Dry enough for ya?

Here's a note from the "The Horse" about the drought some of us are feeling...


Drought: Managing Horses in a Long Dry Spell
by: Erin Ryder, News Editor
June 02 2007 Article # 9721


Drought conditions, exacerbated by the long-term effects of last year's dry season on hay production, are making life tough for horse owners in several areas of the country. According to a May 29 report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, large areas of California, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida are in D3 (severe) drought condition. Most of the land in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia is categorized as D3, with the rest of the areas in these states in slightly less-severe stages of drought.

"Last year was a dry year, and it just seems to have escalated," said Cindy McCall, PhD, professor in the animal sciences department at Auburn University and equine specialist for the state extension service.

McCall said that Alabama pastures have all but turned to dust. According to a May 14 National Agriculture Statistics Service weekly report, there has been a 16.04-inch precipitation deficit in Alabama so far this year. Topsoil moisture that week was categorized as "very dry" or "dry" in 86% of the state. Other southeastern states are similarly affected.

"It just looks like concrete, basically," McCall said. "There's nothing left for the most part."

McCall advised horse owners to take steps to stretch what little grass is available. These include rotational grazing, or in areas where grass is insufficient to support rotation, creating a "sacrifice area" to serve as a dry lot. Keep horses in this area for all but a couple hours each day. Horses in a sacrifice area will need hay or alternative forage supplementation to meet the minimum intake requirement of 1% of body weight in long roughage each day.

McCall said these strategies can help overgrazed pasture regrow when rain does finally fall.

"Right now, a lot of people have the grass grazed down so far that the grass is really going to need a long time if we do get rain," McCall said.

Drought conditions in 2006 made it difficult to stockpile hay last winter, meaning that many horse owners don't have enough hay left over to feed through the spring and summer if rains don't come. McCall advised horse owners to start thinking about next winter now, as the hay season is likely to be affected.

For the farmers who were able to get a first cutting, McCall said the grass was generally short and of a poor quality, and "there's definitely not enough to go around."

McCall said a good soaking from a tropical depression is the best hope for Alabama grazing and agriculture.

The latest seasonal assessment from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, released May 17, calls for some improvement in the severe drought covering the majority of the Southeast, but notes "drought should persist well into summer."