Feeding Horses in Spring: How to Safely Transition Your Horse onto Spring Pasture

Spring pasture can be one of the best sources of nutrition available to horses. Fresh grass provides fibre, protein, vitamins and energy, while turnout also encourages natural movement, grazing behaviour and social interaction.

But after winter, that inviting green paddock can represent a significant dietary change.

Horses that have spent much of winter eating hay, living on sparse pasture or spending time in a yard or sacrifice paddock should not suddenly be given unrestricted access to rapidly growing spring grass. Like any major feed change, the transition should be gradual.

Understanding why spring pasture is different, and introducing it carefully, can help support digestive health, maintain a healthy body condition and reduce the risk of problems in horses that are susceptible to laminitis.

Why Does Spring Pasture Need to Be Introduced Gradually?

The horse's digestive system is designed for a relatively constant supply of forage. Within the hindgut lives a complex population of microorganisms responsible for fermenting fibre and helping the horse extract energy from its diet.

When the diet changes, this microbial population must adapt.

Moving suddenly from a predominantly hay-based diet to large quantities of fresh pasture creates a significant change in the type and composition of forage being consumed. Young spring grass is generally highly digestible and can contain considerably more readily available carbohydrates than mature forage.

A gradual transition allows the digestive system time to adjust. It is generally recommended to treat the move from hay to spring pasture like any other major feed change, with grazing access increased slowly over several weeks.

What Makes Spring Grass Different?

Spring brings rapid plant growth. Young pasture tends to be leafy, palatable and nutrient dense, which is exactly why many horses enthusiastically consume it.

It can also contain significant concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates, or NSC. This group includes sugars, starches and fructans. Concentrations are not constant and can vary according to pasture species, growing conditions, temperature, sunlight and other environmental factors.

For most healthy horses, appropriately managed pasture can form an excellent part of the diet.

The bigger concern is horses and ponies that are particularly sensitive to dietary carbohydrate, including those with insulin dysregulation, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, a history of laminitis, obesity or some horses with PPID. For these horses, unrestricted access to high-NSC pasture can considerably increase laminitis risk.

These horses may need a completely different grazing strategy developed with their veterinarian or equine nutrition professional.

Don't Turn a Hungry Horse Straight onto Lush Pasture

One simple management strategy is to provide forage before turnout.

A horse that has been standing without forage may enter a fresh paddock and consume grass very quickly. Offering hay beforehand can reduce that initial urgency to gorge on fresh pasture.

Continue providing appropriate hay during the transition period rather than assuming the new grass immediately replaces the horse's entire forage ration.

As pasture intake increases, the rest of the diet can then be reviewed.

Remember That Spring Grass Changes the Whole Diet

One of the easiest mistakes to make in spring is to think of pasture as something extra rather than part of the horse's ration.

Good-quality pasture can provide substantial energy and nutrition.

As grass availability improves, horses may need less supplementary feed than they required through winter. Continuing the same concentrate ration while pasture intake increases can result in the horse receiving significantly more energy than intended.

Keep an eye on:

• Body condition and weight

• Crest and fat deposits

• Workload

• Manure consistency

• Appetite

• Behaviour and energy levels

• Hoof comfort

• The amount of pasture actually available

Rather than automatically continuing the winter ration, reassess what your horse needs as conditions change.

For horses that maintain weight easily, spring may be the time to reduce unnecessary calories while still ensuring vitamin, mineral, protein and forage requirements are met.

What About Horses Prone to Laminitis?

For a horse with a history of laminitis, insulin dysregulation or Equine Metabolic Syndrome, simply following a standard gradual transition may not provide enough protection.

Some horses require restricted pasture access, a grazing muzzle, controlled turnout or, in more severe cases, avoidance of pasture altogether.

Grazing muzzles can be useful because they allow turnout and movement while reducing the amount of pasture a horse can consume. However, horses need to be introduced to them carefully and monitored to ensure they can drink, graze appropriately and are not developing rubs.

If your horse falls into a high-risk category, speak with your veterinarian before significantly increasing spring grazing.

Protect the Pasture Too

Waiting before turnout is not only about the horse.

Spring pasture needs enough growth and root development to tolerate grazing. Allowing horses onto paddocks when plants are very short or soils are still soft can damage pasture, compact soil and encourage overgrazing.

As a general guide, it is recommended to wait until pasture has reached approximately 15 centimetres of growth before beginning spring grazing.

Rotational grazing can also help prevent horses repeatedly grazing their favourite plants down to the ground while ignoring less palatable areas.

Healthy pasture management now can mean better forage availability later in the season.

Spring Feeding Is About Adjustment, Not Reinvention

The arrival of spring doesn't mean your horse's entire feeding program needs to change overnight.

In fact, the opposite approach is usually better.

Introduce fresh pasture gradually, maintain adequate forage while the digestive system adapts, monitor body condition and reassess supplementary feeds as grass intake increases.

Most importantly, manage the horse in front of you.

A Thoroughbred in regular work, an easy-keeping pony and a horse with insulin dysregulation may be standing in the same green paddock, but their nutritional needs and safe grazing limits can be very different.

Spring pasture can be an incredibly valuable part of your horse's diet. The goal isn't to avoid it unnecessarily. It's to make the transition thoughtfully so your horse can enjoy the benefits of fresh pasture without asking their digestive system or metabolism to adapt overnight.

Need help reviewing your horse's spring feeding program? Talk to the team at Oakford Stockfeeds about forage, feeds and supplements suited to your horse's individual needs.