, which may mean a considerable sacrifice in forage management for our region. The operator must weigh the pros and cons - is sweeping and removing manure and potential parasite load worth the sacrifice in forage management, nutrient recycling, and expense?

Grazing or Use Management
Grazing or haying management is where potential benefits can be won or lost.

Horse Grazing Characteristics, Spot Grazing, and Trampling
The horse is a biting top-grazer. The cow is a tongue-lapping, tearing side-feeder. Horses graze off the tops until the pasture in that spot is short. Then they tend to continue grazing resprouts on that spot and avoid what appears to be good, taller pasture. Other grazers do this, too, but the horse is notorious for it.

The spot grazing effect can be so intense and extensive that large spots, and finally whole pastures, are almost completely destroyed by grazing too short, too often, and too much over an extended time and by all the associated trampling effects. The hog is probably the only domestic animal that can do more damage to a pasture than a horse can.

Spot grazing ranges from short-grazed areas associated with tall spots to completely bare ground. Spot grazing and short grazing also increase pasture dust, which can lead to respiratory, digestive tract, and parasite problems. This syndrome also apparently increases parasite levels and soil erosion.

The natural traveling characteristic and flipping hoof action of the horse cause much trampling damage by cutting off forage or uprooting whole plants. This problem is most severe with tender forages such as legumes and cool-season annual winter pastures. It is less severe in permanent forages or sod forage such as bermudagrass, bunchgrasses, crabgrass, and fescue.

There is only one way to avoid spot grazing and trampling damage - don't graze. Since such a course is unacceptable, use rotational grazing and controlled stocking rates along with good production practices to control both damaging characteristics.

Changing Pastures and Introducing Horses to Pasture
A crucial factor in managing horses on pasture is to avoid abrupt changes from a fed ration to pasture and from extremes of pasture quality or type. Changes are especially a problem when horses are moved from a lower-quality pasture, or no pasture, to a high-quality pasture. Many, if not most, horses must adapt to great changes. Horses unaccustomed to very lush pastures can colic, founder, or have other digestive tract problems associated with overeating and the sudden change in diet. These reactions can kill the animals. Lush pasture might be excellent and abundant winter pasture, early bermudagrass, early crabgrass, and legumes. Many horses tend to eat too much too fast in these cases. The problem is generally nonexistent when horses go from a high-quality to lower-quality pasture.A good procedure is to gradually increase the exposure to lush pasture over a period of days, which works well when horses go from a dry feed program to lush winter pastures. The actual approach will vary, depending upon the horse characteristics and value. A guide for such changes would be to

1. feed a ration of hay before the first grazing;
2. graze on lush pasture thirty minutes every morning and evening the first day;
3. increase time to one hour in the morning and evening the second day and preferably continue this program several days (watch the horses and make a judgment);
4. gradually increase the time to full-time grazing, if that is the goal.

Creep Grazing
Using creep grazing for foal nutrition is uncommon but should work, if properly implemented. Creep grazing is simply allowing the colt to creep graze into an adjoining paddock that can be managed for better quality than the one where the mare is.