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Copyright
2011 Rocky Mountain Rider. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any
editorial material, artwork and photos is strictly forbidden without
express written permission of the publisher. For information about
reprint rights, please contact the editor; editor@rockymountainrider.com.
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Balancing
Spring Grazing in Equines
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A
Tip from Dr. Juliet M. Getty, PhD
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May
2011 issue
“Now that spring is here, we need to take it slowly when transitioning
any of our horses from hay to pasture,” says equine nutritionist Juliet M.
Getty, Ph.D. “And for those of us with insulin resistant horses,” she adds,
“we may also need a dose of patience.”
The first spring grass sprouts are actually
lower in sugars and starch (non-structural carbohydrates—NSC) because they use
all that energy to promote their own rapid growth. But horses crave fresh grass
and will eat volumes of it, making their overall NSC consumption really
high—dangerously high for horses who are overweight, cushingoid, or who have
experienced insulin-related laminitis.
Once the grass has grown a few inches, it is
able to synthesize NSC (via photosynthesis), increasing NSC concentration and
slowing growth. With changes in temperature, rainfall, grazing (or mowing), and
sunlight exposure, the NSC levels ebb and flow so there is no way to
specifically know how much NSC is present.
Therefore, the proper management of laminitic
horses is to limit the amount of grazing time, so the overall consumption of NSC
is controlled.
To
be safe, here are the rules:
1)
When the night temperature is below 40 degrees F, the grass is too high
in NSC day or night.
2)
Once the night time temps are above 40 degrees:
a) The
lowest NSC level is before the sun rises.
b) The highest NSC level is in late
afternoon, after a sunny day.
There is no exact “best time” to turn out
your horses on pasture. Generally speaking, once the night time temps are above
40 degrees, it’s safest before dawn, until approximately 10:00 a.m., and then
again at night, starting at around 11:00 p.m. Start slowly, offering hay when
horses are not on fresh grass.
Finally, test your pasture! Yes, testing is not
only for hay. It will take some of the guesswork out of knowing which times are
best.
Looking for more advice on optimal nutrition
for your horse? For more than 20 years, Dr. Juliet Getty has taught and
consulted on equine nutrition. Her comprehensive book — Feed
Your Horse Like A Horse: Optimizing your horse’s nutrition for a lifetime of
vibrant health — is available in hardcover and CD (PDF) through her
website or at Amazon.com.
Horse owners and managers will find a library of helpful articles, an
online store, and a calendar of appearances, teleconferences and interviews, and
may sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter a www.gettyequinenutrition.com.
Copyright
2011 Rocky Mountain Rider. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any
editorial material, artwork and photos is strictly forbidden without
express written permission of the publisher. For information about
reprint rights, please contact the editor; editor@rockymountainrider.com.
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