barnbum
Well-Known Member
I've done some research that says NO part of the grass can be green or it can still make prone horses sore. I also read where it was suggested having them on grass later in the day was best due to sugar something... which is the opposite from spring grass. About half my pasture grass is green--in spots. Other spots are all brown. I've been letting my laminic (word?) out with a muzzle. I don't believe the grass is even long enough for her to get anything and they have to paw through a bit of snow to get it; I want her to get out of the dry lot for a change of scene and to be with the herd. The most she's been on is two hours--we worked up to that 15 min at a time, and this is only a few times a week. I watch her carefully and so far, so good. No soreness at all. Another mare is prone to gas colic, so the time is limited for her also. Sigh... complications, complications.
I'm wondering how anyone else handles this and what have you experienced?
Here are the articles I read:
Unfortunately we are in the midst of high laminitis season! It is not the grass being frozen per-say that is the problem, although frozen grass can in its own right cause colic, but the fructan level in the grass when it is cold.
There are two basic processes going on with respect to sugar - carbohydrate production (from photosynthesis) and carbohydrate use (respiration). Carb use requires heat and carb synthesis requires light. Thus, on a warm dull day use is greater than synthesis, and on a sunny frosty day use is less than synthesis. So it is easy to see that when it is very frosty with a nice clear sunny sky the sugars (fructans) in the grass are being churned out due to the light but they are not being used up as it is so cold. So they therefore build up, mainly in the stem. This is exacerbated by the grass being short, as the stem always contains the most sugar. When the grass is long the horses tend to only eat to a certain length down the blade and miss some of the sugary bit at the base.
Now, this is all well and good, but what can you do about it? As the sugars are higher in the morning when it is sunny and frosty keep your horse in all morning and graze late afternoon. Also, muzzling will reduce the amount of grass your horse eats (you should do this anyway if you are trying to get the weight off him).
************************************
Can horses eat frozen grass..?
Or is it bad for them? I heard something about it being bad for them a while ago, but I cant remember where. Just random, while I remember
Member since:
January 03, 2009
It depends. The statement that no horse should ever eat frosted grass is an oversimplification. Plenty of horses get away with it just fine. When plants freeze, respiration stops, therefore sugar that formed the day before begin to accumulate. A week of freezing nights can double the sugar and fructan content of certain kinds of grass and weeds. Fructan fermentation can cause gas colic and colitis in unadapted horses, and is associated with laminitis. Whether or not one night of freezing temperatures can cause an issue may depend on the susceptibility of the individual animal. But if a horse were prone to gas colic or IBD, this would be a good time to start to get pro-active by decreasing pasture time or putting on a grazing muzzle to limit intake. I sort of wonder about ulcers as well, because new research has shown that carbohydrate fermentation starts in the stomach, causing a drop on pH, but more work needs to be done to prove that it can happen from increase in pasture carbs.
For my severely insulin resistant ponies, the start of freezing temperatures (which will last until the grass is dead) is the decision making trigger for me to pull my ponies off grass completely until it is completely brown and enough rain and snow has washed out the sugars accumulated through the fall freeze.
I'm wondering how anyone else handles this and what have you experienced?
Here are the articles I read:
Unfortunately we are in the midst of high laminitis season! It is not the grass being frozen per-say that is the problem, although frozen grass can in its own right cause colic, but the fructan level in the grass when it is cold.
There are two basic processes going on with respect to sugar - carbohydrate production (from photosynthesis) and carbohydrate use (respiration). Carb use requires heat and carb synthesis requires light. Thus, on a warm dull day use is greater than synthesis, and on a sunny frosty day use is less than synthesis. So it is easy to see that when it is very frosty with a nice clear sunny sky the sugars (fructans) in the grass are being churned out due to the light but they are not being used up as it is so cold. So they therefore build up, mainly in the stem. This is exacerbated by the grass being short, as the stem always contains the most sugar. When the grass is long the horses tend to only eat to a certain length down the blade and miss some of the sugary bit at the base.
Now, this is all well and good, but what can you do about it? As the sugars are higher in the morning when it is sunny and frosty keep your horse in all morning and graze late afternoon. Also, muzzling will reduce the amount of grass your horse eats (you should do this anyway if you are trying to get the weight off him).
************************************
Can horses eat frozen grass..?
Or is it bad for them? I heard something about it being bad for them a while ago, but I cant remember where. Just random, while I remember
Member since:
January 03, 2009
It depends. The statement that no horse should ever eat frosted grass is an oversimplification. Plenty of horses get away with it just fine. When plants freeze, respiration stops, therefore sugar that formed the day before begin to accumulate. A week of freezing nights can double the sugar and fructan content of certain kinds of grass and weeds. Fructan fermentation can cause gas colic and colitis in unadapted horses, and is associated with laminitis. Whether or not one night of freezing temperatures can cause an issue may depend on the susceptibility of the individual animal. But if a horse were prone to gas colic or IBD, this would be a good time to start to get pro-active by decreasing pasture time or putting on a grazing muzzle to limit intake. I sort of wonder about ulcers as well, because new research has shown that carbohydrate fermentation starts in the stomach, causing a drop on pH, but more work needs to be done to prove that it can happen from increase in pasture carbs.
For my severely insulin resistant ponies, the start of freezing temperatures (which will last until the grass is dead) is the decision making trigger for me to pull my ponies off grass completely until it is completely brown and enough rain and snow has washed out the sugars accumulated through the fall freeze.
Last edited by a moderator: