Spring is on its way! When winter begins to wind down, many horse owners are excited to turn horses out on pasture. However, there are some potential problems to be aware of and precautions to take when transitioning horses to spring pasture.
Throughout time, horses have evolved to plump up in times of abundance and lose weight in lean times over the winter. Modern horses receive plenty of nutrition year-round without any real opportunity to thin down. This makes for a dangerous situation in spring when the lush grass provides excessive sugars, fructan and starches.
Part of your horse’s health plans should include a sound nutritional strategy. With the warmer weather, rain and increased pasture turnout, now is a good time to put together a game plan that will keep your horse remain at a healthy weight while providing a balanced diet.
Pasture turnout provides horses with access to important nutrients, allows for exercise, and supports their natural eating behavior as a grazing animal. As we transition to spring, pastures are especially tantalizing and horses will often voraciously feed. The first grass growth of the season is high in energy and can provide most of the calories needed for horses at maintenance. However, an abrupt change in forage nutrient content (such as energy) requires special feeding management.
Turning Out for the First Time
Before turning your horses out in the spring, walk through your pastures. If your feet leave a trace (sink down more than 1/8 of an inch) then that portion of your pasture is too wet for turnout. If only a portion of your pasture is too wet then you can fence off that portion until it is dry and ready to use. You also want to make sure that your grass is at least six inches high.
Spring pastures are a common source of colic and laminitis in horses because of the presence of fructan, a simple sugar that is prevalent in cool season pasture in the spring. How can you prevent colic and laminitis when you turn your horses out on fresh spring pasture? Introduce your horses to the pasture slowly. Turn them out the first day for only 15 minutes, and then add 15 minutes a day until you reach four to five hours of consecutive grazing. You can also consider using a grazing muzzle.
Clean Up Your Paddocks
Before turning your horse out for the first time, carry out essential paddock maintenance. Start by walking your fence line, checking that nothing is broken, and make any necessary repairs. Roll the field to remove ruts that could injure an excited, running horse. Check for holes that your horse could step in.
Check all water troughs to make sure there are no leaks and that they are filling properly if they are automatic. Give the troughs a thorough scrub with a stiff brush and rinse out any build up that collected over the winter. Remember; do not use any harsh or unsafe chemicals to clean your troughs.
If you have electric fencing, this will need to be tested. Using a tester, check the entire fence line to ensure it is working. Look for any loose connections, stray wire, or tape that your horse could injure himself on.
Reintroduce Your Horse to Pasture Gradually
Keep in mind that going from dry hay and grain to lush, green pasture is a drastic change in diet and may increase the risk of founder or colic. Horses that are in the pasture full time will gradually become accustomed to the emerging green grass as it comes up. But horses that have not had green grass should only be allowed to graze for an hour or two at first, then gradually increase grazing time by an hour every couple days until the horses are out full time. Spring grass is high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), which includes sugars and fructans. Overeating NSC can induce laminitis in horses.
By following a few simple steps, you can safely re-introduce your horse to lush spring pastures. Start gradually with short, 15-minute grazing periods. Increase turnout by 15 minutes each day until unlimited grazing access is achieved. It is a good idea for horses to have eaten dry hay prior to turn out so they are not overly hungry. Individual horses will have different tolerance levels to the diet change and the nutritional profile of the grass, so a slower introduction is usually better.
Pay attention to the weather
Overcast days or overnight turnouts from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. are ideal for horse comfort. Try to avoid turning out on cool nights followed by sunny days. Cold frosty nights cause sugars to accumulate in the grass making it riskier for laminitis prone horses.
Maintain your grazing pasture
Pasture simulates a natural environment for horses and is considered beneficial to horses from a nutritional standpoint and from a mental health perspective as well. You may have enough pasture to serve both functions but, in many cases, pasture space is simply a place to roam around and nibble for a few hours a day. To determine if there is enough pasture for grass to be a significant source of nutrition, you have to consider the available acreage, type of forage and the number of horses or stocking rate.
Horses need to eat the equivalent of at least 1%, preferably 1.5% of their body weight in forage daily for digestive health.
Understanding land requirements needed to provide necessary forage amounts is important.
One horse can be maintained on:
- 1/2 acre pasture, if turnout is less than 3 hours per day
- 1 acre pasture, if turnout is 3 – 8 hours per day
- 1 1/2 acre pasture, if turnout is 8 – 12 hours per day
- More than 2 acres, turnout can be unlimited
Meet Horse Nutrient Requirements
Spring pasture often looks beautiful and nutritious but can be very high in water and low in fiber content. In this stage of maturity, pasture may not meet a horse’s minimum requirement for dry matter intake and it may be necessary to provide 10 to 15 pounds of dry hay per day until the pasture matures. Especially if your horse is coming off the winter slightly underweight, make sure you provide them with some hay to meet its forage requirements. Providing supplemental grains and other feeds at a higher feeding rate may also be necessary.
Know Your Horse’s Body Condition
Once your horse is unblanketed and/or sheds his winter coat, you can tell if he is too thin, too heavy or just right going into spring. A body condition scoring chart will help you determine your horse’s body condition. Aim to keep your horse in a moderate body condition, between 5 and 6 (moderate) out of 9 on the Henneke Body Condition Scale. You will need to evaluate the horse’s neck, withers, shoulder, ribs, back, croup and flank areas.
What if My Horse was On Pasture All Winter?
Horses that spent the winter out on the pasture rather than confined to a stable will be transitioning themselves to the spring grass by grazing it as it begins to grow. At first, very little grass will be available so horses will not be able to eat much of it. As more grass comes in, their digestive tracts will be adjusting to the new feed source. Continue feeding hay into the spring to help with the transition.
While this is less desirable from a plant biology and pasture health perspective, it means most horses will be fine if they are turned out while the pastures are greening up in the spring. An exception would be laminitis-prone horses that have equine metabolic syndrome or insulin dysregulation, as the NSC content of spring grass can become quite high and cause undesirable health issues. It is always best to consult with your veterinarian when making pasture grazing decisions for laminitis-prone horses.
The Castlebrook Difference
Choosing between a stable or barn ultimately comes down to what the purpose of your structure is. If your main concern is the housing of multiple horses, a stable may be your best option. However, if you are looking for a space where you can store equipment as well as house a horse or two, a horse barn will likely be the better choice for your property.
Castlebrook’s barns have a warm, inviting look which adds to the beauty and value of your property. All Castlebrook round pens and round pen covers and designed and manufactured on site at Castlebrook’s facility. That is why we can provide you almost limitless choice of sizes and styles. Castlebrook can manufacture a round pen and cover to suit your exact needs.
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