What other horse happy plants can I plant in my field?

Jackson

Jackson

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I'm planning on planting some herbs and plants in my paddock this year, to supplement Jacks boring old grazing, since he get no feed. to so far I have a list of..

Rose, for rosehips
Mint
Parsely
Majoram? I'm going to check that this is okay with someone who knows about such things, but I have seen it in the list of ingredients for some horse treats, so I'm assuming it's not deadly!

Is there anything else horse edible I can add?
 
By no means an expert, but you will need to be careful which roses you select as most of the modern ones don't produce hips! Dog Rose is good but most garden centres will not have it, you'll probably need a specialist. Mint will grow and spread massively, but should be popular! No real suggestions for others, though, sorry.
 
Nettles! Might seem mad but they are very rich in iron.
If you cut nettles any stock will eat them as soon as they are dried.
Dandelions, comfrey, - almost any of the herbs!

A friend who is a herbalist in Eire, took me to see a field known as 'The Fairy Field' it had just been sold for as much money as a building site in Dublin because people paid a great deal to turn any sick animal out there.
It was one of those places that was a freak of nature, the top was chalk and the bottom level bog. There was not a known UK herb that did not grow in that place and watching the animals turned out there instinctively made for whatever was going to help them get well.
 
Thank you!

I forgot to add what sort of rose would you recommend, I have some dog rose in the garden, I think.

Ooh yeah wild garlic is another one. There is already some hawthorn in there, and if cleavers are them horrible sticky things, then I can get him plenty of them too.

Thanks Oberon, I will have a read.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
Nettles! Might seem mad but they are very rich in iron.
If you cut nettles any stock will eat them as soon as they are dried.
Dandelions, comfrey, - almost any of the herbs!

A friend who is a herbalist in Eire, took me to see a field known as 'The Fairy Field' it had just been sold for as much money as a building site in Dublin because people paid a great deal to turn any sick animal out there.
It was one of those places that was a freak of nature, the top was chalk and the bottom level bog. There was not a known UK herb that did not grow in that place and watching the animals turned out there instinctively made for whatever was going to help them get well.
Click to expand...

Wow . . . what an awesome place that sounds . . . and how interesting that the critters knew instinctively what to eat . . .

P
 
Foxhunter49 said:
Nettles! Might seem mad but they are very rich in iron.
If you cut nettles any stock will eat them as soon as they are dried.
Dandelions, comfrey, - almost any of the herbs!

A friend who is a herbalist in Eire, took me to see a field known as 'The Fairy Field' it had just been sold for as much money as a building site in Dublin because people paid a great deal to turn any sick animal out there.
It was one of those places that was a freak of nature, the top was chalk and the bottom level bog. There was not a known UK herb that did not grow in that place and watching the animals turned out there instinctively made for whatever was going to help them get well.[/QUOT

Thanks, comfrey too :) I think I need to borrow that field!

Jack's the first horse I've ever met who won't eat nettles.
Click to expand...
 
Comfrey, nettles, clover, rosehips, garlic, mint, dandelions, hawthorne (though that's a bush!) ... there are loads! It's great that you're trying to vary your grazing - so many people think that straight, common grass is best, but there are so many other types of grasses and plants that have so many health benefits. :)
 
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Its wild dog rose and cleavers sometimes called goose grass does have those sticky things but feed when its young and green. Wild Garlic is also lovely in salads and provides a gentle flavour of Garlic.

Buy The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable By Juliette de Bairacli Levy from Amazon .
 
Mine loves Hawthorn hedging and will spend hours picking very carefully at the leaves! Giraffe neck. Comfrey will be gobbled up (the bees love this). Wild garlic(I can always smell this but never found its whereabouts exactly)! Nettles as someone else said only when dried or cant find anything else to eat. I tried to plant Borage last year and not sure what will pop up as didnt see it.
Mint etc pretty much what we eat!
 
I want to turn part of our paddock into a more wild / natural feeding environment and so I got in touch with a couple of organisations regarding the types of plants and grasses I could use, this is part of the reply I got:

"Rosehips, Hawthorn (make lovely hedges too), Brambles, Mint, Wild Garlic, Chammomile, Meadowsweet, Comfrey, Cow Parsley, Thistles, Burnet, Yarrow, Rosebay Willow Herb, Cleavers (must be kept in check), Nettles, Dandelions (one of the most nutrient-rich plants in the world!) Containing more Vitamin A than carrots and vitamins B,C and D. Also provides potassium, sodium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium and iron. Feeding the whole plant of roots, leaves and flower is a liver and kidney tonic, blood purifier and diuretic. They also like Birch, Hazel and Willow branches.

