Grass Question - your options or experiences please?

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Archie73

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I am interested to hear from anyone who knows of horses that have changed from fertilised grass (ideally with nitrogen) to "normal" grass and if in your opinion it was a beneficial move.
Any other information considered relevant is also gratefully received.
I ask as I have a well managed low grade laminitic horse whom I am considering moving.
Thank you.
 
I would suggest that it depends on what caused the Laminitis. However non-fertilised grass is far less likely to cause problems to a horse that is prone to Laminitis. One other factor is ensure that the new grazing is not contaminated with worms as these can cause Laminitis. For instance emerging encysted small red worms can cause Laminitis and they are not detected in a worm count only a blood test.
 
It's not that simple I'm afraid :(

I have unfertilized hill meadow but the underlying rock is sky high in manganese and iron. One of mine gets laminitic unless I supplement copper to counteract it.

Well balanced fertilized grass could be better than minerally unbalanced wild meadow unless you are prepared to pay for mineral testing and supplementation.
 
I had mine on fertilised pasture initially, and stopped fertilising about 15 years ago.
I find it much easier to avoid flushes of growth and the grass grows more steadily with a wider variety. I do rest it and graze with sheep, which gently fertilses it.
I'd rather have unfertilised over fertilsed any day, and would only fertilse with something like calcified seaweed if I had to for slow release.
On
 
It could only be beneficial provided it isnt worm infested from heavy use by horses before, (other species are OK) .

Also altho some meadows are fertilised, fertiliser is more often added to grassland that was originally sown or reseeded sometime in the known past, which would give a double whammy as the range of species is likely to be more limited and also higher sugar (lots of ryegrass for eg).

If I had a lami prone pony then however good the existing place I would only be keeping them somewhere where no fertilising took place, even if that meant moving.

In addition it's worth getting minerals in soil checked as some places in UK (as stated by poster above) do have mineral makeup that make it hard for horses to take up certain other minerals. Like the poster above, my horses couldn't access the copper in the soil due to excess iron so have needed a specialist supplement (most off the shelf ones are high iron (cheap) and low copper(safe cos overdose of copper can be v dangerous for horses but not helpful if your horse isn't getting the (lower) dose horses need due to the soil). So soil test needed before doing any supplementation.
 
Thanks so far. I have been forage tested and mineral balanced for 18 month. My horse (17hh warmblood) Is a barefoot lgl and is not shod. He was a vet write off and has been In full work for some time and is able to graze for 6-7 hours a day (more at better times) and less at rich ones like now.
I just want some reassureance that's it is worth moving him.
Thanks a lot
 
I killed all the clover in my field (which was dense with it), grass in now poorer, but my horse has stopped head shaking and hooves this year have bee great.
 
I'm afraid mine is still a massive lami risk in summer even though we have moved from rich, fertilized former cattle grazing to completely unfertilized, sparse, sheep grazing. May, June and July are horrendous months, but she has now settled down and is able to live out 24/7. It was the same when she was on fertilized grass, although she was shod then so I can't compare with 100% accuracy.
 
As lachlandandmarcus mentioned above, grass species is just as important. Old established grassland, without modern ryegrass varieties is best. Unfortunately a lot of fields for horses is on ex-cattle grazing or has been seeded with hard wearing mixes, which contain a lot of sugary ryegrass.
 
Clover has the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere (via symbiotic bacteria in the soil), which is stored on the roots as little nodules. This nitrogen is also available to any plants in close proximity, which is why the grass is nearly always greener where clover is present.
 
I have liveried at yards where the landowner insisted on nitrogen fertilizer - many of the horses really struggled. Moved my horses to more grass but less fertilizer and they did better. Many clients have issues when their horses are moved from non fertilised to fertilised. Not many have the option of going the other way.
 
LucyPriory said:
I have liveried at yards where the landowner insisted on nitrogen fertilizer - many of the horses really struggled. Moved my horses to more grass but less fertilizer and they did better. Many clients have issues when their horses are moved from non fertilised to fertilised. Not many have the option of going the other way.
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Thanks Lucy. X
 
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