Not Quite Dun Farm

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Fabio 2017-2025 Sweet and friendly boy. We only knew you two months but we all loved you. Shocked and heartbroken over t...
06/29/2025

Fabio 2017-2025
Sweet and friendly boy. We only knew you two months but we all loved you. Shocked and heartbroken over the sudden loss. Run free over the Rainbow Bridge ๐Ÿ’”

Food for thought....
06/12/2025

Food for thought....

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.

The healing power of horses ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ’•
06/10/2025

The healing power of horses ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ’•

A new study out of a farm in King and Queen County is bringing together an unlikely duo -- horses and dementia patients.

Truth ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ
05/22/2025

Truth ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

8 Silkie chicks found a great new home today ๐Ÿ’•1 stayed here with Mama Silkie.
05/19/2025

8 Silkie chicks found a great new home today ๐Ÿ’•
1 stayed here with Mama Silkie.

Welcome to the farm Fabio! He is an 8 year-old Red Dun Mustang. He's been in quarantine since arriving late Wednesday th...
05/17/2025

Welcome to the farm Fabio! He is an 8 year-old Red Dun Mustang. He's been in quarantine since arriving late Wednesday the 7th. This afternoon he gets to join the rest of the Not Quite Dun herd.

To all the Mothers everywhere ๐ŸŒบ๐Ÿ’•
05/11/2025

To all the Mothers everywhere ๐ŸŒบ๐Ÿ’•

01/05/2025
RIP
12/06/2024

RIP

Legendary show jumper and Thoroughbred trainer Rodney Jenkins died in his sleep Thursday Dec. 5, reported the Daily Racing Form. He was 80.

Good morning. Here's a bumblebee butt to give you a smile ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
08/12/2024

Good morning. Here's a bumblebee butt to give you a smile ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Good morning from Not Quite Dun Farm ๐ŸŒž
08/11/2024

Good morning from Not Quite Dun Farm ๐ŸŒž

Good morning. Rain is on the way ๐ŸŒง
08/07/2024

Good morning. Rain is on the way ๐ŸŒง

Address

Goldvein, VA

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Friday 8am - 8pm
Saturday 8am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+17034892366

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