Converting a Cattle Field to a Horse-Friendly Pasture: What You Need to Know

Apr 16, 2025

If you're a horse owner considering converting a field that’s been used for grazing cattle into a safe and nutritious pasture for your equine companions, there are a few key differences to understand — especially when it comes to the type of grass in your paddock.

At Meadowmania, we specialise in supplying wildflower seeds and tailored grass seed mixtures for a variety of uses — including pasture specifically designed for horses’ health and wellbeing.

Here’s what you need to know.

Why You Can’t Treat Cattle and Horse Grazing the Same

Fields used for cattle grazing typically include perennial ryegrass, a fast-growing and high-yielding grass that's ideal for beef and dairy production. However, ryegrass is not suitable for horses.

Why?

❗ Too rich: Ryegrass can be high in sugars (fructans), which puts horses at risk of laminitis and digestive issues, especially in native or barefoot horses.
❗ Imbalanced nutrition: Cattle and horses have very different digestive systems and nutritional needs.
❗ Hardy but risky: Ryegrass pastures may appear lush but don't support the long-term health of equines.

What Horses Really Need

Horses thrive on a low-calorie, high-fibre diet. This means a well-balanced horse pasture should contain grasses that are:

Lower in sugar
High in fibre
Tough enough to withstand grazing
Safe for sensitive digestive systems

✅ The Meadowmania Approach: Perennial Ryegrass-Free Pasture Mixes

At Meadowmania, we supply horse-friendly grass seed mixtures specifically designed to exclude perennial ryegrass and support safe, sustainable equine grazing.

Our Equine Pasture Mixes include:

Timothy Grass – highly palatable and fibrous
Creeping Red Fescue – hardy and tolerant
Meadow Fescue – nutritious, long-lasting
Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass – ideal for horse grazing and tough underfoot
Bent Grass – fine-leaved and tolerant of close grazing

These mixtures create a dense, resilient sward that’s safe for grazing and more reflective of horses' natural foraging patterns.

🌼 Want to Add Interest & Biodiversity? Add Wildflowers

Horses enjoy foraging variety — and wildflowers not only make the field more beautiful, they also:

Encourage biodiversity
Attract pollinators
Improve soil health
Create a more stimulating environment for horses

You can intersow wildflowers like Sainfoin, Kidney Vetch, and Meadowsweet, all included in our Wildflower Seed Mix for Horses Fields all of which are safe and beneficial in small quantities.

Step-by-Step Guide: Converting Your Field

Soil Testing
Test your soil’s pH and nutrient levels. Horses prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 6–6.5).
Remove Ryegrass & Weeds
Use topping, harrowing, or a light glyphosate application to clear out ryegrass-dominant areas.
Choose the Right Mix
Use one of Meadowmania’s ryegrass-free horse pasture mixes tailored to your region and soil type.
Sow in Spring or Autumn
These are ideal times for sowing, allowing moisture and temperature to support germination.
Rest & Rotate Grazing
Give newly sown fields time to establish (6–10 weeks). Use a rotation system to allow recovery.