07/31/2024
With the damp spring we had, our pastures have remained green and lush. 🌱 One thing I’ve noticed more this summer while trimming are horses who are very stiff and resistant to give their feet. I suspect that many of these horses are getting too many carbohydrates in their pastures and as a result, have high amounts of inflammation in their body and are combatting equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). It’s wise to be mindful of this, regardless of breed or age, as too much sugar can lead to episodes of laminitis.
If you suspect your horse has EMS:
👉🏻 limit pasture grazing from dawn to a few hours afterwards
👉🏻 exercise, exercise, exercise
👉🏻 consider grazing muzzles
👉🏻 feed low carb hay (if you can soak it, even better)
👉🏻 make hay under cloudy conditions (a shower on it is okay as it reduces the carb count)
Attached is a super resource to help you answer any questions such as “Is my horse metabolic?”, “How do I manage a metabolic horse?”, “When can my EMS horse graze in a pasture?” (Go to Picture Book)
Happy trails!
Katy Watts website and blog based on published science to educate about equine laminitis, grass founder, Equine Metabolic Syndrome EMS, Insulin Resistance IR, PPID (aka Cushing’s), sugar in grass, practical management of horse pasture and hay to minimize grass sugar, WSC and ESC in the diet of hor
