Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[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?
 
Karen