Horses Show Grass Preferences

Grass is grass, right? Wrong. Horses used in a study performed at the University of Kentucky showed a marked preference for one particular type of grass.

Researchers seeded 15 different types grass in a paddock to determine whether horses demonstrate preferences for certain cool-season grasses. The grasses in the study included timothy (two varieties), orchardgrass (one variety), Kentucky bluegrass (two varieties), bromegrass (one variety), and tall fescue or tall fescue-cross (nine varieties).

By measuring the plant density and forage height, as well as grazing intensity, the researchers were able to form some conclusions about the preferences of horses.

The nonfescue or fescue-cross grasses sustained the least change in plant density, suggesting that horses grazed upon them the least. The bromegrass sustained the greatest change in density.

Observations in this study suggest that horses select among cool-season grass forages. The reason for this is unknown, but the researchers believe it may relate to forage chemical composition or forage morphology.

Read more from Advances in Equine Nutrition IV.