LIKE other farming enterprises, the management of horses depends on soils to produce grass. Soil is the medium in which grass grows and soil provides a number of key functions in this role such as providing/supplying water and air to growing plants, and giving support and anchorage to plant roots. A key function of soils is to provide nutrients for grass growth. The fertility levels of a soil will determine its ability to do this.

It is important to manage soils so that the fertility levels are optimised and maintained so that nutrient supply is sufficient for grass growth requirements. With high value animals such as horses, long-term stability of grass nutrition through little and often application of fertilisers on well maintained soils is beneficial for consistency of mineral composition and nutritional quality of grass and hay/haylage. Having up to date soil analysis is critical to monitoring soil fertility and planning fertiliser applications on the farm.