A horse pasture can look beautifully green and still be remarkably simple.
For many years, the quality of a pasture was often judged primarily by how much grass it produced. A dense green sward looked successful, while plants growing between the grass were quickly labelled as weeds. Yet when we look at pasture from the perspective of the horse rather than simply at the appearance of the field, the picture becomes more interesting.
Horses are forage animals. Given sufficient space and variety, they do not spend their entire day selecting one identical grass plant. A pasture can contain grasses and other suitable edible plants with different growth habits, rooting depths, structures and seasonal patterns.
At Maverick Stables, however, we do not see that as a reason to abandon a good grass sward. Quite the opposite.
Our pastures were deliberately established using Barenbrug Horse Master®, a grass-seed mixture developed specifically for horse pasture. Once that structural grass base was established, we chose to add another layer by overseeding selected areas with Vitalstyle WeideKruiden.
The result we are aiming for is therefore not a field of herbs instead of grass.
It is a strong horse pasture in which grass provides the foundation and selected herbs add botanical diversity.
That distinction is important. Successful pasture diversity begins with understanding the soil, what is already growing, how horses use the field and whether new plants are being given a realistic opportunity to establish.
And at Maverick Stables, that story begins on a rather unusual soil.
Before thinking about herbs, we first wanted a grass base that could cope with the way horses actually use a field.
Horses can graze remarkably close to the ground and repeatedly return to preferred grazing areas. At the same time, a pasture has to withstand hoof traffic, running, playing and concentrated use around gateways, water points and other popular areas. A beautiful but fragile grass stand can therefore deteriorate surprisingly quickly.
This is one of the reasons our pastures were originally established with Barenbrug Horse Master®.
Barenbrug currently describes Horse Master as a mixture designed specifically for horse pasture, combining a strong sward with good regrowth and grass varieties selected for relatively low fructan production. The mixture contains 50% perennial ryegrass alongside Kentucky bluegrass, red fescue and timothy. Twenty percent of the mixture consists of Barenbrug’s RPR® sport-type perennial ryegrass, which produces horizontal tillers that help create a more interconnected turf capable of tolerating traffic.
For us, that strong grass base remains essential. Adding herbs should not mean sacrificing the primary function of the field. The horses still need a sward capable of tolerating grazing and movement, and we want to limit the development of large bare areas where soil becomes exposed.
That is also why we chose to overseed herbs into an established Horse Master pasture rather than replacing the grass with a herb mixture.
The grasses and herbs have different roles within the same field.
One of the things that makes pasture management at Maverick Stables particularly interesting is what lies underneath the grass.
We are located in Flevoland, on land reclaimed from the former Zuiderzee. Much of this region consists of relatively young marine clay and loam deposits that were seabed within comparatively recent history.
This fertile ground helped Flevoland become one of the Netherlands’ major agricultural regions, but productive soil is not necessarily simple soil to manage for horses.
Clay-rich soils can retain considerable amounts of moisture. During wet periods they may become vulnerable to compaction and poaching when horses repeatedly travel across the same area, while in prolonged dry periods the same soil can become exceptionally firm.
That means we have to think about much more than what will grow.
We also have to consider whether the soil can carry horses without losing structure.
At Maverick Stables, our fields are drained at approximately eight-metre intervals, which forms an important part of the pasture infrastructure. Drainage helps us manage periods with excess water, but it does not remove the need to protect the soil when conditions become too wet. A drained clay pasture can still be damaged by heavy traffic at the wrong moment.
So when we talk about building a horse pasture, we really begin below the surface.
Good pasture management starts with functioning soil.
One of the easiest mistakes in pasture improvement is to concentrate entirely on what we want to sow and forget about the conditions in which that seed has to grow.
No mixture can compensate indefinitely for unsuitable soil structure, moisture, nutrient availability or pH.
This becomes particularly important when grasses and herbs are expected to coexist. Fertile soils can support vigorous grass growth, but that also means that established grasses may compete strongly with slower herb seedlings for light, moisture, nutrients and space.
Vitalstyle currently recommends a soil pH of approximately 6–7 for optimal establishment of WeideKruiden and advises assessing the soil before attempting to correct acidity.
