After the rain- laminitis and colic watch.

Spottyappy

Spottyappy

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After the much needed rain on Friday and Saturday, I have now drastically reduced the turnout area my two are on. One has had traumatic laminitis twice, and the other gets colic if she has too much fresh grass.
So far, the grass has not turned green, they’re able to pick at abit but I’m feeding hay, which I hadn’t needed to do as in spite of the dry weather, I still had grass.
Anyone know how long it is likely to be before the grass turns green? I am aware the shorter fresh grass is likely to have more sugar than the longer stuff they were on. However, I can’t strip and leave them on the longer stuff as there is no shelter, not even a hedge. They had access to the whole area in the dry weather, and shelter, but that will be far too big an once the grass does take off.
I’m on clay, so once the grass goes, it normally really takes off.
TIA.
 
The dry long grass does actually have a lot of sugar in the stem or so im told.
My lawn is starting to green up already. Cant really answer your question but will be interested in the replies as im watching mine like a hawk.
 
Another one who has a horse who has had laminitiis for the first time this year. Probably one of the few people in the country who didn't want rain!
 
I am in the same situation. The fructans in the short scorched grass have been sky high so add in the rain and I'm expecting it to turn into rocket fuel. One of mine who also had laminitis this year is muzzled anyway, out at night and in during the day and the other one had quite sloppy poo this morning. I also feed Protexin to try and protect the hind gut and they get plenty of forage but it's a bit of a balancing act.
 
I've decided to put mine on the long stalk grass. On the basis that she keeps pulling her muzzle off in the short field and given how much one of the bare fields recovered before we had rain and I could see how much it was growing, now we've had rain it's even more likely to be rocket fuel. She generally keeps her muzzle on when she can get enough to eat through it so I figured I would take a chance on nuzzling on long grass than have no muzzle on short grass. I suspect either way has it's right and wrongs though!
 
The grass is definitely coming through. For the past few weeks I've popped Militaire into the rested bit in the morning (which is pretty well eaten down and weedy now anyway) and all he's wanted is his hard feed. This morning he couldn't care less about his bucket of chaff and didn't get his nose up until he got shoved back on the dry lot with Fatty. Battery going back on the electric fencing tonight because otherwise Fatty will be up to her usual tricks of pulling up the posts to get to the grazing!
 
I have my two on a small acreage spilt into three paddocks and they have had the whole lot recently but this morning i closed the top paddock and over the next couple of days or tonight i may well take them off the middle paddock as well leaving them in the largest paddock. The grass is definitely shooting through and throughout this whole dry period they seem to have gained weight because they certainly havent lost any and to look at you would say i have no grass!
 
Mine isn't looking green, yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the ******* are eating it as it comes through. I've split them into separate paddocks again since last week, to enable the gut-responsive one to have a different diet (hay, rather than fence walked back). The other one is just the right level of sparky, so happy with that!
 
I've been contemplating giving mine a bit more grazing as they were starting to mope! (have been coming into the barn on the very hot days, but been out in the day recently as much cooler) but as you have said, with this rain I don't want to risk it, but a lot of their track is so sparse. when I bring them in for the day they do seem to do plenty of poos so they must be eating something over night!
 
I was bringing mine in during the day whilst it was hot, and YO has stated that they need to be in 12 hours for one part of the day, so that seemed best. They were in overnight at the weekend whilst it was wet, but out last night and in this morning, bright and early no doubt. My lammie has put on a fair bit of weight since he has had to be in and I am now having to severely restrict their grazing to just a very small extra strip each night, but I noticed yesterday that the field is looking a touch greener, so I may not give them any extra tonight. No reaction yet from either of my two, but another one who is watching like a hawk. I've also had to give older one who is the lammie a holiday as he was without his boing, so it's proving difficult to keep his weight off. I kind of rely on the exercise in the summer to keep him trim. His best mate was a hooligan to ride yesterday in the cool, cantering everywhere whether I asked or not, so I am hoping it doesn't turn too hot again. Saying that, we are due 25C by the weekend! It's a balancing act, and it's costing me a fortune :(
 
I've bought my paddock forwards 65ft last night just in case. That's more than half of what she had before the rain, and I hadn't reached the end of it by that point, still not got there from the spring. The grass hasn't turned green yet but we had loads of rain over the weekend and my horse is quite prone to colic from the grass. I'm not willing to take any chances so thought I should do it before it starts coming through. I left some hay as the bit that's left is where she poos quite a bit and even though I get it up nearly every day it still contaminates the grass and makes it not edible.

This was a really interesting link that someone put on the forum here the other day https://www.spillers-feeds.com/blog/12-tips-for-feeding-your-horse-during-the-heatwave/

I was amazed that the short brown grass has lots of stored fructans in it. So although it doesn't look like much, in reality it still is.
 
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Thanks for the thread - it has been on my mind as well. Bout of lammi at the beginning of June resulted in 3 weeks box rest. TBH she has come back better than ever - I just want to keep her that way.

I think I will take a leaf out of your book hopscotch b and shorten her paddock tonight. At least the ground will be a bit softer - the fence posts may go in better.
 
HBII said:
Thanks for the thread - it has been on my mind as well. Bout of lammi at the beginning of June resulted in 3 weeks box rest. TBH she has come back better than ever - I just want to keep her that way.

I think I will take a leaf out of your book hopscotch b and shorten her paddock tonight. At least the ground will be a bit softer - the fence posts may go in better.
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Yeah I turned mine out last night and the look of disgust when put in the postage stamp sized paddock! Against my better judgement I increased it by about a foot just to pretend there was something there but its so grazed down a foot is neither here nor there. But better safe than sorry. Chucked some hay out and that seemed to be a good pacifier! lol

No problem SpottyAppy, it looks quite a useful tool.
 
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