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RE: [RC] green grass, founder and body shape and condition - Karen Standefer

The cresty neck is many times indicative of insulin resistance and/or Cushings Disease.  These horses typically have laminitis issues (many of them chronic). 

 

With a horse that is IR or Cushings, the grass can be dead and brown and still deadly.  It is the sugar content in the grass that is the killer.  Stressed grasses are typically the most high in sugar content.  There is a lot of great information here:

 

http://www.safergrass.org/

 

Horses that are IR or Cushings should not have ANY sugar.  There are forage products on the market for horses like this (LMF Low Carb Complete is one).  Cinnamon also seems to help as does getting the vit/mins as closely balanced as possible.

 

Karen

 

 

 

 


Referenced Post:

 

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


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Replies
[RC] green grass, founder and body shape and condition, Karen Sullivan