Tag Archives: pasture

Vitamin C – Friend or Foe

Posted on May 18, 2019 by

Vitamin C [ascorbate/ascorbic acid] is a water soluble vitamin which functions as an important antioxidant and is needed for the synthesis of L-carnitine, catecholamines like epinephrine and dopamine, as well as collagen, the major protein in all connective tissues, including … Continue reading →

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Can EMS Horses Graze Dead Winter Pastures?

Posted on January 6, 2019 by

Unless you are living in an area with very mild winters, your pasture grasses will shrivel and turn brown over the winter. However, that plant is not dead and horses will be more than happy to eat it. This could … Continue reading →

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Failing Pastures

Posted on September 23, 2018 by

I’m going to define failing pastures as those that no longer can meet the nutritional needs of the horse.  This can happen a lot sooner than you  might think. Brown, dormant grass is easy to spot but very mature green … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Always Follow Your Gut With An IR Horse

Posted on July 23, 2017 by

Following your gut instinct is good advice in some situations but gut, and even good old common sense, can also be wrong.  This is where fact and science come in. Correctly caring for a horse with insulin resistance takes some … Continue reading →

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Understanding Fat and Fatty Acids

Posted on April 30, 2017 by

Fat is much more than a storage form of calories.  The membrane of all cells contains fat. Fatty substances form a waterproof barrier in skin and hooves.  Some classes of hormone are derived from fat/cholesterol.  Some fats help regulate the … Continue reading →

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The Case for Vitamin E Supplementation

Posted on January 16, 2017 by

Nutritional minimalists take the position that supplementation of a “quality”[not defined] diet is virtually always a waste of money. I recently read this opinion about supplementing vitamin E:  “…Vitamin E deficiencies are occasionally seen in horses that don’t have access … Continue reading →

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Pasture vs Hay

Posted on May 4, 2016 by

Hay is just dehydrated grass but there are several differences between hay and the live plant that you need to take into consideration when adding pasture to the horse’s diet. Note:  References in the following discussion to calories, protein and … Continue reading →

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Spring Grass

Posted on March 13, 2016 by

Beautiful to look at, wonderful to smell and if you’re a horse there is nothing you would rather be eating and arguably nothing more natural you should be eating.  On the other hand, there are a few precautions. First, the … Continue reading →

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Transitioning from Pasture to Hay

Posted on September 9, 2015 by

Hay is just dried grass but there are several things to consider when making the transition from pasture to hay.                             Typical Fall Pasture with Grasses Going Dormant As grasses mature and develop their seed heads, fiber fractions progressively increase … Continue reading →

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It’s Time to Put the Fructan Theory to Rest

Posted on June 22, 2015 by

Despite the fact there is absolutely no proof that the level of grass fructan (levan) found in horse pastures and hays has ever caused laminitis, fructan continues to be touted as the cause of pasture laminitis.  Any mention of fructan … Continue reading →

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