Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Future Project Discussions:

We had a long discussion about the future of the Multi-State Project: NE-1941 "Enviromental Impacts of Equine Operations.  We have one-year remaining on the current five-year approval.  This project was initialted in 2009 as NE-1041, continued in 2014 as NE-1441, and now as NE-1941.

1. Most of the individuals taking part in the discussion were either conducting less equine environmental or pasture management work than in previous years or had other responsibilities at their institutions.  Current project leadership will need to change in future years.
2. We discussed broadening the project to include other species (small-ruminant) or other grazing related work (such as agri-voltaics). 
3. All agreed tthat the current projects, NE-1041, NE-1441, and NE-1941 have been successsful.  These have resulted in good research and extension programs at each individual institution and have allowed good cooperation among the group.
4. It was agreed to complete the current five-year plan in 2024.
5. No revision of this project is planned.
6. A new proposal in a related equine research area will be discussed.

NE-1941

2023

Pennsylvania State Report

• Fundamentals of Equine Pasture Management: York County, PA
  • 11 registrants
  • 4 PA counties
  • 100% intend to use information learned (n= 8)
  • 100% of evaluation respondents plan to complete at least one of the following practices within 2 years:
    • Develop a rotational grazing system and/or subdivide large pastures for rotation
    • Soil test every 3 years
    • Apply lime/fertilizer based on soil test results
    • Identify forages present in pastures
    • Select new forages to seed in pastures
    • Identify weeds in pastures
    • Choose herbicides based on weeds present & spray at the right time
    • Evaluate pasture condition at least annually
    • Overseed a pasture
    • Reestablish a pasture
    • Use sacrifice lots to keep horses off pasture when needed
  • More specific outcomes are listed on the next page of this report.
• Farm visits including pasture management, weed control, toxic weed ID, and soil & hay sampling
• 3 Pasture Walk Workshops, 55 total registrants
• 1 collaboration with USDA-NRCS: Equine Grazing Train the Trainer (n = 20)
• 9 invited talks/interviews for other organizations
• 2 Pasture-focused webinars, 466 registrants
• Other focus areas:
  • Horse hay
  • Parasite control
  • Tick control
  • Educating new horse owners
  • Equine First Aid workshops
• 1 national award: Search for Excellence Award in Environmental Quality, Forestry and Natural Resources. “Improving Environmental Stewardship on Equine Farms.” National Association of County Ag Agents.

Publications: 

Program: Fundamentals of Equine Pasture Management

The objective of this program is to educate equine farm owners about pasture management to improve the quality of pastures and mitigate environmental concerns associated with horse pastures. 10 people from 4 Pennsylvania counties registered for the full-day in-person course in September 2022.

Most participants were recreational/hobby farm owners. The average size of farm was 10.3 acres with 4.1 horses. Self-assessed pasture quality was rated 3.0 on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). Overall knowledge increase was rated on the same scale as 4.4.

All evaluation respondents (n=8) reported that they will adopt practices as a result of the course.

Expected impact was measured by asking participants whether they will adopt certain practices covered in the course within the next two years. Other options presented were “Already do this” and “Will not adopt this practice.”  100% of respondents reported that they will adopt 9 different practices, including:

 Adopting these practices will help to improve pastures and consequently improve environmental stewardship on these farms.  

Delaware

Problem:

Pastures and manure provide routes of transmission for equine parasites (cyathostomins) which affect horse health. Understanding the mechanisms of anthelmintic resistance of parasites and the use of novel strategies (black soldier fly larvae) for manure management were the two aspects of the project we are working on.

Activities:

We concluded RNA-Seq experiments to identify genes that are differentially expressed in cyathostomins that survive three levels of anthelmintic treatment. Three major classes of anthelmintics were evaluated, and a manuscript of the results is in preparation.

We evaluated black soldier fly larvae as a method for manure management by comparing growth parameters and gut bacterial composition when grown on horse manure vs standard media. Additionally, we measured a drop in cyathostomin egg and larval counts for manure that had been treated with black soldier fly larvae. A manuscript of these results is in preparation.

Benefit for Target audience:

Genes related to resistance will be evaluated as potential targets to increase the long-term efficacy of the anthelmintics currently available to horse owners and veterinarians. Since no new formulations are under development it is important to extend the impact of those already available.

Black soldier fly larvae can be used to convert nutrients in manure to high quality protein for poultry feed as part of a manure management plan for backyard/ small producers.

Benefit for Public audience:

Anthelmintics that perform better and are not subject to resistance will enable more effective parasite management for horse owners and veterinarians.

Black soldier fly larvae can be used to convert nutrients in manure to high quality protein for poultry feed as part of a manure management plan for backyard/ small producers.

Florida

Extension Programming:

Equine Best Management Practices Workshop, Martin County, FL. March 31, 2023.

