Laura Khurana wrote: >> Trish, I hope you don't mind a better late than never response. When >> the spring grass first comes in, I make sure the horses have a little >> hay before going out. I do cut back on the concentrates and the beet >> pulp when they are getting lots of grass calories. Once I am no longer >> worried about colic or laminitis from the first flush of grass, the >> horses spend about 20 to 22 hours a day out and so do not get hay >> inside. In the middle of summer they do get just a little hay as they >> are in for about 8 hours to avoid the flies in the heat of the day. >> >> The hay is only to keep their digestive system going. I do feed a hay >> balancer all year long (purina equilizer). Hi Laura,
No, I don't mind a late response at all! Thanks for the tips on what you do to manage pasture time. At what point are you no longer worried about colic/laminitis after the first flush of grass? Is it days afterwards? Weeks? What is your schedule to work up to 20-22 hours/day out? What is a hay balancer...a vit/min supplement? I would love mine to be out on pasture that long. I have two Icelandics. About 3 weeks ago, my older Icelandic, Starri, coliced for the first time. He was out on the pasture for about 5 hours and then I brought him in for the evening feed. He coliced about 1/2 hour after I brought him in and the vet was here pretty quickly so it all turned out fine. The problem is when he is in the pasture, he doesn't drink. I have changed water troughs (rubber vs. hard plastic) and tried Equi-tea (flavors the water with molasses/alfalfa). If I go out and get him and walk him over to the water, he will drink. He just will not do it on his own. I've tried electrolytes per the vet's instructions. I stalled him for 4 nights when I gave him electrolytes in his evening feed and a bucket of water so I could monitor his water intake. He didn't drink all night! He will drink freely out of his Rubbermaid hard plastic trough in the paddock (which is a dry lot) so I bring them in at night and they can go in/out of their stalls. I also go out to the pasture every 2 hours when they are out and lead him over to the trough to drink. He moved to North Carolina from southern California (no pasture) and when he coliced, it was pretty cold outside. The vet said this is very common when the weather is cold. Anyways, thanks for all your tips. I will figure this pasture thing out sooner or later! Trish
