Hya Katty To you and anyone with an oppinion please What is the best times to let a laminitic horse grase Ive heard differing oppinions over the years some say first thing in the morning others end of the day meaning late afternoon and many say never over night Ive two cronic fat fellers at home that live on dirt about 20 to 22 hours a day depending on the season n conditions and their diet is suplymented they do well and anymore on the grass which is clover n rye and lush most of the year youll blow the feet off them I was talking yesterday to a lady I highly respect and she favoured mornings and had some very interesting thought on supliments fed to assist the gut and help prevent further troubles and return beast to a more normal grasing ruteen Im realising Im soooo far behind the times with so much of my Farriery related thoughts n practices Its time to extract the digit n get a move on or get out the bloody way
Hey Red, you know Kathy Watts is creepin on these boards so ask her...I really would like to know too?
Red. Early mornings after a dull day might be the best time for most. It's mostly about avoiding times right after a lot of sunshine. But when its clover and rye, which is what the Devil made to kill ponies, grown at an extreme latitude with long days like you have there, never might be best. Then you got all that nasty plantain, which is also chock fulla FOS. Nasty stuff- your pastures down there. You need to be more careful there than other places. I get invited mostly to places with ryegrass, clover and lots of sunshine.
Katy, how much sugar is actually in rye grass? It seems to be more water than anything? I planted in Oct so my own horses had something other than coastal hay to graze. I only put them out sparely because they are FAT pukes no matter what I feed and I ride alot!
Hopefully someday you'll get invited to the IHCS in Cincinnati with it's concrete, tall buildings and lots of cloudy skies.....
George, there must be some kind of competition at IHCS in the past 'cause I won the Outstanding presentation Award in 2006 but it was hammer finish only/ no hot rasping allowed so maybe it doesn't count?
Gary, The amount of NSC at any given time are totally dependent on growing conditions. But in my plots ryegrass was always highest. In early spring or late fall when it's freezing hard every night and the skies are not cloudy all day, perennial ryegrass had 30+% of the dm as sugar, starch and fructan. Timothy and wheatgrass real high, too. Some data here: http://www.safergrass.org/pdf/AAEPposter.pdf See how the total amount flucuates over 8 samplings throughout the growing season. And the red/yellow lines are the same plots in a warmer climate. Regional effects are significant. The amount of dry matter stay pretty much the same even when the grass is full of water. The amount of water doesn't really matter much. Eating a candy bar with a glass of water will make you as fat as if you leave off the water. I grew up in Michigan and went to Mich State. I know all about how dreary it is around the lakes. That's why I sought out sunny places.
