Best seed for pastures

[RichZ]

We're having some renovations done to our house, which caused us to have to regrade large areas of land around our house, and even our driveways. We're using the excess soil to lessen the slope of some extremely steep hills on our property, so that we can use those hills as more pastureland for horses and goats. Obviously, we need to seed the hills now.

Sunday we made our periodic pilgrimage to our closest TSC (over an hour drive), and we figured they would have the best price for pasture seed. They did carry 25 lb bags of a seed mix called Horsemax Pasture Mix, but the mix included both red and white clover and fesque. I thought I read that red clover and fesque were bad for horses. Is that right? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] Has anyone ever used Horsemax Pasture Mix. Is it any good? Does anyone else have any other suggestions for pasture seed?

Thanks!!!!

[Benson]

I'm not an expert on pasture forage but I have the same questions you do concerning clover and fescue. This is the hearsay I’ve heard and what I could glean from the forage guides down at Agway. But you should get a more educated opinion than mine.

Fescue: There are low-endophyte varieties that are less susceptible to the mold that is toxic to horses. I “think” the low-endophyte varieties are okay.

Clover: We’ve all heard that red clover is “bad”. I think this may really apply to only one type of red clover called “alsike”. In the forage guide at Agway it said not to pasture horses on alsike under any circumstances. It did not have any warnings for other clovers such as Red Mammoth. The guy down at Agway said nobody uses Alsike in our neck of the woods (S. New England). I’ve heard that red clover can cause drooling sometimes, but I think this is a separate problem from the Alsike and much less serious.

We have Red Mammoth clover in our hay and I’ve never seen any adverse effects on the horses. The guy down the street says he has a ton of red mammoth in his pasture and his horses drool sometimes when it’s real lush in the spring.

I found this on the net:

YEW: All parts of this plant (whether fresh or dried) contain tazine, which slows the heart rate, causes trembling, and triggers heart failure.
WATER HEMLOCK: All parts of this plant contain cicutoxin, which cases muscle tremors, violent convulsions, and ultimately, paralysis of the respiratory system.
RED MAPLE: The wilted or dried leaves and bark of red maple cause anemia. Signs include weakness and increased respiratory and heart rate.
CHERRY: The fresh, wilted or dried leaves of wild-cherry trees and the twigs of these trees can cause cyanide poisoning. Horses that ingest wild cherry exhibit rapid, labored breathing and muscle tremors.
BUCKWHEAT: This plant contains fagopyrin a pigment that causes photosensitive dermatitis (an itching, weeping dermatitis confined to parts of the body exposed to sunlight).
ALSIKE CLOVER: Clover can cause photosensitization increase sensitivity of the skin (on the lips, nose and feet) to sunlight and big-liver disease-hypertrophys of the liver. In addition, a fungus that sometimes grows on alsike clover (as well as on other types of clover) can cause "slobbers" or excessive salivation. This is very common around our area this time of year.
FESCUE: A fungus in the plant seed can cause illness-but usually only in pregnant mares. The fungus causes prolonged gestation and suppresses milk production. But if a mare is taken off fungus containing fescue by her tenth month of pregnancy, there are generally no lingering effects. Owners can also purchase fescue that is guaranteed to be free of fungus.
RHODODENDRON/AZALEA/LAURELS/MOUNTAIN PIERIS: These popular shrubs contain grayanotoxin, which causes profuse green, frothy salivation, gastrointestinal irritation and colic.

The worst the clover does is cause slobbers which is no big deal. I overseed regularly with red clover in my pastures. It makes some excellent horse hay!! The horse mixes as a general rule have the horse quality fescue and clover. YOu want endophyte free fescue.

[RichZ]

Thanks, Richard!!!

The Horse Max said in big letters that it is "endophyte free". So, I guess we'll pick some up next time we trek out to TSC.

[rlevan]

The endophyte that causes problems in fescue is ergot. This is the same fungus that caused rye bread to turn black and liquid in the middle ages and was responsible for people getting gangrene and St. Vitus dance. In addition to the toxin, it also produces minute amounts of LSD. Visions anyone?

In the spring and fall when the grass is lush, growing rapidly and has a high sugar content, horses are more susceptible to problems from grass containing this. It can cause pregnant mares to lose their foals or have no milk after delivery. Another serious problem is laminitis. All of these problems are caused by reduced capillary blood flow - in the placenta, mammary glands, and feet.

Endophyte free grass lives 2-3 years before dying. The fungus is actually symbiotic with the grass, freeing up extra soil nutrients for the grass. A better but expensive choice is Max-Q from Pennington Seed at $87 for 25lb. This contains a non-toxic endophyte. It seems to taste better too. The horses go for it over the plain fescue. I mix red clover in at a rate of 5% and it does great.

I have no connection with Pennington and don't own stock in the company. One of my horses foundered 3 times before we figured out what the problem was. None of the established vets around here believed it, even after I waved research papers under their noses. I finally found a vet who kept up with cutting-edge research and treatment and would work with me. Lacey is now problem free and has been for 3 years.