First - thank you for this informative site!!

I have an older mare that will be moving home soon. She has in the past been over weight and cresty, but has been on Quiessence (1 scoop during winter 2 scoops during grass growing season)for years. Her weight is good now and no crest issues. Coming out of winter her current pasture hasn't come in yet. Her new pasture hasn't had horses on it so there is plenty to graze on now even before our growing season. She has not had any issues with her feet in the past, but because of her past weight issues I have her on a low NSC diet of 2 cups Blue seal Carb Guard and top dress with 1 cup Omegatin, small amount of beet pulp and Timothy hay at both AM and PM feedings.

Since she will be at home instead of a boarding stable I have more flexability with her feeding program. My question is ... if she starts to gain weight on the new pasture should I use a grazing muzzle or adjust her feeding program first. I have read in the past that grazing muzzles can cause more issues from fustration and she is just the type to let me know that.

I do have a dry lot, but it is small so would not want to keep them in that area for long time periods

Where are you from? Virginia

Hi Diane,

Congratulations on doing such a fine job in getting her weight down. You are wise to keep her on a low starch diet, along with Quiessence.

I would much rather change her diet than use a grazing muzzle. Since she is of normal weight, no fat deposits, and has no history of laminitis, she can likely graze safely for limited amounts of time. Grazing muzzles can be stressful for many horses and stress leads to insulin resistance, and hence laminitis.

Omegatin is high in fat and also contains cereal grains, so you would do better feeding just flaxseed meal for omega 3 fatty acids -- Nutra Flax is worth considering.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Thanks for the advise on the Omegatin. It was the advice from BO to put her on for Vitamins as a top dress and help keep weight on during cold season. I will remove it from her feed and look at the supplement you advised. I didn't want to muzzle her - she seems the type to really fret about that. With the pasture would it be better to keep mowed lawn height (shorter = less sugar?) or let grow longer. The info out there is very confusing on this topic. The barn she is at now doesn't mow, but there are many more horses on the pasture so it gets eatten down.

Where are you from? Virginia

Hi Diane,

Mowing can cause stress to the grass, so letting horses graze on freshly mowed grass increases their sugar content. So wait a couple of days. But, the most significant contributors toward sugar levels are time of day and night time temperatures. Grass exposed to sunlight has the most sugar late in the afternoon and the least amount in the early morning. If the thermometer dips below 40 degrees at night, followed by a sunny day, the grass will hold on to sugar.

Yes, I know it's confusing. So, if you're going to allow some grazing, do so early in the morning, before 10 am, for example, and wait until the weather warms up enough so it isn't too cold at night.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO