Of course, not everyone has the luxury of their own piece of pasture, but you may be able to take tips from this blog to make adjustments for your horse so that it gets more variety!

Choose multiple types of grass

Most pastures consist of English Ryegrass. A grass species that thrives in the Dutch climate, provides good yield, and creates a dense sod. However, it is very one-sided for horses and often too high in nutritional value for almost all horses. Many horses can therefore only graze limitedly on the grass or sometimes not at all. But this can be different!

For horses, more "weeds" in the pasture actually means healthier grazing. Different grass species, herbs, and plants provide variety in the horse's diet and give the horse its natural instinct back to choose for itself. Dandelions may be eaten immediately by some horses, but there are also horses that are not interested at that moment.

Therefore, choose to sow or overseed your pasture with a grass mixture suitable for horses. This often consists of different grass species, of which only a low percentage is English Ryegrass. Think of grass species such as:

• Timothy

• Meadow fescue

• Red fescue

• Creeping fescue

In addition, various herbs (fenugreek, parsley, broadleaf plantain, chicory, and fennel) are often added to create a varied pasture. The nutritional value decreases, but the fiber content and variety increase, allowing horses to receive nutrition in a healthier way and reducing the risk of obesity/laminitis. An additional advantage: the flowers of the herbs attract bees and bumblebees, so you also stimulate biodiversity!

Create an edible horse hedge

Do you have a stretch along the fence where you don't know what to do with? Maybe it's suitable for planting an edible horse hedge! Make sure the horse cannot eat the entire plant so that the hedge can continue to grow. There are various shrubs suitable for such a hedge, such as:

• Black alder

• Hazelnut

• Hornbeam

• Black currant

Want to know more about such a horse hedge? Horse and Plant has many possibilities in this area. Check out www.paardenplant.nl for more information.

Of course, you can also plant these shrubs at home in your garden and cut off some leaves and branches to take to your horse and hide in the hay net or something similar!

Create a pick-your-own garden

In addition to a horse hedge and enriching the pasture, you can also choose to create a special pick-your-own garden for your horse. This can be near the stable, but even in your own (small) garden you can create something like this. Even in planters!

Choose herbs and plants suitable for horses and plant them. Once they have grown well, pick some leaves and branches and give them to your horse! It may be that your horse has no interest at that moment, but try again a few weeks later.

And if you have the space, plant a willow too! These grow quickly and horses love chewing on the branches!

Take a snack walk with your horse

The snack walk is becoming increasingly popular. Maybe you've never thought of it. But take your horse for a walk and let it sniff at different plants, grasses, and shrubs. Willows and birches are very popular with horses. But also mosses and rosehip bushes. They also love to nibble on bark or root through loose leaves. Here is a list of what your horse can eat:

• Willow

• Birch

• Rosehip bushes

• Daisy

• Cleavers

• Dandelion

• Blackberry leaves

• Nettle

What absolutely not:

• Maple

• Giant hogweed

• Yew

It's very interesting to see what your horse is sniffing and what it wants to eat. Many horses still have an instinct and can feel very well what their body needs.

Conclusion: variety is easy to manage!

By offering your horse more choice and variety, you will see that at certain times of the year it has very different needs. Your horse will then have the opportunity to have more of its natural eating habits and will truly enjoy branches, leaves, vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

In a simple and easy way, you can arrange this for your horse, even if it is boarded!