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The influence of grass height on bite dimensions of horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

A. Naujeck  and
J. Hill
A. Naujeck
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Science, Writtle College, University of Essex, CM1 3RR, UK
J. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Science, Writtle College, University of Essex, CM1 3RR, UK
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Extract

The management and maintenance of swards grazed by horses is known to be a difficult task. In a short period of time (2 to 3 weeks) pastures used for horse grazing develop patches of bare ground, short grass and areas which horses refuse to graze because of faecal contamination. Bite depth and bite area are important in determining the effects of grazing on the vegetation. The dimensions of the bite have been investigated in cattle (Ungar et al., 1999), sheep and goats (Concha, 2000), but not horses. The interaction of the horse with the pasture surface is poorly understood but important to improve management and maintenance of areas grazed by horses. The study reported examines the influence of grass height on bite dimensions, i.e. bite depth, bite volume and bite area of the horse at grazing.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2002 , 2002 , pp. 28
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2002

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References

Concha, M.A., Nicol, A.M. (2000) Selection by sheep and goats for perennial ryegrass and white clover offered over a range of sward height contrasts. Grass and Forage Science 55: 47–58 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laca, E.A., Ungar, E.D., Seligman, N.G., Demment, M.W. (1992) Effects of sward height and bulk density on bite dimensions of cattle grazing homogeneous swards. Grass and Forage Science 47: 91–102 Google Scholar
Ungar, E.D., Ravid, N. (1999) Bite horizons and dimensions for cattle grazing herbage to high levels of depletion. Grass and Forage Science 54: 357–364 CrossRefGoogle Scholar