# Laminitic pony - long grass or short grass paddock?



## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Question!

I need to pen in Little Lad (oh how I do love the little rascal 
	
	
		
		
	


	




). Friend is lending me her tall poles 'cos he'll hop out over mine, and there'll be as many stands of high powered electricity zapping through as I can get without actually melting the lot! 
	
	
		
		
	


	





The thing is, should he be on short grass (stressed grass equalling sugar and all that), or on the long grass? He's on the lean side now and ridden most days.


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## f_s_ (24 June 2009)

I would put him on longer grass and restrict his intake. That's what I do with mine.

In fact, I never let the grass get really short, as it's constantly trying to grow!! Therefore, better on long, but not so much paddock.


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## LankyDoodle (24 June 2009)

Longer grass.
Shorter grass has higher levels of fructins.
Then just restrict the amount of paddock he has so that he can't gorge himself. Allow a little more every so often, so he doesn't eat the grass right down.


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## H's mum (24 June 2009)

Long rough grass has already used it's energy to grow whereas short grass is still bursting with energy (fructose/sugars) to enable it to grow 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Kate x


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Thankies folks. That was my thinking after a discussion today with someone (who'd over heard a vet talking). I'd looked on the lami trust site but couldn't find anything.

Will stick up long posts in the long grass tomorrow and keep things crossed!


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## Lucy_Nottingham (24 June 2009)

if long grass is a real issue maybe a grass muzzle will help? or even on long grass but you don't want to minimize space too much........ 

don't know depends on your opinion of them I guess! 

poor little lad, cuddles for him


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Ta hun - we have lots of long grass 
	
	
		
		
	


	





He has a muzzle, but he's useless with it! Lost weight when he had it on for two days - just stands around and looks pathetic


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## Lucy_Nottingham (24 June 2009)

Ahh bless him

Should take notes of Diz for how to eat grass and look lovely and healthy!!!


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## Tankey (24 June 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Ta hun - we have lots of long grass 
	
	
		
		
	


	





He has a muzzle, but he's useless with it! Lost weight when he had it on for two days - just stands around and looks pathetic  
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]We have our lami pony on long grass with a muzzle during the day and taken off at night....it works well for us


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Ta T - have tried him with the muzzle on on long grass and on short grass and he sticks his head down, woffles it round a bit, then spends the rest of the time standing with his head down, with the odd attempt at rubbing it off (uses anything or anyone he can reach 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 ).

Tomorrow will try the tall poles, three strands of leccy tape and some long grass - hopefully that way he won't fee deprived! Might put LC in as well to keep him company


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## LankyDoodle (24 June 2009)

A woman at my old yard, whose mare almost died from laminitis a few years ago and has a permanent crest which is huge, mows the grass in her paddock to keep it short. 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I tried telling her this was not good to be doing, and she totally went off on one!

You're doing right with the long grass.


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Ta LD 
	
	
		
		
	


	





The only intersting thing is, LL is worked most days and is the right weight; there's another borderline lami horse on the yard and she's in a bare-ish section with soaked hay, but she is hugely overweight. We had to be a bit firm to get some action taken, which the owners have done to be fair to them, but if they see LL who is lami on long grass 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I feel a chat coming on....


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## teddyt (24 June 2009)

Just to add a little more information for your decision- it depends how long and how short! There is more sugar in stem than leaf, so stubble fields just after a hay cut for example can be high sugar. If the grass is short but leafy then that is ok. Yes, there is more sugar in stressed grass but short grass is not necessarily stressed! It also comes down to how much the pony can eat. i.e. the longer grass may be lower in sugar if it is leafy but if the pony can eat more of it then it may work out to have more sugar in total! Oh, and there is less sugar in grass at night compared to during the day so night turnout can be better if you are able to turnout late and bring in early. If you cant do this then it can mean the pony is out for too long, so it can eat more. Confused yet? One more thing, different grass has different amounts of sugar. For example, rye grass is high and timothy is low. If your field is on a farm, chances are its high sugar varieties as the grass is grown for maximum meat and milk yield, so not the best for horses. Older grasses are lower in sugar than young, newly sown pastures.

Sorry if ive confused you!


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Who? Me? Confused?   
	
	
		
		
	


	





Okay, so it's a farm. Grass is about a foot high. There is some clover in there. Don't know what type of grass 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 . Pony puts his head down and eats. He is an eating machine.

He had his worst bout of lami from having six/seven carrots a day (January '08). Three months box rest followed....


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## Slinkyunicorn (24 June 2009)

MrsM - agree with all the others - no help at all but thought I might get some choccy for a contribution.......


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Ah, but what about TeddyT???? Therein lies a possible alternaive.

Will have to think whether is deserving of choccie or not...


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## teddyt (24 June 2009)

I personally wouldnt put a laminitic on foot long grass, i consider that too risky. Particularly farm grass, which is likely to be high sugar varieties. Can you pen off a small area and put other horses in it for a couple of days to eat it down a bit?

If he got laminitis from carrots, foot long grass is really too much. Carrots do contain alot of sugar but they are 80% water, so in KG terms there is not that much sugar in 6/7 carrots. Certainly far far less than grass.

My view is you can never be too cautious with laminitics. Dont mean this to sound patronising, as im sure youre not taking any risks, just that unfortunately you often have to be quite tough with access to grass.

Loads of info on here-
http://www.safergrass.org/index.html
and here-
http://www.ker.com/library/Proceedings/08/12_CarbohydratesForage_p135.pdf


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## PeterNatt (24 June 2009)

You want your horse to be on mature pastureland rather than recently seeded designer grass.  This is because recently seeded grass will be pure grass and be very much more nutritious.  Also keep you horse off any grass that has been fertilised within the last 2 years.


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## MrsMozart (24 June 2009)

Thank you TT and PN 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Yes, I have a patch that he can go on that has already been grazed, but it's had three days to recover so I'm thinking will not be too stressed.

I don't know when it was last fertilized, but will check tomorrow.

Don't worry TT, no patronizing at all! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




. So much to learn!

He's damn lucky I love him, m'little laminitic, sweat-itchy, bucking, bobbing off pup


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## CoachinaCar (24 June 2009)

I used to pen off a small area and mow it with garden lawn mower as short as I could get it, he then had to work very hard to get any grass at all as it was hardly pickable.

I never turned him out until the sun had dried off all the moisture in the morning grass and never left him out for more than a couple of hours.

I thought about not turning out at all but decided he ate more standing in than he did out in a very short mowed paddock. I would not turn him out on long grass as he would have eaten too much.


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## Donkeymad (24 June 2009)

Depends on the quality of the grass but, generally, the longer grass. Don't use a small paddock/area though, set up a racetrack ssystem, it really is the best method.


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## f_s_ (24 June 2009)

Sorry, I don't think I qualified my original post. Yes, long or longer grass, but as others have said, it depends on the type. I luckily have old grazing with quite a mixture, so mine go out on small, long grass paddocks when possible.

The racetrack system is the best way, and if you can't get him out on long (starting to bend) grass then a bald paddock with soaked hay.

Good luck, controlling laminitis is no mean feat!!!


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