Pasture Management
for
Horses

Growth Habit

Perennial, creeping stolons

Encouraged by

Loose surface covering. Hard grazing in early spring.

Physical Control

Cut several times a year. Encourage good sward growth. If reseeding, repeated cultivations will give some control.

Chemical Control

MCPA will control young plants before flowering.

Toxicity

None, although there have been reports of horses suffering irritations from rolling on nettles.

Beneficial Characteristics

May be considered to be a useful herb. Horses will not usually eat growing nettles but will eat them if they have been cut.
Nettles cantain useful levels of protein, the minerals iron, potassium, manganese, iodine, and calcium, plus the vitamins A, B, and C.