For us, that principle is more useful than treating fertilisation or liming as a fixed annual routine.
The objective is not to feed the pasture as heavily as possible.
It is to understand what the soil actually requires.
Excessively favouring rapid grass growth may increase competition against new herb seedlings, while expecting a diverse pasture to establish on unsuitable or poorly structured soil is equally unrealistic.
Diversity still requires good agronomy.
Barenbrug Horse Master® forms the structural grass foundation of our pasture.
Its current composition is:
| Grass species | Share of mixture |
|---|---|
| Perennial ryegrass — forage type selected for low fructan | 30% |
| Perennial ryegrass — sport type with RPR® | 20% |
| Kentucky bluegrass | 20% |
| Red fescue | 15% |
| Timothy | 15% |
Barenbrug developed the mixture around the particular demands of horse pasture, including a strong sward, good regrowth and tolerance of close grazing and traffic. The RPR® perennial ryegrass component forms horizontal runners, while Kentucky bluegrass also contributes to the density and resilience of the turf.
This is especially relevant in fields used by groups of young horses. A pasture does not only need to withstand eating; it has to cope with horses moving, turning and playing across it.
Barenbrug also selects the varieties in Horse Master for lower fructan production than more conventional grass varieties intended for other livestock.
That is useful, but it needs an important qualification.
A lower-fructan grass mixture does not mean pasture sugar concentrations become fixed, nor does it mean that every horse can graze it without restriction.
Weather, plant maturity, season, sunlight, cold temperatures and stress all influence the carbohydrate content of living grass.
For us, choosing an appropriate seed mixture and managing grazing therefore remain two separate parts of the same subject.
When people think about creating a more natural or varied horse pasture, there can be a temptation to begin by adding as many plants as possible.
We prefer to look at the grass first.
A field containing large bare areas, severe compaction or an exhausted grass sward is unlikely to become better simply because more species are introduced. New seedlings will face the same pressure and poor establishment conditions that caused the original vegetation to decline.
A dense sward helps protect the soil, provides forage above ground level and reduces the amount of exposed surface through which undesirable species can establish.
It also matters for the horses themselves. Once grass becomes sparse, horses increasingly graze very close to the ground and can pick up more soil or sand while searching for the final pieces of vegetation.
Barenbrug places strong emphasis on maintaining a dense turf in Horse Master and specifically highlights ground cover as one of the reasons for developing a resilient horse-pasture mixture.
For us, herbs therefore come after the structural foundation.
Grass provides the framework of the pasture. Herbs introduce another layer of diversity within it.
Once there is a good grass base, it is reasonable to ask why we want to add anything else.
For us, the answer is diversity.
Different plants use the soil differently. Some are relatively shallow rooted, while others develop deeper root systems. They grow at different rates, respond differently to weather conditions and can have different nutritional profiles and structures.
This does not mean a more complicated mixture is automatically a better one.
A pasture still needs to function.
We are not trying to turn every field into a wildflower meadow, nor are we attempting to maximise the number of species per square metre.
We want to give a greater variety of suitable plants an opportunity to exist alongside the grass while maintaining the durable pasture structure required by the horses.
That is why we use Vitalstyle WeideKruiden as an additional layer rather than as a replacement for Horse Master.
The goal is useful diversity.
The current Vitalstyle WeideKruiden mixture contains thirteen edible plant species.
| Herb | Share |
|---|---|
| Caraway | 15% |
| Salad burnet | 10% |
| Parsley | 10% |
| Fennel | 10% |
| Lucerne / Alfalfa | 10% |
| Ribwort plantain | 9% |
| Wild chicory | 8% |
| Yarrow | 5% |
| Sainfoin | 5% |
| Chamomile | 5% |
| Musk mallow | 5% |
| Wild carrot | 5% |
| Parsnip | 3% |
The mixture therefore contains different plant families and growth forms, including forage herbs such as plantain and chicory alongside legumes such as lucerne and sainfoin.
Vitalstyle describes various nutritional or traditional supportive properties for the individual plants, but those claims are not the primary reason we chose to sow them.
Our reason is simpler.
