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equiculture
developing responsible horse ownership
Horse Pasture-pedia
A horse pasture resource for you
Pastures for horses must provide relatively safe grasses that can be grazed with minimal problems, but deciding which grasses to sow for horse pastures is not easy. Some grasses cause serious problems such as ‘big head’ or ‘staggers’, and can make your horse more likely to suffer from obesity, and/or laminitis/founder. Older insulin-resistant and Cushing’s syndrome horses can be particularly at risk on certain grasses. To understand how grass effects your horse, horse owners will have to understand many new terms and concepts such as Endophyte and Oxalate levels etc. Initially this resource will concentrate on grasses available in Australia and New Zealand, but will expand over time to include pasture species from around the world.
Coming soon - a glossary of terms for grasses
Some grasses are harder to manage - or to establish - than others. Your general climate and micro climate must also be taken into consideration when deciding which species to sow.
The grass in a horse’s paddock must fulfil many jobs not least of all it must be hardwearing and safe. Sometimes it may be better to keep and manage the grass you have rather than start afresh, other times you need to re-sow completely if the grasses you have are highly unsuitable for horses. Much of what is written about grasses in books and articles applies to cattle. Cattle have very different needs to horses therefore to sow grasses that have been developed for cattle can be very dangerous. Grasses for cattle are usually too high in sugar for horses or may have other problems such as high oxalate levels or dangerous endophytes. Remember farmers need cattle need to gain weight quickly or produce gallons of milk, neither of which is required by most horse owners.
Information written for horses is often inaccurate and assumes that they are either working very hard (much of the information comes from a time when horses worked very hard for a living) or are breeding/growing. The information rarely (if ever) takes into account horses that are mature and either in light work or are not in work. These horses make up a large percentage of the horse industry and it is these horses that often fall prey to conditions such as Laminitis - an extremely debilitating condition.
In time you will learn about all of these things and much more by reading this section and others on the Equiculture web site and by reading other web sites and articles that you will be guided to via the link sections. So make sure you are on our mailing list so that you are kept up to date with new additions if you want to learn more.
This page is a new resource for all horse owners. Together we can build up a data base of grasses for horses. This database will always be free to all via this web site so please help us to build it up so that people and horses can benefit.
If you have significant experience with any particular grass species please contact us and we will send you a pro forma to start the ball rolling for that particular grass type.
Each plant has a short descriptive section which can be accessed by clicking on the name of the plant. A drop down box will then appear that tells you some basic information about the plant and most importantly what is known about this plant with regards to horses and the environment. In some sections much more information about the grass with regards horses is still to be found out and in these cases To be ascertained is written in that section. This may mean that that information is not yet known for horses or it may simply mean that I have not yet found that information even though it is out there. If you know the answers please help by getting in touch so that we can all benefit from this knowledge.
In addition to the above information there are some important links listed below the descriptive section that lead you to all sorts of facts such as any other names for the plant (some plants have many names which can be confusing). Plants have a scientific name which is Latin and a common name. For example Bothriochloa insculpta is the scientific name for a grass known as Creeping Bluegrass in Australia. It has other common names such as pinhole grass, sweet-pit grass, sweet pitted grass, stippel, stippelgras and klosgras and this grass also has other scientific names. Some grasses do not have multiple names and some do.
Further links will also give you information about the plant such as:-
- a full description of the plant (plus diagrams and photos),
- the distribution of the plant - where in the world it can and does grow,
- the plant’s uses/applications - wether it can be used for pasture and/or hay,
- ecology considerations for the plant - soil, moisture, temperature and light requirements, grazing management and fire tolerance,
- agronomy considerations for the plant - fertiliser requirements, compatibility (with other species), companion species, pests and diseases (to the plant), ability to spread, weed potential (how likely it is to become a weed),
- the general feeding and nutritive value of the plant, its palatability/accessibility and any known toxicity problems (remember that any such references will tend to be for cattle unless otherwise specified).
Again, if you have any important information to add please let us know jane@equicultutre.com.au
The Grasses
Pangola grass/Digit grass (Digitaria eriantha)
Creeping Bluegrass (Bothriochloa insculpta)
Brown-top Bent/Bent grass (Agrostis capillaris, Agrostis castellana)
Coming soon!
Cocksfoot
Perennial Brome grasses
Timothy
Tall fescue
Phalaris
Yorkshire Fog,
Perennial ryegrass
Couch
Bermuda grass
Prairie grass
Links to purely commercial sites may not be accepted for this page as this is an information resource page. Please contact us if you would like to advertise on our site.
Disclaimer and copyright: Please note that the information contained on this website is the opinion of or is based on the skills/experience of the author/s, and any use or misuse of any of the information is entirely the responsibility of the user. We cannot be held responsible for what you choose to do with the information. Opinions expressed in articles or links on this site other than those created by Equiculture are not endorsed by or not necessarily of the same opinion as Equiculture. This site and all its content are © copyright to Jane Myers and Stuart Myers and Equiculture and may not be copied without direct permission from the authors.
