Feeding Horses

Question
Can I give my grass clippings to my horse and/or let him graze on the back lawn safely?

Answer
Hi - I am going to answer the 2nd part first - YES - you can graze horses (or other animals) on lawns safely, as long as you follow some guidelines.  

Make sure there are NO ornamental/poisonous plants within reach in the area you wish to use.  You can do an on line search of poisonous plants to make sure you don't have any, or just make sure you only fence in a grassy area.

Also, make sure there have not been any fertilizers or weed killers recently applied to the grass.

Lastly, if the animals are not used to being on grass, do not just turn out for a whole day, work it up slowly.

Now, as for grass clippings.  Feeding grass clipings can be a very tricky process, and would need to be done VERY CAREFULLY!

You cannot let grass clippings pile up and start to decompose, as this can cause colic.  If you use a sweeper to collect clippings, it can take as little as 10 minutes for the heat to start building up in the holder.

A lot of people will probalbly say don't feed grass clippings at all due to the potential for colic or illness, however I personally have done it, but VERY CAREFULLY! And have not had any problems.  I lso have my horses turned out 24/7, and do not give them large quantities - they cannot fill themselves on the clippings, and they are spread out thinly to they do not have the ability to start heating up before being eaten.