Quickest growing tastiest herbs for horses

[paddi22]

We have an area for horses in rehab on restricted grazing/movement and we are trying to make it as interesting as possible for them. I saw this idea and thought it was brilliant. What would be the fastest growing and most popular herbs or weeds for horses that I could put in? any ideas?

 

[Casey76]

Cleavers (goose grass/ stickywicket) always seems to go down well, and it grows like wildfire

 

[paddi22]

Cleavers (goose grass/ stickywicket) always seems to go down well, and it grows like wildfire

just trying to google where to get it? do you buy seeds? or what's the best way do you think?

 

[marmalade76]

just trying to google where to get it? do you buy seeds? or what's the best way do you think?

Go out & find it, it grows in hedgerows & verges, it's all over the place round here. Whilst you're at it, pick cow parsley too, it's just starting to grow here too.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

What a good idea and I like the use of the tyres. Mint grows like wildfire around my pond and it’s something most horses like. Willow sticks will root but keep them contained and well watered. If you feed wilted nettles or dandelions just be careful as they are full of iron which isn’t always good for horses livers.

 

[Redders]

Sow thistle, rose hips when the blooms die off, cow parsley, cleavers as above - grows everywhere. Young shoots of hawthorn (growing everywhere now), yarrow, mint as above, young bramble shoots, Apple branches to chew on

 

[Redders]

Also, could grow some nasturtiums? The grow quick, self seeds if the horses don’t eat the flowers too quick, and tasty for humans too. I would also see if you can get some young willows, protect them a bit and let them grow on, just be aware they will strip the bark! You could also buy some Timothy grass seeds and grow tubs of it, I do this for my rabbits

 

[Red-1]

Mint? Nettles?

 

[coblets]

Lemon balm? Have heard stressed horses self-medicate with it if it’s available.

 

[ecb89]

Mint. I made the mistake of growing it in a flower bed rather than a pot, it grows super quickly.

 

[PurBee]

My damper areas of fields have wild mint growing, which the horses always avoid for some reason ?‍

I grow tonnes of curly parsley and they LOVE it - for humans too its the most nutritious herb, loaded with minerals.

It takes a while to germinate, but if you sow loads of large pots of it, by midsummer you’ll have masses to feed. Mine is perennial too - year 2 it tries to flower but i cut off the flower heads and it continues producing leaves. However, if i left the pot out for the horses to help themselves the entire plants would be instantly gobbled!

Bramble leaves they love - it self roots easily - find some fresh growing streamers of brambles, cut them into 1-2 foot pieces - dib a 4 inch hole, plant each piece firmly in the hole, firming soil around the base...they should self-root and provide plenty of cold weather leaves as they really are cold tolerant. I feed mine brambles in the winter, i go hunting around for them. The gelding has mastered holding the stalk down with his hoof to keep it still while he plucks the leaves off.

 

[Redders]

Just thinking you could try thyme? It’s a hardy perennial and would also be good for pollinators. Fennel too, that’s perennial and I think is in a lot of herby horse treats. You could pop to your supermarket and pick up a bag of each of the herbs and see what they eat and enjoy and take it from there.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Milk thistle is used in supplements so might be worth trying.

 

[Carrottom]

My damper areas of fields have wild mint growing, which the horses always avoid for some reason ?‍

I grow tonnes of curly parsley and they LOVE it - for humans too its the most nutritious herb, loaded with minerals.

It takes a while to germinate, but if you sow loads of large pots of it, by midsummer you’ll have masses to feed. Mine is perennial too - year 2 it tries to flower but i cut off the flower heads and it continues producing leaves. However, if i left the pot out for the horses to help themselves the entire plants would be instantly gobbled!

Bramble leaves they love - it self roots easily - find some fresh growing streamers of brambles, cut them into 1-2 foot pieces - dib a 4 inch hole, plant each piece firmly in the hole, firming soil around the base...they should self-root and provide plenty of cold weather leaves as they really are cold tolerant. I feed mine brambles in the winter, i go hunting around for them. The gelding has mastered holding the stalk down with his hoof to keep it still while he plucks the leaves off.

I'm amazed that you would plant bramble as I spend hours trying to get rid of it. It grows in all my hedgerows and throws runners into the fields which can be vicious. My horses don't seem to eat it even in the depths of winter as their winter grazing has loads of it.

 

[PurBee]

I'm amazed that you would plant bramble as I spend hours trying to get rid of it. It grows in all my hedgerows and throws runners into the fields which can be vicious. My horses don't seem to eat it even in the depths of winter as their winter grazing has loads of it.

How funny...mine really love bramble leaves and young buds - they’ll giraffe neck themselves over the fence to grab a stalk to hopefully pull the lot into their area.
I only struggle with bramble runners where the horses dont go!

 

[Griffin]

Bramble is a really useful plant for horses, the leaves increase circulation and aid digestion.

Mint would be a good one as other posters have said. I would also try chamomile and marigolds (calendula) both are helpful to horses too.

 

[that_eventing_ connemara]

We have an area for horses in rehab on restricted grazing/movement and we are trying to make it as interesting as possible for them. I saw this idea and thought it was brilliant. What would be the fastest growing and most popular herbs or weeds for horses that I could put in? any ideas?

mint and apple branches - i think they work the best and also mint is very good for the digestive system

 

[Lois Lame]

What do you mean by brambles exactly? Lovely word, but I've always wondered.

 

[sbloom]

What do you mean by brambles exactly? Lovely word, but I've always wondered.

Wild blackberry, a bramble is a specific plant.

 

[DabDab]

My horses never touch the wild mint here either ?. Their favourites in terms of weeds are most definitely thistles. They eat the young plants at about the stage they are at now (smallish rosette) and then when they flower they will nibble off all the flower heads with stem. Thistles are also very resilient to being eaten and grow well in horse poo - I have a big patch of them here that the horses merrily chomp their way through every year, and yet every year they reappear.

Plus they will eat pretty much any young bush plant - hawthorn, dog rose and raspberry are favourites. Most of these the horses kill in the process of nibbling on them though, so better grown separately and cut as a treat.

In terms of straight up herbs, parsley is the only one they will eat more than a nibble of.

 

[Lois Lame]

I have parsley coming out of my ears in this garden of mine but it never occurred to me that horses might like it. It's the plain one (Italian) not curly.

Wild blackberry, a bramble is a specific plant.

So, wild blackberry is not the same blackberry that can be quite a pest?

I've just done a little copy and paste from Google...

Blackberry is a perennial, semi-deciduous, prickly, scrambling invasive plant. It is a semi-prostrate to almost-erect shrub, with arching and entangling stems arising from a woody crown and forms thickets up to several metres high. The root and crown system is the only perennial part of the plant.

Is that the one you mean? I presume it isn't, as I've never seen horses eat it. I'd like to know more about the bramble you have there.

 

[DabDab]

Yes that's the one LL. The horses will pick young leaves off them, some horses like them more than others.

Bramble is just a colloquial term for it

 

[sbloom]

Sorry the comma was possibly confusing, bramble IS the wild blackberry. The person asking the question implied that bramble was a grouping of plants of a type, I was saying it was one plant.

 

[hollyandivy123]

Mint. I made the mistake of growing it in a flower bed rather than a pot, it grows super quickly.

i can kill mint.....................don't know how but i can't make it grow

 

[HollyWoozle]

None of ours will touch mint - my Mum grows a few varieties in the garden and we have water mint by the pond. They are not interested in the slightest! I have tried offering them other herbs before and they are not bothered about those either. They do however love the willow trees.

 

[spotty_pony]

Mint - it's good for the digestion too. I grow some and mix it in the feeds when it's ready ?