Should Your Horse Be Turned Out On Green Grass? Horse Talk Episode #5

[Sandy_K]

Wow! That was a brain full of info. I have to admit, I hit the replay button several times. So, let me see if I got this right, turn horse out on pasture when sugar content is lowest (night, after dusk to mid morning???) Reduce or eliminate all sources of sugar, increase exercise. Oh, and increase quality protein. Did I understand it correctly? I feel confused.😕

[Doc-t]

It seems complex @Sandy_K but it isn’t. For me to learn this I have replayed a lot of podcasts and books. This month’s webinar is my attempt to break down these mechanics into small parts to better understand the overall issue of glucose disposal, insulin, resistance, and EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome).

As far as the sugar content of grass, many people believe that the starch (stored glucose) in the plant will be at its lowest in the morning. However I’m not sure if this is true as many factors play a role. For instance the temperature or the degree of stress (lack of pesticides and fertilizer create a more stressful time in terms of struggling to remain alive which actually raises the starch levels).

It is easy to reduce starch by eliminating grain and treats, eliminating hay if pasture is available or if hay is fed, soaking it for hours to remove the starch. Increasing exercise (with some real effort) will open up the insulin independent glucose transport into the cell (the “back door”) allowing for glucose to be disposed of by the muscle cells. Increasing muscle will also create more glucose storage which in turn will reduce IR.

Feeding a high quality protein (one that provides ALL the essential amino acids such as SBM – soybean meal) will help build muscle and improve satiety.

All muscle cells prefer fat as their fuel, not glucose unless something is chasing them. Fat comes from cellulose. Horses and humans do not need to eat ANY glucose to survive because all the glucose we need to use is made by the liver (gluconeogenesis) from amino acids. It makes absolutely no sense to feed any sugar (starch) to increase “energy.” Sugar does only 2 things: 1) it is stored as glycogen as an emergency fuel for muscles and in the liver for the brain and 2) it is converted into free fatty acids then triglycerides which are then stuffed into fat cells to prepare for the upcoming winter. More about this at the next “Rounds.”

[Sandy_K]

Thank you for your reply. I think I understand more than I realized as, just this morning, I was explaining all this to my neighbor who is having a vague lameness issues with her Arabian. I was amazed that I could discuss these ideas clearly. My main area of confusion is still pasture turnout, time of day and how much. But, that may be one of those things that just depends on the individual horse.

[Doc-t]

Thank you for confirming the purpose of this site – to educate to the point where we can teach others! You made my day!

The gut microbiomes are very different between horses. Adjusting the food to develop the gut microbes that make each horse healthy is exactly what is needed. For some it is no adjustment and for others it is soaking or eliminating the hay or reducing pasture time. For all it is eliminating inflammatory ingredients such as grain and grain byproducts.