Horse digestive systems work best when their forage is consumed slowly rather than all at once in large chunks with insufficient chewing action. New forages such as fresh or mown grass can cause stomach upset in horses, possibly even colic symptoms.

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Grass Clippings

Grass clippings can serve as an organic alternative to hay or fertilizer, provided they are thoroughly dry before being consumed as food. Otherwise, grass clippings may lead to colic and obesity due to their carb-rich composition; too much can overload a system leading to colic-inducing chain reactions in the gut and colic symptoms. It’s also essential that they not be eaten densely piled because this creates the ideal conditions for botulism bacteria to flourish and potentially become fatal diseases like botulism.

Throughout the growing season, grass clippings should be regularly mown to keep them small for optimal decomposition and to prevent soil compaction. Furthermore, regular mowing promotes more even growth while also decreasing chemical treatments like herbicides or insecticides – this could even happen as often as once every week depending on what kind of grass exists in your yard!

Mowing wet grass clippings should be avoided, as this can clump them together and create rows or “mats”. Utilizing a lawn blower after mowing is recommended to break up these mats and disperse clippings more evenly. Composting grass clippings would also be advantageous before using them as garden mulch or soil amendment.

Feeding horses grass clippings should only include dried and finely chopped forms; this ensures they can be more easily chewed and digested by horses. According to veterinarians, too much grass clippings can lead to colic in horses; an abdominal condition marked by gas buildup in their stomach and intestines causing severe abdominal pain and an accumulation of gas within their digestive system.

Another way to prevent colic is to turn out your horse at night when WSC (water soluble carbohydrates) levels are lower. WSC is the sugar in grass that allows it to photosynthesize and produce natural plant hormones like fructan. When horses consume too many unphotosynthesized grass clippings they will start fermenting them and cause toxic build-up of gases in their hindgut, which could eventually cause colic.

Wet Grass

While wet grass may provide valuable forage for horses, it should not be consumed because it is more difficult to digest. Furthermore, wet grass is more easily contaminated with dirt and parasites when damp; thus making its consumption likely to lead to digestive issues in horses like colic and diarrhea. Furthermore, its consumption increases choking risk as clumping increases when being eaten by horses.

Wet grass increases the risk of hoof issues in horses. Conditions like thrush, hoof cracks and white line disease are more prevalent when horses graze on wet grass. Maintaining an annual trimming schedule (every 6-12 weeks) will help promote overall hoof health and lessen the chance of these issues arising.

Wet-weather pastures often see horses gravitate toward their favorite forage areas and ignore other less appetizing plants, leading them to overgraze some areas and leave others unsgrazed, creating an imbalance of forage species that over time leads to loss of soil fertility and imbalanced forage bases.

Turning horses out onto pasture in wet weather can cause soil compaction, damage to plant roots and decrease forage availability. Therefore, for laminitis-prone horses it is strongly advised that hay be provided as an additional supplement during wet periods.

At night when water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) levels fall, grass utilizes fructan stored in its stems to continue growing. Therefore, turning horses out at night may prove beneficial as lower WSC will result in decreased stress on plants.

Establishing multiple smaller pastures is a great way to reduce overgrazing and speed up forage renewal. Rest periods in these smaller paddocks will enable plants to recover more quickly from being damaged by horses while simultaneously decreasing weed control costs and improving manure management.

Dry Grass

Horses can digest dry grass with no issues provided it hasn’t become wet; giving your horse dry grass makes digestion simpler for them and can even aid in their digestive health. Wet grass contains higher sugar concentrations which could result in digestive upset for your horse; cutting and spreading out your grass so it has time to dry will give your horse the best chance at enjoying his meal!

Grass clippings should also be kept as dry as possible to reduce mold and bacteria growth that can pose severe health concerns for horses, while leaving clumps can also attract parasites and fungi that could potentially cause colic in horses.

Keep your grass clippings as dry as possible even during the heat of summer to reduce clumping, mold growth and other forms of contamination. Furthermore, this practice makes them easier for horses to chew up and digest.

While grass is an essential component of their diet, providing your horse with hay will ensure they receive enough fiber – essential for healthy digestion – as well as help keep weeds at bay in your pasture.

Offering your horse a selection of grasses is important, as different species contain various nutrients. Some grasses, like fescue, may be difficult for horses to digest while other varieties such as ryegrass and timothy may be easily assimilated by them.

Mowing your pasture on an ongoing basis is another smart practice to give the grass time to recover and rest, helping reduce weeds, plant debris, and allow taller grass to come back stronger than before. Mowing will also prevent it from going to seed and becoming less desirable to horses while helping prevent soil erosion and compaction that could impede crop production on your property.

Fescue

Fescue grasses are tall cool-season varieties found worldwide and commonly found in pastures and hay fields. Fescue is known to thrive under harsh weather conditions and in diverse soil types, and are easy to cultivate thanks to an abundance of nutrients that make growth straightforward. Fescue grass makes for excellent forage for horses because it requires minimal upkeep, is resistant to weeds, insects and disease, and produces no toxic waste that could impact foals when consumed by them. While its reputation has earned it some negative connotations among horse owners, fescue is generally safe unless it becomes infected by Acremonium coenophialum, an endophyte fungus infecting fescue plants which produces chemicals toxic for horses when consumed; additionally this fungus inhibits certain hormones produced during gestation which could result in foal death or nutritional deficiencies in newborn foals if consumed during birthing process resulting in foal deaths or nutritional deficiencies in newborn foal newborns.

When horses consume contaminated fescue, they may experience various symptoms of toxin exposure such as diarrhea and colic. Other indicators of poisoning can include drooling, almond-scented breath, vomiting, muscle spasms and anxiety. If they consume enough toxin to cause liver damage – which symptoms include appetite loss, weight loss, lethargy, jaundice etc – then liver damage may develop leading to weight loss, lethargy and jaundice symptoms in later life.

Fescue’s main source of toxicity lies within pregnant mares. When these mares consume fescue that contains endophyte-rich seeds, it may interfere with production of progestin and prolactin necessary for gestation and subsequent birth, leading to prolonged gestation and difficulty giving birth. As such, pregnant mares should remain away from pastures or hay that contain such seeds until weaned from gestation.

For best results when it comes to minimising fescue toxicity, monitor it closely and avoid feeding during late summer or early fall, when its ergovaline levels peak; similarly high nitrogen fertilizer applications also tend to raise their levels significantly.

If the fescue needs revitalizing, try overseeding it in September or October using 4 to 8 pounds of seed per 1,000 square foot (check your state recommendations) which will give the lawn a thicker appearance and prevent patchiness from developing. Furthermore, consider aerating and fertilizing during this timeframe as well.