Sometimes it seems horse owners have either a feast or a famine to contend with. In a drought, there is a shortage of feed but in good years, we have the opposite problem.
Spring is such a wonderful time of year, but if you are a horse owner, it does come with some problems. When the grass is lush and green and growing faster than Black Caviar can run, those of us with fatty boombah ponies and horses have to be vigilant. Of course exercise, lots of exercise, is great. But I find myself juggling time to ride with all of my other commitments.
Lately I find myself spending a lot of time moving horses around. A few hours on the grass, then back into smaller ‘lock up’ paddocks to keep them from eating themselves to destruction. An obese horse can cause itself a lot of problems, the most obvious of course being Founder, or more correctly, Laminitis. I have two who might be at risk in that category, and even worse, one of them also gets a tummy upset from all the green. Not only does he swell, but he gets a green backside as well. So I feed him dry low quality hay for his tummy upset, restrict his intake of green grass and try and exercise him as often as I can.
I hope all you horse owners out there are aware of the dangers and that you are managing to keep your equine babies from self destructing. If you’re not too sure, it’s a good idea to get online and search ‘Laminitis’ and find out what you can do to better manage your horse’s well being. Just like people, when it comes to food, too much of a good thing is never too good.

My boy Jaspa - a nice healthy weight here but I have to watch him.