Is Tall Fescue Still Bad for Horses? - King's AgriSeeds (2024)

FAQs

Is Tall Fescue Still Bad for Horses? - King's AgriSeeds? ›

There can be a large difference in texture and palatability between tall fescues. Some are soft leafed while some are coarser. Rest assured though that if your hay comes from seed sourced from King's AgriSeeds, the hay is safe for horses. King's AgriSeeds does not carry any harmful tall fescues.

Horses can safely eat endophyte-free tall fescue. Tall fescue is moderately tolerant of continuous grazing and has excellent fall productivity. Tall fescue can have marginal winter hardiness and lower palatability.

Equine fescue toxicosis is caused when pregnant mares eat tall fescue that is infected with an endophyte fungus, Acremonium coenephialum . Both the mare and the foal can be affected when the mare eats endophyte-infected fescue.

Although tall fescue has gotten a bad reputation in the horse industry, it is a safe and practical grass for most classes of horses with the exception of broodmares. A Kentucky field full of tall fescue.

NOVEL TALL FESCUES ARE AS COMPETITIVE AND GRAZING TOLERANT AS THE COMMON TOXIC TYPE, BUT AS SAFE FOR LIVESTOCK AS THE ENDOPHYTE FREE TYPE, AND THEREFORE THE IDEAL TYPE OF TALL FESCUE TO PLANT ON HORSE FARMS.

It has been observed by many horse owners that mature horses grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue show signs of laminitis or sore feet similar to what has been observed in cattle. Horses normally affected have been exposed to continuous grazing of endophyte-infected fescue and with little or no forced exercise.

Tall fescue has good cold tolerance, though it can suffer from winter damage in the coldest areas of the northern United States and Canada. It can withstand hot temperatures provided it gets adequate water, but extreme heat combined with drought can kill this grass.

If feeding grass hay, keep in mind that horses tend to prefer “stalky” grass over soft grasses, so timothy and orchard grass are good choices. Fescue hay (or pasture grass) should never be fed to pregnant mares because an endophyte (fungus) that grows in this grass can cause pregnancy complications and abortion.

Challenges of Fescue

Even though tall fescue is widely dispersed in the US, it is often infected with a fungal endophyte which can have detrimental effects on herd performance. Surveys in several states indicate that most tall fescue pastures are infected 60% to 80% or more with the endophyte.

Consumption of Endophyte–Infected Tall Fescue

Cattle consuming endophyte-infected tall fescue may have decreased weight gains and consumption rates; increased body temperature; rough hair coats; and necrosis (death) of tissue in feet, tail, and ears.

Is Kentucky 31 considered tall fescue? ›

KY-31 Tall Fescue Basics

Kentucky 31 is a cool-season grass, meaning its most vigorous growth happens during cooler temperatures of fall and spring. Like other tall fescue varieties, KY-31 is best adapted to regions with moderate summers and cool winters.

Highlights. Kentucky bluegrass is a cold-season grass, while tall fescue is a warm-season grass. Kentucky bluegrass requires more maintenance than tall fescue. Tall fescue is more resilient to foot traffic than Kentucky bluegrass.

Uses. Forage/Pasture: For decades KY-31 Tall Fescue was planted widely as a forage and erosion control plant because it is widely adapted, easy to establish and long lived under harsh conditions and mistreatment.

Dystocia is also common, due to the relatively large size of the foal and malpositioning within the uterus, and can be fatal to both the mare and foal. Domperidone is used to treat fescue toxicosis in mares by counteracting the effects of ergot alkaloids.

Johnsongrass, Sorghum grasses/Sudangrass. These varieties accumulate hydrocyanic acid, which causes cyanide poisoning, abortion in mares, and irreversible bladder cystitis. Switchgrass, which causes photosensitivity, peeling skin, mouth ulcers and liver disease. Foxtail Millet (aka German Millet) and Meadow foxtail.

Winter annuals have the same active growing season as our cool season perennials, fescue and orchardgrass, but are much more prolific in the spring, often weakening perennial forage stands. Don't let this be a discouragement though. Fescue can actually be the best winter grazing option that we have.

Tall fescue is a cool-season grass with unique properties that explain its dominance in 40 million acres of U.S. pastures. Most of these acres are dominated by unimproved tall fescue. The predominant feature of tall fescue is its persistence, even under abuse.

Summer fescue toxicosis is a warm season condition characterized by reduced feed intake and weight gains or milk production. The toxins affects cattle, sheep, and horses during the summer when they are grazing or being fed tall fescue forage or seed contaminated with the endophytic fungus Neotyphodium coenophialum.

Pasture that has been allowed to grow long (and then grazed by horses in the winter) is called 'standing hay' or foggage'. This practice has many advantages, including that it saves the costs of cutting, baling, and storing hay (and the risk of it 'failing' as a crop).