Tall fescue, often saddled with a negative connotation, deserves a second chance as a premiere equine hay.
Tall Fescue is known widely for a low-cost old variety named Kentucky 31. A fungus, called an endophyte, that lives within the plant causes miscarriages in mares and decreased weight gain in cattle. Although Kentucky 31 is still sold on the market, planting it is highly cautioned against despite its appealing low price.
However, other tall fescues are safe for horses while offering many benefits for hay production. New varieties are endophyte free tall fescues with no fungus counterpart. There are also tall fescues with beneficial, or ‘friendly’, endophytes. This means that the endophyte fungus provides all of the benefits, including drought and heat tolerance as well as overall hardiness, while having no negative side effects to horses or cattle. This is a huge benefit for hay producers as they will see higher yields and greater longevity. This advantage can lead to a greater supply of hay on the market and greater market stability which is also an advantage for the hay buyer.
There are many safe tall fescues on the market, however, it is still good to know what you are buying. There can be a large difference in texture and palatability between tall fescues. Some are soft leafed while some are coarser. Rest assured though that if your hay comes from seed sourced from King’s AgriSeeds, the hay is safe for horses. King’s AgriSeeds does not carry any harmful tall fescues. In fact, a number of the tall fescues in the King’s AgriSeeds lineup are currently being used for horse hay production with great customer satisfaction. If you haven’t yet tried tall fescue hay, give it a try. You may be surprised at what your horse tells you!