Winter Pasture Danger for Horses

Winter is the time of year when horse owners become very concerned about their horses losing weight when the cold weather arrives.

As the change in seasons begin, the rugs make their way out of the shed, and a myriad of feeds are introduced to ensure that as the cooler weather arrives, your horses are covered with ample weight, leading up to Spring.

As an Equine Nutritionist, I want to stress the importance of understanding that all horses are individual and therefore have individual constitutions.

While many owners feel more comfortable weighing out their feed portions and keeping to the same diet despite the changes in the seasons, I want to shed some light on the importance of the weather, the seasons and the individuals in regards to their workload, environment, changes with age and lifestyle changes and/or illness which may cause stress. When these stress situations occur, they can create a spike in hormones such as cortisol. This stress can become the catalyst in the cycle of insulin resistance.

Throughout Winter, slow pasture growth can lead us to a false sense of safety, however, when the weather becomes cold, while the sun still shines, and the process of photosynthesis still takes place.

This means that the pasture in our paddocks, use the rain along with the sunlight and carbon dioxide (absorbed by the pores in the leaves) to produce glucose (sugar) which is used for plant (pasture) growth.

The by product of this process is also oxygen for all of us to breathe….nature is amazing!

When the temperature drops below 4.4 degrees Celsius, the plant growth becomes dormant and therefore can’t use the energy for growth, which causes the sugars/energy to accumulate and become concentrated.

When this is consumed, horses will experience a rapid spike in blood glucose and insulin.

This is something that needs to be taken into consideration when feeding, and therefore if you’re weighing your daily feeds, you will need to check the weather, and adjust the feed intake accordingly for your individual horse.

If your horse suffers from EMS, laminitis or has struggled with excess weight or either of these conditions in the past, it is vital that you take action now, before you start noticing symptoms. Once your horse displays symptoms, they have already started to suffer the consequences related to the accumulation of NSC's in the pasture.

Pasture grazing directly following a frost poses severe health risks to horses due to the rapid accumulation of Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC). Freezing temperatures halt vegetative growth, yet the plants continue to photosynthesize under sunlight, leading to extremely elevated sugar concentrations. Frosty periods are especially hazardous for vulnerable equines; therefore, they should be stabled or removed from pasture whenever possible. Furthermore, it is important to remember that even brown, dormant winter grasses hold concentrated sugars that can trigger metabolic episodes.

In Australian, common forage crops in the sorghum family (including Sudan grass) pose severe, acute toxicity risks to livestock when we experience both a light and a heavy frost.

A non-killing frost, otherwise known as a light frost, is when the temperature drops to 0 degrees Celsius to minus 2 degrees Celsius. While the plant cell membranes become damaged, the plant survives, however this rupture triggers the release levels of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid) which is highly toxic to our horses.

If you have a horse that struggles to lose weight, Winter is the time to take advantage of the colder weather.

If you rug a heavy horse, you eliminate their natural need to shiver and burn stored energy (calories) to regulate their core temperature.

By over rugging an overweight horse, you interfere with their natural thermoregulation, ultimately leading to continued weight gain or the failure to achieve necessary seasonal weight loss. As a result, this may predispose your horse to serious health conditions.

Prior to turning your horse out onto the pasture, it is highly recommended to feed your horse a low sugar hay to fill your horse up, to ensure that they don't aggressively graze the pasture and also to dilute the pasture intake.

Herbal supplements such as our pure herbal extracts, Equine Laminitis https://animalnaturopathics.com.au/products/15-equine-laminitis or Equine Detoxify https://animalnaturopathics.com.au/products/18-equine-detoxify can be syringed directly into the mouth, eliminating the need for a hard feed to be offered.

These formulas also contain compounds that will aid in lowering blood glucose levels, reduce inflammation and open the pathways of elimination which when combined with the necessary diet and lifestyle changes, can reduce the risks of an unfavourable outcome.

Whether your horse has been more overweight in past years, has never suffered from any of the conditions above, or is currently being offered numerous products to keep them safe from the risks of high energy pasture.....you must still monitor your horse's, daily food intake and take action to ensure they don't experience the symptoms and dis-ease associated with the intake of Winter pasture.