Managing Spring Grass: Protecting Your Horse from Laminitis Spring grass looks beautiful, lush, and inviting, yet it poses serious risks for horses prone to laminitis. Understanding why spring pasture is dangerous and implementing smart management strategies protects your horse while still allowing them to enjoy grazing safely. Why Spring Grass is Dangerous Spring grass contains significantly higher sugar and fructan levels compared to mature summer pasture. Rapid growth in optimal conditions produces plants storing maximum energy. Horses prone to laminitis, those with Equine Metabolic Syndrome, Cushing’s disease, or previous laminitis episodes face particular risk from these rich pastures. Identifying At-Risk Horses Horses and Ponies Predisposed to Laminitis: Overweight or obese horses, those with cresty necks, ponies and native breeds, horses with previous laminitis episodes, those diagnosed with metabolic conditions, and any horse showing insulin resistance all require careful spring grass management. Review our spring care checklist for comprehensive seasonal management strategies. Warning Signs to Monitor: Increased digital pulse, heat in hooves, reluctance to move, shifting weight between feet, pottery gait, or sensitivity when walking on hard ground all warrant immediate veterinary attention and pasture restriction. Practical Spring Pasture Management Strategies Restrict Grazing Times: Limit turnout to early morning (before 10am) when sugar levels are lowest. Avoid afternoon grazing when photosynthesis has maximised sugar content. Start with 15-30 minutes and gradually increase only if your horse shows no adverse signs. Work with an equine nutritionist to develop a safe grazing plan for your horse Use Grazing Muzzles: Grazing muzzles reduce intake by approximately 80% while allowing horses to move and graze naturally. Ensure proper fitting, introduce gradually, and supervise initially to confirm your horse adapts successfully. Create Sacrifice Areas: Establish drylots or sacrifice paddocks with no grass access for high-risk horses. Provide appropriate hay, companionship, and environmental enrichment. This eliminates guesswork about safe grazing times and provides complete control over intake. Implement Strip Grazing: Use temporary electric fencing to restrict access to small pasture sections. This limits intake while allowing grazing behaviour and reduces waste from horses camping in paddocks. Monitor Body Condition Carefully: Weigh regularly using weight tapes or scales. Track body condition scores weekly. Spring weight gain happens rapidly on rich pasture, and excess weight significantly increases laminitis risk. Frequently Asked Questions About Spring Grass Management Can I strip graze at specific times of day? Yes, combining time restriction with area restriction provides additional control. Turn horses out early morning in limited areas, then return to drylots for the remainder of the day. This strategy works well for multiple horses with varying risk levels. What should I feed if restricting grazing? Provide good quality hay analysed for sugar and starch content if possible. Look for mature hay rather than early cut grass hay. Soak hay if necessary to further reduce sugar content. Balance with appropriate low-sugar supplements to meet nutritional needs. Find quality hay and feed suppliers near you who can provide analysed hay and appropriate low-sugar supplements. How long does spring grass stay dangerous? Risk typically peaks during rapid spring growth but continues until grass matures in summer. Weather influences sugar levels too – cold nights following sunny days create particularly high sugar concentrations. Monitor conditions and adjust management throughout spring and early summer. Do all horses need restricted spring grazing? No. Healthy horses with good metabolic function typically handle spring grass well. Focus intensive management on horses with known risk factors. However, all horses benefit from gradual introduction to spring pasture rather than unlimited immediate access. Can I do anything to make my pasture safer? Allow grass to grow taller before grazing (over 8cm). Avoid overgrazing which stresses plants and increases sugar. Consider pasture species less prone to high sugar accumulation. However, management strategies are more effective than attempting to change established pastures. Consider consulting fencing specialists to create sacrifice areas or strip grazing systems. Key Takeaways About Managing Spring Grass Spring grass poses real risks for susceptible horses, but sensible management allows safe grazing while protecting against laminitis. Know your horse’s individual risk factors, implement appropriate restrictions, monitor carefully for warning signs, and work with your veterinarian/horse nutritionist to develop a comprehensive plan. Prevention is always easier than treating laminitis after it develops.
