Restricted grazing - Penning areas

[soapy]

I share a 7 acre field with 5 others. Some want to erect an electric fence in the field to keep the horses in a smaller area. This is because some of them are quite fat ( the fat ones aren't getting a huge amount of exercise either, but that's different matter!). Anyway, I was just wondering if there's any truth in the theory that stressed grass (such as starvation paddocks/small areas of pasture with too many horses on it) actually produce more harmful sugars. Put simply is short stressed grass:

a) worse for Laminitis etc.
b) No different to normal grass
c) Better.

Any thoughts welcome!

 

[OLDGREYMARE]

This is such a complicated subject,I would suggest you look up Paddock Paradise systems and Katy Watts' Safer Grass website.The safest grass is no grass and replace with hay. Short stressed grass is high sugar, perhaps muzzle on the longer grass would be better,muzzles cut down intake by 80% but you can't leave them on all the time.

 

[Goldenstar]

Penned areas work fine for fat horses .
However they do even less exercise than before so you need to be getting them moving some how
A long thin strip is better than a square as it increases the amount they move .
While I would be very careful with any grass with a horse who has had laminitis in the past however I use very very bare grazed down paddocks with my ID's and have never had any problems .

 

[SEL]

My vets view was - yes short grass can have more sugar in it, but they eat less of it so overall it would be her preference. Saying that we have a few horses in pens at my livery yard and they barely move all day :-(

 

[Mince Pie]

If there are fat horses and horses that are fine then just strip graze the fatties. When the grass is low put hay at one end and water at the other so they have to walk between the two.

 

[soapy]

I love your logic. Trouble is all the other horses are fat bar mine. So mine would be on his own. But hey (or hay) ho; nothing's perfect. Ta for the advice.

 

[Mince Pie]

I love your logic. Trouble is all the other horses are fat bar mine. So mine would be on his own. But hey (or hay) ho; nothing's perfect. Ta for the advice.

He would just be the other side of the fence, or you could strip graze him too and just give him some hay/hard feed to top up?

 

[Supertrooper]

I use half field that is grazed right down, he has this and a bucket of chopped oat straw so I know he can eat it if he's hungry. I move his electric fence every few days.