Foxtail And Horses

Foxtail (Hordeum murinum)

Foxtail is a nuisance weed that is dangerous to Horses

Mechanically Injurious Parts of the Plant: Awns of plant

Common Location: Throughout the U.S. with many in the western U.S.

Toxic Signs or Symptoms: Injurious to eyes, soft tissues in the mouth, digestive tract, skin, or hair.

The microscopic barbs on the seed heads of stems of foxtail can cause physical trauma to the mouth leading to mouth blisters, irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, and occasionally the skin of the animal. Livestock can safely graze foxtail barley prior to seed development. Forage value of this grass is fair to good at this time. Seed production for this grass occurs from late May to August. Foxtail barley at lower elevations (warmer regions) will produce seeds earlier than higher elevations (cooler regions). Grazing this plant after it produces seeds can cause a number of problems for animals. Once seeds form, awns extending from the seed can abrade or become lodged in the skin, mouth, nose and eyes of grazing horses. Lodging is due to foxtail having small sharp barbs located along the outer edges of the awns , Due to the awns, livestock encountering this plant in a pasture or rangeland situation will avoid grazing it and will seek alternative forage. For these reasons this grass is likely to increase under heavy or continuous grazing while at the same time grasses that are more palatable are likely to decrease. The barbs on foxtail awns also allow it to easily become lodged in the hair and fur of livestock and wildlife. Once caught on the animal, the seeds can be transported to new areas for colonization or further distributed within areas that they already occupy.

Sheep are at high risk for catching these seeds, and the value of their fleece declines when they are contaminated. The value of hay is also affected by the presence of foxtail barley.Unlike in rangeland situations, animals fed hay contaminated by foxtail are unable to avoid eating the plant. Contaminated hay is unsafe for livestock.

Horses and other livestock that have eaten contaminated hay may show symptoms such as drooling and lack of appetite. Awns may also become visibly lodged in the snout of animals eating the hay. The drooling and lack of appetite is caused by the mouth of the animal being impacted and inflamed by hundreds of awns. Owners are encouraged to inspect their hay, and if any foxtail is found, discard that hay immediately.

Timothy Hay Looks Like Foxtail !

Let’s go over the difference

The seed head

This will only be obvious when the grasses are going to seed and aren’t mowed. The foxtail seed head may droop over, which is a dead giveaway that it isn’t timothy. However, there are several different varieties of foxtail, and some seed heads remain upright. Next, check for the awns, which look like hairs coming off each tiny seed on the head. These are what give foxtail its name. Some varieties may have very long and obvious awns, but others may have shorter awns that you need to look for. Timothy has no awns as shown in image below.

Left Image: is Timothy hay. Right Image: is Foxtail

The immature Foxtail plant has no ill effect on horses, the maturing seed heads are troublesome. Each individual seed has an attached “spike” with barbs called “awns”. These can lodge in horses’ mouths and gums, or even scratch an eye. They can also work their way through the tissue, causing lesions and infections. It would be wise to not feed Foxtail, with seed heads, to horses. This information and image is from NC State University.

The Collar Region

Pull a leaf away from the stem and examine the area where they meet (this is called the collar region). You may want to use a magnifying glass or hand lens. On a timothy plant, you will see a tall membrane come away from the stem and stand upright. On a foxtail plant, you will see a fringe of hairs instead of a tall membrane. The leaves of a foxtail plant may have some hairs as well.

Left image: Timothy: Tall membrane (ligule) at collar. Image is from Ohio state University  Right image: Foxtail: Fringe of fine hairs at collar. Image is from Cornell University

Horse owners should learn how to tell the difference between foxtail and timothy grasses. In a severe infestation, eradicating the foxtail may be difficult and can take several years.