# Feeding bees and a horse



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Since the horse will more than likely graze most of it, tall plants like alfalfa or sweet clover won't work, white clover might be a good option. Many varieties to choose from check your local feed store or FMA.


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

I have used "ball clover" mixed in the pasture for the horses and bees.


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

I do not have any large grazers myself, but live in the middle of ranching country. All of my bee yards are in grazing situations so here are a few ideas. 

Around here, the best pasture management seems to be...
Planted with a mix of grasses and clovers (white, red, new zealand,...) and birdsfoot trefoil. Animals are kept off the field for most of spring while the field does its big growth spurt. The clovers all come into full bloom and give us a nice flow until mid june or so. Then as the grasses mature, the field is cut for hay. The hay is baled and harvested and the animals are turned out onto the pasture. If there is still irrigation, the clovers will come back for another bloom, although never as strong as the first one. 
There are a few ranches around with small year round pastures of grass and clover. The animals stay in the same field and the field is irrigated. White clover seems to work really well in this situation. 

It sounds like you have 3 pastures available so you can do some rotations. Are you growing your own hay or buying? I would be tempted to grow a hay crop in one field (alfalfa or maybe sainfoin?), and rotate the horse between the other two, allowing one field to bloom while the other is grazed and then switch. 

one of my main yards is shared with 7 mules. they really like the orchardgrass, clover, trefoil mix in their field. Bees do really well on trefoil.


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## SAS (Sep 4, 2015)

johngfoster said:


> We moved onto 10 acres in the Mission Valley in NW Montana and my wife just got a horse. I'm planning to start my first hive next spring, and am starting to think ahead. We have about 7 acres split between 3 pastures that we are not really doing anything with at the moment, other than grazing for the horse. I'm thinking of putting some of it under some kind of crop that could serve both as grazing for the horse and food for the bees.
> 
> We have a lot of seed potatoes around us, but I understand the bees don't go for those. We have a small vegetable garden and a raspberry patch, as well as a few fruit trees in the garden, so I don't think I have to make the decision this year. We have irrigation available.
> 
> I'm thinking either clover/grass mix in one or two fields, or alphalpha, which can be hayed as well. What dou you recommend?


If it where me, and since you have irrigation, I would go with alfalfa, . Horses cost a lot to feed, much more than bees. If you plant alfalfa, depending on how long of growing season you have, you should be able to get 2 or 3 cuttings a year, on good ground that should be plenty of hey to get your horse through the winter, along with some winter grazing, if you don't cut it to late. 

By growing alfalfa, you have the potential to benefit 3-fold:
1. Plenty of foraging for the bees when the alfalfa blooms between cuttings. 
2. Winter feed for your horse.
3. And, the potential to sell the extra bales of hey, if you harvest more hey than you will need. Of course, this all depends on the quality of the soil. 

Good luck!!


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## johngfoster (Nov 2, 2015)

ApricotApiaries said:


> It sounds like you have 3 pastures available so you can do some rotations. Are you growing your own hay or buying? I would be tempted to grow a hay crop in one field (alfalfa or maybe sainfoin?), and rotate the horse between the other two, allowing one field to bloom while the other is grazed and then switch.


We are buying hay at the moment. My concern with Alfalfa is that you can't just turn the horse loose in the field. By growing Alfalfa, we would have to decrease our grazing pasture for the horse, thus increasing our need to feed it. And, my wife tells me this am she wants to get another horse in the relatively near future too. . Only one of our fields (the largest at about 5 acres) has irrigation. The rest is dry land. However, I guess I could look into piping water to the rest of the property if needed.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have always planted a mixture of clovers and alfalfa and chicory and grass and it's never been a problem with the horses. Alfalfa has never been the main thing, just one of many things. I buy "grazing alfalfa" to plant...


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## johngfoster (Nov 2, 2015)

Michael Bush said:


> I buy "grazing alfalfa" to plant...


Thanks. That is helpful. We have a local seed place I'll check with to see what they have that's like that.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

We had a horse when I was a teenager who would break out of the pen just to go next door and eat alfalfa in an alfalfa field. It always ended with her rolling and moaning and bloating. After the fourth or fifth vet visit to "burp" her, my dad decided she would either live or die, but he was tired of the expense. She lived... but she was sure miserable.

It is quite different when the alfalfa is just one of many things growing in the field.


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## SAS (Sep 4, 2015)

I have had horses most of my life, from pleasure riding (riding for fun) and gymkhanas as a kid, to team roping when I got older. the years In between gymkhanas as a kid, and team roping when I got older. I rode bareback broncs (bucking horses) in rodeos for more than 14 years.

I'm just saying this so you know I have a little history when it comes to horses. I'm no expert, and don't claim to be. 

If you have horses, one of the most important things to have, is good fences to keep them in. This keeps your nabors happy, and keeps your horses out of the hey fields.

As mentioned by Michael Bush, alfalfa in the field can and will bloat/colic, and even founder a horse, which can be very serious. But, this is true with other rich feeds as well. Fresh green grass will also founder and colic a horse if your not careful, especially when switching from hey at the end of the winter and then turning them out on green pasture. 

So, be careful with what ever you decide to plant, if anything. And for the best advise on what to plant in your area, ask your nabors and the local feed & seed store.

Good luck!!


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## johngfoster (Nov 2, 2015)

So I went by our local seed store today to see what they had, and talk with the agronomist. They suggested a few options. I think the one that would be most ideal is a mix of seed that is non-bloating, that can be irrigated and rotationally grazed. This is what they suggested:

1. Cicer Milkvetch 4#/acre ($6.15/#)
2. Birdsfoot Trefoil 3#/acre ($5.50/#)
3. Sainfoin 6#/acre ($3.30/#)
4. Red Clover 3#/acre ($3.00/#)
5. Chicory 3#/acre ($6.00/#)

He suggested I use a pull-behind harrow that I can drag behind my pickup to rough up the soil before seeding, and then possibly do it again after seeding. The rain, snow, and horses hooves will help to get the seed pressed into the ground. What are the thoughts of the "hive"?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

The red clover won't do anything for the honey bees. The bumble bees will love it. Otherwise, that's a nice mixture. I'd throw in some white and yellow sweet clover and some hubam clover. Ladino clover wouldn't hurt either. White dutch wouldn't hurt either...


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

white and yellow sweet clover do well here, and bloom longer than anything thats not called a weed. i do a mix of white and yellow sweet, white dutch, alfalfa, and then what ever grass comes back. the white dutch does well until things dry out, and the sweet stays on longer. alfalfa is good once it's established, but it needs water until it is. if you are doing a garden i'd also recommend borage. it does well and my bees live on it until frost.


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