We spread "turf fertilizer" on our horses grazing pasture.  We are
ready to re-seed, and the horses will not be in the pasture for about
a month to six weeks.  Will the fertilizer we already spread be
harmful to the horses or is it ok?  The brand is Bandini Prochoice
21-7-14 turf fertilizer.  The chemical makeup is: (N) 21% (13%
Ammoniacal/8% Nitrate); Phosphate (P2O5) (7%); Soluble Potash (K20)
14%; and Sulfur (S) 2%. We have never fertilized this in ten years, is
there a danger of too much nitrogen affecting the digestion or the
health of the horses if it is ingested?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 23 Oct 2005 13:20 PDT

stancil-ga,

I hope you get an answer from a researcher who is knowledgable about
both horses and fertilizer.  I am neither of these things, and I am
posting my thoughts simiply as as observations -- you are not being
charged for this.

I would be quite surprised if the fertilizer posed any danger to the
animals a month or more after application.

First off, the fertilizer mimics animal manure, so I wouldn't think
the horses are being exposed to very mcu that they haven't encountered
before.

Yes, the quantities may differ by a good deal, and that can certainly
be enought to pose a possible danger.  But 4-6 weeks after application
and seeding, I would think that so much of the nutrients have been
taken up by plants, run off with rain water, converted to gassses, or
otherwise made unavailable, that the exposure to the horses would not
be anything near what it might be from freshly-applied manure.

Again, this is simply conjecture on my part, so take it with a grain
of salt, or some other farm-related commodity.

But let us know a bit more about the nature of your concerns and,
again, hopefully someone else can dive in here with a bit more of a
definitive response.

All the best,

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by stancil-ga on 23 Oct 2005 14:30 PDT

yes, I am less worried now...my main concern was the quantity of
sulfur and the types of nitrogen present in the product...there were
no pesticides in there, at least!  I am going to irrigate prior to
seeding, and hope this will calm down the intensity, as the turf
formula is for higher nitrogen.  The main problem I think is that the
grasses boosted by high nitrigen produce a more sugar intense grass,
leading to higher chance of colic if the horses are allowed to
overgraze.  Thanks to the first responder, he/she was great!

If you want to make a call to the company -

Spectrum Brands - Bandini 
Consumers calling with questions about fertilizers 1-800-874-8892

You can also contact your local county extension office for answers:

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

click on state, click on county