Stinging nettles

Nettle (Urtica dioica)–Nettles sting the inside of a horse’s mouth, so horses generally will not eat them willingly, unless they’ve been dried and wilted. You can buy nettle supplements for horses as they have lots of lovely vitamins and minerals and are good for digestion. Or just cut them down and let them wilt and the horses will eat them naturally. There is also a way of making nettle fertiliser for your land and you can mulch them in to feed your soil. They can however, be a problem because they grow rapidly, smothering more desirable plants. If you have a big patch of them that are getting on your nerves, feed a round bale on them over winter and all the seeds and hay wastage and hoof churning will turn the patch into grass by next year, if you rest it and mow once or twice as soon as you see them rearing their stingy little heads. Nettles are not toxic.