Flourish Equine Nutrition

Flourish Equine Nutrition Independent Equine Nutrition Advisor, helping you make educated, empowered feeding decisions. Free discovery call: www.calendly.com/flourishequinenutrition

Tailored Nutrition Plans, hay sampling, educational seminars and more.

Ever been stumped at the feed store by the huge selection of feed products and wondered where to start? I've been there!...
07/16/2025

Ever been stumped at the feed store by the huge selection of feed products and wondered where to start? I've been there!

Let's talk 2 types of feed products that are often used; ration balancers and premixes.

Premixes and ration balances are similar products, offering a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals for horses. These products are often ideal for horses that have low calorie needs while still maintaining balanced nutrition.

Balancers are fed at a higher rate than premixes and often include sources of protein (amino acids) and fatty acids to support some performance.

Products vary from company to company in terms of nutrition and you may even notice other additions such as probiotics to support your horse. Making sure you pick the correct product (and feeding rate) for your individual horse is key!

Unsure if you've got the right product in your feed room? Let's chat!

The 2025 hay season is coming. Did you know I offer hay sampling on farm in the yeg area? If you book your hay testing t...
07/02/2025

The 2025 hay season is coming. Did you know I offer hay sampling on farm in the yeg area?

If you book your hay testing this season, you'll get a call to review the results. Or, book it in tandem with a consult and get a full breakdown of your horses nutrition.

Let's chat about testing your horses hay!

www.calendly.com/flourishequinenutrition

You've heard of body condition scoring, have you heard about cresty neck scores? The cresty neck score goes from 0-5, wi...
06/25/2025

You've heard of body condition scoring, have you heard about cresty neck scores?

The cresty neck score goes from 0-5, with 0 showing no visible fat and 5 showing a fallen crest. Scores of 3 or higher may have increased risk of metabolic issues such as laminitis due to the increased fat deposits noted.

This is another tool to add to your tool box in monitoring your horses health and ensuring we are on track for balanced nutrition.

Feeding metabolic horses can be a challenge! Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are often a key management component whe...
06/18/2025

Feeding metabolic horses can be a challenge! Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are often a key management component when we build out nutrition plans.

Newer research suggests that limiting the NSC in a meal to no more than 0.1g/kg of body weight may help reduce the risk of insulin spikes in insulin dysregulated (ID) horses.

Horses without ID who were fed above the 0.1g/kg of bodyweight were unaffected by the NSC content.

While the threshold established only references added feeds, care should still be taken when choosing a forage to ensure the NSC's are minimised and compliments your horses overall feed program.

Need help with your metabolic horses? Let's chat.

This is a great post about the risks of grazing short vs tall grasses.
06/11/2025

This is a great post about the risks of grazing short vs tall grasses.

๐ŸŒฑ ๐“๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐“๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐€๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ - ๐„๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฎ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐จ๐ฅ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ & ๐๐’๐‚ ๐‹๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐Ÿด

I have seen some images and posts circulating lately regarding the ideal grass height to reduce โ€˜sugarโ€™ intake in horses. The common recommendation is that short grass will have the highest sugars compared to taller grasses. But is this really the case?

๐Ÿ“– ๐‹๐ž๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ž ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ:

In plants such as grasses, simple sugars (often grouped with starch and fructans and termed nonstructural carbohydrates or NSCs) are produced via photosynthesis. This class of carbohydrate is an important source of energy for the horse and they are digested and absorbed in the foregut, leading to an increase in blood glucose and insulin. As a result, high levels of NSCs in the diet can be an issue for horses with metabolic concerns, specifically related to insulin dysregulation which may be observed in horses diagnosed with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), Cushingโ€™s (PPID), and laminitis/founder.

The belief that short grass has higher NSCs is due to the fact that grasses tend to store these sugars in the lower base of the stem. As a result, shorter grass is more concentrated in NSC. But is this actually the case โ€“ what has the research shown us?

๐Ÿ”ฌ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐œ๐ก.

A study performed in New Jersey evaluated cool-season grass pastures and compared short, continuously grazed pasture (2.9 to 4.1 inches/7.3 to 10.5 cm) to a taller, rotationally grazed pasture (5 to 9.5 inches/12.4 to 24.1 cm). This study found that the โ€˜sugarsโ€™ in the grass, as well as the glucose and insulin responses in grazing horses, were the same regardless of grass height. Rather, season and time of day were two important variables capable of altering these carbohydrate concentrations.
๐Ÿ“š Williams et al., 2019

A separate study in North Carolina evaluated horses grazing tall fescue pasture mowed down to 5.9 inches (15 cm) 11 days prior to grazing horses compared to taller grass (11.8 to 15.8 inches/30 to 40 cm). This study found that the shorter, mowed pasture resulted in less simple sugars and a subsequent decrease in the insulin response of grazing horses compared to taller grass.
๐Ÿ“š Siciliano et al., 2017

๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐›๐ž?

๐Ÿƒ Short or overgrazed grass may lack sufficient leafy surface to produce and store sugars effectively.

๐ŸŒฑ Under stress, plants may move sugars into the rootsโ€”where grazing horses can't reach them.

๐ŸŒพ Shorter grass that is actively growing is more likely to utilize the NSC to contribute to growth whereas a taller, more mature grass will accumulate and store more NSCs.

๐Ÿด Horses can consume more grass per bite when eating tall grass (Eduoard et al., 2009) which could result in greater sugar intake as well as an increased glucose and insulin response.

๐’๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ง?

These findings suggest that short grass may not be as concerning as we originally thought. With that said, there are a few things to keep in mind:

โš ๏ธ There will always be a risk when allowing sugar-sensitive horses to graze fresh forage due to regular fluctuations in the NSCs in pasture.

โœ‚๏ธ Managing pastures is important, and while shorter grasses may be beneficial, it is important not to overgraze pastures (less than 4 inches).

๐Ÿงช The only way to truly know the NSCs in the forage is by sending a sample to a lab for analysis. While this is trickier to do with fresh forage (since it constantly changes), it can create a baseline to guide decisions.

๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ There are many factors that may influence these findings so it should not be applied broadly and should be considered within the context of your horses, location, species, and management style.

๐Ÿ“Œ ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž๐š๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ

Grass height alone is not a reliable measure of pasture safety. For metabolically sensitive horses, effective management, not grass length, is what truly matters.

Cheers,
Dr. DeBoer

Siciliano PD, Gill JC, Bowman MA. Effect of sward height on pasture nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations and blood glucose/insulin profiles in grazing horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2017 Oct 1;57:29-34.

Williams CA, Kenny LB, Burk AO. Effects of grazing system, season, and forage carbohydrates on glucose and insulin dynamics of the grazing horse. Journal of animal science. 2019 May 30;97(6):2541-54.

Edouard N, Fleurance G, Dumont B, Baumont R, Duncan P. Does sward height affect feeding patch choice and voluntary intake in horses?. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2009 Jul 1;119(3-4):219-28.

I'm starting to book my schedule for the summer. I'll be taking consults (virtual and on farm) and can come out to colle...
06/02/2025

I'm starting to book my schedule for the summer. I'll be taking consults (virtual and on farm) and can come out to collect hay samples!

Don't forget, I have a free discovery call so we can discuss your horse and how a nutrition program may benefit your horse.

www.calendly.com/flourishequinenutrition

05/30/2025

Thereโ€™s no one-size-fits-all approach to feeding horsesโ€”and thatโ€™s the beauty of nutrition. ๐Ÿด๐Ÿ’š Every horse is unique, and so are your preferences as an owner or rider. Thatโ€™s why I work with you, using the products you and your horse already love, to ensure you're feeding the right amounts and getting the nutrients your horse truly needs.

Whether you manage your horseโ€™s nutrition yourself or rely on your boarding barn, my goal is to create a practical, personalized nutrition plan that fits your lifestyle, time, and resources. Letโ€™s make feeding simple, effective, and tailored to your horse. ๐ŸŒพโœจ

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