22/07/2022
Even though grass looks mostly brown and dead at the moment this does not mean that it is low in sugar as well 🧐 In fact when grass is under stressful conditions it accumulates more sugar as the plant is still photosynthesizing 🌱 but as the grass isn’t growing the sugar is stored, rather than used. Fructan is the storage sugar in grass and is mostly stored at the base of the plant - precisely what the horse is eating when cropping close to the ground.
Whilst the amount of grass available to eat on a bare paddock does potentially limit the amount of sugar consumed, care should be taken with horses who have underlying insulin dysregulation issues and may be particularly prone to laminitis. Horses with insulin dysregulation don’t have a normal response to the intake of non-structural carbohydrate which is the sum of sugar or water soluble carbohydrate, fructan and starch added together. Insulin dysregulation results in higher than normal levels of insulin circulating in the blood and results in a higher risk of laminitis.
When we do eventually get rain 💦 the risk is still elevated but for different reasons. The grass can start to grow again and storage sugars are converted back to a form that the plants can use as energy to grow 🌱 This means there is more simple sugar in the grass which can be problematic for those with insulin dysregulation. Even though the amount of grass available initially to eat is still sparse, this could still be enough to trigger laminitis in susceptible individuals. As such, for laminitis prone horses and ponies it may be best to remove them from pasture when the grass starts growing and feed an appropriate forage based ration which contains less than 10-12% non-structural carbohydrate ideally.
For help and advice on feeding the laminitis prone horse 📞 call our Feedline on 01621 841188 or visit https://www.dengie.com/feed-finder/laminitis-good-doer/
