FOR the last two or three years we’ve been running the rare breed Dexter cows and calves alongside the horses here at Belmont House Stud. The little Dexters are really well suited to mixed grazing with horses, they all get on very well.

The first big improvement we have noticed is grass quality. The cows eat what the horses don’t want and the horses eat what the cows don’t want. Instead of there being a rough sward left at the end of the year that horses don’t want, the cows clean all that off and it’s basically a level field going into the winter. That level field means in the spring we have lush grass growing much quicker than usual because the old grass is out of the way.

Before introducing the Dexters, we always had 20%-30% of grass that the horses wouldn’t eat, and this in turn had a negative affect for the future year’s growth. Now we have a very even grass yield and our grass yield has definitely improved by 25%-30% because of the cows.

We don’t use any extra artificial fertiliser, we just use what we always used, but what we’re seeing is that the grass growth is completely different. Even as I speak to you today, our fields are lush and green and the main reason for that is they were bare for the winter and there was no old grass lying on top of it.

When we take in the horses in autumn, we leave the cows to run over the ground for an extra month to six weeks, and they’ll clean it off. We end up with that very even sward the next year.

Mixed grazing is also very beneficial for the young horses. We have noticed here that the mares and foals go out with the cows and calves really well. The foals actually play with the calves and vice versa. They all lie down together, they all go for a drink together, and it’s amazing what it does for the young horses; it teaches them that they have to interact with other animals, and as horses are often shy or afraid of cows, our horses don’t have that problem as they are reared with them.

Huge benefit

Worm and parasite control is the other big improvement. Our worm problem would be much less than it was before the cows. It’s a proven fact and there have been many studies done on the fact that mixed grazing has huge benefit for the animals grazing together.

Last winter I had five young colts in a field with six Dexters and they would all eat out of the one feeder. Some people would say young colts would kill each other but there wasn’t a sound out of them because the cows were actually in control. We’re really happy with the mixed grazing – it’s a win-win for both sets of animals. I think the mixed grazing is a really positive message, and it’s something more people could utilise.