Horses and cattle grazing in the Wyoming Red Desert. I. Food habits and dietary overlap

The sagebrush-grass range in southcentral Wyoming presently supports large numbers of feral horses and domestic livestock. Diets of feral horses and cattle during summer and winter grazing were evaluated using fecal analysis under 2 stocking levels in small pastures. Horses and cattle consumed prima...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of range management 1984, Vol.37 (1), p.72-76
Main Authors: Krysl, L. J., Hubbert, M. E., Sowell, B. F., Plumb, G. E., Jewett, T. K., Smith, M. A., Waggoner, J. W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cattle
Diet
Equus caballus
Forage
Grasses
Grazing
Horses
Pastures
Range management
Sedges
Summer
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Summary:The sagebrush-grass range in southcentral Wyoming presently supports large numbers of feral horses and domestic livestock. Diets of feral horses and cattle during summer and winter grazing were evaluated using fecal analysis under 2 stocking levels in small pastures. Horses and cattle consumed primarily grasses during the summer and winter. However, shrubs and forbs were also important dietary components. Needleandthread, Sandberg bluegrass, thickspike wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, gray horsebrush, and winterfat were the major foods of horses and cattle during the summer and winter. Dietary overlap between horses and cattle during the summer averaged 72% and increased to 84% during the winter. Horses and cattle selected foods in a similar order.
ISSN:0022-409X
2162-2728
DOI:10.2307/3898828