Hedges

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gbt

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Hi
I'm trying to find a book that tells me why my horses find particular things in the hedge tasty eg blackberry bush, willow, rosehips
It's the first year they have all decided to drag me to a hedge for certain things and there must be a reason why
Someone told me willow is an anti inflammatory and painkiller. But what are the rest for ?
Please can someone advise
Thanks
 
Thanks
Will look at both see if I can make any sense about what the ggs are after
Obviously lacking something not quite sure how with there multi vitamins
Shall let you know if I find any more
Thanks again
 
gbt said:
Thanks
Will look at both see if I can make any sense about what the ggs are after
Obviously lacking something not quite sure how with there multi vitamins
Shall let you know if I find any more
Thanks again
Click to expand...

Sorry! But why does it mean they are lacking something? They just seem to like some herbs -- and don't like others!;)
 
When in Eire I was shown a field known as 'The Fairy Field'
This acreage was a fluke of nature and top was chalk whilst the lower was marsh. There was barely a herb that grows in the UK that was not growing in that field. People would take sick stock to there and turn it loose and they would go for the herbs that they needed.

This is not to say that horses picking at a hedge need the different foliage, they just like the taste!

All my horses have ready access to mineral buckets yet in one filed there is an area that they lick at the soil - as do sheep, cattle and deer. What is there they like.
 
I am curious about this too, we have great mature hedges and my haffy loves eating all the rough stuff the TB turned his nose up at (she has cleared me lots of nettle space god bless her!) I have spotted hawthorns and rosehips, must get round to identifying more things (I study zoology I really should take more of an interest) but would love to know what vitamins and general good properties all these things have. I bet she gets quite a good balance of vits and mins from it.
 
A lot of plants contain drugs! So maybe it is not minerals and vitamins they are after but we have hoodie horses. I suspect some might also be addictive. My ponies generally avoid ragwort, for example, even dead stuff after it's been sprayed. (Yes, I've experimented, but only with single plants!:eek:), so how do they get liver damaged? I'm wondering if ragwort is a plant that they dislike initially but become addicted to when they are forced to eat it?
 
I was just reading that hawthorn has all round heart benefits and improves circulation and blood flow, and rosehips have lots of vitamins but a horse would have to eat them in such large quantities to be of benefit they'd probably get diarrhoea first! Cleavers and nettles seem to help lymph function and water balance etc...
 
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