Hot tip: incorporating trees, forbs & herbs into your horse’s diet is like given them an all-you-can-eat salad bar… It’s also great for enrichment, movement and activating their ‘seeking system’
But alas – somewhere along the line, the assumption arrived that horses were grazers, not browsers – and that grass was the only thing they needed.
As a result, horse folk started clutching their pearls about trees being toxic and dangerous… So they were chopped down or fenced off and immaculate monoculture pastures became the norm.
But horses didn’t evolve on perfectly manicured pastures, in fact they’re botanical opportunists and modern research backs this up (I’ve provided links below)
It’s now more widely recognised that horses systems were designed to consume a varied diet that includes selecting from trees, herbs, forbs and shrubs, not just grazing on grass.
In studies of wild horse populations it’s been shown that trees/shrubs can make up 10 -15% of the horse’s diet.
Fodder Trees
Willow: Nature’s Aspirin (With Benefits)
Willow trees (Salix species) have both nutritional and medicinal benefits.
These fast-growing trees contain natural salicylates—compounds similar to aspirin that can provide mild anti-inflammatory properties when consumed. Horses have been known to seek out willow during times of minor discomfort, which can indicate their innate ability to self-medicate when given diverse browsing options.
Beyond Willow’s medicinal qualities, it provides moderate protein levels and serves as an excellent source of micronutrients often missing from simplified pastures.
Horse-approved varieties:
White, crack and pussy.
And um…. aside from sounding like what you might find at a seedy strip club, these are the willow varieties approved for your horse 🤣
Mulberry
Mulberry leaves are high in protein (up to 22%!) and super digestible. Plus, they’re drought-resistant and grow easily in most climates.
Poplar
Poplar is a great ‘fast food’ option.
Poplars can grow at 2.5m or 8ft a year – and can reach maturity in just 4 years.
They contain compounds that may help with inflammation and pain, plus the leaves are higher in protein than most grasses.
Tagasaste
Tagasaste is also known as tree lucerne, is a powerhouse fodder tree that’s revolutionizing pasture design.
This fast growing, drought-tolerant legume produces protein-rich foliage year-round, making it ideal for extending the grazing season when pastures falter.
As a nitrogen-fixer, tagasaste simultaneously improves soil health while offering shade, windbreak protection, and erosion control. Its deep taproots access nutrients and moisture unavailable to shallow-rooted grasses, creating a truly resilient addition to any horse property.
Staghorn Sumac
Not only does this tree’s orange leaves look absolutely magnificent – it provides vitamin C-rich berries and leaves that horses can selectively browse in small amounts.
However, moderation is key—staghorn sumac should represent only a minor component of a diverse browsing system, never a primary food source.
For implementing a browsing systems, staghorn sumac works best when positioned at the edges of access areas, allowing horses to self-regulate while still benefiting from this native plant’s presence in the overall ecosystem.
Wattle (Acacia Species)
Wattle presents a slightly more complex option as a fodder tree for horses.
These nitrogen-fixing trees produce protein-rich foliage that can supplement equine diets, particularly in drought-prone regions where other forages struggle.
However, not all wattle species are created equal—some contain high tannin levels that can bind proteins and reduce digestibility when consumed in large amounts.
The most horse-friendly varieties include Acacia saligna (Golden Wreath Wattle) and Acacia angustissima (Prairie Acacia), which offer moderate protein content with manageable tannin levels.
Beyond nutrition, wattles provide valuable shade, windbreak protection, and habitat diversity while improving soil biology through their extensive root systems and nitrogen-fixing capabilities.
The Fodder Tree Planting Tips
Ready to transform your horse property into a tree buffet? Here’s your quick start guide:
- Choose appropriate species for your climate and soil. A tree that hates your property will spite you by dying dramatically just as your horse develops a taste for it.
- Protect new plantings until established. A horse can destroy in 30 seconds what took you 3 years to grow. They’re arseholes like that 🤣
- Plant more than you think you need. The horse law of consumption states that demand will always expand to exceed supply.
- Consider a rotation system so some trees can recover while others are being browsed.
- Keep a record of what your horse prefers. They all have opinions, and those opinions are strong and subject to change without notice.
Function Stacking Fodder Trees
Trees aren’t just food. They’re multitaskers and can provide:
- Natural shelter from sun, wind, and rain
- Psychological benefits for horses who enjoy the enrichment of different foods
- Reduced feed costs & resilience in climate extremes.
- Environmental benefits like carbon sequestration, erosion control, and wildlife habitat
- Property value enhancement (trees make everything look fancier)
Lastly…
Sometimes the best innovations are actually just remembering what we’ve forgotten.
Horses survived for millions of years by wandering around eating a little bit of this and a little bit of that—including trees.
I’ve included some links to published research below 👇 and here’s a quick video of two of my retired racehorses who recently discovered the joy of Tagasaste 😆
Browsing may be an important but generally overlooked aspect of feeding management in horses. Some of the potential benefits of browsing include providing nutrients, reducing stereotypic behaviour, buffering acids in the gastro intestinal tract or chelation of dietary trace minerals to excrete excess amounts.
For more info 👇
Browsing – an overlooked aspect of feeding management in horses? – from the 2012 Australasian Equine Science Symposium
Other links:
Comparison of Methods To Examine Diet of Feral Horses from Noninvasively Collected Fecal Samples
This makes so much sense, especially when there is so little grass. My appy X TB used to walk through the bush grabbing bits of almost everything he could reach…. morning tea on the move. His breath smelled beautiful on the way home!