Horses could help control certain kinds of invasive plant species. | Photo Credit: Courtesy Dr. Rafael Celaya

Spanish researchers say some horses could help control certain kinds of invasive plant species, and even help reduce wildfire spread in minimal-grass brushland areas, while still maintaining good body weight.

“Horse grazing could be beneficial from an ecological point of view in brushlands, reducing the invasive potential of gorse bushes and the risk of fire, and it could enhance local floristic diversity,” said Rafael Celaya, PhD, researcher at the Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, in Villaviciosa, Spain.

His research team recently investigated the effects of brushlands grazing on 24 Spanish broodmares, half of which were lactating. They found that this population of horses efficiently reduced western gorse and heather—invasive and fire-prone brush plants that have proliferated in mountainous areas because of deforestation and rural abandonment