[Vinny D]

We breed Falabellas in SW Wales so would love to hear about your Falabella.  Our horses love rooting through stinging nettles.  The horses don't go near them when they're growing but in the wet weather (and we get a lot of that in Wales) it's nice pulling the nettles out by the roots.  As soon as they are picked we notice the horses rooting through them and they really enjoy.

Maureen 

[SallyintNorth]

My Fells love nettles - they once spent the day on a nettle patch, by the afternoon their lips had swollen and they were smacking them as they clearly stung!    (They seem to have learned to pace themselves now...)  The mare loves thistles too, she eats the flowers (good girl!  stop 'em seeding!) and will also delicately bite off the low-growing rosettes early in the season.  So far, the Fells are the best way I've found of de-thistling a pasture (over a period of years.)  Funnily enough, she avoids thistles in hay, while he gobbles every scrap up.

[WarescotFarm]

My lovely Holly  is a chocolate dun which I bought from looking glass stud. She is bessie mates with our pygmy goat  they are adorable together.
I have just today taken them both to a field for 2 weeks to give our lawn a rest, missing them already.

Do you have a website Vinny D or lots of pics?

We breed Falabellas in SW Wales so would love to hear about your Falabella.  Our horses love rooting through stinging nettles.  The horses don't go near them when they're growing but in the wet weather (and we get a lot of that in Wales) it's nice pulling the nettles out by the roots.  As soon as they are picked we notice the horses rooting through them and they really enjoy.

Maureen

[Penely]

Most 'weeds' in the UK can be fed to horses but should be treat like herbs as all can be dangerous if over fed or used as a grass replacement, the only one that I dont think causes problems in relatively large quanities are nettles.

Many of them are heavy detox on the liver and kidneys, things like hawthorn can be dangerous if the horse has anything wrong with its heart as it is a strong cardiac medicine but depending on what is wrong with the heart can cure or make worse.

Best thing to do is to offer small amounts of a few different ones and let them choose which one their bodies need this is what 'zoo pharma' folk get paid to come to your stables to do.

I wrote an article on nettles for horses a while back, they are great for OAP's, those with joint problems and also if you want to bring the dappling out in a coat

Fruit branches i know are okay for rabbits if not given to much, not sure how similar horses and rabbits are other than that neither can be sick

Its is really great to read that you keep horses and goats together, im thinking of doing the same in the future but have not met anyone yet who does this.

[WarescotFarm]

Its is really great to read that you keep horses and goats together, im thinking of doing the same in the future but have not met anyone yet who does this.

I would HIGHLY recommend having goats and horses together. We had no end of problems when Bella was stolen for 10 days. They are amazingly close and now they are back together they are content again. I have never seen an animal relationship like theirs it is wonderful.

Good luck!

[moony]

We have goats, sheep and horses together. The goats and horses have bonded really well with the only problem being the goats chew their manes when the horses lie down and their tails the rest of the time so now they look like they have been hogged.