Grasses and other plants

The following table sets out common grassland species, information about them, their use by horses, and the soils they relate to.

If you would like this information in a more accessible format, please contact planning@southdowns.gov.uk

Species Common Name and Latin Name	Information	Main soil type
Cocksfoot Dactylis glomerata	Quite drought resistant and productive. Horses are happy to graze it, especially in winter, but prefer it young.	All soil types. Can become dominant in fertile soils.
Common bent Agrostis capillaries	Not affected by latrines. Tillers well (produces side growth to create dense plants).	All soil types.
Creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera	Tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Favoured by horses. Tillers well and copes in low nitrogen conditions.	All soil types.
Crested dogstail Cynosurus cristatus	Favoured by horses. Good winter grass. One of the most productive grasses where nitrogen is not applied.	All soil types.
Meadow fescue Festuca pratensis	Often included in both conservation and horse seed mixes. May be favoured by horses.	All soil types.
Red fescue Festuca rubra	The native variety is one of the most palatable grasses to horses. One of the most productive grasses where no nitrogen is used. Very tolerant grass.	All soil types.
Rough (-stalked) meadow grass Poa trivialis	Stands up well to grazing, especially on heavy soils, and is palatable.	All soil types, especially clay.
Sheep’s fescue Festuca ovina	Nutritious but low-yielding. Withstands heavy grazing, is drought resistant and tillers well.	Prefers chalk and poorer soils.
Timothy Phleum pratense and Catstail Phleum bertolonii	A good grass on moist, heavy land and persists through winter. Leafy and high yielding, even with lack of nitrogen.	Suited to clay soils.
Upright brome Bromus erecta	Readily grazed by horses at all times of year.	Chalk soils.

Other Plant Species

The following table sets out some links between common wildflower species, horses and biodiversity.

Wildflower Species	Information	Soils	Examples of their biodiversity benefits
Birdsfoot trefoil Lotus corniculatus	Liked by horses. Anthelmintic (worm reducing properties). Important nutritious plant late on in the summer when grasses start to decline.	All soil types. Nitrogen fixing species, can increase soil fertility.	Excellent species for pollinators. Food plant for the Common Blue and Dingy Skipper.
Black medick (also called yellow trefoil) Medicago lupulina	Nutritious for horses.	All soil types. Adds organic matter, can suppress other weeds due to is creeping nature and fixes nitrogen using a deep tap-root.	Pollinated by bees of all varieties as well as moths and butterflies. It is the food plant of the Common Blue.
Ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata	Common in grasslands, some horses will seek it out. Relatively low yielding but has deep roots and good vitamin and mineral content (especially copper, calcium and selenium).	All soil types.	Butterflies, moths and hoverflies particularly feed on these flowers. Sheep love it too and its seeds are readily eaten by goldfinches.
Thistles Cirsium, Carduus, Carlina spp.	Horses will eat the growing flower buds and wilted plants. Thistles are mineral rich.	All soil types. But are less successful in damp grasslands.	Linnets, and goldfinches eat the seeds. Painted Lady and Peacock butterflies use it at various stages of their lifecycle.
Yarrow Achillea millefolium	Liked by horses. Deep rooting, pulls trace elements from deep within the soil, making them available to grazing animals. High in Vitamin A so good for young horses.	All soil types. Low lying meadows where fertility is a bit higher.	Hoverflies
Self-heal Prunella vulgaris	Has a creeping, mat-forming habit.	All soil types.	Bumblebees
Knapweed Centaurea nigra	Extensive roots make this an excellent drought tolerant species.	All soil types.	Common and a source of good quality nectar so favoured by butterflies, bees and beetles. Seeds are an important food source for birds.
Lady’s bedstraw Galium verum	Flowers smell of hay when dried.	All soil types.	Food plant of the broad-bordered bee hawkmoth.
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis	A good source of nectar.	All soil types. Prefers well-drained chalky to neutral soils.	A great source of nectar and very long flowering period make this plant great for invertebrates. Seeds are liked by finches and linnets.
Salad Burnett Sanguisorba minor	Fairly deep-rooted and spreading so useful part of a mix of species in areas previously poached.	Chalk, low fertility soils.	Bumblebees particularly like this species.
Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare	Can do well on thin, dry soils.	Chalk, low fertility soils.	Excellent source of nectar – food plant of the Large Blue butterfly.
Wild Basil Cinopodium vulgare	Found in dry places, edges of pasture along hedge lines.	Chalk to acidic sandy soils but always low fertility.	Good for bees like other dead nettles, and flowers later on in the summer so a late source of food for insects.
Musk Mallow Malva moschata	Found largely along field margins, prefers dry soils.	Chalk, low fertility soils.	Many pollinating insects.
Small Scabious Scabiosa columbaria	Copes well in dry conditions.	Chalk, low fertility soils.	A favourite amongst bees and butterflies. flowers late on in the summer.
Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis	Spreads through underground stems called rhizomes, so good to help break up compacted or poached ground.	Heavy soils, can be found in more fertile pastures.	Pollinated by bees.
Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa	Copes well with cold temperatures. Leaves remain green throughout winter months so provides good insect habitat.	Heavy soils.	Attracts a range of insects.
Meadow Cranesbill Geranium pratense		Particularly likes chalky soils.	Bumblebees and honey bees.
Devil’s-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis	Late flowering so important for pollinators.	Heavy soils, favours damp slightly acid grasslands.	Important food plant for the marsh fritillary butterfly.
Ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare	Tolerates a variety of soil types.	Low lying meadows where fertility is a bit higher.	Attracts a range of insects from moths and flies to beetles and solitary bees.

Species-rich grasslands have decreased by around 98% over the last 100 years and with them, the invertebrates that depend on them.

Increasing wildflowers in grasslands is one of the most important ways to restore landscape character and increase the resilience of natural systems to a changing climate.

Deeper rooting plant species protect soils, hold back water and make minerals available to grazing animals.

They support invertebrates, provide food for birds and mammals, this at the same time provides a more suitable forage for horses, benefitting their health and wellbeing.

Whether your pasture is left for hay or grazed more frequently, having a varied sward with native flowering plants is a huge benefit to all types of invertebrates including grasshoppers, butterflies and bumblebees.

Buying seed

Many horse and pony pasture seed mixes contain large quantities of perennial rye grass species (as much as 10.5kg in a 14kg bag) as they are quick and easy to establish and favoured for repairing situations where land may have been poached in the winter.

If buying a proprietary mix, look out for:

UK origin seed – but the more local the seed the better. Local seeds are more likely to be successful as they’re already adapted to local conditions. Using local also respects small genetic variations in the same species, retaining their native geographic locations. It also reduces the risk of moving diseases through imported seeds.
little or no rye grass species