27/08/2025
The grass situation!
It's the hot topic of the moment so I thought I'd post what I've noticed over the last few weeks, I am not a nutritionist so obviously please refer to them for advice.
There's no grass... Well there's minimal grass, the need for additional forage is definitely there, horses have a requirement for a good amount of fibre through the gut. But I have noticed horses splitting into two categories already:
The poorer doers, there are starting to loose weight, or maybe didn't gain as they usually do over the summer, this is sending them into the winter with minimal reserves to loose.
The good doers... Well somehow these are still GAINING weight, I'm seeing rather alot of porky ponies at the moment, I can only assume that because the fields look bare they've got alot of space, but actually the grass is trying, especially with every tiny rain shower or dew, for these greedy guzzlers they are hunting out every shoot of sugar filled stressed grass.
I noticed myself that when I fenced off some field (due to acorns falling) the grass has actually greened up where rested.
How will this effect the horses from my physiotherapist mind... Well those lean will struggle to gain muscle regardless of work, they will either just maintain or may even start to loose muscle and strength. The porky ones are carrying additional weight through their joints, their muscles are having to overwork just to carry themselves never mind their riders.
Weight management is individual to the horse, seek professional advice if you are unsure of how to manage your horse. We have rain due now, this will most likely cause a flush of grass, especially risky for laminitis risk horses, but also can be a colic or other digestive risk.
Additional note re feeding forage, always feed hay in multiple locations if you have more than one horse, this reduces the chance of defending hay piles so all the horses can get access to it. Obviously they may choose to share but that's up to them!
