Dietary strategies of feral and domestic horses under varying grazing pressures: insights for Mediterranean forest management

Abstract

This study evaluates the potential of horses in Mediterranean forest management through their feeding behaviours. While traditionally overshadowed by livestock like sheep and goats, horses demonstrate significant adaptability, making them possible effective agents for reducing fuel loads and maintaining open landscapes. The findings highlight distinct feeding strategies among horse types. Feral Przewalski’s horses, in a mosaic landscape, with patches of forest, scrub and open grassland mostly consume graminoids throughout the year, maintaining open grasslands with minimal impact on woody vegetation. Rustic breeds, such as the Pottoka, adapt over extended grazing periods by initially consuming highly flammable graminoids and transitioning to woody plants as grasses deplete, effectively managing both fine and coarse fuels. Crossbred horses, under short-term, high-intensity grazing with supplemental feeding, rapidly shift from fine fuels to woody plants. Diet was quantified from 50 fresh faecal samples using micro-histological analysis and compositional Dirichlet regression. Although the study does not directly quantify vegetation changes or reductions in flammable biomass, the observed dietary shifts—particularly the increased consumption of woody species—highlight horses' potential role in understory management. These results suggest that different horse types respond flexibly to forage availability and may be useful in integrated strategies for reducing fire risk, especially when combined with other herbivores or active management practices. Overall, horses present a flexible and natural tool for forest management, with preliminary and exploratory evidence suggesting that they may contribute to fuel reduction through adaptive foraging behaviour, although further studies are needed to confirm vegetation impacts. Their use complements traditional fire prevention techniques and promotes the semi-freedom of horses, supporting their inclusion in sustainable landscape management.