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The Best Type of Fencing for Horses in Australia With so many options, it can be challenging to choose the best horse fencing that suits your needs. Horses are notorious for damaging, or getting damaged, in fences! That means ensuring your fences are suitable for horses is one of the most important aspects of owning one. However, if you’re new to owning a horse you’ll no doubt be asking ‘What type is the best horse fencing for horses in Australia?’ The Best Types Of Horse Fencing For Your Horse The best type of fencing for horses, and which type you choose, depends on several factors, including… Safety Durability Area to be fenced Soil type Topography Cost In the end, the best horse fencing for your horse will come down to the one that works best for your particular situation once you’ve factored in all these things. If you want to fence 100 acres in horse mesh, for example, you’ll need VERY deep pockets! If some of your paddock spends part of the year under water, you may want to look for alternatives to wooden fence posts in those areas. And so on… Wire Strand Fencing Ordinary wire strand fencing is an old staple when it comes to horse fencing. It’s cost effective, easy to install yourself, ideal for fencing large areas, low maintenance, and does the job effectively. However, for added security, consider either electrifying one of the wires in the fence or running an electric wire along the inside. Without this deterrent, horses will push on the fence and put their heads through it. Wooden And Split Rail Fencing Wooden fencing, such as post and rails (or split rail) fencing, is a popular choice for horse properties because it’s durable and looks good. In Australia, it’s often made from treated pine posts and rails but can also be jarrah or some other durable type of timber. The advantage of wooden fencing is that it provides a sturdy barrier, is highly visible to horses, and can be aesthetically pleasing. On the downside, wooden fencing requires regular maintenance to stay looking good, may have a higher upfront cost, and don’t suit some conditions. Wooden posts will eventually rot in waterlogged soils, for example. Then there are termites… Horses can also develop a fondness for chewing on wooden fencing so you may end up having to protect it with electric fencing. Electric Fencing Electric fencing is another good option for horses. It can be added to existing fencing to protect it (i.e. wooden fencing as above) or to stop horses climbing or running through it. Alternatively, you can install an electric fence from scratch. Electric fencing is also good for temporary fencing if you want to strip graze, or have an area you want eaten out but don’t particularly want to install permanent fencing there. When putting in an electric fence, you can use electric horse tape or rope made specifically for horses. The advantage with these products is that they are highly visible, convenient, and usually cost effective. However, the tiny wires running through them do break and corrode so require regular monitoring and maintenance. For this reason, they’re not best suited for permanent fencing on their own. If you want to install permanent electric fencing, your best option is to put in an ordinary wire fence using standard fencing wire and electrify one or more of the strands in that. You can buy both wooden and steel post insulators for this purpose. Earthing the Electric Horse Fence The key to any good electric fence is a good earth system so that when the horse touches the live wire in the fence, it completes the circuit. And receives an electric shock. However, in many parts of Australia, good earths can be difficult to achieve in summer. In this case you may need to consider an earth return system instead. In an earth return electric fence, the earth on the fencing unit is hooked up to an insulated wire in the fence rather than an earth rod. This creates a complete circuit that doesn’t rely on the horse touching it to complete the circuit. This is the case with a normal live wire set up. Instead, when the animal touches both the live and earth wires in the fence (place them close enough to each other to ensure this happens), it receives a shock even if it’s standing on dry sand in the middle of a hot Australian summer! Important note – never electrify a barbed wire fence in a horse paddock! If you do have barbed wire, aim to replace it as soon as you can. Run a standoff electric wire along the inside of the fence to keep horses well away from the fence! Wire Mesh Fencing Special woven or welded wire mesh fencing, also called horse mesh or “no-climb” fencing, is a good option for horse enclosures and small paddocks. It prevents horses sticking their heads through or getting their hooves caught. It’s also a good choice for foaling paddocks as it stops the foal from falling through it. However, it is important to use a mesh with small openings to avoid getting hooves caught. Also avoid mesh fencing products like ring lock around horses because they can so easily get their hooves caught in the large openings. This sometimes has disastrous consequences. One of the biggest disadvantages with mesh fencing is price. It’s expensive, and needs to be installed properly to avoid sagging. That may mean hiring a fencing contractor to do it for you! Pipe or PVC Rail Fencing Pipe or PVC rail fencing is durable and low maintenance. It also gives the aesthetic appearance of wooden post and rails fencing but is far more long lasting. It’s also safer for horses as there are no sharp edges or splinters. However, it is expensive. It will last much longer than other types of fencing so can be well worth the investment. Key Takeaways For The Best
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