[RC] green grass, founder and body shape and condition - Karen Sullivan
I keep meaning to ask this, especially this
year...
In Northern Calif, we have had unusual and
consistent hard weekly rains well into May, which is unusual. The
wildflower display is incredible, and more grass in my pastures than I have ever
had.
I have been ultra cautious with moving horses in
and out of pastures, so they don't get too much green grass.
They all adapted gradually to the green as they had
access to the back pasture last winter when grass was emerging;still I
have two mares who I feel can only go out several hours.
My pastures are a combo of grass and weedy stuff;
never planted and certainly not lush compared to neighbor next door who has
planted irrigated grass-mix pasture (rye, fescue, orchard grass) His
pasture is as lush as you can imagine, grass now up to horses bellies. He
has three horses out there full time; all as fat as can be. One mare, in
particular, was once a "normal" and lovely looking Morab; now looks like a
gigantic Shetland pony. Her belly is down to knees; she has 6 year
accumulation of fat overall. She is off the top of the body condition
scoring scale. I often watch her move; for the past several years she got
so she could barely trot.
I simply cannot understand why these horses do not
FOUNDER??!!! This fat mare has regular shoeing (though hardly ridden), and
I know the shoer would pick up any signs of impending
laminitis.....
This time of year, I chat with my farrier and hear
all kinds of laminitis stories, about people who routinely founder their horses
every year when the grass comes up....
Next equestion involves the thick or "founder"
neck. Why do some horses tend to put weight on at the crest of the
neck? I mean, otherwise lean-shaped horses. Another friend has a gelding
who has had several minor scares with laminitis (lives on irrigated, green
pasture)....so has to be rotated on and off. Again, all his weight goes
onto neck, not over ribs. He currently has visible ribs; still quite heavy
neck.....
Another friend has an Arab gelding; pretty lean
when she got him last fall.....has had regular exercise all winter and good hay
and the sorts of things you give a hard feeder (beet pulp, rice bran, etc)...as
he was a bit ribby when she got him, pointy hipbones, prominent spine....while
he gained weight GRADUALLY over the winter, and overall looks better, some
months ago he started to develop that cresty neck...while still almost
ribby.....again, the question is, is that just this horse's particular
physiology, or does that maybe indicate a prior bout with laminitis??? His
access to green grass is only hand grazing
Are some horses more prone to put weight on the
neck...and are those more likely to founder?
Then again, this is California.....all
non-irrigated pastures dry out by end of may (I waiting for my front field to
dry up so I can put the horses out there, right now it is too green) but, how
the heck do folks in other parts of the country manage their horses, in areas
where there is more consistent rainfall and pastures stay green all
year?
