Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The following individuals made presentation at the meeting:

1. Mike Westendorf (Rutgers)
2. Jennifer Weinert (Rutgers)
3. Carey Williams (Rutgers)
4. Robin Brumfield (Rutgers)
5. Masoud Hashimi (UMASS)
6. Krishona Martinson (UMN)
7. Danielle Smarsh (PSU)
8. Laura Kenny (PSU)
9. Amy Burk (UMD)
10. Mieke Holder (UKY - on line, both days)
11. Carissa Wickens (UFL – on line, Tues.)

 The following are some of the important areas of work during this meeting: 

Forage Work

1. The comparison of diffferent turfgrass cultivars, including cool-season and warm-season varieties, is being studied at several universities.
2. The use of grazing muzzles and their effect on stress and the welfare of horses.
3. Hay storage methods for round bales is being compared.
4. Stockpiling of forages for fall and winter feeding.
5. Comparing the use of novel warm-season grasses, eg. crabgrass for summer feeding.
6. Testing a chewing sensor to monitor grazing behavior to help determine forage intake and animal behavior.
7. Compare grass legume mixtures that include a perennial peanut.  The horses seem to avoid it.
8. Extending of the grazing season using annual grasses such as crabgrass in the summer and forage stockpiling for feeding in the fall and winter.

Composting and Manure Disposal

1. Compost at equine stock facilities to characterize nutrient profile and potential for leachate.  Very little nutrient runoff was found on structures with covers and impervious surfaces.
2. Antibiotic resistance in horse manure.  How can it be quantified?  Follow the dairy industry as a model.
3. Equine carcass composting to educate horse owners and professionals on the process and benefits, as well as the analysis for chemical compostion of compost.

Trace Mineral Research

1. Study the presence of heavy metals in animal feeds: What does it mean for the horse that outlives most other livestock species, and the environment. 
2. Hair analysis. 
3. Excessive levels of dietary mineral supplementation (beyond nitrogen and phosphorus) that influence trace minerals and water quality.

Outreach

1. On-farm pasture programs including pasture walks for soil testing, plant and weed ID, poisonous plants, and pasture evaluation, etc.
2. Farm visits.
3. Environmental Friendly Farm Program.
4. Horse Forum (Maryland) – Environmental Stewardship Discussion, BMP into public equestrian facilities, zoning laws restricting the number of horses per acre, land use for equestrian purposes always viewed as AG.
5. On line certificate courses, on-line composting school.

Accomplishment 1: Forages for Horses

Outcomes: Extending the grazing season

Outputs: Development of different grazing strategies

• Use of warm season grasses to provide increased summer grazing
• Stockpiling of fall forages from cool-season grasses to lengthen the fall/winter grazing season
• Use of cover crops including the use of small grains such as rye or wheat for fall forage accumulation
• Comparison of forage varieties
• Comparison of fertilization strategies
• Improving hay quality for winter use

Activities: Research productivity

1. Comparison of grass legume mix pasture for horses using a perennial peanut perennial peanut (fixes nitrogen and grows close to the ground), bahaigrass (fertilized and not) and compared forage yield and quality, botanical composition, horse performance (digestibility of each, blood samples for glucose and insulin, body weight, BCS, body fat), N inputs, environmental impact (reducing off farm nitrogen), weekly measures, temporary fencing to allow similar herbage allowance.  Horses avoided the perennial peanut and do not graze it.

       2. Different grass cultivars are being compared.

• Incorporating novel warm season grasses into cool season grazing.
• 8 cool-season varieties, 6 warm-season varieties compared, Regenerate and Maestro Tall fescue most tolerant cool-seasons, but both have endophyte, creeping bentgrass lowest NSC, but lowest persistence.
• Warm-season Compadre and Zenith zoyiagrass, most wear tolerant, moderate yield, average NSC, Red River crabgrass and common bermudagrass were least tolerant
• Palatability of Turfgrasses, no difference in cool-season, common bermudagrass and crabgrass most preferred (however least tolerant)
• Extension of the grazing season using annuals such as crabgrass.
• Planting a couple varieties of forage oats for fall/winter grazing; plan to run weanlings and yearlings on the oats.
• Stockpiling research, species selection, tall fescue traditionally, also looking into orchard grass, monoculture and mixed, studying fertility and nitrogen rate and timing upon yield.

