Understanding Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is an extremely hardy, well-adapted grass species used for hay and pasture in the central and eastern United States and the Pacific Northwest. Although tall fescue has gotten a bad reputation in the horse industry, it is a safe and practical grass for most classes of horses with the exception of broodmares. There are many varieties of tall fescue from all over the worl
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Tall fescue is an extremely hardy, well-adapted grass species used for hay and pasture in the central and eastern United States and the Pacific Northwest. Although tall fescue has gotten a bad reputation in the horse industry, it is a safe and practical grass for most classes of horses with the exception of broodmares.

fescue

A Kentucky field full of tall fescue.

There are many varieties of tall fescue from all over the world, but the variety most commonly found in Central Kentucky and the Eastern U.S. is called Kentucky 31 (KY-31). This variety now occurs naturally across the eastern part of the country based on extensive plantings for erosion control and pasture in the 1940s and '50s. It is usually infected with a microscopic endophytic fungus called Neotyphodium coenophialum, which lives inside the plant. The endophyte produces chemicals (alkaloids) that benefit the plant by making tall fescue tolerant of heavy grazing as well as drought, disease, and insect damage. However, ergovaline, one particular alkaloid produced by infected fescue, has been shown to cause adverse effects in broodmares and possibly stallions including abortion, foaling difficulty, lack of milk production, and reduced ejaculate volume. These issues and related health problems are collectively termed fescue toxicosis

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
288 votes · 288 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!