We want a more varied pasture.
The amount of any individual herb a horse consumes in pasture cannot be controlled precisely, and the proportion of each species within the field will change over time. We therefore prefer not to present each plant as a treatment for a particular problem.
The mixture is there to add botanical variation to the grazing environment.
Adding herbs to an established Horse Master pasture creates a different challenge from sowing onto freshly prepared bare ground.
On bare soil, new seedlings initially have relatively little competition.
Inside an established grass pasture, every new herb seedling immediately has to compete with mature grass plants for moisture, light, nutrients and space.
That makes seed-to-soil contact particularly important.
Simply scattering seed across the top of a dense, long grass sward may look as though the work has been completed, but much of the seed may never reach the soil.
Vitalstyle therefore recommends mowing or shortening the existing vegetation before sowing, lightly opening the upper soil surface and ensuring that seed has good contact with the ground. Their current recommendation for WeideKruiden is 2 grams per square metre, meaning that one kilogram covers approximately 500 m².
This is particularly relevant in Horse Master because one of the qualities we value most — its strong, dense turf — also creates strong competition for newly germinating herbs.
The better the existing grass performs, the more important it becomes to give the new seed a genuine opportunity to reach the soil.
There is no single calendar date that guarantees successful establishment.
Seed needs suitable soil temperature, moisture and contact with the ground. A theoretically perfect sowing date followed by several weeks of drought may produce a worse result than sowing slightly later into suitable conditions.
Vitalstyle currently recommends two sowing windows for WeideKruiden:
Spring: April through June
Autumn: September and October.
Their current product information also specifies the associated flowering periods:
| Sowing period | Expected flowering |
|---|---|
| April–June | Late July–October |
| September–October | Late March–early July of the following year |
Flowering depends on the time of sowing, temperature and moisture within the soil, and the mixture contains both annual and perennial species.
Spring provides a long growing season, but in an existing pasture it also brings strong competition from rapidly growing grass.
Autumn creates a different balance. Soil can remain warm after summer while cooler conditions and improving rainfall can provide useful moisture for establishment. At the same time, grass growth begins to slow.
That can make autumn particularly interesting for overseeding an established pasture, but it is not automatically better every year.
A dry September can still be a poor time to sow.
The conditions in the field matter more than simply being able to say the seed was sown within the correct month.
Grass and herbs do not necessarily need to be sown at exactly the same time.
Barenbrug lists Horse Master as suitable for sowing between February and October and currently recommends approximately 80 kg per hectare for new establishment and 40 kg per hectare for overseeding.
Vitalstyle’s own pasture guidance identifies spring — particularly March through May — and late summer/early autumn, particularly August and September, as useful periods for grass sowing and renovation.
In practical terms, we therefore think of the two layers separately.
| Pasture work | Main practical window |
|---|---|
| New grass establishment | Spring or early autumn |
| Grass overseeding / repair | Spring or late summer–early autumn |
| Vitalstyle WeideKruiden | April–June or September–October |
On Flevoland clay, however, the state of the soil remains just as important as the calendar.
Working heavy clay when it is excessively wet can damage soil structure, while sowing into hard, very dry clay can make seed establishment difficult.
Soil temperature, moisture, rainfall and when the horses need the field again all influence the decision.
Putting seed into the field is not the end of the process.
Young plants need time to build root systems before they can cope with close grazing and hoof traffic.
Returning horses too quickly can remove small seedlings before they have had a realistic chance of becoming part of the sward, particularly because horses are capable of selecting individual plants very precisely and grazing them close to the soil.
That is why we do not regard germination as establishment.
Seeing the first leaves is only the beginning.
After sowing, the field has to be managed in a way that gives new vegetation enough time to root, compete and become integrated into the existing pasture.
This is one of the reasons pasture improvement is never simply a matter of buying the right seed.
Management after sowing largely determines whether that investment remains visible several seasons later.
The percentages written on a seed packet describe what went into the mixture.
They do not predict exactly what will be growing in the field several years later.
Plants compete continuously. Some establish quickly while others develop more slowly. Some tolerate repeated grazing particularly well, while others gradually decline. Soil moisture, drought, fertility, mowing and grazing pressure all change which species remain prominent.
