Throughout Kentucky, the summer of 1999 will be remembered for hot days and a lack of rain. While the drought and its effects were readily noted this past summer and fall, horse owners need to consider what the drought may have done to their pastures for the upcoming grazing season.

With some fall moisture that hopefully will rejuvenate some of the pasture grasses, horse owners by early January should have a clear picture of what their pastures look like and what forage will be available for the upcoming grazing season.

What many horse owners will see is their pastures are not as bad as anticipated. However there will be areas in the pasture where the forage stand has been thinned by the dry conditions and other areas where the grass has died due to the dry conditions or overgrazing and needs to be reseeded.

For those areas where the grass is thinner, rejuvenation of the stand can be done by fertilizing the pasture. An application of nitrogen in late March is recommended for pastures which were not fertilized in the fall. Owners and managers should contact their county Extension agent for a recommendation regarding the application rate for their area and also consider a soil test to get an idea on the fertility requirements of their pastures