As a hoofcare provider, whenever I hear horses are living on grass my heartrate speeds up a bit. My first thoughts are “will this horse become laminitic” or “is this horse laminitic”…. But some horses do just find living on grass, and not all horses are metabolic, but even so, I tend to find some of the worst feet on those that live on pasture. So how do we ensure that we are making safe choices with horses that CAN graze?
I have seen posts from Cherrie Nolden over the last few years about grazing her large herd of Norwegian Fjords on abundant grass 24/7. I have always wondered – how does she do it? How did she keep an “easy keeper” herd on grass without soundness issues or weight concerns? Can we mimic this with healthy horses in our lives?
Cherrie and I sit down and talk about how she manages her fields and herd of horses to ensure healthy pasture, healthy horses, and healthy hooves. You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under “The Humble Hoof,” or at the player above.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors:
Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF
Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 20% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com wi is offering 20% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN
Great to hear this. I have been managing my rehabs on 25 acres for 15 years very similar to this.
Amazing to listen to. I have 43 shetlands on 25 acres. So true about the grazing, sleeping & herd interaction.
This is great and confirmed my instinct and my heart! We only have 2.8 acres but follow a mix of equicentral and laneway with 3 horses, one an Icelandic that had laminitis 1 year ago. There is no ‘winter’ in Sydney. So we have to keep the herd off the grass for part of the day. Grass is not ‘evil’. We have now a great diversity of grasses compared with other properties where kikuyu reigns (C4 grass). He has lost weight and is doing well. We believe that La Nina event caused his laminitis with the grass starch an amazing 5.6% and some hay as well and difficulty to exercise due to the extreme rain.
Thank you, it was nice to listen to your podcast, plus it’s informative.