To encourage a meadow environment consider a few old time meadow flowers and herbs such as, Meadow crane's-bill and Hedgerow crane's-bill, Herb Robert, Bird's foot trefoil, Lucerne, Wild Raspberries, Lady's Mantle, Corn Flowers, Cowslips, Eyebright, Wild Thyme, Wild Marjoram, Wild Basil, Selfheal, Wood sage, Bellflowers, Colt's-foot, Daisy, Feverfew, Knapweed, Parsley, Wormwood, Evening Primrose to name but a few. With these, the full hedgerows and the long wild grasses mentioned earlier, your fields could resemble the wonderful meadows of old that will be full of nutrients, herbs and variety that your horses will love."
 
A few years ago now (18 ;)) I rented a ridge and furrow paddock at the edge of the village - no running water, no stables, no electricity and small enough (3 acres) to require strip-grazing.

The field hadn't been grazed for years but when they'd taken the top off, I found a grass/wild flower seed mix with herbs suitable for horses and I hand-sowed and fertilised the majority they weren't grazing at the time. A short time later and the result was wonderful: beautiful flowers and a myriad of plants; and it was such a pleasure to watch the horses pick and choose what they fancied most.

OP - maybe you can still get such a seed mix?
 
Although it isn't a plant you would voluntarily plant it, mine absolutely love burdock, and I think it has all manner of healthy properties.
 
Dog rose that's it. I was trying to remember what rose grows rosehips! I have heard they like to nibble on sticks - apple tree is meant to be nice. And willow - there is aspirin in the bark.

Mine likes to pick nice fat rosehips and he also likes brambles as well. In the summer when hacking we often stop at a suitable bush and share a snack.
 
http://www.meadowmania.co.uk/default.cfm/loadlevel.3/loadindex.232

Have a look on here at the mixed herbs and natural grazing leys - Garry Holter who has done a book on medieval pasture for horses supplies them and works with them.

I renovated one of mine last year with these mixes and had some lovely stuff popping up, should be much stronger this year as its had chance to bed in.

Obviously you need to let the plants establish before the horses get at them else theyl kill them v quickly.:)

http://www.bitlessbridle.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=245

Garrys book ^^^
 
What great ideas will maybe try this myself in spring to my 5 acres, I was surprised in summer how many wildflowers we had.
I did plant some mint last year but the old girl ate it and no evidence of it making a come back.
 
what a fantastic idea I have always been intrigued by herbs and horses the idea of a good old fashioned meadow with lots of variety is lovely.

I loved the hay we got in Spain it was full of mint and wild garlic and other things that smelt like aniseed. Lush:)
 
From march to about may if i remember right! Not too early that the ground is frozen and there isnt much precipitation but before we hit summer and the ground is hard and parched.

Its great more people are interested in diversifying their pasture - not only does it help the horses and break up the massive amounts of rye grass most people have as pasture which is linked to lami, it provides the wild birds and insects with variety, breaks up the ground etc etc :D
 
Interesting thread, had never thought of introducing herbs into my field ...thanks for the idea guys :) I'm assuming if they are safe for horses they would be safe for sheep too?
 
Mine loves the dandelions, and thistles. We have lots of selfheal and birdsfoot trefoil in our field which I think are also good for them.

We're lucky in that our field has many of these anyway, but I am always looking to improve things. I woudl also look to introduce some different grasses, so fescues, cocksfoot (normally grows well anyway that one) yorkshire fog, bents, poas, sweet vernal grass. Variety of grasses is also good, and chomping on the long ones is good for cleaning their teeth so I'm told :)
 
Cow Parsley and thistles. The cow parsley is very popular :) Thistles seem quite popular too, though they do often look quite uncomfortable when they are trying to eat them!
 
To add to the thistles, mine will eat anything prickly - so doesn't have to be your bog standard creeping thistle, prickly lettuce I think is one of his favourites.

Ours alwso love stripping leaves off the ash tree, and eating the twigs from it - must be something good in there :)
 
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