      3. Planting winter rye and oats to extend the grazing season and hope to graze further into the fall.

4. Hay bale wrap trial – B-wrap, net wrap, and twine effects on both alfalfa and low lignin alfalfa. After one-year of storage with every 3 months bale weight and hay sampling, B-wrap did not increase in moisture, low lignin alfalfa stayed low for first 6 months, thereafter no difference.  No loss of dry matter over one-year with B-wrap.  After 90 days it pays to use B-wrap.  B-wrap had very low mold and yeast levels.  Fed to cattle to do a preference trial, used 18 cow/calf pairs.

5. Grazing muzzles compared on the stress and welfare of horses: no muzzle, 10 hrs/d and 24 hrs/d. 10 hrs/d did not control weight gain, voluntary exercise during the day did not change, 24 hrs/d group had lower Heart Rate  and higher Heart Rate Variability.

6. Other projects:

• Implementing a chew-sensor technology as a grazing tool – RumiWatch system (Itin + Hoch, GmbH). Equine version is EquiWatch, validated with forage vs. concentrate, agreement with chewing was 99%, not validated with grazing.  Validating with chewing activity and applying it to grazing.   Pilot project using the EquiWatch halters looking at ad libitum hay vs. pasture grazing, showed longer grazing time with pasture and a strong pattern with grazing being higher at the mid-afternoon time.
• Comparing glucose and insulin response to horses on warm and cool season grasses; warm season grasses will have lower Non-Structural Carbohydrates because they do not store fructans. Glucose area under the curve was lower when grazing warm season grass particularly with the crabgrass, glucose did correlate positively with Non-Structural Carbohydrates, insulin didn’t differ with forage variety.
• Studying a hand-held NIR (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy) unit for on taking sample analysis and comparing to wet chemistry

Milestones:

1. Work to extend grazing season has resulted in collaborative research between nearly all states involved in the project.
2. Use of warm-season grasses is a potentially valuable summer forage option.
3. Crabgrass has promise as a summer forage.

Accomplishment 2: Composting and Manure Disposal

Activities:

1. Equine Carcass Composting: preliminary work completed by Mark Hutchinson from Maine.  Using 4 chemically euthanized horses, carcasses are being composted for 6 months.  In addition to analyzing for chemical composition of the compost, horse owners and professionals are being educated on the process and benefits.  This particular project is being conducted at the University of Minnesota; previous work has been completed at the University of Maine.

Accomplishment 3: Outreach

Activities:

1. On-farm programs including pasture walks, pasture evaluation, soil testing, forage testing, plant and weed identification, and poisonous plant discussions have taken place at most of the states.
2. Extension programs about feed management, manure management, and composting have also taken place at some of the states.
3. In addition, horse owner field days, e-newsletters, webinars, websites, Face Book pages, YouTube channels, Mobil Aps, Infographics, and horse conferences were conducted at most states.

Milestones:

1. Environmentally Friendly Farm program (Pennsylvania) including farm evaluation and multiple agencies.
2. Environmental Stewardship Discussion (Maryland Horse Forum), BMP's in public equestrian facilities.
3. On-line certificate courses (Minnesota).
4. Online composting course (New Jersey).

Bowman, M.A., Pratt-Phillips, S.E., Siciliano, P.D.  2019.  Effect of restricting time allowed for grazing on fecal microbiome.  J. Equine Vet. Sci. 76:78.

Bowman, M.A., Pratt-Phillips, S.E., Siciliano, P.D.  2019.  Effect of an abrupt diet change on the fecal microbiome.  J. Equine Vet. Sci. 76:74-75.