Common Equine Pasture Forages: Kentucky Bluegrass

Characteristics

• Narrow, creased, V-shaped leaves and canoe-shaped leaf tips
• Seed head is a panicle inflorescence
• Grows 12 to 18 inches in height

Attributes

• Excellent pasture grass
• Leaves are clustered close to the ground
• Tolerates frequent and close grazing
• Stores carbohydrates in roots and rhizomes
• Rhizomes form dense sod, tiller, and fill in bare spots
• Dense sod can reduce weed establishment
• Good erosion control
• Winter hardy
• Very palatable

Limitations

• Little shade tolerance
• Little growth in summer when temperatures exceed 75 degrees
• Will go dormant and turn brown during hot, dry summers and will resume growth in fall
• Slow to establish - seeds take 14 days to germinate
• Low yielding plants

Management

• Maintain soil at a pH of 6 or 7
• Apply nutrients based on soil test reports
• Remove horses from pasture until all fertilizer has been incorporated into the soil
• Pairing with white clover when seeding provides soil nitrogen
• Seed conventionally into a firm well-prepared seed bed or use a no-till drill
• When seeding a pure stand - plant at 10 to 14 lbs. of seed per acre; use heavier rates to ensure quicker ground cover
• Seeding with other higher yielding grasses will increase production
• Mow to maintain a plant height of 2 to 4 inches to promote tillering
• If pasture is overgrazed, white clover may dominate the pasture; to suppress the clover, allow the blue grass to grow to 8 to 12 inches in height and /or apply nitrogen fertilizer

Kentucky Blue Grass Leaf blade Closeup and Seed Head