Program outcomes:

• Evidence of knowledge gain, with an average pre-test score of 37% increasing to 64% for the post-test.
• People felt their knowledge of soil fertility and composting increased, as did their ability to manage a manure pile.
• They mostly stated they came into the program already with a high level of importance placed on manure management.
• 10 out of 10 respondents said they “definitely” or “probably” plan to do something new as a result of what they learned. Specific practices they intend to adopt include:
• 2 will rotate horses among pastured areas to encourage forage re-growth
• 1 will adjust their stocking rate to prevent over-grazing
• 6 will begin composting their manure
• 6 will apply for cost-share funding to implement BMPs
• 8 will share the information they learned with other horse owners

• Challenges identified: need for a tractor, need to invest in sprinklers to improve pasture, tried composting before but were unsuccessful, adding base to manure storage.

North Carolina State University – NE1941 State Report

Submitted by Paul D. Siciliano, Department of Animal Science

Teaching:

A livestock grazing management course was developed and implemented in the fall of 2020.  The course is a junior/senior level management course for Animal Science majors.  The course teaches undergraduate students how to design and implement grazing plans for beef cattle, sheep, goats and horses that promote animal-health, plant-health and efficient animal production.  Course topics include animal grazing behavior, basic principles of plant growth and soil health, pasture allocation, grazing systems for various livestock species, pasture establishment and renovation.  The course has been offered four times and enrollment has increased from 5 to 15 students.

Research: 

Limited research has been conducted over the past several years due to changes in appointment and responsibilities.  A small study was conducted to validate the use of a GPS unit for measuring distance traveled by grazing horses.  Preliminary results suggest the GPS units may be capable of accurately detecting movement of 5 to 10 m.  However, more work is necessary to determine the appropriate monitoring frequency necessary to minimize error in measurement.

Extension: 

A presentation titled “Opportunities for horses in multispecies grazing” was delivered as part of a multi-species grazing workshop held at the Annual Meeting of the American Forage and Grassland Conference held in Winston-Salem, NC in January. 

A presentation on Grazing Management for horses were given as part of a Pastureland Ecology for Producers webinar series in April.  The presentations were recorded and posted on the NCSU Amazing Grazing website (https://cefs.ncsu.edu/extension-and-outreach/amazing-grazing/pastureland-ecology-2023/). 

Lectures and demonstrations on equine grazing management were included in the USDA-NRCS Pastureland Ecology I course hosted by NCSU in June.  Participants from across the US attended the ten-day course and gained knowledge and experience managing grazing of horses and other livestock. 

A grazing demonstration was developed and used to teach county animal agriculture extension agents principles of adaptive grazing for horses.  The demonstration illustrated the use of crabgrass as a summer annual forage for horses. In addition, improved grazing efficiency (e.g., uniform grazing, increased number of grazing days) as a function of adaptive grazing was observed.  Approximately 30 agents attended the training.

No reports submitted from Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Kentucky

University of Florida

Peer Reviewed Publications:

Vasco, A.C.C.M, J.C.B Dubeux, Jr., A.M. Arias-Esquivel, L.K. Warren, C.L. Wickens. 2022. Feeding behavior and preference of horses fed rhizoma peanut hay. J. Vet. Behav. 47:35-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2021.09.011

Book Chapters:

Silva, L.S., S.L. Dillard, M.K. Mullenix., M. Wallau, C. Vasco, J.J. Tucker, K. Keishmer, D. Russell, K. Kelley, M. Runge, A. Gamble, R. Prasad, M. Elmore, M. Burns, K. Stanford, V. Niyigena, C. Wickens, W. Sawadgo, C. Heaton. 2022. Concepts and research-based guidelines for forage-livestock systems in the Southeast region. Chapter on Forage Systems for Horses. Supported by the 2021 Southern Region SARE Professional Development Grant.

Abstracts:

Vasco, A.C., J. Dubeux, L. Sollenberger, M. Wallau, E. Santos, J. Lance, L. Warren, and C. Wickens. 2023. Diurnal variation in forage nutrient composition and metabolic parameters of horses grazing warm-season, perennial grass-legume mixed pastures. Proceedings of the International Grasslands Congress, Livestock Production Systems, May 14-19, Covington, KY.

Vasco, A.C., E.R. Santos, J. Lance, J. Dubeux, L. Sollenberger, M. Wallau, L. Warren, and C. Wickens. 2023. Herbage responses and performance of mature horses grazing warm-season perennial grass-legume mixed pastures. Proceedings of the International Grasslands Congress, Livestock Production Systems, May 14-19, Covington, KY.

Creative works:

Wickens, C., M. Lusk. Revised 2023. Equine BMPs mobile responsive website. Developed in collaboration with AUSTN Ltd. and UF IFAS Web Services. Available at: https://animal.ifas.ufl.edu/equinebmps/

FY2023: Delaware

Publications:

Tento, B., Ferraro, I., Biddle, AS. Differential gene expression of equine cyathostomins treated with three anthelmintic drugs. In preparation.

Crossley, M., Biddle, AS. The impact of black soldier fly larvae on equine cyathostomin egg and larval survival. In preparation.

Penn State

Publications:

Kenny, L.B. 2022. Sugars in Spring and Fall Pastures (update). Online. https://extension.psu.edu/sugars-in-spring-and-fall-pastures