Transition from dry lot to pasture....opinions please

[Whispering_Pines]

We are ready to move the minis to their new pens and barn. They are essentially going from a dry lot (they had very minimal grass, but ate grass all summer several times per week for about 2-3 hours at a time when we tied them out) it is fall in Wisconsin, has froze several times, the grass is dying but somewhat green yet. They all have lots about 30x100 with half that grass. Would you worry about just letting them eat what grass is there?

 

[lucky seven]

Thats a great question, I'm making a new paddock that is going to be quite large and want to let my boy out so he can graze and run. I would probably use a grazing muzzle because he to is on a drylot with minimal grass.

 

[Whispering_Pines]

I don't think honestly they will have a problem, none of them have an issue with grass, it is me probably over thinking things again! The reason I think they might be ok is that we are not talking plush grass at this point, it has snowed off and on here and it is not full of that spring sugar. I am hoping to have the "experts" chime in.

 

[Minimor]

If it were me, no, I would not be concerned, and would not hesitate to let them out. I've let horses out "cold turkey" on bigger lots than that, earlier in the year when the grass was still growing. The exception would be a horse that has already had issues with grass causing laminitis--then I would be more careful. For horses that are at a good weight and have no lameness issues, I would just let them out. For me that isn't a big lot at all.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

If you have any individual horses that are obese or easy keepers, I would introduce them slowly. Even if the grass is frozen, if it's green it still has sugars which could be an issue.

 

[shorthorsemom]

For me, I avoid the freeze thaw grass until the frost has done its job. Then I start with muzzle and then just turn out. My mini is a Jelly jar in body shape so I am extra careful. I think it can depend on if you have an IR mini too (my boy definitely is IR). Grasses in stress store sugar and can really spike the IR minis and can cause laminitis flare up.

I always dry lot my horses at night year round. My dry lot has pea gravel and it is nice to give the feet and digestive system a break off of the moist night grass. Lots of opinions out there, and I wouldn't say any of them are wrong. I think it really depends on your location, horse, weather, type of grass and often can even be genetic for tendency to have sugar issues with grass. I have seen horses turned out 24/7 and never have an issue, and there are horses that will get pounding pulses in 30 minutes of grazing. Whatever you do, it is just smart to monitor your mini closely and start slow and check pulses once a day.

take care and best wishes.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I think you have to go with what you are happy with, really. It is you that is stood looking at your horses, and you that knows them, so if you think that they would be OK turned out, go for it! I bought a colt in the summer who had been on what I suppose you would call a dry lot- it was a row of very nice pens with run ins, and they were in a separated herd environment- each had it's own pen. There was a (very lovely) stallion in there, mares, two foals, really nice, but NO grass, zilch, concrete base that was washed down every day or so. I just turned him out with my boys, never gave it a moments though to be honest, and this was four months ago. He went form being in all the time to being out 24/7 with five strangers and no pens! He coped. Of course I watched him carefully, but he was fine. Another horse, different metabolism, maybe a bit overweight or a filly (not so boisterous) I would possibly put a muzzle on, I don't know- I have only just come round to looking kindly on muzzles, so probably not. I am a great advocate of hot wire strip grazing, though. Whatever you do decide, if you turn them out for a couple of hours then bring them back onto the dry lot you could do a lot of harm- you just get a bunch of little horses trying to shove a day and a nights worth of grass down their necks in a couple of hours, which in my book is a recipe for disaster!! Good Luck.

 

[Marty]

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