We therefore do not expect to sow thirteen herbs once and then find all thirteen occurring in exactly the same proportions indefinitely.
A pasture is a living system.
If certain species thrive on our Flevoland ground while others gradually become less visible, that is useful information. It tells us which species are genuinely suited to the combination of soil, climate and management at Maverick Stables.
This is also why we intend to follow the pasture over several seasons.
We want to see which herbs establish most easily inside the Horse Master sward, which remain after repeated grazing and whether particular parts of the fields support more botanical diversity than others.
There is a difference between reading what a seed mixture is designed to do and watching what actually happens when it is used in a real horse pasture. The earlier version of this article was deliberately intended as the beginning of that longer observation, rather than the final conclusion. Geplakte markdown
Fructan deserves its own distinction because it is one of the first subjects that comes up whenever horse pasture is discussed.
Barenbrug states that the varieties selected for Horse Master are chosen partly for lower fructan production compared with conventional grasses.
That is one of the characteristics that makes the mixture relevant to us.
However, choosing a lower-fructan grass variety does not mean the carbohydrate content of the pasture becomes constant.
Grass changes continuously.
Sunlight, temperature, growth rate, plant maturity, season and environmental stress all influence the amount and form of carbohydrate stored within the plant.
We therefore see seed selection and grazing management as two different parts of the same decision.
Starting with grass selected for horse pasture is useful.
It does not remove the need to consider pasture conditions, body condition and the requirements of the individual horse.
A field does not become universally safe simply because the words low fructan appear on the seed bag.
Many pasture herbs have long histories of use in equine feeding, which makes it easy to describe every plant according to a particular health benefit.
We deliberately take a more cautious approach.
The quantity of a particular herb available in the pasture varies. The amount an individual horse chooses to eat varies. Growing conditions influence the composition of the plant itself.
This makes grazing completely different from giving a carefully measured nutritional or veterinary treatment.
For us, herbs are therefore primarily about variety, forage choice and botanical diversity, not self-medication.
That does not mean plants are scientifically uninteresting.
Quite the opposite.
A recent horse-specific study into chicory is a good example.
Researchers studying naturally infected two-year-old horses found that horses grazing a chicory-dominated pasture showed reduced cyathostomin egg excretion and reduced larval development compared with controls. At the end of the study, the relative faecal egg-count reduction reached 85.5%.
That finding is genuinely interesting.
But the horses in the chicory group obtained approximately 89% of their recorded bites from chicory, making the trial completely different from a normal mixed pasture containing 8% chicory in the seed mixture.
We therefore cannot conclude that adding Vitalstyle WeideKruiden controls parasites, and it does not replace faecal egg counts, parasite diagnostics or appropriate veterinary treatment.
It does show, however, why plant diversity is an interesting field for further equine research.
Ultimately, this is why we put so much thought into what grows in our fields.
Pasture is not simply the space where horses spend time outside.
When horses are grazing, the pasture is part of their diet.
That means pasture management belongs within nutrition just as much as hay selection, water quality or concentrate feeding.
Soil determines what plants are capable of growing. Grass variety affects the basic sward. Weather influences growth and nutrient composition. Grazing management determines which plants are given enough time to recover. Herbs can introduce greater botanical variety, but only if they are able to establish and persist within that system.
None of these elements works in isolation.
At Maverick Stables, our approach therefore starts with a pasture deliberately built for horses using Barenbrug Horse Master®. Within that existing grass base, selected areas are overseeded with Vitalstyle WeideKruiden, not because we want to replace grass but because we want to create a more varied grazing environment while retaining a resilient and practical horse pasture.
We will learn more from those fields as the seasons pass.
Which of the thirteen herbs establish most readily? Which remain after grazing? Which thrive on our young Flevoland marine clay, and which gradually disappear? Does one part of a field develop differently from another?
Those are questions that can only be answered over time.
And that is perhaps one of the most important principles of pasture management:
Sowing is only the beginning.
A good horse pasture is not simply something we plant.
It is something we continue to manage.
