Guest Author - Susan Hopf
Spring has arrived and as the mud (in Western New York) recedes the colorful wisps of green grass start to appear – and the horses start to drool.
Horses were meant to graze but the cultivated pastures that most climates offer our equine friends are not always kind to their very delicate digestive systems. Regardless of the type of grass if it is green and lush it may cause problems to those that lust after its delectable taste.
Grazing on thousands of acres of arid pastureland is what nature had intended for all grazing animals. Munching and traveling go hand in hand if you are a horse in a natural herd. Dry grasses, herbs, a few edible shrubs and a good water supply make up your entire diet. Then comes these two-legged creatures that want to protect you from harm and coddle you with concentrated feeds and energy-rich forage – oh the good life – until you founder, colic, succumb to Cushings syndrome and/or get so fat you cannot lie down for fear of never rising again. So what’s a pony (or horse) to do?
Sensible preparation can go a long way to avoiding issues related to the gorging of grass those first few warm weeks.
Since horses are great anticipators it is best to never keep them waiting. My horses look on very anxiously as I walk the fence lines of the grass pastures during those first few weeks of spring weather. In fact I can feel their steely eyes all upon me as I check the posts and insulators – their combined will focused on motivating me to open up the gates to those lovely green oasis. It is all I can do to withstand the collective force of their energy as they concentrate on their attempts to move me toward those tricky latches that keep them from that tempting tasty treat.
Keeping this anticipatory nature in mind when it is indeed time to allow them on the grass I do so first thing every morning so that they are not spending too much time and energy pacing at the gate, churning up their stomach acid and just overall getting ready to gorge themselves. The longer you make them wait the more attractive the reward.
Of course they are only allowed out for half of an hour for the first few days with this time increased in increments according to their body condition. For ease of operation I do my best to pasture horses together that can tolerate the same amount of grass. Those that are in active work with high energy demands and without metabolic issues can have the time spent on grass increased faster than others. “Easy keepers”, retired animals and those with issues such as laminitis, Cushings, insulin resistance and the catch-all condition of many aging horses – equine metabolic syndrome, need to be monitored more closely. Many horses that fall into the later category are better served turned out with grazing muzzles. I have found that limiting their time creates more gorging when they are allowed to graze and the muzzles meet the requirement of minimum intake without restricting their actual turnout time.
Once out on grass for a month or so, with the increasing time allotments as noted above, it should then be safe to simply leave them out on the grass pastures all day. Again monitoring those horses with special dietary needs for any signs of distress – an increased digital pulse, increased heat in the feet, non-specific lameness and an animal that comes in bloated are all warning signs that too much grass is being ingested and more restrictions need to be implemented.
Careful and patient planning will help waylay most issues related to turnout on grass pastures.
As a side note – horses that are grazed as nature intended do manage to eat many herbs that may indeed affect their overall health and well being. Once I came to realize this I began to understand the advantage of equine herbal preparations. If you are having issues with behavior, hormones or lack of “bloom” with your horse I would strongly suggest that herbs may help fill in some nutritional gaps and provide some relief. The equine catalogues are carrying more herbal supplements or you may be as fortunate as I and find a local herbalist that has a good working knowledge of herbs and horses.
