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Discussion on Starvation paddock versus restricted turnout?
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New Member:
January
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 4:01 am:
Hi,
I have two native ponies who are extremely good doers, both slightly overweight and I want to do all I can to prevent them getting laminitis. In the U.K. this year it has been warm and extremely wet and the grass growth has been very high. I have two paddocks - one which has been grazed down to a lawn and one which has been rested all winter, is full of grass and has just been topped to about 4" long. What is the best thing to do? - should I keep them in the barer paddock which means they will get far less grass but it will all be very new growth and high in fructans or would it be better to graze them for shorter time periods on the more mature, lusher grass meaning that they will get far more grass but it will be lower in fructans? I am told that grazing a "lawn" is bad but it must reduce the total grass intake? Best Regards January
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 8:36 am:
Without seeing the paddocks January, I really cannot tell whether either is acceptable and under what conditions. I presume they are large enough to support the continuous grazing of 2 ponies?
Because of the uncertainties of managing fructan exposure, you really should manage so that their condition remains moderate to moderately fleshy (see Care for Horses » Management & Procedures » Weight, Condition, and Eventual Height Estimation). Perhaps a good solution for you would be a grazing muzzle and then you could use both: the short paddock one when they need to loose and the long one when they need to maintain and neither when they are clearly overweight.
DrO
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