Common Equine Pasture Forages: White Clover

White clover is commonly planted with orchardgrass, ryegrass, or tall fescue.

Characteristics

• Most widely adapted legume in the U.S. - common in pastures, meadows, and lawns
• White (tinged with pink) globe like flowers
• Plants reproduce by stolons (horizontal stems) along the surface of the ground
• Prolific seed producer
• Leaves have long petioles and consist of three round or heart-shaped leaflets
• Leaflets have a white "C" watermark
• Grows best under cool, moist conditions on well drained clay or loam soils

Attributes

• Winter hardy
• Tolerates heavy grazing pressure - can be grazed to one inch in height
• Improves forage quality
• Nitrogen-fixing nodules on roots can incorporate nitrogen from the atmosphere into protein
• Pasture requires less nitrogen because of the white clover contribution
• High tolerance to poor and/or wet soils and moderately tolerant of low pH soils
• Very persistent

Limitations

• Contains a fungus that irritates salivary glands and may cause horses to "slobber"
• Can cause bloat in cattle
• Phytoestrogens can cause lactation in non-pregnant mares
• Not drought or heat tolerant
• Can dominate an overgrazed pasture

Management

• Best seeded with grass to counteract low yield
• Seed at 2 - 4 lbs. per acre (one lb. of seed = 8000,000 seeds)
• Seed no deeper than 1/4 inch
• Easily seeded with a no-till drill
• Can broadcast (frost seed) in late winter or early spring when soil is honeycombed
• Plant on well-drained loam or clay soils
• Manage to maintain at least 50 - 60% grass
• Maintain pH between 6 and 7
• Apply phosphorus and potassium based on a soil test
• Add lime as needed to maintain soil pH above 6 to maximize nitrogen fixing ability

White Clover flower and white clover Leaf Markings