Foods of Free-Roaming Horses in Southern New Mexico

Abstract

Seasonal foods of free-roaming wild horses were determined in southern New Mexico by microhistological analyses of fecal samples. The most important forages consumed annually by wild horses were Russianthistle (29%), dropseed (21%), mesquite (16%), and Junegrass (12%). Seasonal differences in the percentages of the diets were found for mesquite, Junegrass, and saltbush.