WINTER NUTRITION- PREVENTING LAMINITIS

As early as February, winter hair starts shedding out, mares begin coming back into heat, and the grass begins growing. If your horses are out on pasture, this means that the fructans in the winter grass are higher than they will be even in the late summer, as the grass stores and builds energy to grow in the coming months. Even though the grass looks dead, there is delicious and sweet grass emerging underneath. Because it’s cold and we feel sorry for those ponies out there, people will often over-feed in the winter and cause laminitis. Remember to keep feeding low sugar hay in small increments (slow feeders preferably), use a good mineral supplement, and remember to not overfeed!