When Putting Your Horse on Lush Grass Go Slowly

Introducing Your Horse to Pasture

If your horse has been eating very sparse pasture or has been eating hay all winter it will need to be introduced to lush pastures very gradually. An abrupt change in the feed can cause colic, laminitis or founder. Ponies, over weight horses, older horses and some draft breeds or draft crosses seem to be particularly susceptible although any horse can be affected. A pony can founder on rich grass in less than an hour of grazing time. If your horse or pony is grazing a pasture from the time the ground thaws in early spring, he will be introduced to the new growth of grass naturally. Many people keep herds of ponies this way without problem. However, if you make the switch from a hay diet to lush growing grass problems can occur.

Allow ponies a few minutes of grazing, gradually building the time spent. You may find that you have to restrict the grazing time of ponies because they gain weight so easily. Obesity can also lead to problems. So leaving your pony out on lush pasture all the time may not be possible. Let your pony graze for very short periods of time and then leave them in an area with very sparse grazing.

Introduce your horse gradually as well, starting with a half hour and adding about ten minutes every day until you can leave the horse for a few hours. You can also feed hay before the horse is turned out to prevent him gorging himself because he feels hungry.
It’s tempting to turn your horse out in the spring and watch him enjoy that beautiful green grass. But doing so may endanger his health, or be fatal, error on the side of caution when introducing pasture.

An Old Pro Trick To Speed Up Germination:

This time of year, planting is STILL and option. The key is to speed up germination and provide a nice blanket of mulch to keep those little seedlings warm and they'll do just as well as being planted in the spring or fall. Bellow in one recommended way to pre-germinate seed.

"Three days before you are going to sow the seed, place it in a old pillow case and submerge it in a clean garbage can filled with like warm water with 1/2 cup of epsom salts added. Let it set for twenty-four hours. Remove the seed pour off the old water, refill the container with luke warm water and return the seed to soak another 24 hours (no epsom salts this time). Have the area to be sown ready. Spread the seed out (patio, porch; etc). Keep moving it around until it is dry enough to pour into a spread. Pergermination will speed up sprouting by about 300 to 400 percent, as well as decrease the mortality rate of the seed." Jerry Baker's Lawn Book.

If you got the time now, don't put off till spring what you can do today!