catembi
Well-Known Member
Following on from the lami & frost post, I've been looking into it all, trying to concentrate on recently dated info, including a good trawl thru here, & OMG, so much conflicting info! Including lami trust, Liverpool vet website, letstalkaboutlami etc...
So far...
Keep stabled/partly stabled so off grass.
Leave out because they will gorge more if kept in some of the time, so in/in & out is more dangerous than out.
Old, tatty long grass is okay as it isn't sugary.
Old, tatty long grass is NOT okay as they can eat more of it.
Only horses with an EMS issue are susceptible. If they test -ve to EMS, you can probably relax a bit.
All horses are susceptible & should be treated as potential laminitics.
Frosty grass is v dangerous.
Frosty grass isn't dangerous unless horses have been kept in & are then turned straight out onto it.
Frosted grass is okay an hour after the frost has burned off.
Frosted grass isn't okay until six days after the last frost.
Horses should be kept in a restricted area to minimise grass.
Horses should be unrestricted to maximise exercise.
Exercised horses who aren't overweight are probably safe.
The above are NOT safe.
Gaaaaaaahhhh...!
At home I currently have a 7 yo ID mare, a 3 yo Shetland & a 3 yo New Forest. Shetland is rounded (I think - hard to be certain under the fluff); NF is thinnish. They are kept on tatty old, long grass that has recently been fenced. In addition, I have two bare paddocks so the ponies could be grass free and hayed, but then I would/would not (delete as appropriate...) have to soak their hay...
If I'd known it was going to be frosty this morning, I'd have left the littlies in a bare paddock overnight with hay, and got o/h to turn out an hour after the frost had gone, but the more I read, the more confused I'm getting.
I wish there was a definitive answer on what to do to keep them safe but not bored stupid. I am also doing a track system that isn't finished yet.
So far...
Keep stabled/partly stabled so off grass.
Leave out because they will gorge more if kept in some of the time, so in/in & out is more dangerous than out.
Old, tatty long grass is okay as it isn't sugary.
Old, tatty long grass is NOT okay as they can eat more of it.
Only horses with an EMS issue are susceptible. If they test -ve to EMS, you can probably relax a bit.
All horses are susceptible & should be treated as potential laminitics.
Frosty grass is v dangerous.
Frosty grass isn't dangerous unless horses have been kept in & are then turned straight out onto it.
Frosted grass is okay an hour after the frost has burned off.
Frosted grass isn't okay until six days after the last frost.
Horses should be kept in a restricted area to minimise grass.
Horses should be unrestricted to maximise exercise.
Exercised horses who aren't overweight are probably safe.
The above are NOT safe.
Gaaaaaaahhhh...!
At home I currently have a 7 yo ID mare, a 3 yo Shetland & a 3 yo New Forest. Shetland is rounded (I think - hard to be certain under the fluff); NF is thinnish. They are kept on tatty old, long grass that has recently been fenced. In addition, I have two bare paddocks so the ponies could be grass free and hayed, but then I would/would not (delete as appropriate...) have to soak their hay...
If I'd known it was going to be frosty this morning, I'd have left the littlies in a bare paddock overnight with hay, and got o/h to turn out an hour after the frost had gone, but the more I read, the more confused I'm getting.
I wish there was a definitive answer on what to do to keep them safe but not bored stupid. I am also doing a track system that isn't finished yet.