Management of cattle and draught horse to maintain openness of landscapes in French Central Mountains
Gestion de bovins et de chevaux de trait pour maintenir des pâturages ouverts dans le Massif Central en France
Résumé
To analyze the impact of mixed herds on grazing management in mountain grasslands, we surveyed 25 farms, managing dairy and/or beef cattle with a small horse herd representing about 10% of the total livestock. Farmers favoured the two animal species grazing together on the same pastures. However, horses also used alone pastures ungrazed by cattle: About 10% of the total grassland area in beef systems and 15% in dairy systems, reflecting their use by farmers as landscape managers.