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Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Help please - need advice about grazing!

9 replies

seeker · 27/06/2010 08:04

Dd's pony is kept at working livery at a local yard. She lives out all year round. The grazing is pretty bad - and has been particularly so this year - the fields were so poached during the snow that the grass has hardly come back at all in many places. She has been living in a field with a LITTLE grass, with lots of regularly toppe up hay.

When we went up to the yard yesterday, she had been turned out onto the summer pasture, which is basically knee high. Poor grass with a lot of weed - I suspect more weed than grass (well cleared of ragwort, before anyone panics)

Anyway, she's been turned straight out all day in this field with the others. I queried this, thinking she should have been introduced gradually to the pasture. The yard owner (who I like and trust - she has never given me any reason to worry before) said that she was fine - the grass isn't rich because it's summer grass not spring, and the ratio of weed to grass means that she won't get too much. She had obviously had a green runny poo - needed to wash her legs - but she seemed completely fine.

Is this OK? Any thoughts, Oh experienced ones?

OP posts:
seeker · 27/06/2010 11:04

hopeful bump.

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seeker · 27/06/2010 17:52

even more forelornly hopeful bump

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Butkin · 27/06/2010 19:10

The first flush of Spring grass has gone and the hot sun is drying the grass out so should be OK. However we are very cautious a and our 3 are in a paddock with very little grass - think patchy bowling green. We let the electric fencing out at about a foot a day (by about 20 metres) so they get an hours proper eating then back to nothing.

CluckyKate · 27/06/2010 20:42

You're right to be cautious - we have it drummed into us that changes in diet & routine need to be managed carefully for fear of causing a colic. Clearly there's a bit more goodness in the new grass than the pony is used to, hence the runny poo.

Given that you probably have no choice over the grazing and it sounds like the old paddocks desparately need resting if you're to have any sort of winter grazing, then your best bet is to keep an eye on the pony for any signs of colic, weight gain (assuming pony is right weight & doesn't need any extra) or laminitis.....I'm sure you do anyway

That said, if your pony is a native then it's bred to pick around weeds & scrubland for food so your yard owner is probably right

seeker · 27/06/2010 22:56

Thank you - she's not a native breed, she's an Arab. And today she was definitely uncomfortable and had the squits - so i put my foot down and she was back on the poor pasture with some hay.

It's so hard when you have to trust the yard manager, Usually she's brilliant - but I think she's wrong this time.....

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CluckyKate · 28/06/2010 19:24

At least the runs means that there's nothing stuck

It is hard, especially when your instinct/common sense is telling you something else. If in doubt rely on your intuition....it's usually right & never wrong to be overly cautious!!!

seeker · 29/06/2010 10:13

She's now back on the practically grass free paddock with hay. She's looking much better - but not impressed atall!^

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SpiderObsession · 09/07/2010 11:07

I can see why she tried it as her logic was that the grass is full of weeds and it's Summer so she shouldn't get laminitis from gorging on the grass BUT I would have moved my horse little by little building up to a full day, that way I could see if there would be any problems with the change of diet (and give my horse's gut time to adjust).

It may be that your yard owner was right about the grass being ok just wrong in doing a switch rather than adjusting bit by bit.

SpiderObsession · 09/07/2010 11:10

BTW my arab x is a pig and had it happened to him I would have come back to a horse with a gut thee times the usual size which sways as he walked, then hear him groaning in his stable as he'd eaten far too much!

Then I would have got runny poo the next morning!

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