Our horse pastures are established using Barenbrug Horse Master®. The current mixture contains perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, red fescue and timothy and is specifically intended for horse pasture, with emphasis on a durable sward, regrowth and varieties selected for relatively low fructan production.
No. We first established the grass pasture using Barenbrug Horse Master®. We subsequently overseeded Vitalstyle WeideKruiden into the existing grass sward. This allows the grass to remain the structural foundation while the herbs form an additional layer of botanical diversity.
The current mixture contains thirteen species: caraway, salad burnet, parsley, fennel, lucerne, ribwort plantain, wild chicory, yarrow, sainfoin, chamomile, musk mallow, wild carrot and parsnip.
Vitalstyle currently recommends April through June or September and October. Spring-sown herbs are expected to flower from late July through October, while autumn-sown herbs generally flower from late March through early July of the following year, depending on temperature and soil moisture.
Vitalstyle gives an optimum soil pH of approximately 6–7 for WeideKruiden. We prefer assessing the soil before automatically applying lime or fertiliser because the actual requirements depend on the individual field.
Vitalstyle's current recommendation is 2 grams per square metre, meaning that one kilogram covers approximately 500 m².
It can be broadcast, but successful establishment requires more than scattering seed. Existing vegetation should be shortened, the surface lightly opened and the seed given sufficient contact with the soil so that young seedlings can access moisture and light.
Both periods can work. Spring provides a longer growing season but also stronger competition from rapidly growing grass. Autumn can combine warm soil with declining grass growth and improved moisture, although dry autumn conditions can still make establishment difficult. We therefore judge the conditions in the field rather than relying on the calendar alone.
No. Barenbrug selects Horse Master varieties for relatively low fructan production, but actual grass carbohydrate levels still vary according to environmental and growing conditions.
No. We use them primarily to increase botanical diversity. The quantity of individual plants consumed through grazing is too variable to regard pasture herbs as a precise medical or nutritional treatment.
Not necessarily. Individual species differ in their ability to compete with grass and tolerate soil conditions, mowing and grazing. The botanical composition of the field is likely to change over time, which is why we intend to continue observing the pasture over several seasons.
This article describes our pasture-management approach at Maverick Stables and is intended for general educational purposes. Soil type, drainage, climate, pasture history, horse density and existing vegetation vary considerably between properties, so the most appropriate pasture strategy will differ between locations.
References to Barenbrug Horse Master® and Vitalstyle WeideKruiden reflect products we use within our own pasture management. Product composition, sowing rates, sowing periods and other manufacturer-specific information are based on current manufacturer information and may change over time.
Botanical diversity should never be interpreted as a reason to leave unidentified or potentially toxic plants in horse pasture. Naturally occurring plants should be identified and managed according to their suitability for horses.
Pasture herbs do not replace a balanced ration, veterinary diagnosis, parasite monitoring or appropriate nutritional advice. Likewise, grass described as lower in fructan still requires appropriate grazing management for horses with individual metabolic or nutritional needs.
Sowing and flowering periods are seasonal guidelines rather than guarantees. Germination, establishment, persistence and flowering depend on factors including soil moisture, temperature, existing vegetation, weather and management.
Barenbrug — Horse Master®
Official product information including current composition, RPR® technology, sowing rates and information on lower-fructan grass selection. Barenbrug — Horse Master®
Barenbrug — Healthy Grass for Horses
Further explanation of fructan selection, regrowth and the role of RPR® and Kentucky bluegrass in producing a strong horse-pasture sward. Barenbrug — Healthy Grass for Horses
Vitalstyle — WeideKruiden
Current product composition, recommended pH, sowing periods and flowering calendar for the thirteen-herb mixture used at Maverick Stables. Vitalstyle — WeideKruiden
Vitalstyle — Sowing Tips for Horse Pastures
Practical information on spring and autumn sowing, reducing existing vegetation, opening the soil and improving seed-to-soil contact. Vitalstyle — Sowing Tips for Horse Pastures
Malsa et al. (2024) — Chicory and Cyathostomins in Grazing Horses
Horse-specific research investigating the effect of grazing a chicory-dominated pasture on cyathostomin egg excretion and larval development. PubMed — Chicory in Grazing Horses
