the spring grass is actually here!!

Daisy11

Daisy11

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went down this evening to feed ,to find two loony horses running around at the own shadows ,it was quite ammusing really !!!!!
anyone elses being loonies
 
Yes! Both have been leaping about like mad things. Nice to go down to field at 5.30 and find them both eating instead of standing looking miserable!
 
Lucky you!. Was just moaning with a friend that were still having to feed haylage!! Its a nightmare. i was like a forensic officer looking at my grass today, NOTHING!
 
lucky to have grass so i dont have to carry on much longer feeding ,but not so lucky with a 16hh giant 2 yr jumping around the place its not !!!!
 
Im in Aberdeenshire but i would say that there is a few shoots comming through. My horses are beginning to get a wind problem again!!!!!
 
Not sure why it's amusing to watch your horse running round like a loonie because he's getting a rush of sugar... the damage that spring grass can do to a horse is frightening. I'd rather have no grass at all and feed hay/haylage all year round... okay so there's a cost involved and the labour in taking hay to the field but rather that than horses with crappy feet. Fortunately my fields are pretty trashed after winter so very little grass as yet.
 
mr darcy i meant by the fact of amusing was watching him , was the fact watching him being a bugger nipping mums rug , and generaly been stupid to which hes usally not hes a laid back charater not the fact he was running around !!!!!
 
Yes it is nice that things are starting to grow again after a long winter...I have to watch the grass growth though as my lad had laminitis recently so he will still be on a mainly hay diet all summer. My field was completely trashed so it is taking a while for the green blades to come through...but that is what I want!
 
luckly mine are on a 2-3 acre field so luckly they have pleanty to walk on but i try and keep my feeding area in one area so that one place gets trashed and not all the other ,i tend to put rubber mats down like you get out of parks for them to stand on
 
Yes our grass is coming through now and the horses are standing with heads down steadily munching. With the drier weather here *crosses fingers* our fields will be getting harrowed soon which will encourage more growth. They certainly aren't interested in coming in for any hard feed but are still on the hay so we will probably have one more bale then that will be it until the winter comes around again







Disclaimer Before anyone starts shouting about the risks associated with the grass we have about 20 acres with 19 horses and a starvation paddock if its needed
 
mrdarcy said:
Not sure why it's amusing to watch your horse running round like a loonie because he's getting a rush of sugar... the damage that spring grass can do to a horse is frightening. I'd rather have no grass at all and feed hay/haylage all year round... okay so there's a cost involved and the labour in taking hay to the field but rather that than horses with crappy feet. Fortunately my fields are pretty trashed after winter so very little grass as yet.
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Blimey, someone got out of bed on the wrong side!!

It is amusing when spring arrives because the animals love it and start acting .... happy :rolleyes: not everyones horses have to watch what grass they eat, mine are always out all spring & summer with no problems, I just enjoy the arrival of spring and I'm ...happy watching them running around being.... happy! :o
 
Lollii said:
Blimey, someone got out of bed on the wrong side!!

It is amusing when spring arrives because the animals love it and start acting .... happy :rolleyes: not everyones horses have to watch what grass they eat, mine are always out all spring & summer with no problems, I just enjoy the arrival of spring and I'm ...happy watching them running around being.... happy! :o
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Sorry - it does come across a tad overwrought! But it's a subject I feel really passionate about. Horses don't have to have full blown laminitic attacks to be having problems with grass - footiness, sensitive soles, crumbling hoof wall, cracks, splits, thrush, abcesses, white line disease, pottery strides, intermintent lameness issues.... all these things are a symptom of too much sugar in the diet. Everyone should watch what grass their horses have access to - not just ones that have had laminitis in the past or good doers. Yes it makes us feel happy to see horses leap onto spring grass and clearly enjoy the taste - of course it'll taste good... it's sugary and sweet but just as we all know that sweets for children are bad grass is the same thing for horses. So you are either the sort of parent who feeds their kid full of sweets and chocolate to make them happy and keep them off your back or your the type of parent who is strict about what your kid eats - if you're the latter then you have much healthy, better behaved kids.

Again sorry to sound like I'm lecturing but it's such a huge issue for the welfare of our horses and not enough people are shouting about it.
 
My Welsh boy is on a 2/3 acre paddock (individual turnout) and the grass is coming through.

He isn't overweight and has not had lami before (nearly 14 yo), but I do worry about the size and greeness of his paddock. However, I bought him last April and he's been turned out 24/7 for a year with no problems. At the moment I make sure he is ridden at least 5 or 6 time a week, which with grooming, tacking up riding etc usually culminates in a few hours of the paddock each day.

I have to say he seems quite chilled at the moment - no grass effect!
 
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