Returning to pasture?

[Bennysmom]

My mini just came back from 90 days at the trainer. She had him in a stall eating good hay only and turn out in a dry lot. Before that he was on pasture about 5 hrsa day and very chubby. He's in the best shape of his life now. I don't have a dry lot but I want to turn him out for exercise and to be a horse. How do I transition him to a few hours of turnout without risking laminitis? I'm really wrestling with this.

 

[LostandFound]

For my guys, I started out with 15 minutes of hand grazing. Then 25 min of hand grazing. Then I turned them out about 30 minutes before I would be bringing them in for dinner, then 45 minutes before, then an hour, hour and a half, and now there is no grass left so they can be out all day. After an hour I would increase it in half hour increments. It's important to turn them out before dinner if you are doing short grass sessions. They know it's in limited supply and don't really want to come back in. My guys are not prone to laminitis and are fine on grass... I just didn't have any so when I moved their paddocks I was more worried about tummy upset than their feet. You might want to keep up his exercise program too.