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Feed with Confidence this Autumn
While the dangers of spring grass are widely known, there can be a similar impact on horses during autumn. During autumn, fluctuating sugar and protein levels in grass, combined with a horse's natural tendency to store fat for winter, can exacerbate laminitic symptoms. Sugar levels, though lower than in spring, can still reach up to 12%, and protein levels may even exceed spring levels, reaching as high as 20% on a dry basis. This combination makes autumn grass a potential trigger for laminitis, especially in vulnerable horses.
Autumn Laminitis Checklist:
Monitor Grass Growth & Restrict grazing time if necessary: Be cautious during periods of rapid grass growth or frosty mornings, as sugar levels can spike. Remember to still allow your horse access to forage, never starve a laminitic horse.
Provide Low-Sugar Forage or Fibre: Offer hay or other forage with low sugar content like Speedi-Beet or Barastoc Fibre-Beet Mash to reduce NSC intake. Soaking hay can help reduce the sugar content.
Maintain a Healthy Weight: Regularly assess your horse's body condition to prevent excess weight gain, you can find our body condition chart here
Exercise Regularly: Encourage movement (if the horse is sound) to help manage weight and improve circulation. Exercise can also reduce insulin dysregulation.
Monitor Hoof Health & look out for early symptoms: Check hooves regularly for signs of heat, pain, or sensitivity. Watch for lameness, changes in gait, or discomfort, and act promptly if symptoms appear. Ensure routine hoof care is maintained, including trimming or therapeutic shoeing.
Consult Your Vet, Farrier or Nutritionist: Regularly consult with your vet, farrier or equine nutritionist to tailor your horse’s care plan to their individual needs.
Feed a Balanced Diet: Ensure your horse’s diet includes essential nutrients without excessive starch or sugar. If you require assistance with your horses’ diet, the team at Barastoc Horse are available for a free diet analysis, complete a diet analysis today!
Grass Sugar levels – timing is everything
Grass sugar levels, particularly non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), fluctuate throughout the day and night, which is important to understand when managing laminitic horses. During daylight hours, grass produces sugars through photosynthesis, causing sugar levels to peak in the afternoon, especially on sunny days. At night, these sugars are used for growth, leading to lower levels in the early morning. However, on cold, frosty mornings, grass cannot utilize its sugars effectively, leading to higher sugar levels despite the time of day. For laminitic horses, grazing should be restricted during peak sugar times, such as late afternoon or frosty mornings, and instead allowed in the early morning on milder days when sugar levels are naturally lower, reducing the risk of triggering a laminitic episode.
Barastoc Fibre-Beet Mash
By choosing to use Fibre-beet as your horse feed, you’ve got all the benefits of Speedi-beet, with its high level of easily digested soluble fibre for slow energy release, along with low starch and sugar.
Speedi-Beet
Speedi-beet is high in soluble fibre and starch-free with a guaranteed low sugar formulation making it safe to feed to horses prone to laminitis.
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Barastoc Low GI Cube
Barastoc KER Low GI Cube is a low-starch and low glycemic index feed specifically formulated to assist conditions associated with laminitis.>
