06/12/2026
🚨🐴 FOXTAIL WARNING 🐴🚨
I get asked about foxtail every year, so I wanted to share this reminder. 🌾
Foxtail may look like just another grass, but it can be very harmful to horses. The seed heads have sharp, barbed awns that can work their way into a horse’s 👄 mouth, 👅 tongue, 👃 nostrils, 👀 eyes, 👂 ears, and even the skin.
Once embedded, they can cause:
⚠️ Painful sores
⚠️ Infections
⚠️ Abscesses
⚠️ Swelling
⚠️ Difficulty eating or drinking
Please check your pastures, hay, and turnout areas regularly. A few minutes of prevention can save your horse from a lot of pain and an expensive vet visit. ❤️🐎
🌾 Know the difference.
📢 Share this post to help spread awareness.
Do you know the differences between timothy and foxtail? 🌾🌾
Timothy is a desirable perennial forage with seed heads that lack awns (left).
Foxtail is a weedy, annual grass with awns on the seed heads (right). Awns are bristle-like structures, which can embed into the horse's lips, mouth, gums, and gut when eaten. Foxtail seed heads tend to be a greater problem in hay than pasture since horses cannot easily sort them out.
For more information on foxtail, visit https://extension.umn.edu/horse-pastures-and-facilities/plants-cause-mouth-blisters
