What does your pasture need? How do you know if your changes are helping?
Perhaps you’re dealing with bare ground, compacted areas or poor pasture growth and aren’t sure where to start. Or you’ve already changed your management and want to know whether your efforts are making a difference. Looking at your fields can tell you some things, but it doesn’t always reveal what’s happening beneath the surface. Where does your pasture need attention? What should you consider changing? How can you tell whether your management is helping? In this on-demand webinar, Sian explains practical ways to assess soil, roots, water movement, ground cover and plant diversity. You’ll learn how to use these observations together to understand how your pasture is functioning, identify areas that may need attention and track changes over time. There’s no single test that gives you every answer, and no universal picture of a healthy horse pasture. The aim is to help you gather useful evidence from your own fields, so you can make more informed decisions about what to do next.
Watch when it suits you
Recorded webinar: Is Your Horse Pasture Health Improving?
£25.00
Understand what your pasture needs
Learn practical ways to assess soil structure, compaction, roots, earthworms, water infiltration and ground cover, so you can recognise areas that may need attention.
Use your findings to guide management decisions
Understand what different indicators can tell you about your pasture and how to interpret them together, helping you decide where to focus your efforts.
Check whether your changes are helping
Learn how to establish a baseline, repeat assessments consistently and record your results, so you can track progress and review your approach over time.
About this webinar
Whether you’re deciding where to start or reviewing changes you’ve already made, understanding how your pasture functions can help you choose your next steps. A greener field doesn’t tell the whole story. Soil structure, rooting depth, water movement, biological activity and plant diversity can all offer useful information about what your pasture needs and how it is responding to management. Sian explains practical field assessments, including Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS), earthworm counts, water infiltration measurements and plant diversity surveys using quadrats. The recording also explores FIT counts, rhizosheaths and legume nodulation, with clear explanations of what these indicators can reveal. You’ll learn how to choose useful assessments for your pasture and goals, interpret their limitations and bring the results together. This can help you identify priorities for management and check whether your chosen approach is making a difference.
Who this webinar is for
- Horse owners who want to understand what their pasture needs - Owners dealing with bare ground, compaction or poor pasture growth - People changing their grazing or pasture management - Owners working to improve soil health, plant diversity or pasture resilience - Yard managers, land managers and advisors - Equine professionals No specialist knowledge is required. Sian explains each assessment in clear, practical terms and shows how you can use it in your own fields.
About the presenter
Presented by Sian Constantine, founder of Hoof & Habitat and an ENFAR Registered Feed Advisor, with a background in biochemistry and life sciences. Sian teaches horse owners how pasture systems function, helping them make informed decisions that support horse welfare, soil health and resilient grazing.
Feel more confident deciding what to do next
Knowing what’s happening above and below the surface can help you identify what needs attention, choose suitable management changes and see whether those changes are helping. Watch the recording when it suits you, and return to it as you assess your fields and track their progress.
£25.00
Frequently Asked Questions
𝗗𝗼 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? No. The assessments use relatively simple equipment. Sian explains what you need for each assessment and how to carry it out. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀? Yes. The webinar helps you assess how your pasture is functioning and recognise areas that may need attention. You’ll learn how to interpret different indicators together and use your findings to inform management decisions. The right management response depends on your soil, climate, vegetation, grazing system, management history and goals. The assessments help you understand those decisions, rather than providing a prescribed plan for every field. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴? Yes. You’ll learn how to establish a baseline, repeat assessments consistently and record your results. Comparing observations over time can help you assess whether your management is producing the changes you’re aiming for and where your approach may need reviewing. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵? The recording covers soil alongside roots, water movement, ground cover, plant diversity, legumes and biological activity. These indicators help you build a picture of your pasture as a functioning system. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? Yes. Sian explains practical methods you can use in your own fields, including the principles of Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS), water infiltration measurements, earthworm counts and plant diversity assessments. The recording also covers their limitations and how to interpret the results in context. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲? Yes. The principles apply across different climates and pasture systems. Your observations and the management decisions they inform will depend on your local conditions. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴? Yes. You can ask questions in the learner community. If you need help accessing the recording, email [email protected] or call/WhatsApp 0333 772 3897. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗖𝗣𝗗)? A certificate of attendance is available on request. Please check whether your professional body accepts the recorded webinar for CPD.