04/17/2023
****** WARNING**********
Up here in Ohio we have had some amazing weather this week. The hot days, wet ground, and cool nights have caused the grass to officially grow like crazy!!! Welcome to spring!!
Even though the green pastures are absolutely gorgeous to look at it holds a lot of danger for some of our equine friends. Horses that are overweight, have cushings, insulin resistance (IR), equine metabolic symptoms (EMS), and any horses that have had laminitis in the past are at a high risk of developing laminitis and foundering.
Grass that is quick growing is full of energy. Energy that is in the form of sugars!!! Now add on top of it high heat and conditions that are really dry....... spikes stress in the grass. Guess what stress does to plants again spikes the sugar. So now we don't just have grass that is growing rapidly because of amazing growing conditions, but we also now have grass that is stressed. 😳😳
This makes grazing extremely dangerous to horses that are at risk.
Now to top it off here in Northern Ohio we are about to drop temps down to the 40s. This another component that will cause the sugars to spike in grass.
These are all components that can cause laminitis.
Do your part to help prevent your equine from laminitis. I know it's tempting to put them out on the pretty green pastures, but dry lots can be a horses best friend.
If you want to learn more about how to safely graze pastures visit https://www.safergrass.org
