Horse blog and guide

Your blood pressure is lower than normal, while the melatonin concentration in your blood is high. Your metablism is changing. But it's not only people who need to adapt to these new weather conditions: Our horses face a similar problem! And horses' bodies need to deal with additional changes: a coat change and the switch to fresh grass due to pasture feeding.

Coat change in the spring
When the winter coat is replaced by a summer coat, the endocrine system also changes. Not infrequently, this can cause problems for horses. When you take them out riding or during training, they seem unusually listless. The blustering moods that we might have experienced while riding through the winter snow have passed.

Adding herbs to the feed can counteract such phenomena. Equi-Strath® herbal yeast makes an important contribution to a healthy start to the spring.
It contains 11 vitamins, 19 minerals, 20 amino acids, and 11 general building substances. Selenium and manganese improve your horse's immune defences during this difficult time. Chromium and zinc have a positive impact on their metabolism. Not least, the silicium contained in Equi-Strath® herbal yeast can have a positive effect on their skin. Moreover, it supports horn formation and maintains the health of horses' hoofs.

Fresh grass due to pasture feeding
In April/May, the many carbohydrates in fresh grass on the pasture can cause problems – quite the opposite of what applies to hay! Fructan, a long-chain carbohydrate, is particularly tricky. Fructan can be found primarily in sweet grasses, where it makes sure that the plant does not dry out even after a longer period of drought. For example, reed fescue and ryegrass have a high fructan content, while timothy grass, meadow foxtail and quitch have a low fructan content. Grass fructan content is especially high after night frosts.

Horses lack fructosidase enzymes which help to split up fructan in the small intestine. If too much fructan reaches a horse's large intestine, this often acidifies within the shortest time. This kills intestinal bacteria which play an extremely important role with horses as they do with people. Instead, toxins are created - which in the worst case scenario can lead to a colic. Horses may also suffer from Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), while the risk of laminitis also increases.

Careful start to pasture feeding
Since horses are mainly fed on hay during the winter, their intestine has grown used to this feed which is defined primarily by its high crude fibre content. Now, the intestine needs to deal with the carbohydrates and proteins of grass.

In addition to colics, pasture diarrhoea is also a serious issue. If diarrhoea does occur, plants can be used as supporting assistance. When starting pasture feeding, it is important to ensure that the animals are never hungry when they reach the pasture. They should already have been fed sufficient roughage in their stables. During the first few days, the time spent on the pasture should not exceed 20 minutes. During this time, the horse can let off some steam. Unless they are ravenously hungry, most horses will not prioritise feeding. Every day, time on the pasture should be increased by around 10 minutes until the horse has reached the normal number of hours on the pasture.

Time on the pasture
Ideally, horses should spend time on their pasture several times a day - e.g. early in the morning and in the evening - so that they have time to digest the grass eaten earlier on. When starting pasture feeding, it is important to take into account the needs of the individual horse. A horse who takes a lot of breaks during feeding and doesn't show must interest in the grass can spend more time on the pasture. By contrast, with horses who eat quickly, it may be worth considering using a loose mouth bag, which most horses accept without issues. When the horses are first taken to the pasture, the grass should have reached a height of approx. 10 - 15 centimetres, as otherwise, it will be too much in its "stressy" growth phase when it produces last quantities of fructan. An intact immune system can make the feed switching process significantly easier. Thanks to its natural ingredients, which can also be used for tournament horses without any problems, many owners of horses swear by Equi-Strath® herbal yeast. This boosts the organism, improves vitality and supports and stimulates the metabolism as a whole. Equi-Strath herbal yeast can be used for all horses. It also makes sense for pregnant mares, foaling mares and foals.

Alexandra Koch