Balancing Spring Grazing in Equines A Tip from Dr. JulieT m. GeTTy, phD “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 con- centration 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 manage-
ment 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 be- low 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
jefferson valley Arena
NEW 80’ x 250’ Indoor Arena
Available for Your Event!
• Large Outdoor Arena • Boarding: Indoor Stalls w/Outdoor Paddocks • Breeding Facility • Equine Evaluations
Standing
Cutten’ It Up Lena
2005 AQHA Palomino Stallion Fee: $600 LFG
Lynneas Lena
Playboys Lil Cutter
{ {
Smart Little Lena
Peppy Lynnea Playboys Ike Cutters Little
{ { { {
Playboys Remidhy Prissy Doc Peppy San Smart Peppy Doc O’Lena
Model Tari
Smart Little Cutter Topsys Spark
Briggs Training
Cowhorse, Performance, Colt Starting • Riding Lessons • Clinics • Trained Horses & Colts For Sale
Dean & Wendy Briggs • 406-287-3670 •
briggsranch@yahoo.com 59 Kountz Rd, Whitehall, MT 59759
Briggs ranch & Quarter horses
www.briggsquarterhorses.com
22 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER • MAY 2011
Welsh Corgi Puppies For Sale
www.rockymountainrider.com RMR
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, test-
ing is not only for hay. It will take some of the guesswork out of knowing which times are best.
Looking for more advice on opti-
mal nutrition for your horse? For more than 20 years, Dr. Juliet Getty has taught and consulted on equine nutri- tion. Her comprehensive book — Feed Your Horse Like A Horse: Optimizing your horse’s nutrition for a lifetime of vi- brant 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 on- line store, and a calendar of appearanc- es, teleconferences and interviews, and may sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter a www.
gettyequinenutrition.com.
Whitehall • Montana
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52